The frolic in this photo is hard to imagine from the shy smile we usually see on her.

The photo of her frolicking is hard for you to imagine from her shy smile we usually see on her. The first impression of her was that she was shy.
But actually she is not. She is really friendly and so full of curiosity. Now she lives in #HASH196 sharehouse which is one of Kizunaya sharehouses in Chiba prefecture. She is a student of University of Tokyo. Because of its student and the perfect timing, she’s got some great campaigns;

・Foreigners Support Campaign (Up to 4 months free rent)
・Special offer for students at University of Tokyo
・Offer for free rent campaign (Up to 2 months free rent depends on your staying period)

OMG…How lucky she is!! But actually an answer from her interview was that she would have chosen #HASH196 anyways without campaigns. (She made my day…)

If you are from overseas or have international friends, please have a look at her interview below. You’ll see how the life in the Kizunaya sharehouse makes her smile without shyness and how much it is worth for her.

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– What brings you to Japan?

When I was still a high school student in Hong Kong, I didn’t want to stay in Hong Kong for University because everyone just goes to University for the sake of money and social status. Also, I wanted to leave my comfort and explore the world by myself. I was applying to universities in Hong Kong and the USA, but I’ve never thought of coming to Japan.

I didn’t speak any Japanese and wasn’t a fan of Japanese culture and whatever. But then someone told me about a new program offered in the university of Tokyo that is taught in English (PEAK-Program in English at Komaba).

I casually took a look, and found it quite unique so just casually applied. Then, after getting all the offers, I thought that coming to Japan was the most exciting and challenging option. Because I knew almost nothing about Japan.

– What did you go to Tokyo University (UTokyo) to study?

I only applied to the English program in UTokyo because I didn’t know about any other ones. Back then UTokyo wasn’t my first choice, but I changed my mind after the professors came to Hong Kong to interview me. I thought they were very humble and I thought that humble people were the ones who actually knew something. Because the more you know, the more you realize how much you don’t know. So yea, the humbleness of the professors was one of the reasons that I decided to come to UTokyo.

– What brings you to Japan?

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– Where did you live before coming to HASH?

I lived in student dormitory when I first came to japan, then I went for exchange in Switzerland in where I also lived in a student dormitory. When I came back to Japan in September 2019, I lived in a sharehouse for foreigners called Sakura House near Shibuya until June 2020. I did homestay for about a month with my friend right before moving to HASH, just because we wanted to try something new.

– Why did you choose to live in a share house?

I get to meet people from different countries and different walks of lives who share different perspectives. I love meeting people who hold different values to me. Sometimes we have conflicts, but there is usually a beautiful firework after clash of values. I think in order to create world peace, we need to make peace with everybody, including those who don’t think like us. And sharehouse is a good place to meet people who are different that me.

(#HASH196 has a family-meeting once or twice a year. We share our mind and thought to make our lives there more comfortable and better together.)

– Why did you choose #HASH196?

I am starting lab work in Kashiwa campus in September, so I was looking for accommodation in Kashiwa. I actually wanted to live alone in an apartment originally, but I randomly found HASH and really liked the concept of connecting people and living as a family.

– Are many campaigns at #HASH196 you’ve got attractive?

A little bit, but I think I would’ve chosen HASH anyways without the campaigns. I was a bit surprised to be qualified for so many campaigns ????

– How was the first day of HASH?

I actually had a deadline the day I moved to HASH, so I was busy working???? But I still got to chat with a few new friends. I felt right at home, although I usually do wherever I go haha.

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(#HASH196 sharehouse had the YUKATA night in summer 2020!)

– What is the most surprising thing about living in HASH?

The kitchen is so clean!! There’re so many people yet it is cleaner than my previous sharehouse who had only 9 people. I think it’s because there’re mostly Japanese people here~ I’m very impressed!

Also, I’m very impressed by a lot of people’s cooking skills. There’re so many chef in HASH. Also, I’m quite impressed by the Yukata night. It really felt like summer festival!

– Please tell us about daily life in HASH.

Well, my daily life is pretty irregular. Sometimes I wake up and do morning yoga with friends in the theater room (but I’ve only successfully woken up once????), then I eat/skip breakfast and have online classes. Then I’ll cook or buy lunch and keep having classes or do my work. I volunteer at a cafe in Asakusa on Friday and Saturday, so I’ll just wake up and leave HASH. Sometimes at night we have parties with delicious homemade food.
Summer vacation has started recently, so I usually wake up in the afternoon and play the guitar for hours and do nothing.

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– Do you have any suggestions for how to make the foreign members feel good about living in #HASH196?

I think having more events where we can communicate and get to know everyone would be nice. HASH Talk Live is nice, I think. Since the Japanese level of foreign members kind of varies. It might be slightly difficult for those who don’t speak much Japanese to feel a sense of belonging in the HASH family. I’m just randomly thinking.

Maybe a buddy system can help? We can match a foreign member with one (or more, given that there’re much more Japanese than foreigners) Japanese member. The pairs are expected to do some chat/ do something together regularly. The Japanese member can help the foreign member with Japanese and getting adjusted to life in Japanese, whereas the foreign member can teach his/ her own mother tongue or any languages and share about stories and perspectives from other countries. It’s also kind of like language/cultural exchange.

– Do you have any good memories or fun times at HASH?

I enjoy singing and playing guitar with people in HASH. It was also fun playing with the kids. The food were amazing too!!

– Is there anything you want to do now that you’ve come to live at HASH?

I want to play more music with people here. I want to be more fluent with my Japanese. I want to go hiking, travel, surfing, diving with HASH family. Oh and I also want to improve my culinary skills.

– Please tell us what you want to do in the future.

There’re a lot of things I want to do. I like music, science, nature, adventures, art. So maybe something that combines all these. I think what I truly want to do in the future is to keep exploring. Knowledge is infinite and so are human potentials.

– Please give your message to Kizunaya future international family members.

Kizunaya is the perfect sharehouse if you wish to get to know the authentic Japanese lifestyle. I know a lot of foreigners in Japan feel like they’re living in a bubble. Living in Kizunaya would be one of the ways to break out from the “Gaijin Bubble”.

Please check here for more detail about #HASH196.

HASH196 is an all you can stay at guesthouses nationwide! Hostel pass is available.
This is a must-see for those who can stay all over Japan on weekends and free time.

＜Click here for multi-site share house＞

Kashiwa 27 minutes to Nippori, 30 minutes to Ueno
It is an environment that is easy to get to the city center and is perfect for living with nature.
In front of the station, station buildings are flourishing, but the area around the house is a quiet residential area.

Please come to the preview once.

Kashiwa HASH196 Information
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Location: 12 minutes on foot from JR Kashiwa Station (with free bicycle rental)
Number of households: 100 men and women / 5 family households
Rent: Private room from 43,000 yen From dormitory 23,000 yen
Common service fee: Private room 15,000 yen Dormitory 12,000 yen
Initial fee: 40,000 yen (including administrative fee and cleaning fee when moving out)

Click here for inquiriesClick!

Inquiries from Kizunaya official Line account are also accepted!

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