Palm Novel "Traveling Somewhere" Vol.4|A young man who has just found a job as a new graduate chooses his next place

There are as many reasons and styles to travel as there are people. This may be especially true for solo travelers.
A series of palm novels that depict fragments of such a journey is "Traveling Somewhere."
The main character this time is a 23-year-old young man who has just gotten a job at a foreign-affiliated IT company as a new graduate. What is the place where he went out into society with his heart full of hope, but when he realized the gap between his "own personality" and his "own personality", he chose to be.

It's been a month since I started working.
He had just celebrated his 23rd birthday.

I worked for a foreign-affiliated IT company.
It is also introduced in the media as an "excellent company".

I was assigned to the sales department as I wanted.
I was confident in my ability to work with people.

Ever since I was little, I have always been a leader for my classmates. In elementary school, he devoted himself to soccer in the lower division of the J.League in his neighborhood, and in junior high and high school, he led the team as a captain.

At university, I started a futsal team with friends from other universities in search of opportunities to meet people instead of athletic events. It started in the midst of the Corona disaster, but I still can't forget the excitement I felt when I talked to the other person face-to-face and communicated with them directly.

That's why I wanted to meet more people and expand my world as a salesperson in society.

But the reality was different.
Based on sales lists made from inquiries and business cards at exhibitions, I keep calling people I don't even know face-to-face.

I had heard that there were a lot of telephone sales, but I didn't expect it to be this much.
"Again," he said coldly.
People sarcastically say, "Even though you're selling a customer management system, can't you manage your sales destinations?"

As a member of the LINE generation, I wasn't good at communicating over the phone.
A senior says, "Once you get used to it, it will be interesting if you can talk directly with the other person on ZOOM."

The next step is to have a business meeting on ZOOM...
I really want to meet and talk.
I wanted to see their facial expressions, feel the atmosphere, and relate to people. However, what I was given was a day of continuous phone calls. Even if you put it on, you can't get a response.

hometown

Golden Week.
After a long absence, I returned to my hometown.

The moment you get off the station and inhale the scent of the town,
The back of my chest slowly became hot.
Passing through the route of high school commuting.
Every time I met someone, they would ask me if I was doing well.

Simply As I walked through the town's shopping streets, I saw a number of shuttered shops.
When I was in high school, the place that used to be a detour after school was
Now quietly, he was left behind by the passage of time.

Even when I was in college, I used to go back to my parents' house during the year-end and New Year holidays.
At that time, it was just an obligatory short period of time.
I haven't paid attention to the changes in the town or the people.

Until recently, I had been unquestionably choosing a future to settle in Tokyo.
During a visit to an alumnus while looking for a job, my current boss, who is close to his hometown, talked about his plan to buy an apartment in the bay area. Before I knew it, I had envisioned it as an ideal future.

After moving to Tokyo to go to university,
In my mind, I am gradually moving away from the existence of my hometown. It may have been 。

Certainly, when we talked about our hometowns at a drinking party in my second year of university, many of us were from Tokyo and Kanagawa, but when I told them where I was from, I was asked a series of curious questions, such as "What kind of place was it?" and "What did you play?"

Since then, I've become a little reluctant to talk about my "hometown" at drinking parties.
But now, it's just embarrassing.

I returned to Tokyo and quit my job using a retirement agency.
His hands were surprisingly calm as he casually signed the papers.

I could have told my boss directly.
However, when I think about the dry corporate culture of the company,
I thought it would be okay for me to deal with the dry.
It was a feeling of modest resistance.

I no longer found meaning in looking into the future in Tokyo.
I wanted to give back to my hometown, which laid the foundation for my life.
In the back of that thought, there was certainly a sense of remorse for myself for keeping my hometown away from me until now.

After returning to his hometown, he got a job at a tourism association through the introduction of an acquaintance.
He helped with town events, showed up at the morning market, and stood at the tourist office.
Every day, every day, I meet people face-to-face and exchange words.
Your impression will become your impression of the town.
While feeling such a responsibility,
I can see the expressions on the other person's faces and feel the atmosphere while working.

"Did you use a retirement agency?"
I was laughed at by the local elders.

"You're an idiot, aren't you?"
The words, which were neither serious nor joking, felt strangely warm.

I understand that there was a nuance of "this is your place" in it.

Fast forward 10 years

Ten years have passed since then.
During Golden Week, just after I got a job, I was 23 years old and looked back at my hometown.
Somewhere, I came back with an apologetic feeling.
I didn't regain my confidence right away.

Still, he has now opened a café in his hometown.
They serve dishes made with local ingredients to tourists and townspeople alike.

The person in charge of cooking is a classmate who talked about his dreams with me in high school.
We once went our separate ways in Tokyo.
In my hometown, I was to stand shoulder to shoulder again.

To be honest, I don't know if working at a tourism association was for me.
However, the connections I made with people at that time,
He has laid the foundation for this store today.

Locals and tourists alike,
And now, people from this town who are struggling in Tokyo are also
"I want to create a place where people want to stop by."
I'm going to give shape to that idea little by little from now on.

here After returning to the Relying on the feeling of thinking about my hometown, which I had almost forgotten in my life in Tokyo,
I walked at my own rhythm.
Beyond that, there was a place that I could finally call a place where I belonged.

You have resigned from the company on behalf of your resignation.
I still sometimes wonder if that was a good thing.
It is still teased locally.
At the end of my life in Tokyo, I feel like I've added a little "miso".

But that's also my starting point.
It is because I used a retirement agency that I am alive here now.
It may be embarrassing, but I think so now.

However, I hope that the people from the towns who have moved to Tokyo will be able to
I want you to come back without using a retirement agency.

This is the 29th consecutive year of population inflow into the Tokyo area.

Since 1996, the Tokyo metropolitan area (1 Tokyo and 3 prefectures) has seen an excess of 119,337 people moving in for 29 consecutive years, and in 2024, 119,337 people moved in (of which about 80,000 people in Tokyo). In particular, there is a remarkable tendency for young people aged 18 to 25 to move to Tokyo from rural areas to go on to higher education or find employment, and then settle in the Tokyo area. This long-term accumulation of population inflows into the Tokyo area has had an impact on the decline in the population of rural areas and the decline in regional vitality. (Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications " Basic Resident Register Migration Report 2024 」）