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Building a retreat in rural Japan with Violet Pacileo



Are you thinking of relocating to the Japanese countryside? Many people are re-considering living outside of large cities now that remote working is becoming more accepted in Japan, due to Covid-19. Violet and her family are making a life for themselves in Otoyo, Kochi on Shikoku and are working to bring a dying town back to life.


In this episode you’ll hear:

  • How Violet went from financial industry analyst in Tokyo to living in Otoyo in Kochi Prefecture.

  • Some of the frustrations of trying to reinvigorate towns that are used to government funding

  • How she is building the first ever Cross-fit gym on Shikoku at a beautiful riverside location

  • Her advice for anyone who sees a change that needs to be made and how to become known in a new area in Japan in a short period of time.

  • What it’s really like to have a stay home husband


If you enjoyed this episode and it inspired you in some way, we’d love to hear about it and know your biggest takeaway. Take a screenshot of yourself listening to the episode on your device, post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag me and Violet, @transformationswithjayne and @violet.daike.pacileo




About Violet:


Violet is a seasoned finance professional with 15+ yrs working in Tokyo, London and LA for Japanese and international investment banks and asset managers. Her background is in Japanese equities where she spent her time selling Japanese stocks to institutional investors, researching and analyzing Japanese listed companies, introducing Japanese companies to foreign institutional investors, advising Japanese companies on their institutional investor strategies including ESG and corporate governance strategies and most recently consulted for a HK based hedge fund.


She relocated to the countryside in Kochi in Aug 2020 to promote economic development in the region. She is of mixed heritage, born in Tokyo and raised in both Japan and the UK, giving her the advantage of connecting with Japanese and English speakers on a native level. She has been a passionate advocate for women’s rights and has hosted many female networking and speaker events including for Women in Finance Tokyo. She is the host of NHK World's Otoyo: Bringing Fresh Life to a Traditional Community, and is scheduled to host more episodes along the theme of Genkai Shuraku ("Marginal Village"). Her company VP Advisors K.K. is also building a Crossfit retreat in the town of Otoyo, which is due to open in Spring 2022.




Links of things mentioned in this episode:

Wild Game meat from Otoyo: Inoshika kobo https://iskb-otoyo.jp/



Connect with Violet:



Connect with Jayne:

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