In the very early stages of considering a move back to Japan. My wife wants to go back. We have a 3 & 10 yo. My wife is from Kyushyu, we lived there for a few years and moved to the UK about 7 years ago. She misses Japan but doesn’t want to go back to Kyushyu (family issues), so we’ve been looking at alternatives around Japan and we really like the look of Nagano.
My main question is, are there areas within Nagano that are known for being better for families? Or perhaps are known for being accommodating to mixed race kids and 外国人? Obviously our plan would be to visit a few places first, but I’ve literally no idea where to start investigating what different areas are like. All the info on Nagano I’m finding online revolves around snow monkeys and tourism, not a lot helping people move there.
As for requirements, I really like the outdoors. I’ve been working from home since COVID and enjoy spending more time with the kids and want to continue doing this. We’d like to raise them in a nice child/family friendly environment. My wife grew up on a farm, in a mid size town though so not quite inaka, but misses growing her own food and a more community centred life. I’m a software developer, looking at job vacancies so far it looks possible for me to find fully remote work. Can the prefectural government help in families moving there?
Just to be clear I’m asking advice for places to move to, I’ve already researched kids education issues/job Q’s, but any and all advice welcome! Thank you 🙂