Meet Simon and Keiko. Together, they run Hanase Highland Inn, a cozy guesthouse and restaurant surrounded by the mountains of Hanase, Kyoto. Their journey is a mix of international romance, a love for cooking, and a real appreciation for rural Japanese life. Join them as they share their experiences of restoring their mountain homestead, becoming part of a close-knit community, and discovering a more peaceful pace of life.
A Chance Meeting Across Continents
Before coming to Kyoto, Simon, who was originally born in Scotland, trained as a chef. He worked in London, moved to Sydney, Australia, and eventually became an independent executive chef in the Blue Mountains. His first meaningful introduction to Japan, however, came years earlier in London. At the time, he was working at a hotel and was asked to prepare a traditional Japanese breakfast for visiting Japanese salarymen.
“It was a disaster,” Simon laughs. “I was making soup and grilled fish and tsukemono (pickles), and I gave it to them, but it just wasn’t what they wanted.” Despite those early challenges, he befriended the Japanese chefs at the hotel’s Japanese restaurant, an experience that opened his eyes to the culture. He began visiting Japan every year, learning more about the country with each trip.
Across the ocean, Keiko was raising her two young sons on her own while searching for alternative education options for them. She came across an article about a school in Scotland, which inspired her to begin corresponding with the headmaster. Eventually, the headmaster invited her to visit the school in Scotland with her children. Because her children’s teachers were Simon’s parents and they lived right next door, Keiko and her children lived closely with Simon’s parents like family.
While visiting on holiday from Australia, Simon met Keiko at a party hosted by his parents. The two connected instantly, and Simon later proposed to Keiko from a classic red telephone box in London.
The couple returned to Australia, where they ran a successful restaurant business together before eventually deciding to sell everything and move to Japan.
Making the Leap from Australia to Kyoto
Because Simon and Keiko returned to Japan every year to visit family, Simon was already familiar with Japan. By the time they decided to move, he had spent nearly 30 years learning about Japanese culture and daily life. As Keiko’s parents grew older, the couple decided it was time to relocate permanently and live closer to them.
After finding a house in Hanase online, they traveled to see the property in person. Soon after, they sold everything they owned in Australia, packed up, and boarded a plane with their Australian-born dog.
“We left Australia in the freezing middle of winter and landed in Japan during a scorching 35-degree July,” Simon recalls. On top of the stress of moving countries, they also had to deal with Japan’s strict quarantine paperwork for their dog.
Keiko’s parents’ house in Osaka gave them a place to stay while they sorted out the move. In the end, their move to Hanase was not about choosing Kyoto simply for Kyoto’s sake. It was about finding a place near family, surrounded by rivers and mountains, with enough space to build a new life. Kyoto just happened to offer exactly that.
Restoring a Traditional Japanese Home
With their background in hospitality, the couple decided to transform the hanare, or detached building, on their new property into a guesthouse and one-table restaurant. To make it happen, Keiko carefully navigated the strict licensing requirements by working closely with the local city hall.
Their renovation journey led to several memorable encounters, especially with a local builder in his 70s. Rather than using modern power tools, he sawed and assembled everything entirely by hand. Some of the wood used in the renovation was even found on the property itself.
A picture of the renovated bathhouse, using wood found on the property.
Watching his traditional techniques was a pleasure, but his meticulous pace put pressure on their business timeline. With guests scheduled to arrive in November, progress was still slow in August, so they eventually hired a second builder to help finish the bath renovations on time.
Working with local tradesmen also brought some humorous lessons in communication. He recalls a time he asked the local builder to move an existing door to a new spot.
“I can’t do that,” the builder initially insisted.
“Yes, you can. You can just put it there,” Simon encouraged him.
After some back-and-forth, the builder managed to make it fit perfectly. “We realized he just wanted to buy a new door, but our budget was kind of limited,” Simon laughs. Despite these quirks, he says working alongside the tradesmen “was a real nice introduction to the way of local life.”
Living by the Rhythms of Nature
Living in Hanase means learning to move with the landscape and its seasonal shifts. Their first winter caught them completely off guard. As Simon recalls, “We had five meters of snow all of a sudden. We weren’t ready for that.” Traditional Japanese homes like theirs are “designed for summer,” built to stay cool in the heat, so they soon realized they would need a large wood stove to survive the freezing mountain winters.
Yet living in Hanase has its own rewards, despite the challenges. In the height of summer, Simon enjoys swimming in the clean river that flows directly in front of their property, with the sound of birds singing all around.
The seasons also shape their daily menu and activities. One example is the seasonal rice-growing program they run. Now in its ninth year, it draws city dwellers to the mountains to experience planting and harvesting crops firsthand. Keiko has also taken on a leadership role as a representative of the Hanase Forest Council, where she has led forest bathing events that invite people from the city to come into the mountains, slow down, walk through the woods, and “just feel the nature.”
For Simon, the surrounding landscape is a constant source of inspiration in the kitchen. During hunting season, local deer hunters bring him fresh venison, while neighbors often drop off regional specialties such as shibazuke, a Kyoto-style pickle, and sansai, wild edible mountain vegetables.
Integrating Into the Local Community
Moving to a close-knit rural community inevitably came with a period of adjustment. Simon says newcomers are often placed “under the microscope” at first, as neighbors quietly watch to see whether they respect local customs, such as putting out the right garbage on the correct day.
Over time, Simon and Keiko turned those early challenges into something deeply rewarding by approaching the community with patience, humility, and respect. “I think it’s imperative that you try to integrate as quickly as you can and do the right thing,” Simon says. They joined the local volunteer fire brigade, took part in neighborhood festivals, and, during the pandemic, even started a bento box service that became an unexpected way to get to know their neighbors better.
As Simon points out, they were never invited to the village; they chose to move there because they genuinely loved the region. By respecting its heritage, making the effort to connect, and sharing what they could with the community, they have gradually carved out a peaceful and welcoming home in Hanase.
Advice for Aspiring Country Dwellers
For anyone dreaming of a quieter life in Kyoto, Simon and Keiko say flexibility is essential. Keiko advises newcomers to “be prepared to make a lot of compromises,” while Simon encourages them to observe first and avoid assuming their way is the only way. Local customs may take time to understand, he says, but “there’s a reason things are done a certain way.” For them, settling in well means learning from the community rather than trying to reshape it.
That same openness also matters when it comes to work. Simon warns against arriving with too fixed an idea of what your career in Kyoto should look like. Instead, he advises people to “be prepared to diversify.” He also stresses the importance of learning the language since strong communication skills are essential for building relationships and understanding local expectations.
Simon and Keiko also encourage aspiring country dwellers to think carefully about the long-term realities of rural life. Younger people moving to places like Hanase may not always consider what it will mean later in life to be far from city conveniences. With no nearby hospital, ATM, or easy public transport, staying independent as you age can become a real challenge. Still, they believe that choosing a life aligned with your values and making decisions based on what truly suits you can ultimately lead to greater happiness.
Find Your Home in Kyoto
As Simon and Keiko’s journey demonstrates, finding your place in Kyoto’s serene mountains is a deeply rewarding experience. If their story has inspired you to consider a similar path, you do not have to navigate the transition alone. Contact the Kyoto City International Foundation today for relocation support and resources.
