• Mori Nishimura, 34, grew up in New Zealand and moved to Japan at 16.
• After graduation, he began his career at real estate companies in Tokyo.
• Last year, he started his own company, which provides nature-based stays in mobile cabins in Japan.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Mori Nishimura, 34, the CEO of A Cabin Company in Japan. It's been edited for length and clarity.

I felt lost growing up. As a kid in New Zealand, I never questioned where I belonged. But as I got older, I became more aware of how different I was from my peers, which sparked my curiosity about Japan and my father's decision to leave it behind.

My father moved our family to Auckland because he wanted us to grow up surrounded by nature and away from the pressures of city life in Japan.

There weren't many Japanese families around, and I often felt caught between two cultures.

At 16, I moved to Japan by myself and enrolled in a boarding school in Kyoto. Life there was the opposite of New Zealand: Suddenly, I had curfews instead of the freedom to roam.

For the first time, I wasn't the odd one out. Two-thirds of the students were returnees — kids who had grown up abroad and come back to Japan — and they understood.

Exploring the countryside

Later, at university, I started exploring Japan. In the morning, before school started, I'd often drive out to different places and go surfing. I became fascinated with the Japanese countryside.

It reminded me of my childhood in New Zealand, when I used to escape into the woods near our house and build huts.

After graduating in 2015, I felt lost again and considered returning to New Zealand. Instead, I stayed in Tokyo and worked in real estate. A few years later, I started posting on LinkedIn about Japan's real estate market, the countryside, hospitality, and other interests. Eventually, I decided to strike out on my own.

During the pandemic, I traveled through rural Japan and reflected on what I wanted next. I came across a US company building tiny cabins on trailer chassis and saw an opportunity in Japan: fully operational accommodations that could bypass building permits and zoning laws because they were legally classified as vehicles.

I adapted the concept.

Starting a company from scratch

In 2024, I shared the idea on LinkedIn and wasn't targeting investors. Over time, though, the posts began attracting people who wanted to be part of what I was building.

A year later, when I launched a pre-seed fundraiser, investors reached out to back the business. My two full-time employees also found me through LinkedIn — the platform became an unexpected way to build both a team and a network of supporters.

The money raised from the fundraiser was used to open the first cabin in a national park in Chiba — about a two-hour train ride from central Tokyo — in August that year.

The 16-square-meter cabin is made from Japanese sugi and hinoki cedar and centered around a large picture window overlooking nature. Guests get complimentary firewood, coffee, and tea, plus bikes for rides to a nearby supermarket. It reached full occupancy within three months and has stayed booked ever since.

My second cabin opened in May, and my third will open in September.

Since the cabins are built on trailers, they are legally classified as vehicles rather than buildings.

Running a startup in Japan has been challenging because the ecosystem is still relatively new compared to those in other countries. There aren't many venture capital firms, so there aren't a lot of funding options.

The cabin costs about 30,000 Japanese yen for two guests, or about $190, a night.

So far, around 70% of our guests have been women. That came as a surprise, as I thought we'd get more solo male travelers, but we haven't had any.

Living up to my name

I didn't tell my parents when I started the business; they probably would have stopped me. When they found out, they were surprised but supportive.

My father was my biggest inspiration. About five years ago, he moved back to Japan and started looking for affordable land in the countryside where he could build a small cabin himself. But after being diagnosed with a terminal illness, he never got to see it completed. That experience gave me an even stronger sense of purpose in building the company.

He also gave me the name "Mori," which simply means "forest" in Japanese. It felt like I was born to do this.

Rebuilding my relationship with nature

My company focuses on nature, but I don't get to go out as much these days, except when I bring in guests. I work every day of the week.

Resting in Tokyo or any other big city is different because you never really switch off. I like doing campfires and having barbecues when I have the chance.

I want to enjoy my own cabin, but I can't because it's booked out.

• I booked an Infinite Veranda cabin on my Celebrity cruise and was surprised by how much I loved it.
• The polarizing design replaces a traditional balcony with more of a windowed "sunroom."
• Despite lacking a true outdoor space, the cabin's flexibility and privacy made it worth the price.

My husband and I recently went on a 12-night cruise to New Zealand aboard Celebrity Edge — and, despite reading polarizing reviews online, we decided to splurge on an Infinite Veranda cabin.

The stateroom design has been a topic of debate since it debuted in 2018, as Celebrity replaced a traditional balcony with floor-to-ceiling windows that open with the push of a button.

Honestly, I had a hard time understanding the concept until I experienced it myself. Think of a traditional cruise balcony like an outdoor patio, while the Infinite Veranda is more like a (sometimes open-air) sunroom.

For some, the lack of true outdoor space dilutes the cabin experience, while others appreciate the added versatility.

I hadn't experienced anything like it before, but after 12 nights in the cabin, I'm convinced it was worth the cost.

The biggest benefit was having added space and flexibility.

Instead of dedicating space to an outdoor balcony, the Infinite Veranda layout brings the seating space inside the cabin. So, our room felt extra spacious.

I'm a chronic overpacker, but even with five suitcases, we had no issues finding storage. We were also pleasantly surprised by the extra space along the side of the Infinite Veranda, where we could store some of our luggage without our cabin feeling cluttered.

The extra space also made our cabin more functional. Throughout the cruise, we used the Infinite Veranda as a second seating area.

With two chairs and a small table, it was the perfect spot to have our morning coffee or a glass of wine at sunset. We ended up spending more time in our stateroom than usual because it was so comfortable.

The Infinite Veranda felt more private than a traditional balcony.

One of the most unexpected benefits of the Infinite Veranda was the added sense of privacy it provided.

On a standard balcony, your outdoor space is more exposed, with only a small divider separating you from your neighbors. They can also feel less secluded.

Depending on the ship's design, a standard balcony might even be visible from other decks. On a previous cruise, for example, a stranger on an upper deck yelled things at me while I was taking photos on my standard balcony. It was pretty embarrassing.

Thankfully, we didn't have to worry about that while using our Infinite Veranda. Even with the window open, the space felt enclosed and much quieter.

Unlike on traditional balconies, where you can often hear chairs moving or conversations next door, we never heard our neighbors.

All of this gave us a greater sense of privacy while we enjoyed the ocean views.

We didn't need to step outside to see the breathtaking scenery.

Because the Infinite Veranda is built into the room rather than separated by a sliding door, we didn't have to go outside to take in sweeping views of New Zealand's fjords, cascading waterfalls, and jagged coastlines.

With the country's cooler temperatures, bundling up to sit on a traditional balcony wasn't especially appealing. Instead, we loved lowering the window and enjoying the scenery from the comfort of our cabin.

Unlike a standard balcony, which exposes you to wind, rain, or noise, the Infinite Veranda let us enjoy the views from anywhere in the room, even from bed.

Whether we were sailing through Fiordland National Park or just wanted fresh, cool air in the cabin after dinner, we used the space constantly.

Still, I can see why this room style is controversial.

One of the biggest drawbacks of the Infinite Veranda is the lack of a true outdoor space. At times, it can feel more like sticking your head out a car window than stepping onto a balcony.

Additionally, the air conditioning shuts off automatically when the window is open. This can make the room stuffy or humid in warmer climates — luckily, though, this wasn't an issue for us with New Zealand's cooler weather.

Some travelers also prefer the separation between indoor and outside space that true balconies with a door can offer. For example, it can be convenient if someone wants to hop on a phone call while their cabinmates are napping. This wasn't an issue for us, though.

Ultimately, the Infinite Veranda won us over, and we feel it was a great value.

I can understand why the Infinite Veranda is polarizing, but for us, it was worth the money.

In total, we spent $6,826 on an Infinite Veranda stateroom in Celebrity's AquaClass, which included wellness-focused perks such as access to a thermal spa and an exclusive restaurant.

Infinite Veranda rooms typically cost more than standard veranda cabins, but prices vary widely — and I've even seen them cost slightly less on some itineraries.

Although I was hesitant to book such a highly debated cabin, it turned out to be one of the highlights of our cruise. In fact, I've already booked another Infinite Veranda cabin for my cruise to Norway this summer.