Shimanami Kaido Portrait Sessions with Dani
The long wait is over. We’ve enjoyed three and a half years in Japan, building our business, renovating an abandoned…
Category: Japan Data
Benton Guesthouse ‘Phase 3’ Updates. So cute!
February has been an exhausting month, but our guesthouse sure is looking cute as a button. The long wait for…
New Year! New Tacos!
Happy new year, friends! We’re starting 2026 with big dreams and high hopes. As you know, the Business Manager visa…
おめでとう! Mizobuchi-san earns JF-CMCA 2025 President’s Award for Business Consulting
Happy new year! If you’ve been following our story for the past three years, you know that we regularly reference…
Japan Data: Second Year of Benton Guesthouse
Well friends, here we are at the end of another year for Benton Guesthouse on Ōmishima island. Time continues to…
Business Manager Visa: Increased Requirements (and how it affects Benton Homestead)
As you probably already know, from following our channel, or from reading the news: the official changes to Japan’s Business…
Startup Visa: New 2025 Changes (Coming Soon)
Since we started documenting our journey to Japan online, we have received lots and lots of questions from y’all about…
Japan Data: First Year of Benton Guesthouse
Well friends, time is flying by! It’s hard to believe it’s already been one year since we opened the doors…
Japan Data: What is the Real Estate Acquisition Tax?
This is the first in an upcoming series of short single-topic blogs. I feel compelled to share little helpful bites…
Current Update & Next Steps
Let’s catch up! We recently took the time to film a longer conversation-style video, discussing where we are at this…
Japan Data: “Akiya to AirBnB” General Process & Total Expense
Now that Benton Guesthouse is open and we have been welcoming guest for a few months, let’s reflect back on…
Japan Data: ‘Startup visa’ to ‘Business Manager visa’ Complete Process
!!! PLEASE NOTE! Japan’s Startup visa is going through some MAJOR changes! As of January 1, 2025: the Startup visa…
Progress Report: Startup Visa & One Year Renewal!
We did it!!! We arrived in Japan in February, received a Startup Visa in June, incorporated our business in August,…
Benton Guesthouse: Now Open! Before and After
We’re happy to announce that Benton Guesthouse is now available for bookings on AirBnB! After bringing this house back to…
Progress Report: Our First Six Weeks Living in Japan
Friends, it’s been a while! The first six weeks of our time in Japan have flown by, and while we’re…
Mexico and Japan: Compare and Contrast
One of the questions we get the most is: “Why Mexico?“. Then, when we tell people that we’re living in…