Hi.

Hi, I'm Yuma Riley, founder of a small business is called, "Hidden Gems Japan" 

On my first blog, I'm going to talk about a little bit of myself. 

I was born and raised in Japan, Toyota city, specifically. I was an ordinary child, but I was always wanting to go study abroad. The reason was my English score was better than any other subject and I wanted to explore other countries for their food and culture. 

Even though I had stable job and life, deep down, I didn’t want to give up on my dream of living in a different country. So started saving money and did a lot of research to prepare for the new adventure.  

On the 7th of September in 2014, I left Japan. I was excited about being able to travel by myself but anxious about “What if” situation.  

My accommodation in the Philippines

I started by studying English in the Philippines, it was a lot of fun. Although I was studying from 7am to 9pm Monday to Friday, I didn’t feel stressed much. (Apart from the music class as I’m not good at listening and I kept hearing wrong words which ended up singing songs in front of everyone) I made friends, did beach activities, went shopping. I was getting confident in speaking to local people in the Philippines.

Learning music through songs!

Just because I was confident speaking in English, part of me thought I would like to experience living in a country where their first language is English. I also wanted to see a different view of the world.  

When I first came to Australia, I thought was the worst decision I’ve ever made. First year of my life in Australia was miserable and difficult. I felt like putting a weight on my shoulders and swimming in the ocean without any place to go. Despite the fact I studied hard in the Philippines and was confident in English, my heart sank when I heard people talking really fast in Australia. I would stay in my bedroom most of the time, reluctant to go out.  

My life was changed by a family I worked for as a nanny. The host mother and her family were very friendly and supportive of me. Throughout the job, it made me reassured that I love to be around little children and admire education style in Australia.  

I just love Australian animals!

I wasn’t planning on staying in Australia but decided I wanted to study Childhood Education. This was not easy for me because English is my second language so it took much longer to learn and submit assignments. I was also working at a few different jobs to pay off my scholarship at my university in Japan as well as school fee in Australia. On top of that, I had to study for the IELTS test to stay in Australia. 

I worked frantically to achieve my goals. I was ashamed to say that while I was in Japan I was always relying on my parents. But now I decided THIS IS MY LIFE, I MAKE MY LIFE.  

Hard work paid off and I’ve been living here since. I didn’t even realise how lucky I was. A lot of people here love Japan. I was very proud of my country and I thought I would love to repay them in my way. I’m always wanting to help people, I’m always wanting people to know how beautiful my country is. That made me feel motivated to study business and I created my own business.  

“Hidden gems” 

There are many places and things where people haven’t discovered about my home country.  

And as a native Japanese, I can provide you unforgettable memories of the time when you visit in Japan.