It's one thing to start a new life overseas in your salad days, but quite another to give up a prestigious job and relocate at close to 50 years old.
Up until two years ago, Shinobu Teraguchi was in charge of the entire wholesale division for Seijo Ishii Co. Ltd., a Japanese nationwide supermarket chain known for its quality foods, including many imported items. Teraguchi was also responsible for purchasing wine and other alcohol, traveling around the world to attend major food and beverage trade shows.
Today Teraguchi works for a New Zealand winery as a cellar hand — a role not dissimilar to his job when he was just starting out some 30 years ago. He was recently back in Japan for the New Zealand Wine Fair Japan, an industry event for buyers and sellers, and took some time out to talk about the challenges and rewards of a midlife international move.