You can spend 10,000 yen on whatever you like... May I come along on your shopping trip?

This is a "shopping documentary" where we follow people on their shopping trips and explore their life stories.

This time, the people who cooperated with our coverage are located about 7 hours by car from Sapporo!

The easternmost Aeon in Japan, "Aeon Nemuro Store"

What kind of people live there, and what kind of lives do they lead?

First Person: The Husband's Mother Was Cupid!? A Mom Supporting a Fishing Family: Eriko Mikami (41 years old)

Program Staff: "What are you buying today?" Ms. Mikami: "To buy dinner. I'm thinking of making yakiniku (Japanese barbecue)."
Program Staff: "Do you do that often?" Ms. Mikami: "Occasionally."

Program Staff: "We'll pay up to 10,000 yen for you on the program, so would it be alright if I went shopping with you?" Ms. Mikami: "Really?! Wow, seriously?! Amazing! Is it really okay for me?!"
Program Staff: "You're on TV a lot right now." Ms. Mikami: "Really?!"
Program Staff: "It's not live." Ms. Mikami: "I was surprised! How embarrassing!"

The person who cooperated with the interview was Eriko Mikami, who lives in Kamemai, Nemuro City.

She is a mother raising two children.

Mikami: "It's always like this. I always get approached about these kinds of things. They often say, 'You were on TV again, weren't you?'"

Program Staff: "What have you been on before?" Mikami: "The biggest one was 'Nodojiman' (Singing Contest). I sang a song called 'Ashikaze Toge' by Konomi Mori."
Program Staff: "Are you proud of your singing?" Mikami: "I love singing."
Program Staff: "How long have you lived in Nemuro?" Mikami: "This is my hometown, so I've always lived here. I lived in Sapporo for about 10 years."

After graduating from high school, she aimed to become a caregiver and went to a vocational school in Sapporo.

When asked what surprised her when she moved from Nemuro to Sapporo...

Mikami: "The high cost of living..." Program Staff: "'The cost of living is high,' isn't that something you noticed when you went abroad?" Mikami: "That's true."
Mikami: "I was working as a caregiver (in Sapporo), and I got a little tired, so I came back, and that's when I had a fateful encounter with my husband... hahaha!"

What exactly was this fateful encounter...?

Mikami: "There was a women's association meeting. My mother asked me to 'bake some waffles.' When I was baking the waffles, my husband's mother was there, and she said, 'I'll give you my son's phone number, so give me yours!' So we exchanged numbers, talked about various things, and I thought she was a nice person."
Program Staff: "What prompted her to say, 'I want to introduce you to my son'? Was there something about her that attracted you?" Mikami: "I wonder... hehe!"

Husband's mother played Cupid and they got married!

Now she's a mother of two! Mikami: "My husband is a fisherman, and he catches cod, rockfish, and other fish like Kinki."

Program Staff: "So, there's always fish in your freezer and refrigerator?" Mikami: "I think there are about five of them. Refrigerators and freezers."
Program Staff: "Don't you ever get tired of it?" Mikami: "Not at all. We eat something delicious every time."

Mikami: "Every day, my husband leaves around 1 AM and comes back around noon."
Program Staff: "What's the hardest part of being a fisherman's wife?" Mikami: "I have to get my husband to bed early, so I have to have the table ready by 5:30 PM, which was hard at first."
Program Staff: "Marrying your husband means settling down in Kanmai, right? Did you have any doubts about that?" Mikami: "Not at all. I'm originally a fisherman's daughter, so I was happy to marry into that family, and I was glad to think, 'I can raise children here.'"

Shopping segment ends here.

The total amount was 11,782 yen.

What kind of life does Ms. Mikami envision for the future?

Ms. Mikami: "I hope my little one grows up healthy, happy, and honest."

Second Person: Chasing Dreams in Sapporo… Living in Her Hometown with Thoughts of Her Father - Yoko

Program Staff: "What are you buying?" Yoko: "Yogurt and ingredients for lunch."
Program Staff: "What are you planning to make?" Yoko: "Yakitori."
Program Staff: "We'll pay up to 10,000 yen for you on the program, so would it be alright if we went shopping with you?" Yoko: "I've seen you before! Really?! Wow, I'm so happy! Absolutely!"

The person who cooperated with the interview was Yoko, who lives in Nemuro City.

On this day, she was shopping with her son.

Program Staff: "You mentioned you were having yakisoba for lunch, right?" Yoko: "Can I get the vegetables first? I'll buy some onions!"
Program Staff: "Do you live in Nemuro?" Yoko: "I was born in Nemuro, and then I went to university in Sapporo."
Program Staff: "Which university in Sapporo?" Yoko: "An art-focused university."

Program Staff: "What did you aspire to be?" Yoko: "An illustrator. I'd see them in commercials and on posters, and beautiful illustrations are so...