Was it fate that brought me to Ukiha?

I have toast for breakfast. I make shallow crisscross cuts on thick slices of bread, spread on chocolate sauce or peanut butter from Taiwan, and toast them. It's sweet and salty and soooo delicious.

I came to Japan in 2016. I spent three years in Taiwan after graduating from college because my parents were worried that I’d be taken advantage of if I didn't gain work experience first. At home, people see me as gullible (laughs). I got a job at a Japanese company, and my first posting was in Fukuoka City. From there, I traveled all over Japan selling ice cream to businesses. At that time, my Japanese was still not very good, especially when it came to talking on the phone when I couldn’t see the other person's face. In Taiwan, we say “Huh?” when we want someone to repeat what they just said. It’s different from the way people use “Huh?” in Japanese. When I would report back to my office from a business trip, I would often say “Huh?” and would be scolded by my boss.

After that, I changed jobs to work for a mail-order company and was put in charge of the Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong areas, but when COVID-19 hit, I was laid off. At that time, I was living with my husband in Fukuoka City in a small house, and we couldn't go outside or meet people. When I was working in sales, I became friends with older women in rural areas and locals in places like the island of Amami Oshima, so I thought it might be nice to live in the countryside. I searched for jobs in rural areas and came across the "Regional Development Cooperation Corps”*1. Local governments from all over Japan were posting openings. But of all the places I traveled for work, I loved Fukuoka Prefecture the most. It feels like home. When I searched for opportunities in Fukuoka Prefecture, I found a listing for an opening in Ukiha City, and the deadline was one week away. It felt like destiny.

*1: Regional Development Cooperation Corps: A program for individuals who are willing to relocate from urban to rural areas and engage in community support activities. Corps members are appointed by municipalities.

Working for the "Regional Development Cooperation Corps”

After an interview, I was hired to work in a department responsible for promoting the attractive and appealing points of Ukiha City. But I had no defined role. I was told to figure out what I wanted to do for the town and set up my own work, and that I could use the available budget. It was quite a change from earning money for a company and now being told to spend it. I even wondered if it was really okay to spend it (laughs). I appeared on programs introducing the Fukuoka and Saga areas and shared information on social media. But I was the only non-Japanese person working at the city office, which was a bit unsettling. After looking into it, I found out that Ukiha City has a population of 27,000 people, with about 500 foreign nationals. I didn’t know any foreigners in the city, even though there were quite a few of them. Many, especially the technical intern trainees, were just working and had no time to visit the area’s beautiful terraced rice paddies*2. It seemed like such a waste. I thought that one way to successfully promote the city’s attractive areas was to make the local and foreign residents aware of them, and that this would also help members of the foreign community connect with one another. So, I started an international exchange community called "Enjoy Ukiha”.

As part of the cooperative program, I rented a terraced rice field and started growing rice. We turned the rice planting, harvesting, and harvest festivals into events for “Enjoy Ukiha”. We rented a car from city hall and invited foreigners to join us for a farming experience at the terraced rice fields. I also wanted people to know more about Taiwan, so I arranged for a feature page to be included in the city's public relations magazine. In the second year, I organized a photo exhibition called “A Glimpse into Everyday Life in Taiwan”, which featured photos taken by my Taiwanese friends. In the third year, I put together and translated materials on Ukiha City and traveled to Taiwan to introduce Fukuoka Prefecture’s cities, towns, and villages at business meetings with travel agencies.

*2: Beautiful terraced rice fields: "Tsuzura terraced rice fields" in the Shinkawa district of Ukiha City

Starting Over in Ukiha

I graduated from the cooperative program at the end of March this year and decided to stay in Ukiha City. I also opened a Taiwanese tea shop. The program gave me many opportunities to connect with the local community, and now I often run into familiar faces on the street. When we got married at the local Wakamiya Hachiman Shrine last November, many friends from the community came to watch. So, I thought, if I’m going to start a business, it has to be here! (laughs) I want the tea shop not simply to be a space to sell tea--I want it to be a place where people can immerse themselves in Taiwanese culture. I want to be a bridge between Japan and Taiwan.

I also made business cards. It’s common to have the same surname in Taiwan, so when someone says "Huang," it’s hard to know which Huang they’re talking about. That’s why we use nicknames. My nickname is "Zuzu”, so I wrote "Call me Zuzu!” on my business card. I think it helps people build connections more quickly.

I recently found a nice building near Shirakabe-dori and moved in. The tea shop is on the first floor, and I live on the second and third floors. My new work and life have just begun.