Seemingly overnight, the coronavirus pandemic has changed life as we know it. But despite the pressure to #stayhome, people are finding creative ways to spice up life in the “New Normal”.
Covid-19 has affected the employment of 50,000 people in Japan (as of 31 Aug 2020). When 27-year-old Yo Nemoto lost his job as a tour guide for inbound tourists, he decided to take the opportunity to start journeying in his car while working online. Yo spoke to us from a parking lot in Wakayama, looking over a vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean. As we listened to his adventurous stories of turning adversities into opportunities, we caught a glimpse of his philosophy of life.
――How were you affected by Covid-19?
I was working as a tour guide, taking 10-20 foreign customers on a group tour around Japan. I got a call from my client (a travel agency) when I was on a 10-day tour in early March, and they told me all the tours from then on had been cancelled.
――How did you feel when you heard about that?
To be honest, I wasn’t particularly shocked. I had no choice but to accept the fact. Working as a freelancer, I was mentally prepared for this kind of risk anyway. There was no point in making a fuss or being emotional about it, so I thought I should see it as an opportunity to start something new.
――What led you to decide to travel while living in a car?
I did consider finding a new job, but I’ve come this far, so I thought I should keep pursuing what I want to do. I used to go sailing back in the days and I’ve always dreamed of living in a yacht and travelling to Australia, where I used to study abroad during my college years. That thought came back to me when I thought about what I really wanted to do, disregarding all the financial issues.
Then, I searched for a sailing community online and reached out to some Youtubers who might help me find a new yacht, but I eventually came to the conclusion that it wasn’t realistic to purchase one at this point. So I thought about the closest step I can take to achieve my goal and my answer was to travel to yacht harbours in the countryside while living in a car.
If you’re sailing to Australia, your yacht technically becomes your house. You only take minimal belongings with you on a rough journey and you have to live without a water tap or electricity. Living in a car is basically the same; you live with very limited infrastructure and space. The only difference is that you’re on land, not at sea. If anything breaks on the way, you have to fix it yourself, so I thought I could build those skills by living in a car.
――What do you enjoy the most right now?
I get that question a lot, but I always find it difficult to answer. I don’t drink or smoke, so people often ask me what the point of my life is. But I enjoy all aspects of my life right now. I can’t cut out a part of my life and say that’s more fun than the others. I guess there are some people who don’t enjoy their job and find a hobby to make up for the time that they don’t enjoy, but in my case, I don’t differentiate work and hobbies. They are both paths I chose for myself, so I can’t separate what’s enjoyable and what’s not in my life.
――Do you think the Covid situation has changed the way you think?
Not at all. I feel like it has reaffirmed the direction my life has taken so far. Many companies started switching to remote work, but I’ve always thought they needed to change that way. We are living in a new era where lifetime employment of the Showa era no longer exists. In this sense, Covid has brought about a good opportunity for conservative people to reconsider their outdated values.
――What motivates you to keep trying new things?
It’s simply the pursuit of happiness. The economy is going down and definitely not in a good situation, but that has very little to do with my sense of happiness. It’s really up to how I think, and I believe I can be happy in any situation, as long as I don’t stop thinking. Bad things happen sometimes, but I don’t think I’m unhappy just because I lost my job. I see it as an opportunity to start something new and exciting.
