特集「キャッチ」福岡のグルメと人情を発信　インフルエンサーは元CA　コロナ禍で仕事を失って見えたこと

This is the special feature "Catch". This woman sits upright and greets politely. You may have seen her on social media. She is a former cabin attendant and a popular influencer with 250,000 followers. This woman, who used to travel all over the world, was fascinated by Fukuoka's gourmet food and the warmth of its people. Read the article about this video＞ https://news.ntv.co.jp/n/fbs/category... ■Gourmet influencer Riri "Thankfully, when I go out, people start talking to me more. They say things like, 'I watch your videos all the time.'" Riri (29), who is from Ibaraki Prefecture and lives in Fukuoka City, is an influencer who is based in Fukuoka and works under the account name "Former CA's Gourmet Journey". She has over 250,000 followers combined on TikTok and Instagram. The short video, which is about one minute long, is characterized by her trademark bow in seiza at the front of the store and her good tempo as she eats the store's recommended menu items with gusto. Riri, who is active as a food influencer, was a cabin attendant for an overseas airline until three years ago. Her childhood dream of becoming a cabin attendant led her to fly to 32 countries, enjoying local cuisine in between flights and leading a fulfilling life. However, her life has changed dramatically due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ■Riri "Some months there was only one flight a month, and there were rumors going around that I would be laid off, so I had a vague feeling that it would happen." She returned to Japan temporarily because her work visa had expired. ■Riri "I got a phone call while I was in Japan because my visa application (for the country I was staying in) was not approved and they said, 'If your application is not approved, you can't work there. That means you're fired.' I cried my eyes out and couldn't say anything. Because I dedicated my life to becoming a flight attendant, when I lost my job, I had nothing left." Riri has been live streaming on social media since she was a flight attendant. After she was fired, she traveled around Japan live streaming, and a turning point came in Fukuoka. ■Riri "Going to delicious restaurants in Fukuoka was my purpose in life. I realized that there were such delicious things, and I thought I could make this into content, so I started filming videos of myself eating." While flying around the world, Riri was fascinated by Fukuoka's gourmet food, such as ramen and motsunabe. In addition, she was attracted to the warmth of the people, and decided to settle in Fukuoka in 2022. She continues to post as an influencer introducing Fukuoka gourmet food. ■Riri "Nice to meet you." On this day, we visited a seafood bowl restaurant in Daimyo, Fukuoka City. All we had to do was use our smartphone and a stand. ■Riri "This is the main dish this time. Is it new?" ■Staff member "Yes, it's a fairly recent menu item." What Riri values ​​is the interaction with the staff. ■Riri "Are you particular about the tuna?" ■Staff member "I want everyone in the country to eat Tsushima bluefin tuna, so I always cook with that in mind." ■Riri "It's so wonderful." ■Riri "Everyone tends to focus on food and things, but I really want to convey the owner's thoughts, why they started serving this food, and what inspired them to set up this restaurant, so I value people's thoughts when I make posts." Riri says that the reason she started to value "thoughts" in her video production was because of an incident that happened when she had just visited Fukuoka. ■Riri "It was raining and I didn't have an umbrella, so I was waiting at a traffic light. Then, an old lady came up behind me and offered me her umbrella, saying that she was running an okonomiyaki restaurant and that I should come again sometime." Riri then went to the restaurant to express her gratitude. ■Riri "The other day, I went to the old lady's restaurant. I told her that it was me who met her on that rainy day, and thanked her so much for that time. I posted that I wanted to support the old lady's restaurant." I also edited the video using just my smartphone. ■Riri "The seafood was so luxurious that I tried to express a lot of the happiness of that." I also did the narration myself. ■Riri "My voice resonates, so I speak in front of something that absorbs it as much as possible so that it doesn't resonate. After all, the excitement of my voice is halved when it's on video, so I try my best to speak with a high level of excitement." Editing took an hour. The completed video, about one minute long, also included the "interactions with the restaurant staff" that Riri treasures. ■Riri "I think there are many people who come to Fukuoka for sightseeing, as well as people who live there. I think food is an inseparable part of Fukuoka, so I hope to continue to help them choose restaurants that will leave a lasting memory." Riri herself was fascinated by Fukuoka's "food" and "people." Currently, most of her fol...