I may only be able to do this now..." - "I've got a 'fluke' mindset after moving into a social apartment Social Apartment｜Neighbors Kyoto Nijo Castle

Neighbors Stories" is an interview with a resident who talks about encounters, changes, and growth at Social Apartment.

This time we interviewed Ms. Yukiko, a resident of Neighbors Kyoto Nijojo. In fact, she is a senior social apartment resident, having moved through four different social apartments.

At first glance, she appears to be a naturally active person, but she used to have a limited range of activities and friendships. What is the reason why she has changed to the point where she is now known as "Hukkaru na Yuki-chan"? What kind of days were behind this change?

─ Yukiko, first of all, please briefly introduce yourself!

Yukiko:
My name is Yukiko and I live in Neighbors Kyoto Nijojo. I am currently a web director, but before that I worked mainly in space direction, including stage lighting, interior store, and interior design director.

Yukiko: What kind of social apartments have you lived in so far?

Yukiko:
This is my fourth Social Apartment. I have lived in Social Apartment Mitaka, Neighbors Higashi Jujo, Neighbors Saginuma, and now Neighbors Kyoto Nijojo.

The main reason I moved was because of a job change or a change in my place of work, but I was also invited by a friend to live in a new Social Apartment when it opened.

I have lived in both types of social apartments, those with showers and bathrooms in the rooms and those without. I have experienced many different styles of social apartments, from the smallest property with 48 households to the largest property with 104 households in Higashi Jujo, the largest property in Japan. I have really enjoyed all of them!

─ How do you spend your holidays?

Yukiko:
Basically, I spend most of my time with my friends. I go to saunas and festivals with my friends from Social Apartment. I also have friends who come to Kyoto from the Kanto area and we go sightseeing together. Just next month I am planning to visit a friend who used to live in a social apartment overseas. I always find myself with a full schedule and enjoying life in Kyoto.

The first time I opened up to someone was in the kitchen when I said, "Let's go out to eat!

What made you decide to live in a social apartment?

Yukiko:
I wanted a change in my social life. After graduating from university, I was living alone in a standard rental apartment, but I felt that my days were becoming somewhat monotonous because I had fewer opportunities to get to know new people as I did when I was a student, so I wanted to change my rhythm and make new connections.
However, I was shy, so I was also anxious. People said to me, "Social apartments seem to be full of cheerful people" (laugh). (Laughs.) I am the type of person who can only talk to people with whom I can show my true feelings, so I was worried about whether I would fit in.

───Did you make friends right away at your first apartment in Mitaka?

Yukiko:
Actually, for the first year or so, I didn't go to the lounge much, and I didn't make enough people that I could call very good friends. In the beginning, I was working on weekends and coming home late.
To make matters worse, I had a boyfriend shortly after moving in who had nothing to do with the property...
If you actively use the lounge, you might develop a relationship with other tenants right away, like a romantic reality show... I was so convinced that I couldn't go to the lounge... (laughs). (laughs). (laughs). It's interesting now that I think about it.

─ Was there a turning point for you?

Yukiko:
One day, about a year after I moved in, I was cooking in the kitchen when a kind "older sister" said, "Let's go out to dinner sometime! I'd like to have a good talk with you. That made me very happy.

After I said goodbye to him as well, I changed jobs and changed to weekends off, so it was the right time for me to have more time to spend with other residents. That's when I started going to the lounge more easily and became deeply involved with many different people. I met an older man who was sociable and talked to everyone, and a good friend who was a "mother with a heart of gold" character who became like family, and I gradually began to open up to them. I even spoke English with foreign residents in the lounge late at night (to be honest, I almost always had someone translate for me, lol). I think that the accumulation of such everyday experiences helped me to break out of my shell little by little. I feel like I have finally fulfilled my wish to have new friends.

My experience in Mitaka, surrounded by warm people, has made me want to live in another social apartment to meet new people.

Top left: Graduation arch / Top right: Sap at Shimanto River in Kochi / Bottom left: The SAUNA in the middle of winter / Members of the same age who are still good friends

Through repeated encounters and changes, I found myself with 200 friends.

─ ─ You mentioned that you moved to Higashijujo and Saginuma after moving out of your property in Mitaka in 2020. What was life like in each?

Yukiko:
In each property, I feel that I was blessed with the people who live there, and I was able to experience many different worlds.

Higashi Jujo is a large property with 104 households, so it was a community with diverse tastes and interests. Fishing and music lovers, sauna regulars, cooking enthusiasts.... It was also through living in Higashi Jujo that I got my diving license. It was so stimulating to encounter a world I didn't know.
And anyway, there were a lot of people who liked to drink, and there were groups of people who talked until morning at the lounge table, so Higashi-Jujo was really lively.
Although I lived here as an opening member, I did not have the courage to join the group at first.... I was making friends in the kitchen, which I had also experienced in Mitaka, and before I knew it, I was part of a group that talked until morning (laughs).

Top left: When I went to get a diving license / Top right: Dumb clothes championship at the lounge / Bottom left: Camping in Gunma / Bottom right: Visiting a friend in Higashi Jujo who moved to the Philippines

I moved to Saginuma at the invitation of my best friend, whom I had befriended in Mitaka and whom I affectionately called my "mother with a heart of gold. Reuniting and living together again is something that can only happen at a social apartment.
I also went out for yakiniku with my "overtime friends," and when I was down at work, there were people who supported me and saved my life many times. I enjoyed my days in Saginuma, too, surrounded by warm and homey people.

Looking back, I think the number of my friends has increased considerably. I probably have about 200 more friends... (laughs). (laughs).

Top left: Saginuma anniversary party / Top right: Fumotoppara campsite / Bottom left: Cherry blossom viewing at a nearby park / Bottom right: New Year's Eve countdown in the lounge

A year from now, it may surely not be possible to do this anymore.

─ What prompted you to move to Neighbors Kyoto Nijojo, where you currently live?

Yukiko:
I had always wanted to live in Kyoto. It just so happened that the headquarters of the company I am currently working for is located in Kyoto, so I thought it was the right time to live there. I have changed my environment since living at Social Apartment, and I have come to love all the properties and the city, so I knew that this time around would be just as enjoyable.

▲The moving road trip from Tokyo to Kyoto. They started from Tokyo and took a break and sightseeing in Shizuoka and Nagoya.

───Rumor has it that you moved from Tokyo to Kyoto by car?

Yukiko:
Five friends from Higashi Jujo helped me and we moved in a Hiace. I was the one who initiated the move, but we stopped at a sauna in Nagoya on the way and turned the move into a road trip!

▲The road trip of moving from Tokyo to Kyoto. They were very sad to say goodbye.

─ ─ That's active! You are very good with your time.

Yukiko-san:
I was surrounded by wonderful people in all the properties, and I learned how to use my time from the people I met. I genuinely enjoyed being exposed to the warmth of the people in the social apartments, meeting new hobbies, and being exposed to values I didn't know existed, and it was fun to update my scope of activities and mindset. I had many opportunities and invitations to visit every property, and I found myself going everywhere as long as my schedule allowed, and was given the title of "Hukkaru" (laughs).

─ ─ You mentioned that your schedule tended to fill up on weekends. Why did you basically not turn down invitations?

Yukiko:
I think it was because I became of the mindset that "I should do what I can do now because it may not be possible to do it again in a year's time. I have met many places and people, but eventually we will have to say goodbye.
It is not a lifelong separation, but I felt firsthand that you can only meet certain people so often for a certain period of time. The friends I met at the social apartment showed me many worlds I did not know and all of them were very exciting. As I responded to their invitations, I naturally developed the ability to take action.

─ Finally, do you have a message for those who are not sure about moving into a social apartment?

Yukiko:
I used to be a shy person, but as I experienced and met many people at Social Apartment, I naturally changed. But you don't have to force yourself to change, and you don't have to make more than 100 friends! Still, I think you can meet at least one person who will definitely be important to you. Just by having that feeling of "this looks like fun" or "I'm a little curious," something will surely begin to happen.
If you're not sure, just take a leap of faith and go for it. If you don't like it, just stay in your room. The best place to take the first step is in the kitchen. Someone will surely talk to you!

[Editor's Postscript
Yukiko is, after all, very quick to reply. She responded immediately to our interview requests and schedule adjustments, even though she must be very busy! I was surprised at how quickly she responded to all of them, even though she must be very busy! What was also conveyed to me through her conversation was that Yukiko-san is very good at having fun. I felt that Yukiko has the ability to act with a "now or never" attitude, and also the ability to enjoy any situation. Every environment and situation has its good and bad. The secret to enjoyment is how you interpret the situation within yourself. In this respect, Yukiko may have made every experience her own. Where will Yukiko go next? I am looking forward to seeing what the future holds.

(Interview and text by Hayashi / Photos by Uchida)