rural
![What are the worst things about living in the Japanese countryside?[Survey]](https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2026/04/ig-1.jpg?w=640 "What are the worst things about living in the Japanese countryside?[Survey]")
Dilapidated outbuilding at the SoraHouse contains some surprise items that could tell a story or two.
We bought the SoraHouse for US$9,100 and now it’s time to see if we’re sitting on a goldmine.
A surprising number of young adults are considering trading the hustle and bustle of Tokyo and other cities for a slow-paced rural lifestyle.
Family and nature both feature prominently in this stirring glimpse of a day spent far away from the bright lights of Tokyo.
When European writer, Lafcadio Hearn, wrote about Shimane prefecture in 1894, he described a land steeped in tradition and nature. Since then, all of Japan seems to have ignored this sleepy area of the Chugoku region whose most recent claim to fame is having the country’s largest population of the elderly. But if Shimane prefecture is stuck in the olden days, the Oki Islands are lost in time. Lazily floating out at sea in what is technically Shimane, but is actually an entire world of its own, Oki is a forgotten gem tucked in a dusty corner of Japan. Rambling down the overgrown back roads, you’re sure to come across a wrinkled face and a hearty “konnichiwa,” a small experience that seems to have become a rarity in the always busy metropolises of this country.
It is in this uncommon place that we had the privilege of staying in a home that has stood for over a century. Join us as we share our experience staying at the Japanese guesthouse called Tsukudaya.
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