About Hiromi Ashida, a senior who lives her life in her own way.

In a recent livestream, I spoke with my friend Ashida-san.
I had always thought she was a free spirit, but hearing her story again revealed many things I didn't know about her. I knew that he was currently living in Hokkaido, but it was interesting to hear how he came to be here. I had no idea that Asida had found a job.
For the past 7 or 8 years, I didn't know exactly where Ashida-san was working, so I would contact her once in a while and ask, "Where are you now?

Profile of Hiromi Ashida
He stopped going to school after going only a few months in the first grade of elementary school. Almost didn't go to junior high school, entered a regular high school in Oji, went to a vocational school for one year, and graduated 3 years later. After graduation, chose a part-time job where he could work comfortably and experienced various jobs in a short span of time.
At the age of 24, she traveled alone, and her lifestyle became centered on traveling abroad. She continued to save up money and travel abroad, moving from place to place in Europe, New Zealand, and Australia. She has lived in Kyoto, Ehime, and Hokkaido in Japan, and is currently working in Shakotan, Hokkaido, as a member of the Regional Development Cooperation Volunteers.

The day's virtual livestream will also be available on YouTube, so be sure to tune in!

She never wore socks in kindergarten (due to kindergarten policy) and hated being forced to wear socks when she entered elementary school.
Her mother never once said, "Go to school!
In middle school, she went to eat school lunches.
She get tired, you know, when she wake up in the morning.
When I'm dizzy like this, I don't get attached to things.
The way to live without spending money is to get involved with people.

Ashida-san stopped attending school a few months after entering elementary school. She started attending a free school with her older brother, who was also truant. When one of her older friends she met there started junior high school, she decided to go to junior high school herself. Since she could not get up in the morning, she went to school only to eat school lunch or in the afternoon, and she seemed to enjoy her junior high school life. In high school, she chose a regular high school with uniforms because he wanted to wear loose socks. After that, she wanted to remain a student, so she went to a vocational school where she could learn English. After graduating from vocational school, She worked at various part-time jobs where I could learn English and technology. Then, when she was 24 years old, she traveled abroad alone for the first time.
That solo trip led to a lifestyle of saving money in the spring, summer, and fall and going abroad in the winter. Such a lifestyle continued for several years, and then She went to New Zealand on her first and last working holiday. She liked the first guesthouse she stayed at and ended up working there as a helper. Working at the guesthouse, she was able to save money on accommodation, learn English, and get to know travelers from various countries. After that, she continued to move from one place to another in New Zealand, but her visa was about to expire, so she returned to Japan in tears.

After returning to Japan, she went to Hokkaido, worked in hotels and guesthouses, traveled around Hokkaido for a month with people she recruited on FB, and so on. On that trip, she went to Shakotan, where she is currently working, and told us how much he liked it.
After that, while traveling abroad, she worked at guesthouses in Kyoto and Takayama, and worked part-time in farming near her parents' house, in Hokkaido, and in Wakayama. Then, in April of this year, he got a job at a gin company in Shakotan, which he had been interested in for a long time. I was surprised that Ashida-san got the job.

As for school, you don't have to go to school if you don't want to, but if you want to learn how to cooperate, you should go to school because society is mostly an environment where you are forced to cooperate. After graduating from school and going out into the world, She realized that there are a lot of things you can learn by getting paid.
What you should do when you are a student is to get away from school and the place you are used to before you go out into the world. She would like you to enjoy your gap year. Also, you should use the student discount while you can. If there is something you want to try, you should try it and make a lot of mistakes. She also said, "If you want to try something, you should just try it and make a lot of mistakes.

She showed us lots of pictures from all over!

I told you about my trip to Paris with Ashida, but I hardly remember anything from that time.
I have traveled abroad many times, but I was more interested in staying in beautiful places and eating delicious food, so it was completely different from how Ashida enjoys traveling abroad. Of course, interaction with the local people was also minimal. Now I think that Ashida's way of enjoying foreign countries is also good.
After listening to Ashida's story, I realized once again that Ashida is a cheerful and refreshing place to live. She told me that she doesn't get attached to things when she lives this way, and I think this is reflected in her humanity as well. I hope that Ashida will continue to enjoy life with curiosity, without thinking too much or getting attached.

I don't know how long she will be able to continue her work as a Regional Development Cooperation Volunteer in Shakotan, but I hope she will continue to enjoy it, laughing. When she get used to her job, I would like to hear more about Shakotan. I am going to visit Shakotan, too!