A place where human relationships are flat.
Live, study and work in Kamiyama
~Kamiyama Monosasu Juku, 3rd batch student report~

Nice to meet you. I'm Sota Okuhama, a third-year student at Kamiyama Monosasu Juku.
In Kamiyama, everyone calls me Sou-chan.
I love tea and coffee and always have several different kinds on hand.
I've recently been drinking a lot of dokudami tea and Awa bancha tea, which I discovered after coming to Kamiyama.

This time's Kamiyama Monosasu Juku reporter

Something Different about Kamiyama

I have worked as a web designer in the past and have some experience, but this time I am participating with both the desire to learn more about web production and the desire to live in Kamiyama Town.

I first heard about Kamiyama when I saw the Engawa Office on the news.
Not only was the building impressive, but when I saw the photo on the news I wondered, "Why Tokushima?" The more I looked into it, the more I learned that there were many projects and activities happening in Kamiyama.

I came to Kamiyama by chance, as it is geographically and culturally close to my hometown in Hyogo Prefecture, and there are many similar sights within the city.
That's why the "something different" that places like Kamiyama Town possess stands out even more, and I continue to wonder what that difference might be.

Is being a student a status symbol?

As Mr. Iwai wrote in his article last month, the Kamiyama Monosasu School is packed with content.
The curriculum is packed with detailed information, from the basics of web production to being able to set up your own website. Students stay up late into the night to complete assignments, gather on weekends, and more. It's like an intensive camp.

Aside from the curriculum of the school, I feel like being a student has a unique status in Kamiyama. For example, if you tell someone in town that you are a student of Monosasushi, they will understand without any suspicion, and there is an atmosphere where you can freely introduce yourself.

This makes it easy to make friends with people in town and other immigrants, and they start to remember your face, which is fun.

A sneak peek into what it's like to work in Kamiyama

I had the opportunity to intern at Monosus Kamiyama satellite office from September to October. I was mainly taught some design and coding work, and was in charge of creating banners and coding landing pages.

At the birthday party for Sato-san, a second-term graduate, I made fried chicken and curry.

What I learned from interning at the satellite office is not only about the work and skills, but also what it's like to live in Kamiyama.
Overall, the town is quiet and the climate is relatively mild. You can commute at a leisurely pace, without having to get lost in a bustling crowd at the station. These practical differences allow you to relax without having to push yourself too hard.

The Kamiyama satellite office had a very welcoming atmosphere and we were given a warm welcome.
When I attended a meeting once, both employees and second-term graduates were speaking up a lot, and the relationships there seemed generally open and flat.

What I noticed was that, overall, human relationships in Kamiyama are on a level playing field.

When I meet someone in Kamiyama, I get the feeling that there is mutual respect for the other's work.
Kamiyama is also a gathering place for artists and entrepreneurs, so people tend to look up to them, but this is not the kind of respect that makes people look up to them for the originality or excitement of their work.
The population is small and aging, and even though there are IT satellite offices, the number of people is limited, so each job cannot be replaced, and it feels like a form of respect where people respect each other's work and help each other.

That mutual respect was something I had never experienced before.
You can feel that you are receiving that kind of gaze, and you can experience it yourself.

There's no reason to hold back on what you want to do

I've only been in Kamiyama for a few months, but I've had the opportunity to meet many artists and entrepreneurs, including a dancer I met at Ski Land, a puppet artist who was visiting Japan to research puppet theater, and a macramé accessory maker. Each of them works in a different field and does different things, but what they all have in common is that they are all attracted to Kamiyama in some way.

Try out the DJ equipment at an event space in Kamiyama. Try connecting songs together and mixing them... Is it unique to Kamiyama that you can find spaces like this in unexpected places?

In the midst of all this, they are trying to maximize their creativity and make life in Kamiyama more enjoyable. For example, they organize small film screenings and parties are held all over the place from time to time. I found many role models that made me think, "Maybe I should do things like that too."

This may be due to the nature of the place, Kamiyama, but no matter what event I go to, I always see older people. When I see older people actively participating, I feel like I can't let myself lose. Even though the number of people moving to Kamiyama is increasing, there are still not many young people, so my own youth feels precious.

In Kamiyama, age and gender filters aren't really a big deal, so I think people are no longer forcing themselves to conform to an image of how they should be. In a bad way, I've become more casual, and in a good way, my attitude has softened.

It doesn't feel like you're in the town.

This time, I am sharing a house with three other Kamiyama Monosasu Juku students.
At first, I had no idea what it would be like living in a share house, but as we ate the same meals, lived in the same space, and spent similar days and nights, a sense of trust began to grow. Although we are all different ages, we speak without using honorific language and are able to live together in an open atmosphere.

The house we all lived in. The inside has been renovated and is beautiful, but there are still pre-war buildings remaining on the outside... it's a building that has a sense of history.

When I imagined life in the countryside, my biggest concern was whether I would be able to blend in with the local community.
When I rented this house, I went round to the neighboring houses to introduce myself, but my worries turned out to be unfounded. The people of Kamiyama Town were very friendly to immigrants and to outsiders, perhaps because they were pilgrims themselves, and they quickly understood about the school.

Not only that, but they also told me how happy they are that young people have moved in. They sometimes share food with us or give us extra cushions, and they are gradually blending into the local community.

From now on

This photo was taken by a student on an old film. It's a memory of the day I made tapioca milk tea. It was just an ordinary day, but it looks unnecessarily nostalgic.

Among those who moved to Kamiyama, some have always lived in the city, while others chose Kamiyama as one of several bases.
When I came to Kamiyama as a student this time, I was under the assumption that I would have to choose between working in the city or working in Kamiyama or a place like Kamiyama, but I now think that such restrictions are not really necessary.

Of all the phrases I often hear in Kamiyama, my favorite is "It's okay to do anything."

This phrase seems to be applicable to anything, not just implementing new ideas or projects, but also where you want to live, how you want to live, or what dish you want to make tomorrow that you've never made before. From big things to small things, I've come to think, "Why not just try it?" This may be the biggest change in myself since coming to Kamiyama.

There is only one month left of Monosasu Juku. We are now moving forward at a rapid pace towards the final assignment, and my abilities are finally being tested. I want to finish the classes well and get to work on making websites on my own.

I haven't yet decided what my future path will be after graduating from this school.
But one thing is for sure: even if I end up living and working somewhere else in the future, I still want to come back to Kamiyama someday.