This post was originally published on my newsletter, Life of An Engineer in Japan. You can see the original post here
Recently, I've been asked why I chose Money Forward's Kansai office. It's an interesting question, partly because the obvious choice for most foreign developers in Japan is Tokyo, and partly because choosing where to work is always more complex than it first appears.
I moved to Osaka in August to join Money Forward's Kansai office. Before that, I worked in Singapore, comfortable but restless. The decision wasn't a quick one though - it came after months of internal debate with myself. Now, three months in, I think it's enough time to see if this decision was right or wrong. Here's my reflection.
MVVC is More Than Nice Sounding Slogans
If you're thinking about joining Money Forward, you've probably already explored the culture deck and MVVC (Mission, Vision, Values, and Culture).
The thing about corporate culture is that everyone talks about it, but it's hard to know what's real until you're inside. Coming from Singapore's corporate world, I was unsure about working in Japan. The usual Japanese way of working - coming to office every day, strict boss-worker relationships - wasn't what I wanted.
But Money Forward was different. During my interviews with Money Forward, I read CEO Tsuji-san's book, and I was truly impressed. What I found in the book was genuine passion and humility that you can't fake.
Every company has nice-sounding values. But there's a big difference between values written on office walls and values you can actually feel when you meet people. The best part? After I joined Money Forward, the people who interviewed me became my coworkers, and everything I read about turned out to be true in the day-to-day work life.
The team doesn't just talk about teamwork - we actually do it. You can see it in everyday things: how we have meetings, how we make technical decisions, how we fix bugs together. It's not just nice words in a presentation - it's how we really work every day.
Building Things That Matter
Mary Oliver once asked, "Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" in her poem, The Summer Day. It's the kind of question that makes me ponder hard.
But it's worth thinking about. In tech, we often confuse interesting problems with important ones. What caught my attention at Money Forward was something our CEO Tsuji-san shared in Forward Map 2024. It wasn't about shiny new tech. It was about time.
Tsuji-san shared that when we save a company an hour a day with Money Forward Cloud, that's 20 hours a month they can spend on their actual business. Multiply that across 150 thousand companies use Money Forward Cloud, meaning, by a rough estimate, we would have redirected approximately 3 million hours from paperwork to productivity.
It's not world-changing, perhaps, but it's meaningful in a quiet way. At the Kansai development base, we're building cloud accounting tools for Money Forward Cloud. It’s practical software that lets businesses stop wrestling with paperworks and start focusing on what actually matters. It's not the kind of thing that makes headlines, but it's the kind of thing that makes a difference.
The Why Kansai Question
But, why Kansai, not Tokyo? Money Forward's headquarters sits in Tokyo, and one of our sister teams in Accounting Plus locates in Tokyo. Yet, I chose the Kansai office deliberately.
Most discussions about tech in Japan center on Tokyo, which makes sense – it's where most of the action is. But Kansai offers something different. After multiple visits to Japan over the past few years, I found myself drawn to this region's unique charm.
The Kansai region works precisely because it isn't Tokyo. Kyoto mixes centuries-old history with modernness. Kobe carries its international heritage with a lot of good food. And Osaka? Well, Osaka just gets on with being Osaka – genuine, welcoming, and warm.
The people here don't wear the polite mask that Tokyo is famous for. They're more likely to tell you exactly what they think, help you without being asked, or share their food recommendations with passionate detail. It's not better than Tokyo – it's just different.
Three Months Later
Moving to Kansai to join Money Forward was exciting, but like any big change, I had my worries. Would everything work out the way I hoped?
Now, three months into this journey, I can happily say yes. At work, we're making a real difference - helping businesses spend less time on paperwork and more time on what matters. And living in Kansai? It's been wonderful, so much better than I expected. Looking back, I only wish I had made this move earlier.
If you are interested in joining Money Forward, you can find more information on the following site https://recruit.moneyforward.com/en/
Top comments (0)