In ’24, the group performed at Tokyu Kabukicho Tower. “I decided to pursue music at 19 and moved from Shizuoka to Tokyo. I think I had a mindset of, ‘If I go to Tokyo, something will start happening.’ I continued my music activities while doing part-time jobs, but honestly, life was tight. Before MATSURI, I was in other groups, but things didn’t go well. No matter how hard I tried, results didn’t come. I realized I couldn’t survive like that, so I started working as a garbage collector. There were times I wondered, ‘I came all the way from Shizuoka to Tokyo to do music—what am I doing?’ But as I kept working, my mindset became more positive. After I passed through a street, the garbage would be gone, and the city became visibly cleaner. The changes were easy to see, and I could feel, ‘I’m really contributing to society.’” His experience as a garbage collector also proved useful after debuting as an artist. “You develop stamina because you run a lot, and you learn to think about how to move efficiently within limited collection time. That stamina and efficiency mindset have been useful in MATSURI’s activities. I can honestly say I’m really glad I did it.”