"Daydreaming in a Share House" is a talk event where landlords and guests at Roopt, a share house utilizing retro properties, freely imagine fun ways of living, thinking "it would be nice to do this" and "it would be nice to have that." This second installment of the Shiogama Kaigan-dori edition invited Yuta Chida, who is from Shiogama City and currently bases his art activities there, to daydream about share house living in Shiogama.
This time, we delved into Mr. Chida's "eventful" life story and discussed the significance of share house living and the joys of life in Shiogama. The atmosphere was bright and filled with laughter from beginning to end, and some passionate discussions emerged, making us think, "Share houses are great" and "I'd love to live in a share house." Please enjoy reading on.
Born in Shiogama City, Miyagi Prefecture in 1980. Art coordinator and performer. Graduated from Miyagi University of Education. From 2011 to 2014, worked at the ART Revival Connection TOHOKU (now ARCT) secretariat, then served as its representative in 2015. Festival Manager for the "Sanriku International Arts Festival" from 2014 to 2018. Established "Arts Ground Tohoku" in 2016. Utilizing his experience as an elementary school teacher and in contemporary dance, he plans and produces projects for regional and performing arts in Tohoku.
First, let's briefly introduce Roopt Shiogama Kaigan-dori, the setting for this "daydreaming" session.
Roopt Shiogama Kaigan-dori is a four-story share house located about 30 minutes by train or car from Sendai Station, and a 1-minute walk from Hon-Shiogama Station on the JR Senseki Line. The second floor has a common space and rooms for vacation rentals, while the third and fourth floors have a total of five private rooms for share house residents. It's a place where you can experience Shiogama's "artistic" atmosphere, with bookshelves utilizing the height differences of the stairs, a tricolor painted ceiling, and tatami mats repurposed as wall decorations through renovation.
If you'd like to know more about Roopt Shiogama Kaigan-dori, please visit this share house information page.
Watanabe: Mr. Chida, you're from Sendai and spent your elementary and junior high school years in Shiogama, and then you experienced living abroad, right?
Chida: Yes, when I was in junior high, I went to Germany for a one-year exchange program and stayed with a family that had three boys. But I hated only hearing German around me and became homesick, so I would sleep in again after waking up because I didn't want to hear German. I'm sure my host family thought I was a heavy sleeper (laughs).
Watanabe: That's interesting right from the start (laughs).
Chida: After that, I got used to life in Germany, which was good, but on the other hand, I completely stopped speaking Japanese. It was a shock when I tried to speak Japanese with a Japanese person after six months and couldn't (laughs).
Watanabe: After such an eventful life in Germany, you came back to Japan, right?
Chida: I graduated from a local high school, went to Miyagi University of Education, and then worked as an elementary school teacher in Tokyo. I lived in a men's dormitory at university, and I also lived in a share house with friends in Tokyo, so looking back, I spent a long time living with people other than my family.
Watanabe: Please tell me more about your share house experiences later. Since you're currently active in the art world, being an elementary school teacher is a bit surprising. What was the reason for that?
Chida: Actually, I became an elementary school teacher to raise funds.
Watanabe: Raise funds, you say?
Chida: There was a pub in Sendai I frequented, and interesting people, like those involved in theater, often gathered there. I loved the atmosphere and dreamed of opening a similar place myself, but I needed funds. So, I planned to work as an elementary school teacher for about five years to save money, and then train at a restaurant for another five years before opening my own business.
Watanabe: So that was the plan! But you actually resigned after three years, not five.
Chida: Looking at the other teachers, they started being assigned important positions after about three years, and I thought, "If I continue for five years, it might be hard to quit," so I resigned after three years. At the same time, the share house with my friends broke up, and since I didn't have money then, I decided to go back to my parents' house, but in the end, I didn't go back home and went straight to Honduras instead (laughs).
Watanabe: That's quite a place to go (laughs).
Chida: My mother happened to be in Honduras for a dance production and asked me to come help her with the creation. I didn't have any plans for what to do next, and I had few belongings from share house living, so I just sent my unnecessary luggage to my parents' house and went straight to Honduras. That's how it happened.
Watanabe: By the way, who received that luggage?
Chida: I wonder what happened to it, I still don't know (laughs).
Watanabe: Was Honduras a completely different environment from Japan?
Chida: Yes, especially the public safety was completely different. For example, it was dangerous to walk outside, so I traveled mostly by taxi for almost all of my two-month stay, and ordinary shops had gun lockers. Unlike Japan, Honduras is a country where guns are widely available, so I was surprised by that gap.
Watanabe: It's hard to imagine if you haven't been there... Were there any memorable events during your previous stay in Germany?
Chida: I'll never forget Christmas Day. In Japan, it's customary for adults to give presents to children, but in Germany, each family member prepares and gives presents to everyone. Of course, I didn't know that, so I was the only one who didn't bring presents and just received them, which was quite embarrassing (laughs).
Watanabe: That's unbearable (laughs).
Chida: There were also many moments where I felt the difference from Japan, such as being allowed to drink and smoke from age 16, and a strong interest in politics. I think a big takeaway from living abroad was learning that "there are many differences you won't understand unless you live together."
Watanabe: The attitude of "it's natural for others to be different," like in overseas living, might also be important in share house living or family life.
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