Berlin to Japan Returning 日本に帰国します
I decided to end my 13-year life in Berlin and return to Japan. (日本語は下に)
In 2014, I started buying vegetables from an anarchist organic farm on the outskirts of Berlin with a CSA group, and then around 2018, I thought I might want to live on a farm, but I wasn't confident that I could live in a group... I couldn't make up my mind, and finally, in 2020, the year of COVID, I repeatedly stayed on for short periods, and after a trial period, I finally moved to the farm in the spring of 2022 with the farm's consent.
However, after the Hamas armed protest on October 7, 2023, I was yelled at for talking about Palestine solidarity on the farm, or told to stop talking about it, and I felt nothing but oppression with my freedom of speech being taken away, so I returned to Berlin in the spring of 2024.
Originally, 10 out of 15 people were white Germans and only two were PoC, so I didn't really fit in at the farm, but it was clear that a life in a city where composting is difficult is not what I wanted, and the racism in the German countryside is nothing but fear, as you can see from the progress of AFD. Even if I wanted to start my own farm, land would be expensive, and I couldn't speak German... so I decided to move to the countryside in Japan.
I was able to live in Berlin for 13 years, even though my German was only at B1 level.
For me, there were many interesting left-wing activities and queer scenes.
The tenant's initiative, a neighborhood association-like movement by the residents of the complex where I live, successfully collected signatures from residents to return the privately run housing complex to public ownership. Then the rent was subsequently reduced by 70 euros. This success reminded me of the importance of self-organization and the importance of getting along with neighbors, something I hated as a school kid.
I was deeply moved when someone from the all-black group ran during the Black Bloc night demonstration, threw something at the police building and ran away, shattering the windows of the police station, and when the police officers surrounding the bloc could do nothing about the all-black people.
I was deeply moved by the many queers and graffiti I saw on the streets. Activists I met through Palestine Solidarity or at the statue of peace in Moabit. A lot of artists. Amazing organic food. Super supportive friends.
I think it will continue to have a lasting influence on me in the future.
Thank you Berlin.
I'll still be here until July, so I hope to see you all at demonstrations and other opportunities. I'm running a mailing list, so if you'd like to join, please email . Please let me know that you'd like to join, your name, how you heard about ROKU, and a little about yourself, such as if you've met me before.
I've also stopped using Instagram, so I'd like to make my website a bit more active.
10th May 2025 akko
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