insights from frontier Japan

In April, it’s 10 years since local volunteers began running the café & gallery ‘Akanara’ in Shimogoryo in the city of Furano. In the past, the café was the mecca of fans of a popular TV drama. Now, its role is changing into a place where locals and migrants interact.

Uno Atsuko, who worked as a nurse in Tokyo, has relocated to the town of Kyogoku and returned to the days of coming into contact with horses that she loves.

“It’s appealing because there are Japanese people who kindly accept foreigners like us.” Taiwanese snowboarder Bonny Wu talks about her reasons for deciding to settle in Niseko.

Ono Tomohiro, founder and CEO of international IT venture company Kudan, liked the “borderless” Niseko community and relocated to the Hirafu district from Shinagawa, Tokyo last August. He thinks that Niseko is also a perfect base for his technical research facility and investment department.

A male hair stylist who returned to Japan from Canada after the Great East Japan Earthquake, and a female nurse who experienced exhaustion in the field of medicine in Tokyo: the couple met in a share-house in Niseko while visiting the resort to snowboard in a bid to heal their mental wounds, and ended up settling in the town. They started a business making aromatic oils extracted from local forest resources, and are now creating new values in Niseko.

Koli Kamal Raj (27) immigrated to Japan after marrying a Japanese woman from southern Hokkaido's Assabu Town. He is working hard at stockbreeding at Shimokawabe Ranch in the town. Toiling away at heavy physical work with a smile, Raj says with a gleam in his eyes, "I want to participate in the local festivals as well and really get to know everyone around here."

‘Kelapilika’ is a café that opened in August 2020 in a renovated empty property in the center of the town of Rankoshi, which is adjacent to the Niseko region. The establishment is managed by Yoshie, the wife of Tetsuji, who works remotely for one of Japan’s leading electronics manufacturers. He continues to work for a large enterprise while living in a regional town. In the past, this would just have been a dream lifestyle, but is now becoming reality.

Yamamoto Takao moved to a regional village from the city. Snowboarding was the catalyst for whole family’s choice in relocating. A glimpse of a new regional lifestyle can be seen in the café in which urban experiences are put to use in the region.

Takahashi Chisa (34), a web counsellor who is active online, relocated to the town of Kutchan in the Niseko region on November 12 last year. Until then, she lived in Tokyo for two years and, before that, used to live in Kutchan. An attempt to find a new way of working provides the background to Takahashi’s ‘U-turn relocation’.