What did you miss?
Ben Fogle met with a Yorkshireman on New Lives in the Wild, who quit the UK to become a rice farmer in Japan — and he doesn’t miss it.
The adventurer, 51, travelled to Kyushu, in Japan, where he would live off-grid alongside Rupert Singleton, 57, and his wife Askai for one of the “most moving” New Lives in the Wild episodes.
Rupert, who grew up in Leeds, left the UK in search of a simpler life and eventually found himself living in the mountains of Japan.
Aged 24, Rupert turned his back on the UK forever; in Singapore, he would spend the next two decades of his life making good money as a photographer.
Later in life, the photographer would decide to make the drastic move to Japan to transform his life and become a rice farmer. Despite not living on a lot of money, Rupert said he was happy.
What, how and why?
Ben Fogle, Rupert Singleton, Asaki Haraguchi with their pet goats. (Channel 5)
In one poignant moment, Fogle asked the Yorkshireman point-blank if there was anything missed about the UK. Candidly, Rupert told the journalist that he didn’t miss the country where he was born and that he had barely been back to visit.
“I’m guilty of not missing much at all,” he said. Finally, he settled on the idea of his family. “My family, because I’ve been away from England for over 30 years.”
When asked if they were close, Rupert said: “Yeah, I am close [to my family]. I keep in contact with them. Yeah, I’ve only been back twice in 20 years. Last summer, my wife — despite in the middle of rice growing season — literally forced me to go back to England, to see my mother and farmer.
Ben Fogle and Rupert built a close bond. (Channel 5)
“And my brother and sister. Cos it’s been seven years. Little did I know, if I hadn’t gone back last summer, I would never have seen my father alive cos [because] three months after that trip in November, he died. That was quite a surprise.”
Rupert described his dad as a “happy man” and he said he comes to beautiful places in Japan to reflect.
Looking back on his visit, Fogle concluded: “You can find your dream place, you can create your dream lifestyle but there are some things that are harder to escape.” The journalist said that nature could be a “great tonic” for bereavement.
Ben Fogle reveals he drives his ‘wife up the wall’
Ben Fogle and Marina are married. (Getty)
Fogle struck up a close bond with Rupert over his stay with him, especially bonding over having ADHD in one of the most moving moments of the episode. According to the NHS, ADHD is a condition where the brain works differently to most people.
Fogle shared at times he does things that drives his wife Marina “up the wall”; the couple live with their children Ludo and Iona at their home near Oxfordshire.
Rupert had confided in Fogle about his struggles with the noisy building work near his dream remote home in Japan. So much so that both him and his wife ended up buying another house to live in.
Ben Fogle enjoyed his visit to Japan on New Lives in the Wild. (Channel 5)
Fogle didn’t shy away from asking Rupert more about it. He said: “You mentioned the trauma of the trucks passing your house and how it made you feel, you were just mentioning there the fact that you would choose an old-fashioned saw over a chainsaw, because you don’t like the sounds, I was wondering whether your sensitivity perhaps to environmental noises is something bigger or deeper?”
Rupert said: “It’s funny you should touch on that, cos I do have, I’m dyslexic for a start.”
He added: “And my wife worked it out. I didn’t know much about it. I have ADHD.”
Ben Fogle bonded with Rupert over having ADHD. (Channel 5)
Fogle remarked upon how similar they both were as they both have dyslexia and ADHD. He said: “Yeah, ditto. me too. What’s interesting is there is a spectrum of ADHD, where have you found yourself?”
Rupert said: “It’s impacted on quite a few things because I’m very sensitive to sound.” Fogle noted this made sense with his sensitivity to the trucks “rumbling” past his house.
Rupert added: “Well it’s worse than for a normal person. My wife… It didn’t really affect her. For me, it was like ahhh.” He put his head in his hands to show his frustration.
Rupert became a rice farmer in Japan. (Channel 5)
Fogle could understand exactly where Rupert was coming from. He said: “When you were saying one of the things you did when all those trucks were rumbling past was to throw yourself in the road in protest. That’s a dramatic reaction. Can I say, I could see myself in a mirror. I would have done exactly the same. You can’t control how you react to certain things.”
Rupert said: “My wife, she bought a book, so in there. It’s like a comic strip of all these things that affect ADHD suffers that’s like me, me, me. Doing things halfway as well, which I can be famous for.”
Wearing his heart on his sleeve, Fogle said: “It is story of my life, can I say, drives my wife up the wall. Even though I now understand why I do those things the way I do. It can still be annoying for other people. And for myself to be honest. Wow, well thanks for sharing that.”
Ben Fogle: New Lives in the Wild airs at 9pm on Thursday on Channel 5.
AloJapan.com