"I Live Here,and Stay Connectedto the World."

— Why did you choose this place?

When I lived in Tokyo, my job determined where I lived. Could I get to the office easily? Was it convenient to meet clients? I thought that was just how things worked.

But then almost everything my company did became asynchronous, and AI translation became a normal part of meetings. I began thinking, "Why not live where I want and go to work in the wider world only when I need to?"

"It doesn't feel so much like I changed jobs.
It's more like I changed where I put my work."

— Which is your main job, farming or IT?

People still ask me that all the time! (laughs) But as far as I'm concerned, they're both my main jobs. I don't turn into a different person between day and night.

Working in the fields gives you a completely different sense of time from looking at product metrics. In one job, you make an improvement and see the result tomorrow. In the other, you might wait six months for an answer. Having both suits me.

— Do you ever feel left behind professionally, living so far into the mountains?

Quite the opposite. I used to think being on the front line meant going to the physical workplace. Now it's less about where you are and more about what decisions you make there and how quickly you can put them into action.

Of course, some things are better handled face to face. When that happens, I go. I just don't think I have to be there every day anymore.

"I thought I was retreating from the world,
yet my work feels more connected to it than before."

— Is there anything about this life you're unhappy with?

Of course. The hospital is far away, winter can be difficult, and farming is more physically demanding than I expected. And when I work at night to match the overseas team's hours, my schedule sometimes falls out of sync with my family's.

So it's not a story about how moving to the countryside makes you happy. But being able to decide for myself which inconveniences I'm willing to live with? That's a big difference.