Snow Country Stories Japan remains on a break between Season 1 and Season 2. This is the second upload of two previous episodes  - an edit of what was Episode 04 / Nakano of 100 Empty Houses: In Search of Solutions to Japan's Akiya Problem. The original episode was around 1 hour in length whereas this edit is just over 20 minutes.

Another of my most rewarding chats from Season 1, in this episode I speak with Murai Shota about his work in Nakano - a small town outside of Nagano City - and his work in finding solutions for the estimated 1000 empty homes. It's reflective of the situation across Japan in which a huge number of homes are unoccupied or abandoned. The topic is especially relevant to the snow country which is experiencing ageing and depopulation. As a result, homes can be exceptionally cheap to buy, if you can just get them listed for sale... I hope you enjoy!

You can follow Shota's work on Instagram and for more information about the podcast and your host, visit our website: www.snowcountrystories.com. Make sure to subscribe, rate and review the podcast and follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Snow Country Stories Japan is a bi-weekly podcast about life and travel in Japan's legendary 'yukiguni'. For more information about the show and your host, visit our website - www.snowcountrystories.com - and make sure to subscribe, rate and review the podcast and follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.