For most of her life, Masako Tokida was a city girl. She grew up in the Kanto area of Japan, then in her teens, she lived in Dusseldorf, Germany, where her father had been transferred by his company. After returning to Japan, she attended Waseda University and, upon graduating, she stayed in Tokyo, first to work in the sales division of a pulp and paper company and then later a travel agency.
But when Tokida started working in Chena Hot Springs Resort in Alasaka in 2009, she became completely enamored with nature. "I can't really imagine an urban existence in Japan anymore," she says. "I've become spoiled by all this natural beauty around me."
Now in her 10th year of working in Chena, Tokida has decided to lay down some serious roots.