シェアオフィス＆コワーキングスペース CASE Shinjuku 
Spencer Fricke
Originally from Wisconsin, he attended a Japanese language school in Takadanobaba for two years while working for an American company and using the co-working space at CASE Shinjuku He signed up at CASE on a study abroad VISA and attended from about November 2023 to May 2024.
The interview was conducted in December 2024, when he returned again for a three-week stay on a business trip, and we were able to speak with him in detail.
First of all, please tell us where you are from and how long you have been in Japan.
I am from Wisconsin, USA. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin with a degree in Computer Engineering, I worked in California for three years.
It was in 2022 when I decided to quit my job and attend Japanese language school in Japan. I had a lot of time to concentrate on my studies just when Covid19 was affecting me. I came to Japan on a student visa and rented a shared space at CASE Shinjuku to study after school. I attended a Japanese language school in Takadanobaba for two years. During the latter half of my stay in Japan, I was balancing school and work.
I live in the US now and will be visiting for 3 weeks. I am using CASE to do my work.
― Why did you decide to study Japanese in Japan?
I wanted a new experience. I had never been to Asia. At the time I was living alone, no job, no car, no girlfriend, and with nothing to lose, I wanted a new experience.
― It wasn’t because you liked comics or anything like that.
When I first arrived in Tokyo, the only thing I knew about Japan was sushi. I didn’t even know that Pokemon was a Japanese anime character.
I had a business trip planned for Japan and that is why I chose it, but it was really a coincidence. If my business trip had been to Germany, I might have chosen German.
How did you come to use CASE?
― You attended Japanese language school for two years, but you were using CASE for about seven months.
Yes, I was a student at a co-working space in Shibuya, Tokyo. I enjoyed student life for the first 6 months, then I decided to work and used a co-working space in Shibuya. I was living in Shibuya at the time. But that place had to close, so I used cafes here and there for a while. But to work in a cafe, I had to worry about getting a seat every day.
It was right around the time I was thinking about moving, so I thought, “Since the school is in Takadanobaba, why not live in Takadanobaba and use the co-working facilities in Takadanobaba?” I searched and found CASE.
At the same time, I tried other coworking places like Nakano, Kichijoji, Shinjuku, etc., on a one-day drop-in basis. As a result, I started to use this place.
― How did you feel when you started attending CASE?
At that time, my home, the Japanese language school, and CASE were all within walking distance, and I did not need to take the train; I walked there every day.
When I first came here, I felt like this place had a “personality”. I think this word best describes how I felt at the time.
The books lined up around me, the conversations with the staff. The atmosphere itself was exactly what I expected from a coworking space.
― You also attend a Friday bar time meeting where you have a drink and talk with the people around you.
And yes, bar time is good. Here, we could have a 10th anniversary event, or a Christmas party. It’s nice to have a chance to socialize with other users. It’s nice to get to know new folks.
What kind of work do you do now?
Semiconductor and GPU related work.
To explain a little more, computers have chips in them that make them work. They are manufactured by hardware companies such as Nvidia, AMD, and Qualcomm. They are also used by software companies such as Google, Facebook, Nintendo and Sony.
I am dealing with something called Vulkan, which connects hardware and software.
*Vulkan is an API (application programming interface) for efficiently controlling the GPU (graphics processor).
If there are 10 engineers to solve one problem, they will try to do it 10 different ways. Instead of tackling it piecemeal, it is my job to solve it in the best single way.
― It’s cutting-edge work!
I came to Japan this time to attend SIGGRAPH, a computer graphics conference held in early December at the Tokyo International Forum.
After attending the conference, I decided to stay in Japan for a while, but I couldn’t take a vacation all the time, so I came here to CASE to work remotely.
The company was originally located in Colorado, but I was lucky enough to be allowed to work remotely after it became normalized during Covid. Thanks to this, I can work while in Japan.
― What do you think about remote work and coming to work?
After college, my first job was in California, where the office was very comfortable. I would see and talk with my co-workers. I looked forward to going to the office every day. I felt comfortable.
However, things changed and remote working became available around the time of Covid, but I chose to work in a co-working space, as I mentioned earlier. Here, when you take off your shoes and step onto the floor, it feels like home. At the same time, it reminds me of my former office in California in that I can see people working around me, greet them, and chat with them.
I like to come here first thing in the morning. I always greet them in Japanese, saying “Ohayo”.
What was a typical day like for you while attending Japanese language school and CASE?
Classes at school from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. We often went to our favorite curry shop for lunch. Then in the afternoon, I would work until 6 pm. The school and CASE are really close, just a few minutes walk, so Takadanobaba slowly became my backyard and favorite area of Tokyo.
How did you spend your time outside of work? Did you go sightseeing in the countryside?
Of course, I explored Tokyo here and there, but other than that, I went to Hokkaido. I went to the Snow Festival in Sapporo. Then there is the Kansai area. Kyoto, Nara, Osaka. I also went to Kochi and climbed Mt.Fuji.
Do you have any advice for people looking for a coworking space in Japan?
Even if you cannot speak Japanese, you do not need to worry about the language barrier. Renting a coworking space is very inexpensive, and Tokyo has an excellent public transportation system.
If you plan to stay for awhile, start using a co-working space right away. I wasted 3 months of my life trying to work in a cafe. The best way is to actually use the space and find what works for you.
