Ask HN: Where is your #1 happy place, why and why not just move there?

Where? Tanigawadake Raspberry Youth Hostel. In the mountain valley town of Minakami, Gunma province, Japan you'll find a strikingly orange building. It has an epic view of Mount Tanigawa (nicknamed "The Mountain of Death"), the rest of the mountain range and a small river. It's ~2h north from Tokyo on mostly shinkansen.

Why? The views, the air but mostly the people. The man (Masatoshi-san) that runs it has an inspirational story where he quit his 8-to-midnight job in Tokyo and bought the hostel after a hike in the valley. He moved his family there and now he gives (free) daily tours of the region to every single person that visits driving them to all his "secret places". The food at the small restaurants around is fantastic and it's within easy driving distance to 10+ onsens (hot springs) including Takaragawa Onsen, one of the premier ones in Japan despite its remoteness. Over the years, I've met many people in that valley that just work remotely and have their kids go to the fantastic Buddhist mountain school nearby.

Why not move there? Visiting Japan is easy. Living in Japan seems daunting from a logistics, culture and language perspective. I live between Montreal and LA now.