Hi, this is Marusya, Assistant Manager #217. If you remember me from the summer of 2025 as an intern, then you know I’m from Ukraine, I love tea, and my whole conscious life I work as a brand manager in hospitality.
In autumn 2025, I decided to return to Obubu as a manager. What pushed me was a farewell message from the previous manager Nicole (hi, if you’re reading this):
“You should definitely apply for the manager program.”
And here I am. Already 2.5 months in. When I came back, Tran told me:
“It feels like you never left.”
And I felt the same.
A lot has changed around me:
- Tran is now a senior assistant manager
- The café now has a separate entrance, including an accessible one
- Our tour “menu” now includes a dedicated Matcha Tour, as Obubu has its own matcha grinding station
- Katrina is now a full-time employee and lives in Wazuka separately from our communal houses (but we still love catching her in our kitchen stealing rice)
- The spring internship program has twice as many people — it’s the first time Obubu feels this full
And yet, some things remain unchanged:
- Pau and his priceless mind and endless curiosity
- George, arriving slightly later to meetings in his sunglasses
- Hiro-san’s enthusiasm and active ideas
- Kayo-san’s warm smile
- Working on Aoi Mori with Miwako-san
- “Let’s enjoy today” and “Today’s tea は…” after daily meetings
- Ohayo from Araki-san and Higashi-san
And of course, the love for tea is so dense in the air that you could almost cut it with a knife.
I feel lucky to be surrounded by my fellow Assistant Managers. The biggest relief came when I found out that Trey — my companion both during the internship and now — would be my colleague. Having someone so responsible, calm, and genuine close in both work and shared living is priceless.
I came to Japan after six months in Ukraine. Autumn and winter were difficult. There was almost no electricity, light, or heating. I was slipping into survival mode rather than living, and without noticing it, I started to lose the belief that somewhere in the world things could be different.
I remember how, in my first weeks in Wazuka, I still didn’t turn on the lights out of habit — I walked with a flashlight and planned laundry around blackout schedules back in my hometown. It’s surprising how the nervous system adapts.
But over time, it adapted to Obubu’s rhythm too. The care and attention I received from my colleagues helped ease my PTSD symptoms. What also helped a lot was becoming the leader of social media. Working with digital communication truly energizes me. I love curating Obubu’s page — a multidisciplinary company like this gives so many messages and creative formats to explore.
So thank you to everyone who reacts to our content and sends us messages — I read everything and stay connected with you.
In these 2.5 months, we’ve welcomed two internship slots. Being exposed to so many people from different countries, with different personalities and backgrounds, has been a unique experience for me. I realized that I prefer mentoring not through words, but through actions. I’m more practical in that way.
I admire how my colleagues David, Ambre, and Garance work with interns.
It’s fascinating to see how the world of tea expands for each intern — how they begin to experiment, ask more questions, and reshape their understanding of the tea business.
Maren and her educational programs play a big role in that. Today, my mentee from Slot 1, Glenda, will be leading her first JTB session for Slot 2!
Speaking of mentoring — this is a new program within the AM program. Each manager is randomly paired with an intern. Over three months, you build trust and support, especially if the intern joins the Ambassador program and works on a personal project. I can’t wait for the world to see Glenda’s project — she’s incredibly talented.
Another highlight of this period has been nature. I was an intern in summer, and now I get to experience spring and autumn in Japan. Unexpectedly, I experienced hanami in Kyoto. Immersed in work, I almost forgot about sakura, so it felt like a breath out.
But of everything spring brings — the first tea shoots are the most surprising.
I had the chance to touch Kirari leaves at Kenta Hosoi’s field. We harvested leaves that were later hand-processed into sencha and sent to auction.
I’m also grateful to build connections with farmers from other regions this time. For example, the Yoshida Chaen team stayed with us. They observed our approach to tourism and tea tours — it was a beautiful exchange. It’s inspiring to see a business model built on family and generational knowledge.
I also visited farms in Ujitawara. I was impressed by the number of high-quality fields for gyokuro and tencha. I even saw bushes used for the tea that won the Kansai Tea Competition.
Just yesterday, we froze the first leaves of the spring harvest for upcoming hand-processing events with our guests. So — happy start of the spring season to me and my colleagues.
We’re slowly getting used to the heat and humidity. But as a former Slot 3 intern (June–September), I know what’s coming — so see you here in summer, when we’ll be preparing to welcome our kōhai — the next generation of managers (September 2026 – May 2027).
We’ve already selected 7 candidates, and I’m genuinely excited and looking forward to their arrival!
