Lake Nojiri, a renowned summer resort in the town of Shinano, northern Nagano Prefecture, has long been a spiritual home to foreigners in Japan.
Hundreds of non-Japanese spend two to three weeks every summer in some 250 cabins built by the lake. Most are members of the Nojiri Lake Association, or Kokusai Mura (International Village), founded by missionaries from the United Sates and Canada in 1921.
The association members, made up of 250 families, have to buy a cabin — ¥5 million is the maximum price — from existing owners.