Last January, British national Aidan O'Connor, 46, purchased an old townhouse in the heart of historic Sasayama, a town known for its wild boar cuisine and large chestnuts.
Just before the move, O'Connor visited his doctor in Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture, to inform him that after three years there, he, his wife, and his young daughter and son were moving to the countryside.
The doctor suggested one last routine checkup, and that's when O'Connor's life changed forever.