RubyKaigi 2024 was held at Naha Cultural Arts Theater NAHArt in Naha, Okinawa. I attended with my wife and two children. We had previously visited Okinawa as a family for IVS2022 NAHA, using a prize from Tokyo Hacker House, and the children had enjoyed it a lot. When I asked about going again for RubyKaigi, they immediately said they wanted to go.

Childcare Sponsor

I am deeply grateful to STORES, Inc. for sponsoring childcare. Without childcare support, I probably could not have decided to attend as a family. As part of the support, there was an activity to Churaumi Aquarium. The children borrowed books about the aquarium from the library and looked forward to Okinawa every day.

I work remotely, and after the children return from kindergarten or school, I often work while they study or play nearby. Because my work is in English education for children, watching them is useful for work as well. At the same time, they had fewer chances to leave their parents, so this activity was very valuable. When I saw them happily boarding the bus, I felt relieved.

At the Day 1 Official Party, Sasada, a Ruby committer at STORES, kindly guided us to an area where other children were present. People grilled meat for us, and the children enjoyed their first BBQ. They also played with other children at the venue, freely overriding the rules of tag. It felt very RubyKaigi, and even like Wittgenstein’s language games.

The children did not tell me much about the aquarium afterward. Since it was their own adventure, I did not force them to talk. They wanted a whale shark plush toy, so we bought one on Kokusai Street. Even after returning home, they treasured it and named it “Rinrin.”

I thank chief organizer Matsuda, committer Sasada, STORES, the RubyKaigi team, and all volunteer staff who accompanied the children.

Tech Talks

The biggest feature of RubyKaigi is the tech talks. This year again, the talks exceeded expectations. I was happy that I could understand more little by little, and I was moved by being able to feel the speakers’ emotions and histories. Parser development around tools, practical ruby.wasm use cases, Namespace, and Happy Eyeballs were especially memorable.

Hallway Communication

Another pleasure of RubyKaigi is meeting people in the hallway. Five people from CATAL attended, including me. Because we usually work remotely, this was a rare chance to meet directly. I also met a new member who had joined in April. They used childcare while their partner took diving lessons and they enjoyed RubyKaigi; again, this would not have been possible without childcare support.

We also met former colleagues and people connected through past projects. It felt like a reunion. I want current members to build their own networks, so I try to keep an appropriate distance.

Neurodiversity and Aogaku Tsukumana Lab

In my spare time, I help operate Henkaku, a Web3 community hosted by Joi Ito. Related to it is the Neurodiversity Salon, which accepts ASD, ADHD, LD, and other traits as neurological diversity. At an after-party sponsored by mov, I spoke with a fellow from Aogaku Tsukumana Lab, which provides spaces where everyone can learn by creating. I felt common values between neurodiversity, Tsukumana Lab, and RubyKaigi: accepting diversity and valuing creativity and cooperation.

Shuri Castle

I also visited Shuri Castle, which is being reconstructed after the 2019 fire. Shuri Castle is Japan’s only vermilion castle and a work of lacquer craft. A friend of mine, a maki-e artist, has long been involved in the restoration. Seeing that work in progress was important to me.

Personal Change

This RubyKaigi made me notice changes in my own state of mind. I still have high motivation, but reviewing the year made me realize many things I should reflect on, especially activities that had become inertia. I want to secure more time to write code and make things.

I also strongly felt that I must balance caring for my family. I see my family as members working together to build a better society. Rather than only behaving as a guardian, I want us to enjoy the adventure of life as a team. If my children ever aim to become programmers, I hope we can listen to sessions together and discuss them someday.

The children going to pick up coral at the end.