Have you ever thought about moving out to the countryside, buying an old house to fix up and living the simple life?
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This transition has become the passion of people across Japan during the pandemic and the reasons to move out to the inaka (rural area), or not, surprised me in a recent Twitter poll I did that had over 610 votes and many fantastic comments.
Does where and how you grow up inform where you want to live as an adult, or is it more practical, based on where you feel you can enjoy the best quality of life?
I‘ve been considering these questions for the last 2 years as the #Akiya #Minka #Kominka abandoned houses in Japan topic has been the most popular in my Seek Sustainable Japan talkshow-podcast series.
The pandemic has shifted priorities for a lot of people and this included a reassessment of how quality of life and work is defined. There has been a greater interest in sustainable innovation, traditional designs, and bringing old houses into modern relevance through renovations.
Teleworking, and the newly discovered ability to commute to city jobs from rural locations has opened up a path to a rural transition many people thought wasn’t possible before. I hope this trend helps to save some areas in dire need of a population boost.
As I prepared to join an upcoming seminar this March, sponsored by Hiroshima prefecture, I was one of 3 panelists. I live on the outskirts of Hiroshima city, but the two other speakers live on remote islands. I was impressed by their desire to really live away from it all. Island dwellers Tom Coulton and Jason Lawrence have both found great communities and work which counterbalanced the inconveniences of living almost two-hour’s commute from a city.
While I admired and often envied their situations, it helped me consider what I value in my small city life and my own motivations for avoiding living in the center of a big city.
Tom & Jason both transitioned to rural island life from major metropolis– Tom grew up in London, then lived in Tokyo and Jason had been living and working in Singapore. Both of them seem to be thriving in their new communities– finding more good than bad for not only themselves, but for their families.
For me, even considering a country holiday home, I struggle with the inconvenience of being so far out of town, but Jason says of his lack of access to city life is actually something he likes about living on OsakiKamijima.
Tom Miyagawa Coulton is a highly skilled entrepreneur who runs a cafe he set up to sell British teas, sweets and meals, but also has various income streams from collaborative work as a translator, photographer and content creator. Tom and his wife settled in the historical area of Mitarai by utilizing the support of a government-sponsored system to encourage city-dwellers to move out to rural areas of Japan. They were first set up in sponsored housing, but have since bought and remodeled an old house into a stunning home with exposed beams and plastered walls. Island Pictures LLC
Tom will give us more insights into his life and work when he joins as a guest on the #SeekSustainableJapan talkshow on the 11th of March.
Jason Lawrence settled on the island of OsakiKamijima, a remote island in Hiroshima that can only be accessed by ferry. He has a teaching job a few days a week and seems to have a great work-life-family balance by maintaining a low-cost of living. As an avid runner, he enjoys exploring the area and feels they have enough conveniences there to sustain them for everything they need. Jason says he likes only being able to access his home by ferry, the remote aspect has appeal for him.
Twitter Poll on Rural vs City
In the twitter poll I ran asking the city vs rural life question, I was surprised and impressed by the enthusiastic 500+ responses in the first 12 hours.
Top 3 Reasons NOT to Move to Rural Japan
The top-3 reasons people DON’T want to move out of the city:
1) Bugs
2) Lack of jobs or career options
3) Don’t want to be cut-off from: Izakayas, nightlife, range of eateries and cafes, neon, big buildings, fast public transportation, buzz of an active metropolis..
Top 3 Reasons TO Move to Rural Japan
The top-3 reasons people DO want to move out to the rural areas:
1) Bigger House and Garden
2) Surrounding Nature & Healthier Lifestyle
3) Lower cost of living
Top 3 Myths About Rural Japan Life
1) More Bugs
2) Higher Costs
3) Lack of Jobs
I have lived and traveled in cities and countryside areas all over the world including the US, Japan, Australia, Norway, the UK, Thailand, Nepal, India, China, Spain, Morocco, Italy, France.. and well..
I think the bug argument doesn’t fly ;)
Some city dwellings have lots of bugs, others don’t; some rural dwellings have bugs, others don’t — I think we are talking more about lifestyle habits, dwelling quality and finding ways to live more in balance with nature.
In terms of health and sustainability, I hate using chemicals in the house that likely damage my family’s health more than the bugs– but I have learned to appreciate certain bugs.
For example, I love my house spiders, just like I respect the sharks in the oceans and wolves in the forest– these predators are essential for balance. The spider warriors keeping the nasty roaches and centipedes in balance.
Since we adopted cats, however, they only seem to like catching the spiders, not the roaches or centipedes. I’m hoping the spiders will learn to stay higher up, and the cats will consider catching some roaches.
So, yes, we do occasionally have roaches, but we usually only see centipedes once or twice a year when we have heavy rains that bring them in from the waterlogged garden. Luckily, we have never been stung and centipedes are excellent for the garden health acting as warriors to keep things in balance.
Live in harmony with nature, whenever possible, is a good mantra. If it would kill you or your kids if they drank it, is it really something you want to use around the house or garden?
I’ve seen Japanese apartment-dwelling people completely freaked out by even tiny ants– and really freaked out by the big, bad, ugly and dangerous bugs of Australia or Hawaii. My sense of bug-fear– and those of my students on study-abroad programs– certainly dulls over a few weeks of living in bug-havens like Hawaii and Australia.
In terms of costs, rural area living is a clear winner
Jason Lawrence had moved from Singapore to OsakiKamijima island and talked of picking oranges for a day to pay for his family’s rent and having to work as a teacher only 2 days a week to cover their simple, rural lifestyle.
In the Seek Sustainable Japan talkshow series, many guest speakers who are rural home owners, rave about finding great old houses and fixing them up to modern comfort level well within 10 million yen ($100,000 USD).
If you compare that with current rent prices in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, and even Fukuoka for a two-bedroom in a central location– you would burn through that amount in rent within a few years.
Rural dwellers also talk of bargains and even tit-for-tat exchanges for goods and services without a need for money.
Public transportation is less frequent, but most rural dwellers enjoy driving, cycling, walking instead of using crowded commuter trains. It takes longer to get to the nearest city, but as Byron and Kaori Nagy say,
We found less and less desire to get back into the big cities and started to enjoy the slower, more natural pace of life in the countryside. Your priorities will shift.
Embrace Entrepreneurship
Although there are more flexible job opportunities now with teleworking adoption, the lack of stable income and career opportunities is something many people thinking of transitioning worry about.
The more successful rural transitions are those who left their city jobs behind and embraced entrepreneurship. Having various income sources as well as lower cost of living, like both Tom and Jason have, is a great way to feel the benefits of rural life.
Jason said if he works in a local citrus farm for a day, he is able to cover his family’s rent for the month. This combined with the regular, stable income from his teaching job gives a greater sense of financial security.
Tom’s various revenue streams for translation, collaborations with businesses and content creation fluctuates but seems like less of a risk when your cost of living is a fraction of what it would be in the metropolis.
As for me, and many other content creators, going back to teaching once or twice a week, online or at a nearby school, provides a little bit of stable income. As long as you have a flexible employer that allows for adjustments and make-up classes if needed, this still allows the freedom to follow your dream and continue to work for yourself.
A full-time teaching job in Japan, at any level of education, requires regular office-hours, meeting participation in person, and roles on various committees throughout the year which makes even independent research required as a part of your job difficult. I haven’t yet heard of anyone able to work passionately on their side-hustle, being an entrepreneur, while working as full-time staff in Japan.
So, the big question is- what would it take for you to transition to a rural life from the city? What would be the most persuasive aspect for you, or what would be the key point that would stop you from doing it?
