An Australian-based couple who spent years working fly-in-fly-out mining jobs have swapped their old life for a 12-bedroom ski lodge in Myoko, a snow region in Japan's Niigata Prefecture about three hours from Tokyo by bullet train.
Neil Denize and Tayler Paulsen went to Japan in search of a holiday home after getting married, but ended up buying Mountain Hut, a 12-bedroom lodge, in August 2018. "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."
From mining camps to Myoko
Neil first travelled to Japan in 2010 to work as a ski and snowboard instructor in Minakami, a town in Gunma Prefecture. He met Tayler, who is from Tasmania, in 2013 while both were working as fly-in-fly-out employees in the oil and gas industry in Western Australia, and the pair later spent two winter seasons together in Hokkaido.
They married in New Zealand in February 2018 and returned to offshore mining work in Western Australia. "It was good money, but it was not really the lifestyle we wanted long-term," Neil said. "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."
Friends living in Myoko told Neil that properties were affordable and the snowfall was "unfathomable." He flew out alone in July 2018 to look around, planning only to find a small holiday home to rent out part-time. Instead he found Mountain Hut. "I had a pretty strong conviction in the idea. I honestly didn't see a huge amount of downside," he 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."
Buying property in Japan
Neil said Myoko stood out because nearby resorts such as Niseko and Hakuba had already become expensive, while Myoko remained affordable with incredible snowfall and close to a dozen ski resorts within a 40-minute drive. The couple already owned several rental properties in Australia and New Zealand from their mining years.
The purchase itself was "surprisingly straightforward," and the couple celebrated with a whisky with the previous owners. But setting up the business proved far harder. "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," Neil said. "The language barrier, paperwork and cultural differences can be a steep learning curve."
Expanding the business through Covid
After a strong 2019-2020 winter season, the couple bought a second property, a six-bedroom chalet in Suginohara that sleeps up to 16 guests and is now known as Sugi Chalet. They bought it during the Covid lockdowns, expecting the disruption to last only a couple of months, but it took years before they could properly get back to Japan.
The family returned to Australia just before borders closed and spent the pandemic in Tasmania, where their son Finn was born in June 2021. They moved to Myoko permanently on a business manager visa once Japan lifted its border restrictions in October 2022.
As their business, Escape Myoko, grew, the couple sold most of their Australian and New Zealand properties to fund it. They now own Mountain Hut Lodge, Sugi Chalet, Two Pines, Cedar House, their own home, another lodge on the same block, and a staff lodge bought last year. Around 25 staff now work across the business in winter, covering accommodation, lessons, rentals, the pizza bar and general operations.
Renovation costs and cost of living
The couple estimate they have spent about AUD $500,000 on renovations, funded entirely from profits ploughed back into the business each season. Mountain Hut needed work from the start and further repairs after heavy Covid-era winters, Sugi Chalet needed a full renovation, and Two Pines, a pizza bar and rental shop with accommodation above it, was built from an existing property in Suginosawa. "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," Neil said.
The family, who recently welcomed a second baby boy, say rural Japan is far cheaper 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," Neil said, though imported goods, vehicles, heating and insurance can add up quickly.
Daily life on the mountain
In winter Neil is often up at 4:30am or 5am clearing snow with two small bulldozers before getting Finn ready for school and checking bookings, staff schedules and snow conditions. Peak days can include guest shuttles, rental fittings, lessons, maintenance and the pizza bar in the evenings.
The biggest surprise has been how much patience life in Japan requires, with paperwork, licensing and renovations often taking longer than expected. The language barrier remains one of the toughest challenges. "Day-to-day life is manageable, but business, legal documents, building projects and official paperwork can be difficult without help," Neil said. The family has since moved out of the lodge and into their own home in Ikenotaira, a village on the slopes of Mount Myoko.
What comes next
The couple plan to keep dividing their year between Myoko winters and off-seasons in Cairns, Queensland, saying the weather there gives them a different lifestyle while staying within reach of Japan. Finn is due to start school in Australia next year, so the family expects to keep living between both countries.
Neil's advice to anyone considering the same move is to spend proper time in an area before buying, to build strong local relationships with tradespeople, neighbours, accountants and agents, and to be realistic about the hurdles. "Make sure you actually love the place, not just the idea of it," he said. "Running a ski lodge in Japan sounds dreamy, and it can be, but it is also a lot of work."
