After years in a corporate Tokyo job, Ayano Kikuchi relocated to Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, in 2020 to manage the town's only year-round yoga studio, W Tree House. Now 37, she has found both healing and purpose in this endeavor.

1. What inspired your family to open a yoga studio in Karuizawa? My mother and I used to organize monthly dinner parties in Tokyo, and we wanted to foster a similar community in Karuizawa. She founded W Tree House in 2018, a space immersed in nature where people can breathe and connect with their core selves while gathering with others.

2. What was your background before managing the studio? I used to be what we call an “office lady” in Tokyo, with a regular nine-to-five job in the travel industry. I felt a lack of excitement and challenges. Before that, I had spent my youth between London, where I studied, and Tokyo, where my family was.