■ How did you learn about x-garden?

 

I decided on this share-house because I wanted to strengthen my business skills. When I toured the house, I became particularly interested in the first floor seminar room: seminars are organized on weekends, and on other days, residents can present on their own topics of interest as well.

 

■ Tell us about life at x-garden:

 

I’ve made good use of the seminar room. I used to go to seminar-cafe events when I wanted to learn new skills, but those types of events take a lot of time out of your day, and can be a strain on your wallet. Now that seminars are held right in my building, I feel more inclined to attend even when I’m a little tired (besides, it doesn’t cost me anything!)

 

What’s also great is that x-garden is a very supportive environment, and I can easily ask for advice from my housemates. When I’d just started marketing on Ameblo (a popular blog platform in Japan), I learned some techniques from a pro-blogger housemate whose own blog gets over 4000 hits a day. I also learned a lot about distribution techniques for weekend travel videos – a long-time hobby and root of my business venture – from Murakami-san, a professional videographer housemate. There is also the fact that if I get sick, there are people around who would help me out – not something that happens often when you live by yourself.

 

■ Tell us about your career, and what you have gained from living at x-garden.

I work in system development and maintenance for credit cards. It requires careful attention to detail, because mistakes are absolutely inexcusable. I’ve learned to streamline the work to maximize efficiency; we formalize greetings in routine emails, and make good use of shortcut keys in Excel, for example. I’ve also learned to prioritize.

 

 

■ What’s next?

 

I want to start my own company and begin making profits from the planning phase. I want to use my own lived experiences as a short-term/weekend traveler as the root of my model. I’m already taking steps forward both within my company and on my own.

 

I want to help the modern dead-eyed salarymen who have lost their spontaneity. As I learned through my travels, spontaneous people are truly alive; I want to help them get their energy back, which in turn would energize Japan as a whole. I want them to experience a breath of fresh air, and to find joy and hope in each day. People who have figured out what they want to do, their dreams and ambitions, are resilient. Eventually they’ll be able to be active, not only in Japan, but on a global scale.

 

■ What kind of people are you looking for?

 

We need a web designer and programmer.  I’m also looking for like-minded people who’d want to start up a company. Specifically someone who enjoys both domestic and international travel. I am planning a 100-hot spring Japan tour in the near future – please join in if you’re interested!

 

■ Self-promotion:

 

Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you want to revitalize Japan’s energy with me!

For those interested, please follow me on Ameblo and twitter:

 

ameblo

http://ameblo.jp/ryotait0/entry-11457913137.html (Japanese)

twitter

https://twitter.com/ryotait0