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00:01Any time I can stick it to the man in a small way, I do.
00:05Could you start your life all over again,
00:08leave behind everything you know for something completely different?
00:13It's like, I guess we live in a bit of a pressure cooker.
00:16I'm Ben Fogel, and over the next few weeks,
00:18I'm going to live with the incredible people who've done just that.
00:22Did you ever feel like abandoning the property?
00:25No, it's my home.
00:27Would you say you enjoy the companionship of animals more than people?
00:31Probably, yeah.
00:33In some of the most remote places on Earth.
00:36This is why I love the wilderness.
00:38I'll discover their motivations.
00:40For me, it was just, yeah, you're born, you go to school,
00:44you work all life, and then you die.
00:46The challenges.
00:47There's no way that I was going to put my wife and my children in that house,
00:51the condition that it was in.
00:52Just make sure there's absolutely no electrical current down there.
00:55And find out what it takes to make a new life in the wild.
01:00Hasta la vista, Benny.
01:09This week, I'm heading to the land of the rising sun.
01:14To meet Yorkshireman Rupert.
01:16Would you like a cup of tea?
01:18Whose search for a simple life led him to the mountains of Japan.
01:22Am I right in thinking that you've fully embraced Japanese culture?
01:27100%.
01:28Maybe more than your average Japanese person.
01:32I'll see first-hand the contentment this new life has brought him.
01:36I come in my field, I just feel energised and like a child.
01:41But learn how it's also pushed him to breaking point.
01:45You're getting emotional now.
01:46Yeah, because I think I can remember it all.
01:49It almost feels like you're still traumatised by it.
01:51Yeah, because it'll probably happen again.
01:59My journey takes me 9,500 kilometres east to Japan and the southern island of Kyushu.
02:18I've been to this country before and it never fails to totally captivate me.
02:25If you love travel, as I do, this is the ultimate destination.
02:29It's so wildly culturally and geographically different from anywhere else.
02:36And I still get so excited to get back here.
02:40I'm just an hour's drive from the nearest city.
02:43But right now, it feels like I'm the only person here.
02:47Which is remarkable, given that there are 124 million people living in Japan.
02:54What's really interesting for me is that over the last century or so,
02:57there's been a huge urban migration.
03:00I think only 10% of the population live in its rural areas.
03:04So what on earth a Yorkshireman is doing as part of that 10%?
03:09Well, I hope to find out.
03:14I soon join up with a tarmacked road and spot a small village ahead.
03:24He lives somewhere around here.
03:28Where is he?
03:32Rupert?
03:32Oh, hey-o!
03:34Hey-o!
03:35That is the most unexpected welcome here in Japan.
03:38Well, you can't take the Yorkshire after the Yorkshireman.
03:40I love it.
03:41But this is a slightly different environment to the one you're used to.
03:45I mean, look at this.
03:45A little bit.
03:46Yes.
03:47Can I have a look around?
03:48Yep.
03:48Go on.
03:49Oh, it's so good to be here, Rupert.
03:51In fact, you've just won first prize as the first Englishman to visit me.
03:56Really?
03:57Yeah.
03:58I take great pride in that.
04:0357-year-old Rupert grew up in the small town of Ilkley, near Leeds.
04:08A keen runner and cyclist, he attended art college before moving to Singapore at the age of 24 to work
04:16in graphic design.
04:18Over the next two decades, Rupert worked in photography, making good money.
04:22But as city life took its toll, he began to yearn for a fresh start.
04:29In 2013, Rupert moved to Fukuoka City in southern Japan, but soon found himself drawn to the surrounding countryside.
04:39It was in 2022 that he relocated to a remote village of 20 people, purchasing a traditional Japanese house for
04:49just £20,000.
04:52It's been his home ever since.
04:57Ah, here we go.
05:01Wow, Rupert.
05:03This is amazing in here.
05:06Wow, it's incredibly atmospheric.
05:11So, what state was this in when you moved in? How much work have you done here?
05:14Actually, it's in quite good condition, because the house is, it's a relatively new, new house.
05:20What's new here in Japan?
05:23Well, this is 60 years old, so that's quite new for this style. Very traditional, which is why we bought
05:28it.
05:29We?
05:30Oh, I'm married.
05:32Where is your wife?
05:33She's at work now.
05:35Okay, but I'll meet her later?
05:36Yes.
05:36Looking around, I don't see a huge amount of evidence of Yorkshire, apart from your face and your head.
05:42That's kind of it. So, am I right in thinking that you've fully embraced Japanese culture?
05:48Yes, yeah. I mean, yeah, maybe 100%. Maybe more than your average Japanese person.
05:58You can see just how much Rupert has embraced the country's aesthetic in his home.
06:05While the house is connected to the mains and a local water supply, it relies on a small wood-burning
06:10stove for heating.
06:12And it's definitely needed.
06:14It is cold, though. Do you like the cold?
06:16Yeah, I love it. I'm from Yorkshire, so it's in my blood. No insulation.
06:20I can show you. No underfloor heating here.
06:24So...
06:25What's under that?
06:27Dirt.
06:29That's straight outside?
06:31Yep. And actually, you can feel the wind coming.
06:34Well, I can warm you up a bit if you're feeling cold. Would you like a cup of tea?
06:37Yeah, I have a tea plantation.
06:39Of course you have a tea plantation.
06:43This is all very surreal and very charming.
06:46It's atmospheric and beautiful, but so unlikely to be met by a Yorkshireman on the side of a Japanese hilltop.
06:54So it's like I really am treading in two parallel universes here.
06:59But I've got a lot of questions to understand more about his very simple life.
07:05But what I do get a sense of is he's very happy.
07:12Because the village is so isolated, Rupert bought a small van for just £150 to get around.
07:19His other prized possession can only be accessed by ladder, his very own rice field.
07:26Is this going to pass health and safety? I think that looks okay.
07:29I think it'd be banned in England.
07:32I'll follow you up. Okay.
07:39Ice security paddy field.
07:42It's like a castle.
07:44Not much rice going on right now, though.
07:46I harvested in November.
07:48Yeah. That's a pretty good view.
07:52Yeah, when I saw this rice field, I thought it was like love at first sight.
07:58I can see the smile on your face glowing.
08:03You're obviously really proud of this. You love the rice.
08:05Yeah, I'm proud of my rice.
08:07So how on earth does a Yorkshireman know where to begin when it comes to growing rice?
08:13Was this all through local knowledge?
08:15Local knowledge and self-taught.
08:18I've experienced how they grow it the modern way.
08:20And it's just, I don't know, disillusioned me.
08:23No one does by hand anymore.
08:25What do the locals make of this?
08:27I mean, I can see they're quietly impressed.
08:31But they also... I spoke to one farmer the other day.
08:34He looked horrified when I said I didn't use insecticide.
08:38It's called no-yako in Japanese.
08:40So no insecticides, mu-no-yako.
08:43So I like using that word a lot.
08:45So you're healthier. Economically, are you pretty stable?
08:50Well, rephrased, I don't really like money.
08:56And living where I live, I don't need much money.
09:00My wife works on a minimum wage.
09:04And we live on very little.
09:06Would you say this is an idyllic life?
09:08Oh, yes.
09:09I come in my field, I just feel energised and like a...
09:12You know, like...like a child.
09:19I see what he means.
09:21I sense an almost childlike giddiness about Rupert when he talks about his life here.
09:27On top of growing tea leaves and rice, he also has a vegetable garden to supplement his meals.
09:33And as his wife Asaki is away for her job in education,
09:37tonight's dinner will be a traditional Japanese meal for two.
09:41Wow, look at that.
09:44Wow.
09:45That's not artificial colouring.
09:48Wow, that's amazing.
09:49That's true.
09:51And almost everything on the table comes from Rupert's land or the surrounding area.
09:56I'm the cook in the house. My wife doesn't really cook.
09:59Our roles are kind of reversed. She goes to work and then I cook.
10:03Did you always cook when you were back in Yorkshire, for example?
10:06Always, yeah.
10:08Back when I lived in London after college.
10:14And Singapore...
10:15How did you end up in Singapore?
10:16There was a recession in England in 1991.
10:20And I got retrenched.
10:22And then I was offered a job in Singapore.
10:25Yeah, it seemed such an exotic place.
10:27I was 24 years old.
10:29You know, that's quite exciting, isn't it?
10:30And sometimes you can get drawn into things and then you can't see the wood for the trees.
10:37Do you think that happened to you?
10:39Yes, yeah.
10:40And then maybe after 10 years, I just steadily got disillusioned with the expense.
10:51And yes, it was so money-based.
10:53I got in a taxi one day and he said, how much do you earn?
10:57That's the first thing he said.
11:00I think I said, I have nothing.
11:05I mean, that was the reason I was leaving Singapore.
11:07It was impossible to live there.
11:10And I actually didn't want to live there.
11:11I didn't want to pay to exist.
11:14And there was a point with work, because I was having to work very hard to pay the rent.
11:20It was like, you know, $3,000 a month.
11:23And I developed like a nervous twitch.
11:26It was terrible. It was like really bad.
11:29It was like an open prison for me.
11:34So at what point did you decide to leave the open prison and come here?
11:40That was actually, I was there way too long after 18 years.
11:44Just a long, long time.
11:47I think when you, when you get older, you get wiser, don't you?
11:52Start thinking more.
11:54I was changing as a person.
11:56And more spiritual.
11:58And the more I learn about Japan.
11:59Japan was always on the list.
12:01So that's where I ended up.
12:03No money, but happy as.
12:08He's a fascinating individual.
12:10He looks like he belongs here.
12:14But it's been a very circuitous journey.
12:16And I'm looking forward to finding out a little bit more about, you know, how that's impacted him.
12:21Whether he is as eternally happy and zen as he has sort of alluded to.
12:44I've just spent my first night in a traditional Japanese house.
12:52My host, Rupert, moved to rural Japan after spending almost two decades in Singapore as a photographer.
13:01His wife, Asaki, is now the breadwinner and works in schools throughout the country.
13:06So it's down to Rupert to forage food for the couple's three goats.
13:12Do you like the goats?
13:14I like them.
13:15They're more, for me, fertilizer, farm animals.
13:19But they're my wife's pets.
13:20She loves them.
13:21Loves walking them.
13:23Oh.
13:24I mean, who walks a goat?
13:26Well, in her absence, it looks like we do.
13:30OK, so...
13:31Where's she going?
13:32As they need to be moved into their field.
13:35Yes, yeah.
13:35Come on, no, over to this one.
13:37Here, look, this pile here.
13:38We dragged some food here.
13:39There we go.
13:39Oh, she's already gone, she.
13:41While they're eating, they're pooing.
13:42It's just a machine.
13:45Which leads me on to the next thing that you can help me with.
13:50And that's muck out their shed.
13:52Oh, yeah.
13:54Do you get much help around here?
13:56No, it's just me and my wife and my rice field.
13:59That's a solitary thing.
14:00I do that all myself.
14:01To some people, that's a negative connotation.
14:04Yes, yeah.
14:05What does it mean to you?
14:07For me, it's a meditative.
14:11Do you enjoy being alone?
14:13Yeah, I enjoy it, yeah.
14:14But I'm not a hermit.
14:16How do you find having me here?
14:18Yeah, well, it halves the work.
14:21I love that.
14:23Free labour.
14:24Free labour.
14:26Well, I do need to cover my board and lodgings.
14:29Ooh, stinky.
14:30It looks like this is also salvaged.
14:32Was this a hen house?
14:34It was a hen house before.
14:36But the snakes were able to get even through the wire mesh.
14:40I'm wondering what other sort of difficulties you face here in Japan.
14:44You obviously get earthquakes.
14:46Earthquakes.
14:46But we're actually in a landslide red zone.
14:49So I think a lot of people wouldn't want to live in this house.
14:51Mm-hm.
14:52Probably why it was so cheap.
14:55But I take my chances.
14:57I mean...
14:58You're laughing, but is that a big gamble here?
15:00Like, is there a real threat this could be swept away?
15:02You just never know.
15:04I mean, with climate change, the rainfall is getting worse and worse.
15:08And so after a big rainfall...
15:10I mean, literally, the hill here that we're on could just slip down to the valley
15:14because it's very, very steep.
15:16And when you say big rainfall, I assume we're not talking about English rainfall.
15:19We're talking...
15:20Do you get typhoons here?
15:21We get typhoons.
15:22Oh, yeah, that's the other one.
15:23They're quite scary.
15:24I love the fact that it's just one you'd forgotten about, the risk of typhoons.
15:29Well, I shouldn't, but I enjoy them.
15:32It makes you feel really alive.
15:36Typhoons, landslides...
15:37There are a few more hazards here than in Yorkshire.
15:45It makes me wonder if Rupert ever yearned for the moors and villages of northern England
15:50when he first moved abroad.
15:54When you left the UK to go to Singapore, did you miss England?
15:57I did, but I didn't miss the reason why I left England.
16:02And what was that?
16:03I was in a kind of a very toxic relationship.
16:08So you had to get away.
16:10So I was offered this job in Singapore and I was like, great escape.
16:14And then in Singapore, I went into a good relationship with a local girl.
16:20And ironically, she left for college to go to college in England.
16:25Oh, really?
16:25So she went to England and then I stayed in Singapore.
16:28Things happen that keep you there.
16:31And you get new friends.
16:33So I ended up staying...
16:35Staying far too long.
16:37Is Yorkshire still home?
16:39I mean, it's my roots.
16:41I can't seem to...
16:42Can't seem to take the Yorkshireman out of me.
16:45But definitely Japan feels like my home.
16:48I've always wanted to go to Japan and there was just all these distractions and things that allow me to
16:56kind of follow that.
16:57Well, it was a dream for decades.
17:00And then meeting my wife was another significant thing.
17:05When I arrived in Fukuoka City, both of us wanted to live in nature.
17:11If you had never left the UK, what do you think you'd be doing now?
17:14Where do you think you'd be?
17:15Oh God, I don't know.
17:16And that thought scares me actually.
17:19I don't know whether I can answer.
17:21Japan is destiny.
17:26When there's destiny, there isn't another option.
17:28It's just this one.
17:29This is where you were meant to be.
17:30Yeah, it feels like it.
17:35I've met people all over the world who weren't necessarily born where they or even I think they belong.
17:43But Japan, it was like he was drawn to it.
17:47And Japan was not necessarily the goal, but perhaps it was the destiny.
17:53So I think he's found happiness here that he wouldn't have found elsewhere.
17:59Amidst these stunning natural surroundings, it's clear why Rupert feels so at home here.
18:06Wow, this is amazing.
18:09So peaceful in here as well.
18:11Oh, yes.
18:12I like it. I love coming here.
18:14This bamboo forest has a rainwater channel flowing through it that leads to Rupert's rice field.
18:20But it needs clearing.
18:24Seeing my host at work, I can't imagine him living any other life than this one.
18:32I'm wondering what it was like when you first arrived.
18:34Did you feel like a fish out of water?
18:36I suppose first few years adapted fast.
18:42I mean, there were issues with money, language barrier, of course, because Japanese is not an easy language.
18:48So even if you're in a crowd of people, but if you can't communicate with them, you're kind of all
18:53alone.
18:53Because I'm wondering how you went from this urban dwelling individual who'd come from, you know, capitalist Singapore living in
19:02an apartment in urban Japan to now being a rice farmer.
19:06Yeah, it's a ridiculous transition, isn't it?
19:17Yeah, I'm not sure what to say to them.
19:25I'm not sure what's caused this sudden change in Rupert.
19:29It seems there's more to his Japanese story that I've yet to discover.
19:34We all have a tendency to try and show off our best side.
19:38And given 12 hours, 24 hours, we can all give the very best edit of who we are.
19:45And it then takes a few days to start uncovering, perhaps, not necessarily the negatives, but more of the authentic
19:54side of that lifestyle.
19:56And I think slowly I'm just picking beneath the surface of who Rupert is.
20:13The next morning, we drive to another remote village, 30 minutes away, where Rupert wants me to understand more about
20:21what led to his reaction yesterday.
20:23Wow, look at this.
20:29This is beautiful.
20:32It turns out this was the first house Rupert and his wife bought when they decided to move to the
20:38countryside eight years ago.
20:39It cost just £5,000.
20:43But while they still own it, it's now totally abandoned.
20:47So the first couple of years, it was just wonderful.
20:52And then...
20:55Yeah, I guess still quite difficult to talk about.
20:59This is in flood zone.
21:02So they started work after two or three years of us being here, they started work on the river.
21:08And then the dream started turning into, like, it was just hell.
21:15They remove the original river, as in beautiful, pure nature, demolish all the rocks and then just fill it with
21:24concrete.
21:24So it was kind of having to suffer 10-ton trucks going backwards and forwards past the house.
21:34So you can imagine these on full throttle, full of soil, this 10-ton truck and the diesel fumes going
21:40in the front door.
21:41It sounds to me like it really, really impacted you more than just the kind of inconvenience of the trucks
21:48going past.
21:50And when they started dynamiting the rocks, you can imagine the noise.
21:54Because it's a narrow valley.
21:56And what was your overriding sentiment? Was it anger? Was it sadness?
22:00No, it was sadness, yeah.
22:07Yeah, I used to go and cry in the forest.
22:10You're getting emotional now.
22:11No, I am.
22:12Yeah, because I think I can remember it all.
22:18It almost feels like you're still traumatized by it.
22:22Yeah, because it'll probably happen again.
22:25So if I wanted to come back to my dream house, it'd be all right for a few years and
22:32then same thing will happen again.
22:34Because I know it's not the first time they've done that to the river.
22:37Did you react?
22:40Yeah, I did a few maybe silly things.
22:45When the trucks were so bad, I actually, I did a protest and laid in the road to stop them.
22:52That's a big reaction to lie down in the road in front of 10-ton trucks.
22:57I don't expect, but it was just a re-, it was a reaction.
23:01Well, it's better than hurling bricks at the trucks.
23:03And my wife, well, at one point, yeah, it was too stressful, her being with me so upset.
23:12So she started looking for a house.
23:14And actually we were so lucky with the other house.
23:17It was the first one we saw.
23:21So, and we kind of decided to buy it there and then.
23:25And moved really fast.
23:28She thought of selling this.
23:29I said, no way, we've just put our heart and soul into this.
23:32So we keep it, even if it's just as a museum.
23:37Sounds like it's almost like a bereavement for you.
23:40That whole experience, the loss of a dream.
23:45Yeah.
23:48Yeah, instead of losing my house in an earthquake, which is possible.
23:52I just, I just had to leave it.
23:55I couldn't live in it.
23:56Forced out of my home.
24:04It's quite unexpected, really.
24:06All the reasons to be driven from your house.
24:09A construction site was not what I was expecting to hear.
24:15But it's interesting, his reaction was pretty big.
24:20To lie down in the road and stop the trucks coming.
24:24But the trauma obviously ran and runs really deep.
24:28And I'm wondering whether there is something deeper within.
24:33That led to such a huge reaction.
24:38To what was obviously a pretty awful period.
24:56I'm in the mountains of rural Japan.
25:00Three years ago, Rupert and his wife made the decision to leave their old home for a fresh start in
25:06this village.
25:07And while he tends to keep to himself, it seems he's known to his neighbours.
25:14So what have we got here?
25:15We've got old shrine wood.
25:17In our local community, we have a shrine just up there.
25:21So they built this new one.
25:22And as usual, like, everyone knows Rupert likes wood.
25:26So they said I could have all the wood.
25:28Looks a bit too big for your vehicle.
25:29It's a bit too long.
25:31Yeah, so.
25:32I've got a saw.
25:35You're getting good ridden.
25:36It's quite fast.
25:38Hey, finish it off about half way.
25:40Yeah.
25:41Faster. There you go.
25:46There we go.
25:52I can see the pleasure you get out of using this.
25:56If I offered you a chainsaw now, which would you use?
25:59I'd say no, because, well, I got tinnitus for a start.
26:03So it's too noisy, too smelly.
26:05So I much prefer this.
26:12Happy with all that?
26:14Yeah, very happy.
26:16Well, I did it twice as speed.
26:17So it saves a bit of time.
26:20I've been wondering, you mentioned, you know, the trauma of all the trucks passing your house
26:26and how it made you feel.
26:28And you were just mentioning there about, you know, the fact that you would choose an old-fashioned saw over
26:33a chainsaw.
26:34You don't like the sounds.
26:36I'm wondering whether you've ever explored whether your sensitivity, perhaps, to environmental noises and things,
26:43maybe, is something bigger or deeper.
26:46Yeah, it's funny you should touch on that because I do have, well, I'm dyslexic for a start.
26:54Ditto.
26:55Me too.
26:56Yeah, yeah.
26:58And, actually, my wife worked it out. I didn't really know too much about it. I have ADHD.
27:05Yeah. Ditto.
27:06Yeah, me too.
27:08I mean, what's interesting, obviously, as you'll know, there's like a spectrum of ADHD.
27:13And where do you think you, where have you found yourself?
27:15Yeah, and it's impacted on quite a few things, because I am very sensitive to sound.
27:21Mm-hmm.
27:22Which makes complete sense now, why all those trucks rumbling past your house.
27:26Yeah, so it's worse than maybe for a normal person, I think.
27:29Well, my wife was kind of, sort of, didn't really affect her.
27:33Mm.
27:34And, by the way, for me, it was just like, ah!
27:37I was thinking, when you were saying how one of the things you did when all those trucks were rumbling
27:42past
27:43was just to throw yourself in the road, almost in protest.
27:47Because that's quite a dramatic reaction, but I would have done exactly, can I say,
27:53I could see myself in a mirror, I would have done exactly the same thing.
27:57You almost can't control how you react to certain things.
28:02Yeah, my wife, she bought a book, so it's all in there.
28:05And it's like a comic strip of all these things that affect ADHD.
28:10And it's just me, me, me, me.
28:12Mm-hm.
28:13And doing things halfway as well, which I can be famous for.
28:19It's the story of my life, can I say.
28:22Drives my wife up the wall.
28:24Even though I now understand why I do those things the way I do,
28:29it can still be annoying for other people.
28:32Yes.
28:32And for myself, to be honest.
28:34Yeah, yeah, yeah.
28:35For sure.
28:36Wow.
28:37Well, thanks for sharing that.
28:42I think what is maybe surprising is that he actually knows why he behaves the way he does.
28:49The fact that he actually got a diagnosis of ADHD.
28:54Because a lot of people just roll their eyes back in the UK.
28:57And I kind of get it.
28:59It's kind of, it's something that a lot of people talk about.
29:02But I think sometimes, especially when you hear about hypersensitivity to sounds and to lights and things,
29:07I think it can explain a lot.
29:11And I think it's done that for Rupert.
29:13And I think it's always nice to meet someone who you can share with.
29:24It's now clear why Rupert made the decision to embrace the life of a quiet rice farmer.
29:29Right, where do you want this, Rupert?
29:32We can put it.
29:34Just here's fine.
29:36As the evening starts to draw in, we get busy processing rice the traditional way.
29:46And it feels like this is the life my host may be always yearned for.
29:57I think this is the most contented I've seen you in quite a while.
30:02Wow.
30:04No one else to answer to except my rice.
30:07I love it.
30:10What makes you happy, Rupert?
30:12Rice.
30:14And my wife.
30:17I think it should be the other way around though.
30:19Wife and then rice.
30:21I'm dyslexic, don't forget.
30:23I know Rupert's joking.
30:25But it does feel strange that I've not met Osaki yet.
30:29Especially as she played such a big role in bringing him to this village.
30:33And it sounds like Osaki has been more than just a wife.
30:37She's kind of really helped you through some difficult periods here.
30:41Yeah, without her, yeah, I'd probably be, I don't know why.
30:45Yeah, I mean, I'm very grateful to her.
30:49Yeah, I couldn't have achieved this without her.
30:52She's helped you through some dark times?
30:54Yeah, yeah.
30:57Yes.
30:59Especially the other house.
31:01Yeah.
31:02I wanted to be more in a farm, like, as much as me, and I do a bit more work.
31:10But if I make money, I don't want to go back to doing photo assignments, commercial work.
31:16If I make any money, it's from selling small amounts of what I produce.
31:22Is that how you see your kind of financial security in the future?
31:26Through the produce that you actually grow and make here?
31:29We don't live on much, so I can, it should work.
31:34That's the plan.
31:35Do you think you could have done this?
31:38Do you think you'd be doing this without her?
31:40No.
31:42Impossible.
31:47I'm glad that he recognizes what Asaki has done for him.
31:52And I'm really glad that not only does he recognize it, but he wants to kind of, you know, change
31:57their lifestyle together looking forward.
32:00So that they can live the life that they want to here in rural Japan.
32:17After another chilly night, I come downstairs to finally be greeted by the elusive Asaki.
32:24Ah, Asaki.
32:27Hello.
32:27Hi there.
32:29Very nice to be here.
32:30I'm Ben.
32:30Konnichiwa.
32:33You've been working hard?
32:35Yeah, I've been busy this week.
32:37Asaki works as a teaching coordinator, which sees her having to travel throughout the country.
32:42Now she's home, I'm intrigued to learn more about this couple.
32:47I've finally met.
32:49Hi, Asaki.
32:49This is great, yeah.
32:50I know.
32:51How did you guys meet?
32:53We were in Fukuoka City and my student, English student, introduced me.
33:02Who was that?
33:03Your photographer.
33:04Oh, really?
33:05Yeah.
33:05And he lived in England as well, that student, so they go on at a bar or something.
33:12Yeah, an international bar it was called, so a lot of foreigners went there.
33:16And it's quite a good place to meet people.
33:18So if I hadn't have met him, I would maybe not have met him.
33:24I must admit, I did wonder if I was ever going to meet Asaki.
33:31And witness her take the goats out for a walk.
33:34Okay, we're off.
33:37So which way are we going?
33:38Going downstairs.
33:40Downstairs.
33:41Careful, they're going to run.
33:43Are they going to run?
33:43You can let her go.
33:46Oh!
33:50The goats have their own idea of what they want to do.
33:54Yeah, they just go to where the food is.
33:57Yeah.
34:03Asaki, this is so beautiful.
34:06Yeah.
34:07I'm wondering, I've obviously been to visit the home that you lived in before this,
34:12where you had all the noise.
34:14Do you miss that home?
34:16Not really.
34:17I feel quite comfortable here.
34:21But yeah, it was a shame at that time when we had to leave.
34:27It sounds quite stressful.
34:28Obviously, Rupert had a specific sensitivity to all the noise and all the trucks.
34:35Were you surprised by his reaction?
34:39At first, yes.
34:41He, yeah, he was not like a Japanese person.
34:47And the decision to ultimately leave and find this place, was that mutual?
34:53Did you both decide to look for elsewhere?
34:56Uh, I took initiative because, yeah, he was out of his mind.
35:03And so, he didn't look for another place, but I did.
35:10Yeah.
35:11And then I brought him to this place.
35:15And he liked it.
35:17Obviously, you're the main breadwinner right now.
35:20You're earning the main income.
35:22Do you think that will always remain the case?
35:24Or do you hope to be able to alter or change that?
35:28And hopefully, Rupert will start earning some as well.
35:31I mean, Rupert kind of said he doesn't like money.
35:34Talking about money.
35:35Yeah, but also, he like, but he likes spending.
35:40Yeah, good food, quality things always cost some money.
35:46Like, we can produce everything like soy sauce, oil, cooking oil and things.
35:53Have you got goals or ambitions, hopes for the future?
35:57Uh, more vegetables.
36:02Yeah, more time for me to farm and spend outside.
36:08This is the place to do it.
36:10Yeah.
36:11Look at this.
36:11It's perfect, actually.
36:18I'm so glad I finally met Osaki.
36:21And they're very well suited on the face of it.
36:23They're both a little bit socially reserved.
36:26They're both, you know, a little bit shy.
36:29I think it was really hard for her seeing Rupert's reaction at their old house
36:35when all those trucks were rumbling past and he flung himself in the road.
36:40But behind the scenes, Osaki has done a huge amount of work to get him to where he is today.
36:46And I think perhaps they're just reaching a crossroads where it's time for Rupert
36:52to give Osaki a chance to actually be able to kind of share the beauty of this lifestyle.
37:24So, today, we're exploring more of his adopted homeland.
37:28So, today, we're exploring more of his adopted homeland.
37:29First stop is a natural beauty spot that looks like something out of a Japanese film set.
37:39It's so peaceful here.
37:41The water, sometimes it just makes you shut up.
37:46Just...
37:47The water's doing the talking.
37:49Mm-hmm.
37:50Yeah, I love it.
37:51I mean, it's in Japan.
37:53It's linked to the Shinto religion.
37:55It's purification.
37:56Mm-hmm.
37:58So, you come here, you can kind of, you know, clean your mind.
38:02Is there anything you miss about the UK being out here?
38:05I'm guilty of not missing much at all.
38:10My family, because I've been away from England for over 30 years.
38:14Are you close with them?
38:15Yeah, I'm close, yeah.
38:17I keep in contact with them.
38:20Yeah, I've only been back twice in 20 years.
38:23And this summer, my wife, despite in the middle of rice growing season, my wife literally forced me to go
38:33back to England
38:34and see my mother and father, and brother and sister, because it's been seven years.
38:41And little did I know, if I hadn't gone back this summer, I would never have seen my father alive.
38:51Because three months after that trip, in November, he died.
38:58Oh, I'm so sorry.
38:59Yeah, that was quite a surprise.
39:02What kind of man was your father?
39:06Happy man.
39:08Very happy man.
39:09Mm-hmm.
39:11And I think, yeah, after my dad's passing, I've come to places like this just to sit.
39:22And these places are so beautiful.
39:24And look, it's just us two.
39:26Nobody.
39:29What does that mean?
39:30Nobody here.
39:31Yeah.
39:32But everything is here, actually.
39:36Right.
39:45I think one of the things I have found over the last decade of spending time with different Ruperts all
39:53around the world is you can find your dream place.
39:57You can create your dream lifestyle.
40:01But there are some things that are much harder to escape, and bereavement, neurodiversity.
40:09But hopefully, and what I've certainly experienced in the past, is that nature can be a great tonic for those
40:15things.
40:20In fact, nature has been Rupert's remedy for almost every challenge he's faced since moving here.
40:27Wow.
40:27Wow.
40:30I'm in Japan now.
40:35For my final experience of this country, we're heading to another place of special significance for my host.
40:46And from the view alone, I can see why.
40:54This is a pretty magnificent spot.
40:56It is.
40:57When I first found it, it was like, wow.
41:00And the best bit, no one comes here except me.
41:06When the trucks and the river problem happened, it was my, I could just escape it all.
41:12To your refuge?
41:13Yeah, refuge.
41:14Retreat.
41:15Is that strange being here with me then?
41:20Er, actually, no, I don't mind.
41:24I'm wondering why you opened the doors to your house and your life to me for a week.
41:30What you hoped you'd get.
41:32Well, I thought my journey is good to share.
41:39Because, I mean, I've achieved like a dream.
41:43So it's pretty optimistic.
41:46And hopefully can inspire other people to maybe think of doing a similar thing in whatever situation they're in.
41:55It's like a blueprint.
41:57So try and apply that and then you're happy as me.
42:02So now, yeah, my new place is here.
42:08What a pretty beautiful place it is.
42:10Yeah, thank you.
42:11And thank you for visiting.
42:12No, it's been...
42:13It's been good.
42:14Yeah, good to share.
42:15It's been fun, hasn't it?
42:16Yeah?
42:20Yeah.
42:20Well, I should take a record of you being here.
42:22Yeah.
42:23Best place to be here.
42:25So I could take...
42:26You stood there.
42:27Here?
42:32I genuinely had no idea what to expect when I first came here.
42:38All I knew was that I was meeting a man who left Yorkshire.
42:41But Rupert has definitely defied any sort of assumptions I may have made upon first meeting him.
42:51Because it's taken him on a 17,000 kilometer journey around the world to a part of the Japanese countryside
43:00that most people are leaving behind.
43:03And him embracing technology that's hundreds of years old to actually find the happiness that he has been searching for.
43:14It's almost like he's been looking for that sense of belonging.
43:17And he's finally found it here.
43:19And it's not on his own.
43:21It's with Asaki, who has been his kind of crutch throughout many of the harder periods of his life.
43:37I have to say I'm going to miss this place.
43:39I'm going to miss Japan.
43:42Well, I hope you've had a good time.
43:44Oh, I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed getting to know you both.
43:49Yeah, in just a few days.
43:50Yeah.
43:51I've actually got to learn a lot about myself as well.
43:54Oh, I'm really glad you've taken something away from it.
43:57So listen, thank you so much.
43:58Good luck with everything.
44:00Come on, give me a hug.
44:01Good luck.
44:03Yeah.
44:04Keep up that rice farming.
44:05Oh, yeah.
44:06Not stopping that.
44:07Yeah.
44:07Make sure you take enough time for yourselves to enjoy all of this as well.
44:11I'll be back.
44:12Yeah, see you again.
44:13How do you say it?
44:14Sayonara.
44:16Sayonara.
44:17Sayonara.
44:17Sayonara.
44:20Rashi.
44:22Yeah.
44:23That was nice.
44:31Next time, I'm in Thailand.
44:34It really is magical here.
44:35To meet a woman whose memories of a youth spent in nature.
44:38That was the happiest time of my life.
44:41Have inspired her to start over again in the wild.
44:44What's fascinating is that it's kind of come full circle.
44:47People are now...
44:48Yeah, yeah, yeah.
44:49...returning to this simplicity from the complications of urban life.
44:52It does give me balance and freedom.
44:57And Ben's back next Thursday at 9.
45:00Nick Knowles faces his fear of flying when he gets lost in the desert again.
45:05Brand new tomorrow at 9.
45:07And if you're not quite ready to return to your normality,
45:10continue the adventure with New Lives in the Wild streaming now on 5.
45:14Next, fair dodges at war with the law.
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