俊’s bar in Omori
Hi there, and welcome to 俊’s Bar in Omori-cho Shimane!
People who have been following me on other forms of social media or have personally talked to me might already be aware of my life choices that have led me to this tiny town of 400 people in the countrysides of Japan.
For those who are unfamiliar, as a quick introduction my name is Shunichi Ito, Shun for short, and I’m currently living in a town called Omori-cho (大森町), in Shimane (島根県). The prefecture can be considered another planet if Tokyo and Osaka are the only places on your radar. Don’t worry, it was essentially the same for me when I fist decided to come here in the first place, so you’re not alone!
I currently work for a lifestyle company called Gungendo (群言堂) which mostly makes its money from making and selling clothing. So we call ourselves a “lifestyle store”, but if you get down to the nuts and bolts of things, we’re a clothing and apparel store. Within this larger umbrella, I work in the development department called Nenoaru Henshu-Shitsu or the Editor Room with Roots (根のある暮らし編集室). This also is just a fancy word to say, my team has nothing to do with the development of clothing, or even really money at this point. The easiest way to explain this is that I’m essentially in the innovation team for Gungendo. We try to find various opportunities to make something more out of the lifestyle that can be found or made in the town of Omori.
The dope on the left is me, not sure what I was trying to go for though…
I think I’ll leave to how I got to this town for a later post, just because that in itself is a whole essay and a half, but I’ll try to explain what this blog in Omori is about.
In the simplest terms, I want to share with people what my life is like in this town of Omori to people who do not live here.
Even as a Japanese person, I had no idea what a life in the countrysides of Japan entailed, and I seem to run into all kinds of different things here in my daily life. But one thing is for sure, the life here is not “normal” nor is it “typical” by any means in the popular imagination of what life in contemporary Japan is. However that’s the narrative I want to take apart with this blog, and my overall theme for my website.
The “field” in which I live in is a lot more complicated than what the tourism guides make it seem about the Japanese countrysides. It’s not just about tradition, rice paddies, grandma’s and grandpa’s with their little vegetable gardens, and etc. (even though sometimes you can’t help but feel like it is!)
Grandmas
little gardens
Tradition
Alright… so it’s a little about tradition, rice paddies, grandma’s and grandpa’s and their little vegetable gardens, but the etc. is also important!!
What you can expect here is some daily life things, maybe some recipes I cook, cocktails I make, perhaps some more serious articles from my academic past, interviews of the towns people, anything can happen.
That red area is Shimane Prefecture. The easiest way to remember where it is, is that it’s right about Hiroshima.