Hey guys, so as title asks major pros and cons of both countryside life and city life. I have a job opportunity which means moving towards rural Nagano. I have lived in Kanagawa and worked in Tokyo in the past. What to do/keep in mind before moving to rural Nagano? Thanks in advance!
33 comments
I loved living in the city when I was younger. I love living out of the city now that I’m older. I’m very lucky to have been able to afford to make that change.
I always lived in cities in the UK but I love rural life here. I’m on the Niigata/Nagano border. I do lots of cycling, XC skiing and chilling in the onsen. There are a surprising number of great restaurants.
I don’t really like shopping so I don’t miss that, but there are many things I couldn’t buy easily if I wanted to. Public transport is hit and miss.
Nagano? More like, *nah gunna go*! Amirite?
Edit: rough crowd.
Rural for sure. Within reason of course
City all the way. If you need to do country stuff, you can travel from the city, but if you need to do city stuff and live in the country, you have to travel. I lived in the country before living in Japan and really don’t want to do it again, mainly because I don’t want to have the trouble and expense of a car, but also because I greatly enjoy being able to take a walk and see new things, which I can do and have been able to do at any time in the last 30 years in Tokyo.
Countryside.
I love not having to deal with assholes on the train.
Definitely city.
If I wanted to live in the countryside I wouldn’t come to Japan in the first place and I would’ve stayed in southeast Asia.
I used to live three years in the countryside. Honestly I loved being so close to nature. Got to see the beautiful starry skies almost every night and the seasonal changes were really picturesque.
With that said, whether you’ll have a good time may depend on the community/neighborhood. If all goes well and you have good rapport with your neighbors or your local community then it’s great. They’ll be nice. They’ll help you. It can be super fun to join the local activities. You might even get some free stuff. For example, my neighbor at the time was a rice farmer so I often got a free bag of rice and even a few vegetables. If people love you, you’ll feel more welcomed and life in the inaka will mostly be a breeze.
But there’s a phrase in Japanese called 村八分 (murahachibu), which imo is essentially a passive-aggressive form of bullying. If the locals don’t like you for whatever reasons, you might find it difficult to live there. Your neighbors might do things to make your life hell. This applies not only to foreigners but even Japanese people. I forgot the name of the guy but there was a Japanese guy who bought a house in the inaka and even was vlogging his life via YouTube but got hate from the locals because he wasn’t following the local rules or something. I think he eventually had to leave if I recall correctly. If you don’t care about making friends with your neighbors then that’s fine. I’ve heard of people who managed to power through it so it’s not always the case. But sometimes it’s best to at least get to know your neighbors, especially in times of distress. So, while this is not Japan exclusive, trying to keep a good relationship with your neighbors/community is probably something to keep in mind when living the countryside life.
Of course you should also set some boundaries because sometimes privacy can be out of the window in the inaka. People will talk about you. It’s good that people are curious about you but sometimes they may ask far too many questions. Everything you do might feel like a spotlight shone on you. You may be asked to do things you don’t want to so setting that initial boundary might help you in the long run.
I have always loved living in the country because the things that are fun about a city, are fun like 8-10 days a year.
I can just take a trip when I want to experience those things.
If I had the money to retire I’m paying to the countryside. Until then I stay in the city
Having lived in both, big cities and rural areas in my home country, I’d say I prefer rural/country side, but sometimes I do miss the big cities, and of course, it’s easier and faster to get everything in the city.
I’ve recently bought a house that combines both, it’s at the edge of a big city, feels more like a small village, and has a lot of nature surrounding it.
It’s around 20 minutes by foot to the “real” city, so I’d say it’s perfect for me.
I lived half in Tokyo and half in the countryside and eventually I made by Tokyo halves larger and larger until is stopped going to countryside at all.
The thing is that yes, the air is good, the greenery is there and the food tastes better… But countryside people are really really not my type. Too much intrigue, rumours and politics. City life is simpler, everybody just minds their business.
depends on your definition of “countryside”
i live in a small prefecture, and the place where i live is designated as 町, but it’s right on the shore of seto naikai so there is a local seaport, plus a highway and a railroad station are right beside – it may be a “countryside” compared to tokyo/osaka but can hardly be described as “rural”
I like people so I prefer cities
I’ve found “countryside” in japan has a very strange definition but I prefer suburban neighborhoods 30-40 minute drive away from city central area.
visiting the country… living in the city ….
A smaller city between the big city and countryside.
The perks of city life: don’t need a car, lots of variety
The perk of country life: access to greenery, not feeling trapped in because of tall buildings everywhere
AND:
Can easily travel to the big city or countryside when needed.
Nagano as in nagano city, small size city but still accessible to the ski resort and onsen and mountain
Depends where in Nagano? Closer to Tokyo, like Karuizawa is popular, because of that reason. Easy access to Tokyo and quiet, you do have the occasional tourists during GW, summer holidays and obon though.
I have also lived in the countryside and big city. Japanese countryside needs to be defined though. Some are really countryside with fields and houses being far apart, but the kind of countryside (where I lived before) was not charming at all. Depends really where and what is around in my opinion.
I’ve done big city and a few years in a SUPER inaka town (the nearest convenience store was almost an hour away by car).
It all depends on your interests, of course, but IME the ideal is somewhere in the middle. ie a rural town that’s within 30-ish minutes of a big city.
Fortunately for Japan, that covers quite a lot of their inaka towns.
Tokyo during the week, Katsuura or Chichibu for the weekends.
Ideally July/August in Shiretoko, Dec/Jan in Ishigaki
How rural?
My closest neighbour is 500m away. My water comes out of a spring in my backyard mountain. I have a backyard mountain. I can see all the stars. Feral pigs dig up my yard. Goats and deer pop by to chew on my veggie garden. I wake up to birdsong. My closest conbini closes at 11pm. This year, they stopped operating during the winter. Any shopping is a half hour drive away.
I love it.
I live in Nagano. Love the outdoors and being able to just take off into the mountains to go camping whenever I want. I don’t care about the big city life anymore. It was fun when I was in my 20s but now I’m older I just want to have a quiet life and enjoy my hobbies with my family.
Inaka all the way. Don’t share walls with anyone, have beautiful views, lots of space, cheap, friendly neighbors, endless vegetables from said neighbors, a more relaxed life, and many more things.
Things to keep in mind:
You need a car
You need Japanese
Everything takes longer to get to
People may not want to hang out because you live far away
Less options for groceries and restaurants
Tip for rural living: When you drive places, go more than one place. Going hiking with your friend? Stop by a grocery store on the way home. Got a doctor’s appointment? Go out to lunch beforehand. This is something I learned growing up in rural USA and definitely helps my inaka life here.
Also, because it’s Nagano, online shopping should be quite doable. I live in a similar distance from Tokyo and everything I order online arrives in one or two days. Very useful for when I can’t get to a store during the week or can’t find something easily.
I used to live in a small city in North Nagano. Loved my job and loved all the community of the country side. One big thing that sent me to Kanto was the availability of kindergartens and high quality medical care. I live in Chiba now which I think is a pretty good mix of city and rural life. Our city has lots of well maintained parks a walk from our house and everyone around us has young kids of the same age. Also, when we had our second kid my wife was able to go to local university branch hospital since it was a particularly complicated and risky pregnancy. We own our own hour and I am able to commute to Tokyo within an hour.
That being said it really depends on your life style choices and what sort of job you are taking. The country side life style was definitely laid back but there are options between mega city and total country side.
I hate bugs, snakes, lizards, and frogs. No where is truly safe but the city is safer
Living in a town of less than 5,000 people in the mountains with tons of snow. It’s lovely because I know everyone and they know me. There is a local ski hill that is run by the town and the season pass is 50% off because I am a part of the ski club. Ski everyday after work and on the weekends. Everyone uses skinny skis so on powder day, it’s my own personal resort.
Country life, I’ve never actually
Lived in the Japanese Inaka, but man city live is so damn hot and crowded, I wish there was more readily available nature.
One real big issue to think about is if you will be able to handle un-insulated homes in the deep winter of Nagano. I thought homes in warm parts weren’t insulated but apparently it’s everywhere in Japan. Single pane and no insulation even in Hokkaido I guess.
But Nagano offers great skiing and beautiful hiking. If I could live in any prefecture that would be it! Preferably by the north near Toyama/ Kita Alps. Chino and Tateshina would be great.
I love skiing, and it’s a million degrees in Tokyo right now. In spring or autumn I may have a different answer, or not.
I really hate nature, so city life for me.
People in the countryside-ish (ie still relatively urban but definitely nowhere near as urban as even the outskirts of Yokohama) were super friendly and welcoming. People in Tokyo are just too busy to give a shit generally.
If you’ve lived in both the countryside and a large city in Japan, you’ll know the massive difference between being able to arrange a get together pretty adhoc (even the same day) in the sticks, compared with the annoyance of having to arrange everything 5 millennia in advance in Tokyo, only to have someone back out at the last minute and the whole thing falls apart (especially if the “mood maker” in the group decides they cannot be bothered).
Other thing is that in the countryside a lot of the things to do were like going to the beach, going to the forest, going up the mountain, doing fireworks near the river etc etc etc. In Tokyo, I swear every get together just revolves around either drinking alcohol or eating and then drinking alcohol.
One final thing is that I found myself being way more active in the countryside. If everything in town is a short walk or bike-ride away, you don’t feel that mysterious voice saying “just go to the conbini, get a bento, and binge a bunch of netflix” quite as much.
Needless to say, I was in way in better shape before I moved to Tokyo.
City definitely. Been living in cities all my life and I like nature in small doses.
I lived in the countryside in Yamanashi for a bit. Relaxing, people are nicer, things run slower and the threat of petty crime is not as great. But, it is boring and quiet so if you miss the action of the city it is probably not optimal for you.