Takashi Sato (Small Elephant Co. Ltd.)

Enjoy all aspects of your life.

If you experience life like you have an empty stomach,

no matter what you do it will be fun.

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It's undeniable that money is a necessity in life. Because of this, some people may see work as a way to enhance their lifestyle. However, it is also true that in your lifetime, you will spend a lot of it working. Thus, isn't it important to enjoy the work you do, so you can enjoy your life to its fullest?

Takashi Sato has had a unique career. He was born in the Akita prefecture and moved to Tokyo for university, after which, he worked for a video production company in Tokyo. However, when he discovered that his two-year-old child had a serious allergy, he had to reconsider his lifestyle, leading him to consider changing careers. He happened to discover the role of "peddler" on a job site, and then started working as a peddler in Ama, Shimane prefecture (Nakanoshima). He travelled around the Tokyo metropolitan area in a kitchen car, selling not only produce from Ama but also from other islands all around Japan. At the same time as this, he became a member of the Regional Revitalisation Team in Higashinaruse (Akita), meaning he would travel all over for work. His work as a peddler would later become the starting point of his business "Ritou Kitchen" (Remote Island Kitchen), selling local produce from remote islands of Japan in the metropolitan areas. For Mr. Sato, who has found a lifestyle and workstyle that he loves and uniquely suits him, we conducted an interview to find out what "work" means to him.

Authors: Yuka Inada, Emma Yen

January 2021

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Living in Multiple Locations

―How do you find working in both rural and metropolitan areas?

I think that I have a very restless personality, so it would be impossible for me to live in only one place. So, I personally like this lifestyle, it suits me.

―Has living in multiple locations affected your relationship with your family?

If you are married, you might be able to relate to this, but when you're together every day, there are times when you quarrel. I tend to be away from home for a few days a week, and I feel that our relationship is better with a little distance away from each other. My relationship with my wife has not really been affected.

However, in terms of my relationship with my children, I think it's hard to be close with them when you can't spend a lot of time with them. So, I need to reflect on the fact that I need to make more time for my children in person. In that regard, there are both pros and cons to living in multiple locations.

―How is your work life balance?

I don't think of my work life and personal as separate. Rather, the time I spend on them feels the same, as I enjoy both my work and the time I spend on myself. Establishing my businesses, doing housework for my family, even cleaning the bathroom can feel fun! I's almost like I'm playing games.

The Charm of Remote Islands

―What is the appeal of remote islands that you want to convey to people?

There are about six thousand-eight hundred islands in Japan in total, and of these, only about four hundred are inhabited. However, there is a high possibility that the number of inhabited islands will be reduced to half in the next thirty years. So, I believe that conveying the appeal of these islands is very important. Moreover, each island is completely different from one another. Even if the islands are next to each other, the people will speak differently, eat different kinds of food, and so forth. Even though they share the ocean, and eat the same kinds of fish, there are still differences. Different islands will prepare the same kind of fish in different ways. Just like people, each island has their own personality. I don't want to lose any of them. Luckily, since remote islands in Japan are being promoted in the media, I feel like the number of people who work and live on these islands will gradually increase.

―Who would you recommend remote island living to?

It is not often that you get the chance to experience remote island life. Most of these islands do not have convenience stores, and all the stores are usually closed by 8:00pm. Places where you can drink are often open until around 10:00pm, however there is no guarantee that there even is one. If you like that kind of life, I think that living on an island is great. Of course, on the plus side, the food there is delicious, and the rent is very cheap. Sometimes even free, depending on the island.

It may be difficult to live on a remote island for all your life, but if you want to live in multiple places, I think it would be fun to consider an island as one option. In fact, there are people from Tokyo who go to islands on weekends for work or for holidays. I hope that that lifestyle will become more popular in the future.

Working in the Countryside and the City

―What do you think are the problems for working both in the countryside and the city?

Compared to the countryside, in the city, I hated riding crowded trains. It's quite mentally painful. It was hot, simply put, I hated how arduous the trip was. I wish that crowded trains would disappear. However, with the advent of COVID-19, more people are working remotely, and trains are relatively more comfortable these days.

―Is there a way for people who live in the city to form strong connections to people living in the country?

I think it depends on how you want to connect with them. If you want to connect with people living in the countryside and listen to their stories, then you have to go there. However, if you want to have a deeper, continuous relationship with them, you should try renting some abandoned land and living there. There is a lot of vacant land in the countryside, and one-hectare can cost less than one thousand yen per year. If you need help with cultivating the land, you can go to the town office, or ask the elderly farmers for tips. Although, getting close to them may take time.

―In the future, how do you think people will work?

Right now, Tokyo is the most densely populated city in Japan. However, in the future, I think there is the possibility for that population to spread out and become more evenly distributed. I think people will be able to work anywhere. Nowadays, you can even work while traveling. I hope that we can change the gap between work and personal life, and live in a way that sees both work and play as a part of everyday life.

The Food Industry Today

―In the industry, there is a growing trend of sellers using e-commerce. How many producers on the islands and in the country are using e-commerce?

If I had to guess, I would say approximately twenty percent. The reason for this is quite clear, many of them are elderly. However, many of the younger producers have started using e-commerce.

As is the case in all rural areas, there is a serious shortage of incoming labor. This is true for both agricultural and the fishing industry in Japan. The average working age is almost seventy, so in another ten years, the number of people working in these industries will drastically decrease. In the worst scenario, the food produced there will not make it to urban areas. By the way, because of this, I am thinking of becoming self-sufficient, in terms of food, for self-preservation.

―What do you think the future of the food industry will look like?

I think the future lies in technology. There are some varieties of food that do not require much work at all. For instance, potatoes. If machines can take care of the time and work required in harvesting, then I think the future looks bright. Using the old-fashioned methods of production from one thousand years ago is not suitable anymore. So, I hope that we can use the advancement of technology to efficiently produce delicious food.

Additionally, I think that the number of unique ways of using raw produce will increase as well. For example, there are many migrants in Japan who are growing grapes now for the sake of making wine. The wine these migrants are producing is unique wine that can only be the way that it is because it is made in Japan, thus adding to the value. Hopefully, inventive uses for produce, like this, will become more common.

Consumption in Today's Market

―Is there anything you usually keep in mind when it comes to “food”?

I try not to eat food when the origin of the ingredients is unknown. Recently, supermarkets in Japan have been displaying the origin of food on labels. However, often when you go and eat out, for example if you're having hamburgers, you may not know know what kind of meat is used in the hamburgers. When I cook meals for my family or get ingredients, I try to buy meat and vegetables from people I know as much as possible. Since the internet makes information so accessible nowadays, it would be nice if more people acted like this in the future.

Grocery stores may be necessary, but I believe the best way to eat is to have the food delivered directly to your door from the producer. I feel like this will become easier to do in the future, thanks to technology such as drones.

―What do you want to achieve through "food"?

The pleasure of choosing something at the supermarket is similar to the enjoyment of choosing a book at a bookstore, so I don't think supermarkets will disappear anytime soon. Nowadays, you can also easily buy books on Amazon, or even ingredients if you want. However, if you go beyond that and get in touch with the people behind your ingredients and get to know them, the food you eat will become more delicious. More than that, sharing a story with someone when you eat is fun. So, I personally would like to showcase more and more of the people who produce ingredients, and would like to have more meals sharing stories.

Careers

―Are there any points to consider when choosing between working for a large company or starting your own business?

For students, their job is to accumulate their “input” (i.e. knowledge). But when you become a member of society, all you are expected to do is to produce “output”. Someone who only studies at work would not be in demand. I think that people who have learned how to "output" before graduating from school should start their own businesses instead.

―When you say output, do you mean understanding how to conduct business?

"Output" could be creating a new business model, or it could be the process from planning a project, to realising and implementing it. I think that it is a waste of time to experience meaningless relationships at work, sarcasm from your boss and the like, when instead you could be creating “output”,

―What should you do it you feel like your skills aren't good enough with just your experience as a student?

If you don't know how to produce "output", I believe you can first take a step into society, then gain experience and learn how to “output” before starting your own business. You have to supplement your skills from school and equip yourself with experience. Rather than disliking your work and going on the grind every day, the important thing here is to always think about your role in the greater scheme of things, such as how much your work is contributing to sales. The speed at which you can improve your skills will be different if you are only chasing the short-term goals. I don't think there's anything better than acquiring a skill that will also make you money. Once you obtain those skills, you don't have to keep working for your company and can move on if you wish.

Working

―Do you have any advice for the younger generation who will be working in the future?

Experience sleeping outside for a night. Personally, I think that you should try being homeless or sleeping on the streets for a couple days. But living as a homeless person is a difficult lifestyle. So, I think that if you have the drive, you should try living on the streets for at least one night. If you do that even once, your perspective will change. You will find that things you once were afraid of, become less scary. If even once you can feel comfortable living in a situation starting with nothing, you'll be able to enjoy nearly any work. Also, you'll be able to enjoy life regardless of your salary. If it is low, you can enjoy what you have, and if it is high, you can think about how you'll use your wealth to give back to society.

―Do changes in your sense of values influence the way you think about work?

When you are young, you usually don't have a lot of money. There may be some young people who have enough money to start their own businesses straight out of the gate, but for most young people, they worry about how to make a living first.

However, when you are hungry, no matter what you eat it will taste good, right? If you live your life like you always have an empty stomach, no matter what you do you'll be able to find it fun. If you're able to do that, then the time you waste by worrying and thinking negatively will also decrease. That's why I recommend this kind of sleeping on the streets experience, I even want my own children to experience it too.