Dave Greatbanks of England met his future wife, Mimari, in 2000 when he was teaching English at a language school in Niigata that she attended once a week after work.
Dave, 35, was born at an army garrison in Yorkshire where his father worked, and spent his childhood in Liverpool and Germany. Upon graduating from university, he wanted to get out of the U.K. and came to Japan 13 years ago. After six years of teaching English, he attained an MBA and worked for five years in a financial advisory firm that he started with his friends. At present, he does finance-related translation work at a Japanese securities company.
Mimari, 37, who hails from Niigata, worked a variety of jobs in Niigata and Tokyo but now works as an assistant to an executive of a logistics company.