Singaporean takes leap of faith to pursue dream of becoming a hotelier in Japan

Ray Hoe took an equity term loan, remortgaged his Singapore property and made the leap to Japan.

SINGAPORE – At 40, Ray Hoe left Singapore with his wife and two children to pursue his dream of becoming a hotelier in Japan.

It was a high-stakes bet on a country where he had neither the language nor the business connections.

Armed with what he describes as a healthy dose of naivety and a can-do spirit, he took an equity term loan, remortgaged his Singapore property and made the leap.

“It wasn’t because we were unhappy in Singapore. I simply wanted to see if I could build something meaningful overseas, as I’ve always been drawn to taking the road less travelled,” Hoe, 41, tells The Straits Times.

Hoe started out in international property marketing at JLL in 2012 before spending about eight years with his father, a property developer in Johor, Malaysia. He subsequently worked as a mortgage broker back in Singapore.

In 2025, the University of British Columbia finance graduate founded Hooray Hotels, a boutique hospitality company focused on introducing international travellers to lesser-known parts of Japan.

Its first property is a 10-room ryokan in Toyama, a coastal city in central Japan known for its seafood and views of the Tateyama Mountain Range.

The plan was to build a family business in which his children could gain hands-on experience.

Just as the 77-year-old ryokan secured its hotel licence and was preparing to open in September, Hoe’s business visa application was rejected, forcing him to leave Japan.

His wife, 34, and their two children are back in Singapore, travelling to Japan during the school holidays to help out at the ryokan.

Meanwhile, Hoe shuttles between the two countries, using Japan’s 90-day visa-free arrangement for Singaporeans.