Japan is trying to lure people into rural areas by selling $500 homes, but it's not enough to fix the country's 'ghost town' problem
In March of that year, the Tohoku Earthquake struck off the northeast coast of Japan and triggered a tsunami that killed more than 20,000 people. The death and destruction forced Uchiyama, who was born in the Greater Tokyo area, to consider his own legacy.
"I thought, what could I leave behind, and what example could I be to my children … if I can't say I lived a fulfilling and enjoyable existence?" Uchiyama told Insider.
Five years later, Uchiyama and his wife packed up their lives in the Tokyo area. Their destination lay nine hours south in the mountainous prefecture of Wakayama. There, he and his family settled into an akiya — an abandoned home — in the countryside.
"The akiya at the beginning of the move looked a little bit like a haunted house," Uchiyama, now in his mid-40s, admitted (he declined to share how much they bought it for). "But we changed the flooring, repaired the roof, and made the renovation a family project."
The family spent one year and one million yen (roughly $9,000) renovating the house; they now run an organic farm, cafe, and guest house out of the property.
