We left Australia after buying a 12-bedroom ski lodge in Japan. From affordable cost of living to a slow-pace lifestyle – here’s why our lives are so much better than before

FIFO couple Neil Denize and Tayler Paulsen were living a comfortable life between New Zealand and Australia, working in the mines as they built up a portfolio of investment properties.

After getting married, the pair travelled to Japan in search of a holiday home – but instead walked away with the keys to a 12-bedroom ski lodge in Myoko, a renowned snow region in Niigata Prefecture, just a three-hour bullet train ride from Tokyo.

‘We always loved Japan. The snow, the food, the people, the culture and the lifestyle all really stuck with us,’ Neil told the Daily Mail.

‘We used to joke about one day owning a small lodge or backpackers in Japan where we could snowboard in winter and build a lifestyle around the mountains.’

Neil had visited Japan many times over several seasons, starting in 2010 when he worked as a ski and snowboard instructor in Minakami, a mountainous town in northern Gunma Prefecture. 

He met Tayler, who hails from Tasmania, in 2013 when they were FIFO employees working in the oil and gas industry in Western Australia, before spending two winter seasons together in Hokkaido. 

After tying the knot in Neil’s home country of New Zealand in February 2018, the pair moved back to Western Australia and returned to offshore mining work.

‘It was good money, but it was not really the lifestyle we wanted long-term. We were doing fly-in-fly-out work, saving hard, and trying to work out what the next chapter of our lives would look like,’ Neil said.

‘At the time, we didn’t really have a fixed address in Australia. We had a couple of rental properties in both Australia and New Zealand that we had purchased during our time working in the mines, so we were already juggling property, work and travel.

‘Australia is a great place to live, but the cost of housing and day-to-day expenses are high.’

After their wedding, Neil was chatting to a few friends living in the small mountain town of Myoko when they told him properties were reasonably priced and the snowfall was ‘unfathomable’. 

As Tayler was working at sea, Neil flew to Japan during the green season in July 2018 to check out the region they knew very little about.

‘The original idea was just to find a small holiday home we could use for part of the year and maybe rent out when we weren’t there,’ Neil explained. 

But once he saw Mountain Hut, he knew there was huge potential to start a business with his wife running the 12-bedroom lodge in the ski resort town.

‘I had a pretty strong conviction in the idea. I honestly didn’t see a huge amount of downside,’ Neil said. 

‘Worst case, we ended up with a lodge in Japan that we could use ourselves with family and friends during winter. Best case, there was a lot of upside and we could turn it into a proper business and lifestyle. 

‘The cost was also very affordable compared with what you could buy in Australia or New Zealand at the time.’

By August 2018, the couple was the proud owners of the 12-bedroom ski lodge.

‘Myoko appealed to us for a few reasons. Niseko and Hakuba was already becoming very expensive and out of reach, whereas Myoko was still more affordable and full of potential,’ Neil said. 

‘It had incredible snowfall, a more local feel, and many great ski resorts all within a close area. We loved that it was not just one resort, but the whole region had close to a dozen resorts all within a 40-minute drive.

‘In terms of the purchase price, it was very affordable compared with buying anything similar in Australia or New Zealand. That was a big part of why the opportunity made sense to us at the time.’

The property buying process in Japan was ‘surprisingly straightforward’. 

‘We celebrated the sale with a whisky with the previous owners, and spent a few days with them which was a nice handover of the lodge,’ Neil said. 

‘The harder part was everything around the purchase. Setting up a business, understanding licensing, insurance, banking, taxes, utilities, council requirements and operating in a country where we didn’t speak much Japanese was much more challenging.

‘Buying property in Japan as a foreigner is possible and can be relatively simple, but running a business in Japan is a very different story. The language barrier, paperwork and cultural differences can be a steep learning curve.’

The couple already owned multiple rental properties in Australia and New Zealand when they added Mountain Hut to their investment portfolio. 

‘We had purchased the properties during our time working in the mines, when we were earning good money and trying to set ourselves up for the future,’ Neil said. 

‘At the time, we didn’t really have a fixed address in Australia. We had our rental properties, but we weren’t packing up a normal family home and shipping everything across. We travelled pretty light and didn’t bring a huge amount with us. 

‘As we were buying a lodge, a lot of the basic furniture, commercial kitchen items, bedding and general lodge equipment were already there. Of course, that also meant we inherited a lot of things that needed sorting, repairing, replacing or improving.’

In late 2018, the couple were still juggling life between three countries. 

‘We were working, offshore on the rigs and trying to get Mountain Hut up and running at the same time before the first winter,’ he said. 

‘Looking back, it was definitely a lot of properties to manage, but it also gave us some security while we were taking on the risk of starting a business overseas.’

After a strong 2019-2020 winter season in Myoko, the couple felt the business was going well, so they ended up buying another lodge in Suginohara, now known as Sugi Chalet, a spacious six-bedroom chalet that sleeps up to 16 people. 

‘We bought it during the COVID lockdowns, thinking the whole thing would probably blow over in a couple of months. But in reality, it took a couple of years before we could properly get back to Japan,’ Neil said. 

‘After the 2020 winter season finished at the end of March, we moved back to Australia just in the nick of time before the world shut down.  

‘We returned to Tasmania right before the borders closed and ended up spending the COVID period there while Japan’s borders remained closed.’

They spent the entirety of the pandemic in Australia, and during this time, they welcomed their first child, a baby boy named Finn in June 2021.  

The couple moved to Myoko permanently on a business manager visa, with their son in tow, just in time for the winter season after Japan finally lifted its strict border restrictions in October 2022.

As their business Escape Myoko took off in Japan, the couple sold most of their properties in Australia and New Zealand to help fund their ventures in Myoko. 

‘We now own several properties in Myoko. The main ones include Mountain Hut Lodge, Sugi Chalet, Two Pines, Cedar House, our own home, another lodge on the same block as our house, and the staff lodge we purchased last year,’ Neil said. 

‘The staff lodge has become really important because we now have around 25 staff across the business in winter. Between accommodation, ski and snowboard lessons, rentals, the pizza bar and general operations, staff housing is a huge part of making the whole thing work.’

Cost of renovations in Japan

The business owners have spent an estimated half a million dollars on renovations.

‘Across all the properties, we have been fairly lucky and most of the properties have been in pretty good condition, I would say we are probably in the ballpark of around AUD $500,000 in fit-out and renovation costs,’ Neil said. 

‘We have bootstrapped the whole thing ourselves. Basically, whatever we made each season went straight back into the business.

‘The amount of work required has been huge. Mountain Hut needed plenty of improvements from the start, and then more major repairs after the big COVID winters. SUGI Chalet was bought during the pandemic and needed a full renovation once we finally got back to Japan. 

‘Two Pines was another major project, turning a property in Suginosawa into a pizza bar and ski and snowboard rental shop, with accommodation above it. The staff lodge and other properties have also required work to make them functional for business.

‘We have done a lot of the work ourselves, partly to save money and partly because that was the only way to keep moving forward.’

However, Neil said renovating in Japan has been a ‘massive learning curve’. 

‘The language barrier, different materials, different building methods and the challenge of sourcing products all make it harder than doing the same thing in Australia or New Zealand. But it has also been incredibly rewarding. 

‘Every property has taught us something, and each one has helped us build the business into what it is now.’

Affordable cost of living

The couple – who recently welcomed their second baby boy – have spent the past four years living in rural Japan, where they’ve found the cost of living ‘much more affordable than Australia’. 

‘Housing, local food, eating out, childcare and some day-to-day expenses can be cheaper, especially compared with Australian cities or popular coastal areas,’ he said.

‘That said, it depends how you live. Imported goods, western products, vehicles, building materials, heating, snow clearing, insurance and running commercial properties can all add up quickly.

‘Overall, the cost of entry for property in rural Japan was much lower than Australia or New Zealand, which is one of the reasons we were able to take the leap. But running a lodge and tourism business here still comes with plenty of costs and surprises.’

What the family loves most about Japan is the lifestyle.

‘We live in the mountains, our son is growing up surrounded by snow, forests and a unique culture, and we get to build a business around something we genuinely love,’ the dad said. 

‘The seasons are dramatic, the food is amazing, the people are kind, and there is a deep sense of care and pride in everyday life.’

A huge surprise for them has been how much patience navigating life in Japan requires, with logistics often being slower and more complicated than they’re used to back home. 

‘Things often take longer than they would back home, especially paperwork, licensing, renovations and anything involving multiple layers of process,’ Neil said.

However, the language barrier has definitely been one of the biggest challenges. 

‘We still have a long way to go with Japanese,’ he said.

‘Day-to-day life is manageable, but business, legal documents, building projects and official paperwork can be difficult without help. We are very lucky to have great staff and good local friends, connections who have helped us navigate so much of it.’

After living in the lodge full-time, the family has since moved into their own home in Ikenotaira, a quiet village located right on the slopes of Mount Myoko.

‘Having our own home separate from the guest properties has helped us create a healthier balance between family life and the business,’ Neil said. 

Best of both worlds

The family has no plans to leave Japan any time soon.

‘Japan will be a long-term part of our lives. I can’t really see us throwing Japan away any time soon. We have put so much into the business, the properties and the community here, and we still feel excited about what we are building,’ Neil said. 

‘That said, we also see Australia as a big part of our future, especially with our kids. Finn is about to start school next year, and he will be going to school in Australia, so we expect to live between both places for a good while.’

Moving forward, the couple plan to spend their winters in Myoko running their businesses before enjoying the off-season in Cairns, Queensland. 

‘Cairns works well for us because the winter weather is beautiful, it gives us a totally different lifestyle after a big snow season, and it is still fairly close to Japan if we need to get back,’ he said. 

‘So rather than choosing one country over the other, we are trying to build a life that lets us move between both.’

‘Our lives changed forever’

Buying a 12-bedroom ski lodge has completely changed the direction of their lives.

‘Before Japan, we were working hard and saving, but we didn’t really know what the bigger picture looked like. Buying Mountain Hut gave us a purpose and a lifestyle that combined business, travel, snowboarding and family,’ Neil said. 

‘It has also changed us personally. We’ve become more resilient, more patient, and more comfortable with uncertainty. We’ve had to learn how to run a business, renovate properties, manage staff, raise children between countries, deal with huge snow seasons, survive COVID border closures and keep going when things got hard.

‘It has not always been easy, but it has been incredibly rewarding.’

For anyone dreaming of moving to Japan, Neil said it’s best to spend ‘proper time’ in the area before committing to buying a property or business. 

‘Japan is amazing, but living and operating a business here is very different from coming on holiday,’ he said. 

‘Secondly, build local relationships. That is probably the most important thing. Good local connections, tradespeople, neighbours, accountants, agents and friends make all the difference.

‘Thirdly, be realistic. Rural Japan can be affordable, beautiful and full of opportunity, but it also comes with language barriers, paperwork, cultural differences, harsh winters, old buildings and unexpected costs.’

Neil said you need to be prepared to adapt to a different way of doing things.

‘Don’t expect everything to work like it does in Australia,’ he explained. 

‘You need patience, humility and a willingness to learn. Things may take longer, but there is usually a way forward if you keep showing up and doing the right thing.’

He added: ‘Make sure you actually love the place, not just the idea of it. Running a ski lodge in Japan sounds dreamy, and it can be, but it is also a lot of work. 

‘If you love the lifestyle, the culture, the community and the process, then it can be incredibly rewarding.’