I left a big paycheck in Tokyo to start over in rural Japan. I didn't just want a new job - I wanted a new life.

"I spent five years as a recruiter in Tokyo. From my high-rise apartment in Roppongi, with Tokyo Tower glowing in the distance, I had everything I thought I wanted: a steady paycheck, a girlfriend, and the trappings of success. Yet I felt completely alone. My achievements were measurable; my happiness wasn't. So I walked away - from Tokyo, and the life I'd built - to start over in the Japanese countryside."

"After graduating from Boston College, I joined the JET Program, a government initiative that sends foreign graduates to teach English in Japan. While most wanted to be placed in Tokyo or Kyoto, I requested a location that was remote. They sent me to a mountain village on Shikoku Island. The village had about 670 people, and it took an hour to get to the nearest supermarket."

"The village taught me patience and humility. Every interaction required effort; even buying bread was a small victory in broken Japanese. My classes were small, and I joined a local volleyball team composed mostly of people in their 70s. It was the most connected I'd ever felt. After two years, someone at a career fair pitched me the dream of recruitment in Tokyo: fast money and faster promotions. I went for it."

Levi Pells grew up in Hawaii after being born in Texas and developed an early interest in Japanese language and culture. After graduating Boston College he joined the JET Program and accepted a remote placement on Shikoku Island, where small classes and community life taught patience and humility. He later moved to Tokyo and spent five years as a recruiter in Roppongi with visible markers of success but persistent loneliness. He left Tokyo to start over in the countryside and now leads digital detox retreats in rural Japan, finding fulfillment and happiness living outside the city.

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