Hard work at a Japanese company was "killing me.

After five years at a university in California, Mr. Kikuchi worked for a local environmental consulting firm for two years, and when he was 25 years old, he moved to a Japanese consulting firm.

However, he was accustomed to the American way of working, which values holidays and private time, so he experienced a "reverse culture shock" at how hard he had to work. He had a meeting at 3:00 a.m., and it was normal for him to be preparing documents at 5:00 a.m. for ....... "My bosses would say, 'How can you sleep?

My boss would stab himself in the thigh with a ballpoint pen because he was too sleepy to do anything about it. In that kind of environment, I thought, 'If I keep doing this for another year, I'm going to die, both physically and mentally. I thought, 'If I continue in such an environment for another year, I'll probably die both physically and mentally.

After retiring from his Tokyo company at the age of 27, Kikuchi devoted himself to dressage for two years. Among all living creatures, Kikuchi loved horses. The reason was that they were beautiful. With money he had not had time to spend before, he stayed at the home of the director of an equestrian team in New Zealand, where he also encountered beautiful scenery.

I am interested in the environment because I have always loved beautiful natural scenery and animals. I want to protect the environment as one way to preserve it. The landscape in New Zealand felt like California before it was developed, and it was really beautiful. I am still doing many things, but at the top of the list is always the main theme, 'I want to create beautiful landscapes.

However, life without work did not last long, and before he knew it, his savings had dwindled to zero. Through personal connections, he found work as a researcher at Tohoku University and at a consulting firm, and 11 years passed.

The turning point came when I was 38 years old. I met Emiko, whom I had met at a university in California and had not been in contact with since then, and we met again in Tokyo over 20 years later. Within six months, they were married quickly. Emiko was tired of living in Tokyo, and Kikuchi wanted to be more involved in environmental issues and live with horses, so they decided to leave Tokyo.

America, Tokyo, Iwate...... and Shiraoi

Kikuchi chose Tono City in Iwate Prefecture, one of Japan's leading horse production areas, where he was able to adopt two farm horses through social networking sites. Horses eat grass and use its power to carry people and cargo. This is a renewable energy source," he realized, and began "building a community where horses and people live together" in Tono.

At that time, Tono City was holding a community development event called "Tono Mirai Souzou College. Mr. Kikuchi also participated in this project.

Several years later, the town of Shiraoi asked Mr. Kikuchi to speak at a community development seminar attended by more than 100 people as a practitioner of the "Tono Mirai Souzou College. The president of a major skincare company in Tokyo, which was building a new facility of its own in Shiraoi, proposed "Tono Mirai Souzou College" to the town.

This was my first encounter with Shiraoi Town. This was my first encounter with Shiraoi Town, and it was also the first time I learned that Shadai, a world-class horse breeding facility, was located in Shiraoi. At the time, I wanted to change the environment for horses, and I was still accepting consulting jobs in Tokyo. So I thought, 'Why not Hokkaido, too? I thought, 'Why not Hokkaido, too?

Mr. Kikuchi's ranch is located in the "Shadai" area, about a 10-minute drive from haku. Two horses live freely on the pasture, which is about the size of the Tokyo Dome. I can't compete with the beauty of other countries, but the landscape of Shadai has potential, and I want to show it off. I want to showcase that," Kikuchi said.

Thus, in 2017, he moved to Shiraoi-cho with his wife, daughter, and two horses. In order to secure a base of income, he applied for the Shiraoi-cho Regional Development Cooperation Corps.

The roller coaster ride was not good (laughs). At one point, my savings went to zero again, and I am scared. I'm scared, but I have no choice but to keep going.