When I heard that someone had gone to Ukraine, the first thing that came to mind was, “How did they get in?” Flights aren’t supposed to be operating.

My first trip there was in July 2025—exactly one year ago.

So, how do you actually enter the country?

Since flights weren’t operating, I went to Poland and traveled overland from there.

It’s not easy for Japanese companies to enter Ukraine in the first place. You have to submit an application to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and make the necessary arrangements. That year, I had the opportunity to tour the area with several Japanese companies, and our company was included in that group.

What other kinds of companies were there?

A medical company, a transportation company, and a drone company. The industries were quite diverse.

By “overland,” do you mean by car?

It was an overnight train. We boarded at the border and arrived in Kyiv in the morning.

While I was on the train, a thought suddenly occurred to me. Trains run on tracks, right? I realized that the entire route ahead was completely predictable. There’s nowhere to escape.

That’s true, isn’t it?

I heard later that they apparently change the route every time. So they said it’s safe.

Does that really put your mind at ease?

No, it’s the opposite. I thought, “So they really are targeting us after all.” It actually made me even more scared.

What was the first thing you saw when you arrived?

Right in front of the station, there’s a building with all its windows shattered. It’s no longer in use. Apparently, they left the building that was first attacked just as it was.

But right in front of that building, there were families walking by. The kids were holding balloons and looking like they were having a great time.

Oh, really?

Yeah. I’d had a scary experience getting here on the overnight train, and I’d assumed the people in town would be on edge, too. It was an indescribable feeling.

Did you take the subway, too?

I did. The escalators were just so long. No matter how far I went down, I never seemed to reach the bottom. They were moving so fast, I couldn’t figure out when to step on.

Oh, so that actually doubles as a shelter. That’s why it’s so deep.

What about shopping?

I went into a supermarket. This was another surprise—fresh vegetables were neatly arranged, and they even had expensive wine.

I had this image that there wasn’t much available.

That’s what I thought. Of course, there are plenty of hardships happening. That’s a fact. But that’s not the whole story. Since this has been going on for years, people have to keep living their lives.

Even in the midst of a war, people go to work as usual, and some even dine out at restaurants in the evening. I really felt that this kind of everyday life exists too.

Can you spend your evenings normally?

No, the evenings are different. You install an app that alerts you to air raids. It usually starts beeping after 8 or 9 o’clock.

When it goes off, no matter what you’re doing, you have to go down to the underground shelter. The hotel’s underground parking garage serves as that shelter.

Every night?

Every night. I spent every night I stayed there in the shelter.

What were you hoping to see during this past week?

It’s actually very simple. I wanted to see if it’s possible to make things here.

If there are air raids every day and people are dying—if that’s all there is to this city—then there’s no way anyone could focus on work. People would be doing their best just to stay alive.

But that wasn’t the case.

Vegetables were on display, the subway was running, and children were walking around with balloons.

Next, in November, I’ll be visiting cities outside of Kyiv.