Not just retirees, but younger urbanites seek quieter rural life

Who wants to be around all that noise in the concrete jungle anyways.

I definitely plan on living somewhere that quiet and peaceful when I get to that age.

"The trend reflects diversification of young people's values," 

From what I've seen, these 'values' he is talking about are being lazy and looking for a free ride.

"The trend reflects diversification of young people's values," said Hiroshi Takahashi, 69..."

If this were a trend it would be happening. But the actual trend is that everyone is moving to the cities, while the population plunges, and few babies are being born.

There's something to be said about being able to hang you wash out to dry without making eye contact with a neighbor 2 or 3 meters away. I love it! Surrounded by trees, the sound of the breeze and the birds, fresh vegetables, completely quiet nights, fresh air, the list goes on...

I live just two minutes away from the country side and 5 minutes into the nearest town, (lucky me) I can see the upsides of living in the country side, I just don't get it living in a fast moving crammed city, tube trains packed to the rafters, sweaty bodies crammed in like sardines, and the poor woman having mens groins rubbing against them and us men to, high prices, and hundreds of people living is souls boxes (apartment flats) 95% of the people don't know who there neighbours are, every body is rushing to go no where, the list goes on. I would love to know if there are any statistics about heart attacks, what is the ratio for town folks agains city folks? certainly town folk must be under constant pressure from work, bosses, rushing to get to a useless meeting. I glad to say its to country side every time for me.

100% agree with Dan Lewis on this one. We moved out of suburban Tokyo a year and a half ago and have not regretted it at all. From my gardens we are eating fresh potatoes, tomatoes, radish, lettuce, cucumber, goya, nasu, okra, piman and spring onions already and cutting fresh flowers for the house.

There are one or two disadvantages such as having to drive everywhere, the local bus only runs once an hour and the nearest train station is a 15 minute drive. However, the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages though being the only gaijin for miles around is a mixed blessing.

70,000...population Nagano small country living.

This would be considered a large place in Australia when not living in a major city.

But i suppose everything in life is relative.

I would like to spend some time living in Japan. .Such a beautiful place .

So long as it's not the boondocks

I like the country-side, back home live in the city and escape to the country homes on weekends, etc and for retiring.

Best of both.

If there are "an increasing number of young couples" moving to the countryside, I wish the author of this piece could give the story a more concrete example than an event with "seven people from three families" hand planting rice, about the most idyllic and culture-loaded event an inaka town can put on to present a favourable impression of country living to urbanites. This example is not proof of an "increasing" anything.

Inaka is now full of schemes where urbanites can get free land, a free old house, or free money for renovations to go to a rural town, usually funded by the national taxpayer. You can have a bung to come and live in inaka, but the assumption is always that you'll fully embrace inaka life and all its community obligations and coerced volunteering. It's a life that many young inaka-born people run away from, ironically leaving the same amount of work to be done by fewer people. Everyone knows about the nature and clean air in the countryside, it's the other aspects of country living that are putting them off.

This would be considered a large place in Australia when not living in a major city.

I was thinking the same. The nearest "big town" to me here in Scotland has a population of 20,000. I don't know Ina, but looking at its Wikipedia entry, it certainly looks like a town and not the countryside. It seems these days "inaka" has come to mean non-metropolitan, i.e. lacking a mass transit system.

Back home I own one of our country homes(sister owns another one) paid off. 1000sqm ground, 2 bedrooms, 2 baths large living dining with a Kachelofen, garage with sauna. 100km from the capitol.

Not going to retire here.