After years of living in Tokyo, Mutsumi Okazaki, 54, and his wife Kaori, 48, closed their wine bar in January last year and moved to Mitsugi, a former mountain town located in the city of Onomichi, Hiroshima Prefecture. The reason for their relocation was because their new house would have a vegetable field close to the kitchen.
Fairly accessible from each other’s hometowns, Mitsugi was the location they set their sights on from the get-go. The couple used the so-called vacant house bank system run by the city — where empty, abandoned properties are on sale for those looking to move to the countryside — to find themselves the 45-year-old house.
They also rented a field of about 70 square meters in the backyard from one of their neighbors. Their plan is to grow herbs there and eventually refurbish the house with a view toward launching a restaurant business.