Living by Doing What You Love - Ray
Konichiwa my dude, right! Oh, hello everyone, it's Ray here! :)
It's been two years since I started "Rays Lighthouse" and "Konichiwa My Dude." Even though the names might sound playful, trust me, I'm super serious. Hahaha!
I work in the inbound tourism industry, usually creating videos for foreigners who love Japan. But today, I've got a video for all you Japanese folks out there!
As the title suggests, today's topic is about living by doing what you love. It might not be as grand as those videos about famous people living their passions, but hey, I hope you'll still give it a listen.
Well, let's rewind a bit to the past. Back when I was 20, my life was seriously ordinary. I went to an average university, studied economics, worked part-time jobs, and had a typical life of hanging out with friends and having occasional adventures. Super normal, you know?
Around the age of 20, everyone around me was starting job hunting or doing internships, and I was just lost without any idea of what I wanted to do in the future. I was like, "What should I do?" I didn't have any special skills either.
It was around that time that a middle school friend invited me to join an international exchange program. I had zero interest in international exchange or English, but I thought, "Well, I'm free, so why not?" I tagged along.
When I arrived at the event venue, there were about a hundred foreigners, and the atmosphere was buzzing with excitement. I felt a mix of fear and awe. An American guy there started talking to me. He was bilingual and had studied Japanese for two years, reaching nearly native-level fluency.
That was the first time I made friends with foreigners, and I learned about the concept of studying abroad. From that day on, I started hanging out with foreigners every day. They all said they loved Japan! Those words really struck a chord with me. We went to karaoke, izakayas (Japanese pubs), game centers, and had a blast. It was the first time I thought, "I want to work in English, I want to work in the inbound industry, I want to promote Japan to the world."
For the first time in my life, I found something I wanted to pursue.
So, my values and perspectives were completely turned upside down. English became my focus, and I thought speaking English would be so cool. The following year, I took a gap year and went to Brisbane, Australia, for about 10 months to study.
On the first day in Australia, I was all pumped up, ready to give it my all, but then I faced racism right away. It really got me down. While I was on a bus, someone said, "Hey, you, you Asian piece of crap." Well, I didn't have time to dwell on it. After all, my peers were in the midst of job hunting at that very moment!
Being a broke university student, I didn't have much money. I stayed in a room with 8 other people, wore sandals from the 100 yen store because I couldn't afford proper shoes, and even went outside barefoot.
I enrolled in a language school and took a placement test, which put me between beginner and intermediate levels. Basically, I couldn't really hold a conversation. So, I studied like crazy from 6 in the morning until 10 at night, determined to improve. I didn't want to waste time commuting, so I read textbooks while walking. Crazy, right? I didn't even have money for bus fare.
At that point, I was studying English, but I still didn't have a clear idea of what exactly I wanted to do.
So, at the school, there were all sorts of people – Japanese athletes aspiring for the Olympics, folks with government jobs, programmers, CEOs – a truly diverse mix. It was really inspiring.
I went to school, did some work, studied English like crazy, and talked with people from various countries. I used to be extremely shy, but since I had to talk to random strangers in Australia, my shyness vanished quickly. Seriously, if you want to get over shyness, just go abroad. :)
After living there for about 10 months, my savings had dwindled to 50,000 yen. I did work, but got fired soon and realized it was time to return home. So, I came back. My English had improved to an upper-intermediate level by then. After returning, I got involved in internships related to assisting students coming to Japan for studies. I worked as a tour guide for foreign students, provided support, and even taught Japanese. That was the first time I earned money through English.
Until then, I had paid to learn English, but now I was earning with it. I felt truly happy and realized that being a Japanese person who could speak English was a valuable asset. Of course, it's a tool, but still.
After coming back, I spent a lot of time with foreign people who came to Japan. I went to Shibuya every day and hung out with foreigners. Karaoke, izakayas, game centers – we did it all every day, cheering "kanpai!" (cheers) and having a blast. For foreigners, Japan is a special and unique country. The popularity of anime is impressive too.
I focused my job hunt on English. Job hunting had its challenges, but I managed to find a job. I was interested in teaching Japanese, so I also attended a specialized school for teaching Japanese, along with my university studies. I graduated from both in 2020.
The schedule back then was crazy. University classes from 9 AM, English studies from 12 PM to 6 PM, then specialized school from 6 PM to 9 PM. On top of that, I had to cycle more than 10 kilometers each way to school. So, I'd get home around midnight every day. Yep, I worked hard.
Alright, it's time to start working as a new employee, right? So, I started in April, all motivated. But come July, the business I was in had to withdraw due to COVID-19. I was like, "Oh no!" Well, they said they would support us until the next March, so that was a bit of relief. I couldn't help but think, "What were my efforts for?" With Japan fully locked down, I couldn't do the inbound work I had wanted for so long. I started searching for a job in inbound tourism and English, but nothing came up. It was truly shocking, and I was at the lowest point in my life. I didn't know when COVID-19 would end, and I felt like inbound tourism was all I had.
Before I knew it, I developed autonomic nervous system disorder. I became a shut-in, lacked energy, and felt like I didn't want to do anything. It was like, "What should I do?" I started hearing hallucinations, like voices saying, "You're useless," and old negative memories resurfaced vividly. It was really tough!
At one point, I realized this couldn't go on, but I had no job prospects.
So, in that moment, I suddenly had a realization. I thought, "Ah, I should do what I love!" I decided to establish my own inbound tourism business and create a big company, like, "I'll show them!" That sort of feeling.
But seriously, starting an inbound tourism business in the midst of a pandemic like this? That's a risky move. Many people strongly opposed it. They said it would definitely fail. It was really frustrating. But I was determined to succeed! So, on July 7th, 2021, I founded Rays Lighthouse/KMD!
I had no connections, no money, and no track record. My savings were around 100,000 yen. I wondered where to start, so I self-taught myself how to create a website from scratch.
With Rays Lighthouse, I wanted to do various things like interpretation, translation, organizing tours, teaching Japanese, and hosting events. So, I set up the website to offer these services. And the website was ready. But guess what? No bookings were coming in at all! Well, of course, nobody knew me, so that was natural. In the beginning, some people were only willing to pay me 500 yen a day.
So, I started uploading videos about Japan like crazy on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok! I uploaded about 100 videos on YouTube and reached a subscriber limit of 3,000. It wasn't growing at all. On TikTok and Instagram, I posted around 1,600 videos. As a result, my total social media followers reached about 50,000. Then, while walking around Tokyo, sometimes people would come up to me and say, "I'm a fan!" I was like, "A fan?" It felt strange.
During this time, it was the height of the pandemic, and there were issues beyond just inbound tourism. So, I decided to work online and wait until Japan reopened. I created online lessons, translations, and online content. In the online content sphere, I started a membership, wrote four books, and even began composing music under the name "Ryume." I did about 500 translations and over 1,000 lessons, and finally, things started to pick up.
I started doing things I wanted to do and found interesting.
But good things don't always last, right? I got scammed in a translation project. I was being cautious, but I was a "yes man" at the time, accepting any work that came my way. Big mistake! I lost two months' worth of pay. I must have been too naive or stupid. I also started getting offers for influencer work, but it turned out to be a scam where they promised to pay once I brought in clients. I felt deceived by the company. I thought, "Wow, society can be so scary."
While my online content was starting to succeed, it was a bit different from the inbound tourism I really wanted to do. My main goal was to offer tours, interpretation, events, and bring in international students. I continued this work for about a year and a half, and finally, in October 2022, it was decided that Japan would reopen. I was watching TV when I heard the news, and I jumped up in joy. As I mentioned earlier, my autonomic nervous system disorder seemed to disappear the moment I heard that news. I thought, "Finally, I can do what I love!" But reality wasn't as sweet as I hoped. Just because Japan was opening in October didn't mean tourists would suddenly flood in.
Around April 2023, the number of tourists finally began to increase. So, I endured for three years. With this, I started receiving tour clients, gained experience as an interpreter, and successfully executed large programs for welcoming international students. It felt so great. I had experienced almost everything that the inbound tourism industry had to offer.
Over these years, my mindset has been all about living for what I love! However, I faced skepticism from various people. Friends and bosses told me, "You can't do it, can you?" and "Why are you dreaming so much?" I told them that the times when I had no dreams or desires in my teens were much tougher than this. Now, I can finally make a living doing what I love. Moving forward, I intend to keep challenging myself in various ways, even if my dreams are laughed at.
Currently, I have two big dreams:
One is to organize international exchange and live events at ZEPP venues. I've never heard of anyone doing international exchange live events. But I want to provide the kind of life-changing exchange event that I experienced.
The second dream is to establish a ryokan-style hostel in Kyoto. I want to create a memorable place like the hostels in Australia. Making this facility will require over 100 million yen, so it's a dream that's still far off. But I'm determined to make it happen. I want to continue living through my passions.
As the first step towards these new dreams, I've rented a venue with a capacity for 300 people. It's for my first live event. On December 8th, I'm organizing an international exchange live event. A well-known drummer named Tobines is coming all the way from the UK to play drums. Bass will be handled by my music composer Ryume. And I've asked my cousin to play the guitar. I don't know how many people will show up, but I'm determined to give it a shot! Since starting my ventures, I've faced many challenges and things that didn't go well, so I'm okay with it! So, please come.
I think if I, or anyone, were to talk about dreams with others, they'd be laughed at. To those who come to deny me, I think, "Do you even understand how passionate I am?" A very close friend of mine said this to me once. They said it was impossible. But now, they support me as well. Recently, many people have started saying, "Wow!" to me, but these two dreams are still quite far away. But I'm going to keep working hard.
Truly, I ask for your continued support. Please continue to support Rays Lighthouse/KMD in the future too! Thank you!