BIRKENSTOCK with Yohei Kakimoto I feel like I walk nicer when I wear them.
PROFILE
. Born in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. After working in sales and press at a select store, he launched Bloom & Branch in 2014, and in 2020, he will open Kakinoha in Kamakura, which he will also own. He currently lives in Zushi, Japan, with his family, and enjoys surfing as a hobby.
Kakimoto-san, you have been surfing for a long time, haven't you?
Kakimoto:. I started surfing when I was 23 years old and have been doing it for more than 15 years. Surfing has different scenery and wave quality at different points, and even at the same point, when the conditions change, a different kind of fun is born. Good waves can only be created when the right conditions are met, and when they are, I naturally feel a smile on my face and a sense of excitement that I can't experience anywhere else.
Do you see any changes in your body when you surf?
Kakimoto:It builds muscle strength and core strength, and when the waves are constant, I'm basically moving all the time, so it's a good aerobic workout as well. So it's like a comprehensive workout. However, I do it because it is a fun activity rather than for my health. Without surfing, my life would be a little out of balance. When times are tough, surfing empties my mind, and I feel a little like meditating. . When there are no waves, I paddle a little further out and breathe deeply to calm my mind.
. So you are killing two birds with one stone by having a spiritual effect as well.
Kakimoto:Yes, that's right. . your body will get a workout, yet your brain will be refreshed.
Kakimoto-san, you came to live in Zushi because of surfing, didn't you?
Kakimoto:Yes, I have been to Shonan, Chiba, Ibaraki, etc. wherever there are waves. I have been to Shonan, Chiba, Ibaraki, and wherever there are waves, but I like Kamakura the best in terms of points of interest, and I really like the atmosphere of this area. It has been three and a half years since I started living here, but Tokyo has a lot of people and the speed of the air is different. It is stimulating and there is a lot to absorb, but once I got used to my current environment, I became tired easily. I go to Tokyo two or three times a week for work, but my schedule is so packed that I come back here as soon as I am done. I am comfortable with that level of distance.
Kakimoto-san, did the change in your living environment cause any changes in yourself?
Kakimoto:I am now able to be more spontaneous. I am now able to pursue what I like and not do what I don't like, and I feel that I am always in a relaxed state of mind. When I lived in Tokyo and worked as a PR person, I was in a diplomatic position and met people so much that I could not distinguish between public and private life, and now I think I spent my time with a forced switch on. Of course, that period of time was necessary for me, and it was a necessary experience for me. . But it is also true that inside my body, I was forcing myself to do something. I feel that I have been freed from that. Now I live my life with the sense that I don't have to do anything I don't want to do, and that I can do things my own way, and that led to the opening of Kakinoha.
I would say that I try to eliminate stress as much as possible.
Kakimoto:I just want to be free, and I've come to base my life on what uplifts me.
Did you start "Kakinoha" with this in mind?
Kakimoto:Fashion retailing is basically a business, so there are times when we have to promote and sell items we don't like. . Of course, even with such items, we look for attractive points and convey them. Kakinoha, on the other hand, is a store that carries only what it likes 100% of the time.
