That day, we were sitting across from each other
at a Doutor Coffee on Dogenzaka in Shibuya.
It was late July, 2024.
Early afternoon, and the café was crowded with people.
The seats were so close—maybe only 30 centimeters apart—
yet somehow, I didn’t notice anything around us.
We spread an A4 notebook across the small rectangular table,
and Moriyan and I began writing down what we truly wanted to do.
We wanted to travel the world.
To meet people, to exchange cultures and perspectives.
To experience as much as we could.
We put those desires into words, honestly and directly.
But the ending was always the same.
How?
What about money?
Is this even possible for us right now?
The moment we started thinking about it,
we would stop there.
We had already tried many things.
Moriyan considered qualifications to work abroad,
and I started blogs and social media, hoping to work from anywhere.
But each path stopped somewhere along the way.
Sometimes it just didn’t feel right.
Sometimes we felt defeated, thinking it was impossible without money.
It was a cycle we couldn’t break.
But that day felt a little different.
“There must be a way.”
I think we could believe that—not because we were searching for a perfect solution,
but because we were searching for a way not to stop halfway.
If we kept thinking the same way,
we would just return to the same place.
So we tried to stay as calm as possible
and really listen to each other.
The ice in our iced tea had completely melted,
and the napkin underneath was soaked through.
And then, we saw a path.
Maybe we didn’t need to go abroad
to exchange cultures and perspectives.
Maybe we could share our everyday life
from where we already were—
and send it out into the world.
We decided to share our lives on YouTube.
What people call a vlog.
We opened YouTube right there,
wondering if anyone was already doing something similar.
And then we saw him.
Among the popular creators,
there was one young man who felt simple and sincere.
His numbers weren’t huge yet,
but he felt like someone who was steadily growing.
Looking at him, I thought—
Maybe we can do this too.
His presence lowered the barrier of that first step
more than anything else.
“Let’s try.”
The moment we said that,
it felt like our eyes suddenly opened.
We had found something.
I still remember when we uploaded our first video.
There was excitement—like something was about to begin—
and also fear—wondering how people would react.
Those feelings mixed together,
leaving us slightly restless.
To be honest, it felt a little embarrassing.
Especially the thought of people in Japan watching us.
So quietly, in my heart, I hoped—
“I want this to reach people overseas who love Japan.”
When we uploaded our first video,
the only viewers were the two of us.
With the second video, my mother joined—so three.
When the view count reached seven,
we were so happy, thinking someone had found us.
But later, we realized—
it was all just us.
We laughed a little.
Back then,
I wasn’t thinking, “I am here.”
I was simply focused on what was in front of me,
just continuing to post.
But now, looking back—
Maybe that’s exactly what it was.
Nothing is complete yet.
But from that day on,
something definitely began to change.
That’s how I feel.