Hello! We’re Evan + Dani Benton. We're native Oregonians; we built a homestead in New Orleans, Louisiana 2016-2021; then we moved across the border to Mexico for traveling and house-sitting 2021-2022. In 2023, we moved all the way across the sea to settle in rural Japan! Now we find ourselves putting down roots on Ōmishima island, in the Seto Sea.

We received a 6-month Startup Business Visa in cooperation with Imabari city, which then earned us a Business Manager Visa. This essentially allows us to sponsor our own residency in Japan via our small business: Benton Homestead. We have an akiya-turned-guesthouse, small natural farm, and consulting. It's been challenging, but nothing is impossible!

Japan has an estimated 10-12 million 'akiya' abandoned houses. Our first house was purchased for ¥1 Million ($7,500 USD) and abandoned for 10 years, which we've now renovated into Benton Guesthouse. Our second house was purchased for ¥2.8 Million ($18,000 USD) and abandoned for an estimated 40 years. This one was a former 'ryokan' inn, and came with two pieces of nearby farm and forest land, sitting unused longer than anyone can remember.

I previously had no interest in creating a YouTube page or even really sharing our story beyond our friends and new neighbors. But the whole time we've spent immigrating to Mexico, immigrating to Japan, navigating the visa process, purchasing real estate as foreigners, incorporating a business, and settling in to life as foreigners, I quickly realized the information I've been looking for is not readily available. So, I'm making the exact kind of content I wish I'd had when I began. I I’m documenting everything in hopes of helping others on a similar path.

Why have we started this support page?

We have put an immeasurable amount of time and energy (and almost all of our savings) into nurturing our fledgling business. We have a really solid framework going into place, but of course, we could always use a little more support. Each contribution will help support us financially, so we can have a little less anxiety during this prolonged period of hard work and uncertainty. Basically, any support received from this page will help fund our current projects, continue to improve our business, and give us some peace of mind.

What benefits do subscribers and supporters receive?

I'm still working out the tiers, but I intend to make your contribution valuable. Here are some perks I'm considering, and I'm more than happy to hear your thoughts! Feel free to help me build these tiers in a way that would be most beneficial to you!

Support will go directly to:

• Planting roots on our small homestead, honeybee farm, and natural vegetable farm. We're restoring abandoned farmland and forest land, so there are many preliminary steps before the land will be easier and better for farming and regenerating the local eco-system.

• "Phase 2" of Benton Guesthouse renovation, which will include at a minimum: further restoration of the current bathroom and bathtub, adding a second bathroom so we can host additional guests, fixing the 'doma' floor, restoring a few walls back to the traditional traditional shikkui plaster material, solving some drainage issues around the house foundation, and installing two additional air conditioning units.

• Completely renovating Benton Guesthouse garage into an 'omiyage' retro farm stand, complete with coin-operated lockers and vending machines for honey, vegetables, retro and vintage home goods, and other local artisans. This includes some work on the driveway and adding two additional parking spaces for customers.

• Costs associated with travel and transporting our few remaining belongings from the US to Japan (it's a long story, and quite expensive);

• Costs associated with Japan immigration, residency, and visas;

• Maintaining Permanent Residency in Mexico (in case we're able to achieve Japanese citizenship, which means we will have to revoke US citizenship);

• Starting our family, fertility-related medical expenses, homebirth;

• Building our new life literally from the ground-up!

Thanks for reading,

Evan + Dani Benton | Benton Homestead

www.bentonhomestead.com | Benton Guesthouse | YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | Honey Shop | Japan Real Estate Consulting | Retro Shop | Vintage Records Shop | Photo Blogs | Buy Me a Coffee | LinkedIn (Dani) | LinkedIn (Evan)