Hidetoshi Nakata

"When I retired [from football], I travelled around the world trying to figure out what was out there for me to do next, or rather what I wanted to do next. During the course of my travels, I began to realise that people often asked me about my home country."

"I decided I wanted to be an authority on Japan so I started travelling around the country learning everything that I could. So for the last six years, I've been to 47 prefectures from Okinawa to Hokkaido by car and met various artisans--craftsmen, garment makers, farmers and sake makers. I've also visited many shrines, temples and historical spots. That's when I noticed a problem: there is no bridge between the artisans and the market."

"In Japan, making money isn't foremost in our minds. We're constantly thinking of ways to make something better. Think of a road; it never ends. We constantly strive to be better."

"If you have an easy day, do you remember it? No. You remember the hard and difficult days. But what comes after? Happiness. Happiness comes after difficult moments, so that's me. I don't want to waste my time chasing ease and convenience. I want to find challenges so that I can experience happiness after that."