[Added December 23, 2025] This article was originally published in January 2024 , but has been significantly expanded and revised due to the recent increase in readers from Japan. This is the story of our origins, including why we returned to Japan from Taiwan and decided to live in a housing complex, and what led us to start a cross-border e-commerce site. It also serves as a self-introduction, so please read to the end.
Happy New Year! This year's Chinese New Year is being spent as usual in Japan. I hope everyone is doing well.
By the way, I'm sorry for the late report, but two days ago I posted a video about my husband and I starting over.
Actually, after returning to Japan, my Japanese husband and I started a company together and have been preparing an e-commerce website ever since. Since we are just a couple in our fifties, we still have a lot to learn, but we hope you will continue to support us in the future.
Even now, the problems that keep coming up are being solved one by one by my husband and I, and things are starting to calm down a bit.
- Why an e-commerce site now? "Kogaiko Shoten" born from real-life experiences
- From store management to YouTuber, to a housing complex with rent in the 50,000 yen range: Finding happiness in "not owning"
- Heavy responsibility, illness, and the decision to close
- No need for suits or pumps. "True wealth" discovered in housing complexes
- From interacting with fans to new challenges
- We want to deliver only the real thing, without any lies.
- Summary: Nothing was wasted.
Why an e-commerce site now? "Kogaiko Shoten" born from real-life experiences
The reason why I created this website is because of my own experiences .
When I lived in Taipei (people from other regions might say this is extravagant), I was dissatisfied that although I could buy anything made in Japan, the products themselves were not of very good quality, despite being sold at very high prices.
So when I returned to Japan for a short visit, I would stuff my suitcase full and buy all the essentials for living as a Japanese person, such as salt, miso, and soy sauce, in bulk.
However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, travel became difficult, so I had no choice but to try using cross-border e-commerce. I found that my packages arrived so smoothly that I couldn't stop using it (laughs).
What's more, whenever we used something we had purchased in a video, we would constantly get comments like, "Where can I buy that? Please tell me!" So we thought, "Why not create an e-commerce site that only selects things that we, based on our own subjective opinions, think are good?" and that's how it all began.
The value of "real" that illness taught me
Incidentally, since then, the things I wanted to bring back even if it meant exceeding the weight limit of my suitcase were authentic Japanese seasonings, dried foods, and everyday items that don't contain chemicals. These are all Japanese treasures that are hard to find overseas.
In fact, I experienced a serious illness while working hard in Taiwan. At that time, I was forced to think deeply about what food means to Japanese people , and I became aware of the wonderfulness of Japanese cuisine.
Since I learned the importance of food, I have become more mindful of the chemicals in seasonings and everyday items. As a result, I believe I have been able to regain a body that can stay healthy without medication. The products I currently stock in my shop are all products that have saved my body and that I am proud of.
From store management to YouTuber, to a housing complex with rent in the 50,000 yen range: Finding happiness in "not owning"
Well, after my husband and I opened the site, we actually noticed something.
I used to run four beauty salons in Taipei, Kaohsiung, and other places, but now I think, "Running a store is so inefficient!"
His time as a manager was glamorous but in reality a mess
I was desperate at the time. Business hours were set, and the store couldn't run without hiring staff. However, hiring staff meant frequent human errors, and I had to coordinate employees who didn't get along.
Moreover, it is a foreign country. Your preconceived notions do not apply at all. To begin with, because we are of a different ethnicity, everything is different from Japan, from the education we received, to the way our families are connected, to the way we think, to the laws.
The store was located in a department store in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan, but it was really tough. It was open 365 days a year, had long opening hours, and the space allocated to us was small. There was no backroom where we could practice, so it was extremely difficult to train and assign "professional" technicians. And yet, they would quit soon after, saying things like "we don't like that person"...
At the time, I was traveling alone every week on business trips from Taipei to Kaohsiung. (By the way, Taipei people and Kaohsiung people have completely different values! lol) While patrolling the three stores in Taipei, I was also providing technical guidance, directing store operations, dealing with customer complaints, and dealing with personnel issues. I also sold products outside the stores, ran a school, and acted as an import/export agent.
Looking back, I was constantly under a tense atmosphere and had to handle everything on my own.
The fear of "fixed costs" and "responsibility" with no way out
If we wanted to increase sales in our main business of running stores, we would have to expand the stores and hire more staff, which would exponentially increase the problems.
It's not just a personnel issue. There are also substantial "fixed costs" such as store rent and utility bills. And if something like the COVID-19 pandemic occurs, customer numbers will suddenly drop and sales will plummet. And yet, these payments don't wait, they just keep coming...
Imagine this. Because we were registered as a foreign-affiliated company, we received no compensation from the government, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, we were shackled by foreign investment regulations. My husband and I are both Japanese, and we have no Taiwanese family or guarantors, so we couldn't even borrow money from the bank. Even when our sales hit rock bottom, we used all of our "personal savings" to continue paying our employees' salaries and rent without any late payments.
It was really, really tough.
Heavy responsibility, illness, and the decision to close
I was exhausted, and at this point I decided to stop trying to reach beyond my means. I decided that at some point I would be able to shed the unsuitable title of "Laoban" (owner), and begin searching for a way to live my life doing only what I love.
Around that time, the YouTube channel she had started as a hobby began to be viewed by local people, and her activities began to take off. However, in addition to the mental stress of running a company for many years, she also had to help out with lunch and dinner service at her husband's restaurant to alleviate staff shortages, and her body finally gave out.
After visiting over 10 hospitals, it was discovered that she had an autoimmune disease called palmoplantar pustulosis . As she ran a beauty salon and treated VIP clients herself, the disease was causing her hands and feet to deteriorate, and she was terrified that it would mean she would no longer be able to work, which was extremely painful.
It was around this time that I began to look into the cause of my illness and decided to cure it completely on my own without the use of medicine by reconsidering the importance of diet and lifestyle habits.
The thread snapped. And then the miracle of "lockdown" happened.
However, the illness was difficult to cure. Then, a lawsuit I was fighting as a plaintiff was dismissed, and the only thread that had kept me connected snapped. My eyes were swollen, and I cried again and again.
This led to the decision to close all stores at once and close the entire company. It was no small decision to let go of the trust and loyal customers we had built up over the past 10 years.
However, as we spent six months going through the procedures to close the business, something unbelievable happened. The very next day after we announced that we were finally going to close the company, Taipei City went into lockdown.
I still remember that at that time, I felt more relief than loneliness. If the closure had been delayed even by one day, the closure process, which had taken six months, would have been temporarily halted by law, and we would have likely gone bankrupt, with our remaining employees and store remaining.
(※Please take a look at the video above to see how I felt at the time.)
Also, most of the employees had received severance pay during the closure process and had decided to find new jobs or go independent, so if we had continued operating without going through the closure process and gone into lockdown, all of my employees would have gone bankrupt along with me.
After that, as the entire city went into lockdown, my husband's shop was able to be sold safely thanks to the owner of the shop next door who was able to take over the space as is. With the situation lighter, I decided to fully step up my activities as a YouTuber - Nihonjinfufu "A Japanese couple living in Taiwan" .
Farewell to my beloved cat and heading to Japan
Then, my husband and I reached a major turning point. On February 13, 2023, our beloved cat Mako, who had been with us for many years, passed away, and in May 2023, we finally returned to Japan permanently.
Related article - Mako's death.
No need for suits or pumps. "True wealth" discovered in housing complexes
When I returned to Japan, my life changed completely. My experiences in Taiwan made me ask myself, "What are people ultimately bound by?"
The answer was "appearance" and "social status ." Before they knew it, they were being held back by values of "how things should be" and ideals of "living a life above average."
The more things you own, the more fixed costs you incur to maintain them, which weighs on you both mentally and physically. I realized this all too well.
So, my husband and I decided to become as light as possible. We wanted to live a stress-free life and work only on what we loved! To achieve this, we decided not to be tied down to any organization or location, not to employ anyone, and not to take on loans. We changed our lifestyle to one where we could give it our all, within our reach.
"We won't compare ourselves to anyone anymore. We'll live our lives the way that makes us comfortable!"
Having made this decision, I chose to live in a public housing complex, which has low fixed costs.
I'm not bound by anyone or anything. This is my way of life.
We have now set up a limited liability company with my husband as the representative, and rented a virtual office for our work address. This eliminates the need to commute, so we can eat nutritious home-cooked lunches every day.
What's more, you don't even need to live in a place with high rents like Tokyo. All you need is a room in a housing complex in Tokainaka (a place between the city and the countryside) with rent in the 50,000 yen range , and you can easily balance your life and work.
We live in an age where as long as you have a connection, a computer, and a smartphone, you can work while traveling or at a cafe. You don't need a suit, pumps, or perfect makeup. Customers can visit us from the other side of the world, even on rainy or snowy days, or in the middle of the night while you're asleep. We outsource our warehousing and shipping operations to professionals, so we can run our business just the two of us, without hiring anyone.
"I can't go back to running a store anymore." This is my honest and true feeling right now.
From interacting with fans to new challenges
Up until now, our video fans have been able to see our real-life lives, and while we have been able to directly introduce products that we like, there has been no way for us to sell them.
In fact, when we were living in Taiwan, even after we closed our company, we continued to live in a house with very high rent. In order to pay the high fixed costs, we often had to take on jobs that were not our true desire (projects that we didn't really want to do) . We had to earn money to survive.
However, if I could just let go of my vanity, I could turn down work that I didn't want to do. That's how I realized I could "live life the way I want to."
By choosing to live in a housing complex and lowering the cost of living, I was able to break free from the "curse of high costs." I gained the freedom to live life to its fullest, without trying to look pretentious.
We want to deliver only the real thing, without any lies.
Because I am free, I want to do business without any lies from now on. I want to present to my fans only products that I have selected with sincerity and honesty.
And by becoming a customer, we hope to be able to build a close, long-lasting, and deep relationship with you... Nothing would make us happier than if you would also come to love Japan through the wonderful Japanese products that we love.
It is only by getting to know the "outside world" that we can understand the wonderful things, people, and spirit of Japan. Based on our policy of sharing Japan's lesser-known treasures with the world, and with the motto of "health first," we hope to continue interacting with you all.
I would be happy if I could help this site grow into one that is loved by people who love Japan and those who can sympathize with my philosophy even a little.
Summary: Nothing was wasted.
I gave up a lot of things: my title, my store, my appearance. But what I gained in return was the freedom to take control of my own life and peace of mind.
I moved to Taiwan, started a business overseas, had trouble with people, got sick, experienced the COVID-19 pandemic, became a YouTuber, and now I'm here.
It may have seemed like a detour, but I can now say with all my heart that not a single experience was wasted .
And from now on, no matter how old I get, I will continue to challenge myself until I die!
We hope you will continue to support Kokako Shoten in the future.
Small store nihonjinfufu miko worship
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