未来のExpo住人さんへ
Dear Future Expo Resident
Expo House opened in 2007. The reason I started the share house was because I wanted to have friends to eat, play, and go to the public bathhouse with foreign and international students. The first resident was an international student from the Philippines. When I returned to the House with my problems, he offered me hot tea and listened to me.
He was not family, not a friend, but a sharemate I lived with.
I still talk with him a few times a year and visit his house in the Philippines.
Since then, people from many countries have come. Many Japanese people have also lived here. Although we have not lived together for a long time, I hope to be in a place where I can create a lifelong relationship with my share-mate even if we have to live separately.
Yusuke
ユウスケ
Expo House Manager
Message
I spent two unforgettable years of high school in the US learning English and playing basketball every day. During my stay, my host family took me in like a real member of the family. Afterwards, I enrolled in Ritsumeikan University, where about half of the students were exchange students from abroad. I really enjoyed my time spent with such a culturally diverse group of people as we played sports together and held events. After graduation I entered the Japanese defence force. Life on the base lacked the freedom I was used to - I would have to ask for permission to go out after work and on days off. However, as I slept, ate, bathed and worked alongside my fellow colleagues and seniors it gave me an experience that I could never have imagined if I was working in an office. Living in a share house is not the same as living by yourself. While sharehouse life can create nervousness around living with others and cultural differences, I want to turn that around and create a place at Expo House where in 10 or 20 years time people will reflect and be glad that they made the decision to live here.
Mariko
マリコ
Expo Designer
Message
Nice to meet you! I am Mariko. I am responsible for the design, event planning and cafe operation at Expo House and Hostel. I graduated from Osaka University of Arts with a Media degree and went for a working holiday in Korea where I was able to learn Korean. I was also a resident of Expo House. It was so much fun. Really, I mean that from the bottom of my heart. If possible, I want to live at Expo House again. However, I think it is moreso my former sharemates from Expo House that I want to live with again. But that's a wish that can't be granted. Both myself and my sharemates went our separate ways and as time goes on we are less likely to be able to live together again. Our life at Expo was filled with love, something that I will treasure deep down forever more. You become so used to your everyday life here that sometimes it is difficult to realise that unfortunately it must come to an end. Living with other people is difficult. But somehow, amidst the difficulty please enjoy it. As the people living here change, the House also changes. There will be no other house like it again. When you stay at Expo House with your fellow sharemates, that sharehouse will be your special Expo House. Please value this moment in time and make friends for life. To our future residents, I'm looking forward to the day we can meet!
Expo Hostel & Cottage
Staff recruitment
〒603-8224
2-4 Murasakino Nishifujinomoricho Kita-ku,
Kyoto-shi, Kyoto-fu