Tokyo's Asakusa district is a thriving tourist destination.

It's always buzzing with people.

But away from the hustle and bustle...

...lies a shop with a different sort of appeal.

And it's loved by young people nationwide.

Jiyucho is a place where you can really get in touch with yourself.

- Me in a year's time?
- Delivery, August 25.

The customers here write letters to their future selves.

Green, red.

And those letters will be delivered by Jiyucho one year later.

Word about the shop spread on social media.

There are only eight seats.

And they're always full.

"Try your best."

"Something's troubling me deep inside.
I know I can do better."

Many young people write down messages of encouragement.

And if you read between the lines, there's a collective sense of unease.

I don't know how I want to live.
I'm still wondering. Swaying.

I never have time to really think.

There's a lot of noise in everyday life.

Work-related stuff. Smartphones.
And social media.

Japan is an affluent society.

But many people find it suffocating.

So Jiyucho gives them a little room to breathe.

It's OK to struggle
and stew things over.

I don't think that
should be discouraged.

We have not in France.

It's unique concept, I think it's a beautiful concept.

Good old-fashioned letters can help ease the stresses of modern life.

And young people are taking note.

Hello.

Today's first customers are schoolmates.

And they've come all the way from Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan.

- How did you find out about us?
- Social media.

They're in Tokyo for an educational event.

And they stop by Jiyucho before making the long journey home.

They're provided with everything they need.

Except for their own thoughts.

Here you go.

This is gonna take a while.

The girls are 17 and 18.

They'll start job-hunting soon.

What should I say?

Writing. Erasing. And starting over.

Putting their feelings on paper takes almost two hours.

"I don't want to become an adult."

"I want to live without regrets.
At least for the next year."

I hardly ever write real letters.
This is a new experience.

Bet I'll cry when I see this again.

Hopes and fears. Signed. Sealed.

And delivered a year from now.

- Our letters.
- We'll take good care of them.

Thank you very much.

- Take the whole jar.
- Really? Great.

This woman in her 30s is a regular.

She comes back every year.

I've realized that setting aside
time and energy for myself

can help me be happier.

This time, she writes about things she wants to stay the same.

"The people around me may have changed a lot."

"But if I'm still around a year from now,"

"I want to maintain my love for those who always look over me with warmth."

My friends are going through
periods of change.

Marriage, babies, new jobs.

Aspects of my life
will also probably evolve.

But if I put everything in writing,
as if pinning them up on a board,

I can relive them in a year's time.

How pretty!

A bit wonky, but good enough.

This world demands we always
have the answers.

Jiyucho values not just the answers,
but the process of getting there too.

Jiyucho is owned by Koyama Shohei.

He got the idea from his experience of being an outsider.

The 32-year-old was born in Tokyo and went to a prestigious school.

He believed he was on the right track.

Good job, promotions, marriage.

I thought I'd be pretty content
with life, despite the constraints.

But the large company he joined stuck to corporate Japan's long-held seniority system.

Shohei's ideas never got off the ground.

Among thousands of employees...

You'll have to wait years
to get your opportunity.

His struggle is far from unique.

More than 30 percent of college graduates in Japan quit their jobs within three years.

And nearly 90 percent of young job seekers desire a role that "allows them to do what they want to do."

They seldom get what they want.

Shohei left his job after about half a year.

Instead, he went solo developing apps.

But he couldn't get his venture off the ground.

Business partners pulled out.

And he fell into financial difficulties.

Mornings were the worst.

I'd wake up,
but there'd be nothing to do.

No job. No money.

The world just passed me by.
It was terrifying.

Shohei always wrote down his thoughts as a way of coping.

And looking back one day, something caught his eye.

"I had a dream. A nightmare."

"I woke in despair, then got up."

"I made coffee. It was delicious."

"I will just be myself."

It became clear that I was writing

to my future self.

All that I had experienced.
And what that left in my heart and mind.

I received it as a letter from
my past self.

Shohei found great encouragement in his own words.

But when it came to Japanese society, he still felt like the square peg.

Why does everyone have to be the same?

We all love different foods, different music.
And we fall in love with different people.

But when it comes to work or society,

why must we face such strong peer
pressure to think and act the same?

Be nice, and head in one direction.
That makes Japan a good society.

That's been the mindset for ages.

One day we stop and ask,
"What am I doing? Who am I?"

But by that time...

we'll no longer be able to
find the answer.

I think that happens to
a lot of people. Me included.

Shohei longed for a place where people didn't have to conform.

Somewhere they could be themselves.

And so he opened Jiyucho.

Sitting down for 2 hours, writing by hand.
We don't often get the opportunity.

When I write at work,

I feel the need to be proper
and correct.

But here, it's different. Anything goes.
I can really focus on myself.

- Have a nice year.
- Thanks so much.

What do you think this is?

- It's my dream house.
- "Oh."

Getting along with people at work.

Junior and senior colleagues.

Job-hopping could still be an option
until age 35 or so.

Generally speaking.

But then what? What do I want to do?

I tried to put those thoughts
into writing.

This is terrible!

Ran out of space midway.

My grandfather just passed away.

Before I could give back to him.

I'm full of regret.

Be someone
your family and grandfather
can be proud of.

But this is not just for him.

I told my future self to try harder.

I let out all my pent-up emotions.

Writing them down did me a lot of good.

Such a nice color.

It turned out better than I thought.

Jiyucho has more than 3,500 letters in safekeeping.

And all will be sent out a year after they were written.

It's finally here.
Can't wait to open it.

So exciting.

Maika is Okinawa born and raised.

The 20-year-old went to Tokyo last year on her first ever solo trip.

And to mark the occasion, she wrote a letter to herself.

It was an adventure.

Even the simple task of looking up
trains was a first for me.

Says here I got lost so many times.

And I got into all sorts of trouble.

"Read this letter and be excited all over again."

Maika promised herself she would only write about the good times.

It was a chance to get away from the confines of the digital world.

I wanted to say how much fun I had,
and hold nothing back.

A letter was the best way.

If I did it on social media

it might invite jealousy.

I would not be able to express
my true feelings.

And I'd have to think too
much before posting.

So I wrote about my wonderful adventure
in a letter - for my eyes only.

So glad I did.

Some people receive their letters when they're feeling down.

And they find solace in their own words.

I'm not able to handle much.
Not right now.

I hope this letter lifts
the emotional weight a little.

Yes, I really hope so.

Ayano is 22 years old.

After university, she started working at a drug store.

And it's busy, serving a large elderly population.

Ayano is required to interact with customers and work long hours.

But after about six months on the job, Ayano says she's losing sight of who she is.

All sorts of people come to the store.
And there's no one-size-fits-all approach.

Some say harsh things to me.

Sorry.

When I head home on the train,

I'm often exhausted.

And I wonder why I'm doing this at all.
What am I working for?

Some days are like that.

Ayano says she could never have imagined how the past year has turned out.

Should we open them now?

This is exciting.

I remember the color.

I wrote about my senior thesis.

Ayano and her best friend Sachiko read their letters together.

Did I really write this?

It's making me happier than I thought.

"Are you eating and sleeping well?"

"You're doing an awesome job, just being alive."

"I love you for sure."

"From myself in 2022."

They pore over a stream of kind words from their former selves.

- Perhaps we really did know how we'd be now.
- Sure did, huh?

Were we psychic?

Sachiko also popped a message in her best friend's envelope.

"Dear Ayano, living in 2023."

"How are you doing in your first year on the job?"

"I'm sure the struggles seem never-ending."

"So if you're feeling down, come out for a breather with me."

I'm feeling better already.

Things are the same at work
day in day out.

But this has brought me a little joy.

Wow, I was being so blunt.

24-year-old Anzu has also found life tough.

Here's what I wrote down.
"Uncertain. Boxed in. Sinking."

"23, woman, no job,
living with parents."

The letter she wrote a year ago reads like a cruel self-assessment.

She finished high school, and found herself hopping from one job to the next.

Anzu says she felt like a nobody, and kept comparing herself with others.

I just couldn't do it.

I would quit jobs after a week
or even just three days.

Everyone else was getting along fine.
Going to school, studying, working.

Seeing other people get on in life
made me jealous.

Anzu eventually found out about Jiyucho.

She poured out her emotions, hoping it might help her take a step forward.

I'm asking myself:
Where should I work? What can I do?

I can really see just how much
I was struggling back then.

The letter gives Anzu the chance for some much-needed self-reflection in the present day.

"May not be straight."

"Maybe a few cracks and bent out of shape."

"Or about to break."

"But now I've come to realize I have all these emotions inside myself."

We're not all the same.

But we all stand here, for sure, in our own way.

When I have worries,

I wish I could resolve them sooner.

But this letter has reassured me.
I'm OK just the way I am.

And it's helped me realize
I should be kinder on myself.

Anzu has since found a new job
And it's going well.

She decides to write
another letter.

I've found a job.

But I still worry.

Maybe that's fine.

Dear myself, a year from now.

Different days bring
different feelings.

Embrace them all
There is no right or wrong.

Done.