Long-term residents of Japan might remember the name Rainer Kaminski. In 1985 he made headlines as the first Westerner to become a taxi driver in Tokyo.
What happened to him after that? Well, after six months as a cabby based in Setagaya Ward, Kaminski decided he had had a large enough dose of city-living to last him till the grave. He quit in 1986 to move to Yakushima, the island off the southern coast of Kagoshima Prefecture that in 1993 was named a World Heritage site by UNESCO for its ancient cedar forests.
Life in the Yakushima village of Onoaida has allowed Kaminski to escape the hustle of the city, but it hasn't quelled his appetite for experimenting with unusual occupations.