When I was a child, I loved watching Doraemon, a classic Japanese anime about a robotic cat from the future who helps a young boy using magical gadgets.

Among all the gadgets Doraemon pulled out of his pocket, the one I wanted most was the “Anywhere Door” (Dokodemo Door).

A door that takes you instantly to wherever you want to go.
Even now, if I could choose just one, that would still be it.

If I could use magic for just one day, I would choose that “Anywhere Door” and visit all the people I long to see around the world.

I left Japan 25 years ago.
It all started when I failed every job interview I took.
I had aimed for a career in the media, hoping to change society; I applied to NHK (Japan’s public broadcaster, similar to the BBC), commercial broadcasters, and newspapers, but the result was a clean sweep of rejections.
My world turned black.

I was at a loss for a while, but then a thought crossed my mind:
“Maybe this might be my chance to go abroad like I’ve always wanted.”
I decided to study English in Ireland for a few months.

I fell in love with Ireland, and after returning to Japan, I decided to become a Japanese language teacher so I could go back. My minor in Japanese language education turned out to be a great help.

I joined an NGO that sends teachers worldwide and requested a placement in Ireland.
However, there were no vacancies in Ireland. Instead, I was sent to Lebanon.

That became the great turning point of my life. 

In Lebanon, I met students who were studying art at university.
Watching them pursue their dreams so earnestly sparked something inside me.

—This is what I’ve actually wanted to do all along!

I had loved drawing since I was a child.
But every time I said I wanted to pursue art, I was told,

“That’s not realistic, don’t do it.” 

Eventually, I had started to believe those words myself.
But the encounters in Lebanon changed my life completely.

“You only live once. If I don’t do what I truly want, I’ll regret it.”

With that conviction, I decided to pursue art. 

More than 20 years have passed since then, and I am now working as an artist and children’s book author in the UK.
Before coming here, I spent four years studying art in Newfoundland, Canada.
There, too, I had irreplaceable encounters.

Wherever I have gone, someone has always helped me.
It feels as if invisible threads have connected each point of my life, guiding me from one place to the next.

If I could use magic for just one day, I would open the Anywhere Door and visit Lebanon, Canada, and all the other places across the globe to see the people I miss.
I would hug each of them and say,

“Thank you.”

Postscript

…But is this really something that requires magic?
I’ve often told myself, “Once I have more money,” or “Once I have more time,” and kept putting it off.
Yet if I wait until both are perfectly in place, I may reach the end of my life without ever seeing the people I truly want to see.

So I’ll start where I can.
Not “someday,” but “now.”
Even just a single message is enough.
If I can take even the smallest step forward, then perhaps I already hold a magic wand in my hand.