Hello everyone. I am Tomohiro Nakamichi from Shibecha Town.
In this "Shibecha Biyori", I will tell you about the charms of Shibecha Town from my point of view. It has been about 6 months since I moved to Hokkaido, and as I live in the midst of nature, I have come to realize many things, so I would like to write about them. About six months have passed since I moved to Hokkaido. It has been a dizzying six months running along with my daily life, but I would like to take another look at my life in Hokkaido.

My house is located at the foot of a mountain, at the far end of Shibecha Town. It is a 30-minute drive from the Shibecha town hall where I work, and the weather is very different from the urban area of Shibecha. Even if it is sunny in the city center, there is a storm where I live, and vice versa.

The weather can change drastically within an hour, and nature makes me excited every time I wake up in the morning, wondering what the weather will be like today. Spring, summer, and fall are all dynamically changing, and I am overwhelmed by the daily changes in nature, to the point where I wonder how many seasons there are in fall alone.

Autumn in Hokkaido is very short, but that makes its beauty stand out

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But that being said, the breathtaking views from time to time are also one of the best parts of living in nature. A herd of deer walking across the plains at sunset, a great white swan flying in formation over a larch forest, or a fox cub or two frolicking on the road. My life and state of mind have changed dramatically since I lived in Chiba.

The sound of winter is already approaching in Hokkaido. I feel happy even in the smallest nature

. The greatest advantage of living in nature is that it allows us to see things in a simplified way. Being able to eat three meals a day in five body parts. Gratitude for the sun. The gentleness of the wind as it caresses your cheeks in the new spring. To put it more exaggeratedly, you can realize that you are even thankful to be alive.

When I was in the city, I was swept away by the economic system, and I was swept away by methodologies, losing my individuality and being swallowed up by the waves of society. I don't mean to speak ill of the city at all, but I think it is just a matter of whether I fit in or not. I want to be able to live more simply, to feel more alive, and to be able to live a life with my feet firmly planted on the ground. I think that living in nature in Hokkaido suited me very well.

What I needed to do now was to focus on "living" and take off my armor, not on adding titles, abilities, or social recognition to my life. Living in nature has stripped me of many things, and my mind and body have become simpler and lighter.

Since we started living in Hokkaido, our dogs have grown both mentally and physically

People who live in Hokkaido, especially those who live in the nature, have one thing in common.
It is "simplicity.

There are many people who live in Hokkaido who are much more integrated into nature than I am, and I feel that they all have one thing in common: simplicity. I think it is the strength to give up and accept various things in a good sense.

Although they live in a harsh natural environment, especially in Hokkaido, where winters are very severe, the people who have survived the harshness of winter are very simple-minded. They do not ask for much, are grateful for the life they have, and cherish the connections they have with others.

People can never live alone. We need to help each other. That is why you, Nakamichi, should immediately ask for help when you are in trouble. And if you see someone in trouble, don't hesitate to help them. That is a very important thing for living here.

When I first moved here, I was told such a thing.
In the past six months, I have learned that what is needed to survive in the harsh natural environment is not a strong mind or a strong body, but to help each other, to accept everything, to be grateful for small happiness, and to live simply every day.

A fox taking a nap. You can feel that people and animals are still living in the same natural environment

. After living in Shibecha for six months, I have a renewed appreciation of the town's advantages, the first of which is its accessibility within the East Hokkaido area. Shibecha used to be a major transportation hub for the east of Hokkaido, and I feel that it is very convenient as a gateway to the east of Hokkaido. Shiretoko, Nemuro, and Kushiro are almost equidistant from the town, which is very convenient and accessible for me as a photographer of nature in the east of Hokkaido.

Another attraction is that, for better or worse, the amount of traffic does not change on weekdays or holidays. This allows me to live peacefully in my daily life, and I feel that it is a very suitable place to live in the East Hokkaido area because of its easy accessibility to everywhere.

Although Shibecha is not as glamorous as other nearby areas, it is a great place to live for those who are looking for a more relaxed lifestyle. For this reason, we would like to put more effort into promoting the town as a "residential area" in the future. On the Shibecha Town Regional Development Cooperation Volunteer Channel, we are constantly updating short movies that show the nature of Shibecha in autumn and the charm of Shibecha's businesses. The number of subscribers to our channel is now approaching the 500 mark, and we are aiming to reach 1,000 subscribers in the future. We try not to make the same kind of videos as much as possible, and we are creating this website with the hope that it will give the residents of Shibecha a new appreciation of the town's charms.

We update the website once a week, but we will increase the number of updates in the future to make people feel more familiar with Shibecha Town. If you have not seen our website yet, we would be very happy if you could take a look.
Hokkaido is finally entering its winter season, with the morning and evening temperatures getting colder and colder. The winter season is finally upon us, and life in the snow country will begin in earnest. I hope to continue living in Shibecha Town with a little anxiety and excitement in my heart, because I believe that the scenery will be more beautiful than the harshness of winter.

This is the third installment of this series. I would like to thank all the people who have always read my articles.
I hope to continue to share the charms of Shibecha Town with you in the future.