I traded Tokyo's crowds for my hometown of 8,000 people. Now, I'm trying to help save it from disappearing.

Koyo Murata left his small hometown for Tokyo before returning a few years later to transform an abandoned community center into a guest house. Provided by Koyo Murata Koyo Murata, now 25, grew up in a small countryside town in Japan. He moved to Tokyo to study electrical engineering and spent three years working in the city. Last year, he returned to his hometown to transform an abandoned community center into a modern guest house. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Koyo Murata, 25, the founder and operator of the Villa ASO guest house in Taiki, Mie Prefecture, Japan. His words have been edited for length and clarity. I grew up in a quintessential countryside town in Japan with about 8,000 people. My elementary and middle schools had only about 100 students combined. There are even fewer children there now.