Hi, we bought a vacant Japanese House (Akiya) in rural Japan. Part of the renovation consisted of a huge sewing room with a custom sewing cutting table made by our Japanese carpenter. Thanks for watching!
I am an American (of Mexican descent) living and working in Japan. My wife of 32 (plus) years is from Japan. We bought a vacant or empty house “Akiya” in the countryside of Japan near Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture for $35,000 (5 million Yen as of August 2022). The property consists of a 2-story house built in 1975, small guest house, large 2 car garage, storage building, and 3/4 acres of land with many fruit trees.
As very common when purchasing an Akiya in Japan, the personal belongings of the previous owner were still in the house. It took multiple trips to the local recycle center to dispose of all the property.
The grounds were overgrown with many weeds and vines. This will take a while to get under control, but it is looking much better around the property, and I think the neighbors are happy to see us cleaning up.
This traditional Japanese house also features a gorgeous Japanese Garden in much need of cleaning up and bringing it back to its glory. I am still working on the garden, but it already looks stunning under a beautiful maple tree and huge decorative stones.
We performed an extensive renovation in the entire house. We focused on keeping traditional Japanese features such as the engawa, shoji doors, ranma, shikkui, tatami room, but incorporated modern features making a very comfortable house for years to come. Walls, ceilings, floors were insulated. New modern kitchen, toilets and bathroom units were installed. We installed a wood burning cast iron stove (Quadra-Fire, Explorer II). New electrical throughout the entire house and guest house. Double pane windows and doors installed and much more.
#japan #japancountryside #japanesevacanthouse #akiya #traditionaljapanesehouse #ruraljapan
Other videos of our Akiya traditional Japanese house renovation:
https://youtube.com/@cocolenchojapan
Contact:
cocolenchojapan@gmail.com
Social Media:
Instagram: @cocolenchojapan
https://www.instagram.com/cocolenchojapan/?fbclid=IwAR1vdzJZbQd5I1V7kv2ho0Imz2sb6BL_vc5mZq5wd4DJQPVL4SSVBWvDw3A
Facebook:
Coco Lencho Japan
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100088736035119
Other sources of information for Realestate in Japan:
Recommend opening in Chrome for English translation.
Dave Olson’s website:
Dave provides many links and information Akiya and Komika purchase.
“Akiya” abandoned, cheap/free* houses in Japan / annotations, resources, riffs, musings, stories
At Akiya Sumai you can search for vacant houses around Japan.
https://akiya.sumai.biz
At Ie Ichiba there is a Bulletin board to search vacant houses / Akiya Houses and old buildings in Japan
https://www.ieichiba.com
Other Useful Links:
https://www.athome.co.jp/
https://www.kurasapo.net/
https://www.koryoya.com/
https://www.homes.co.jp/akiyabank/
http://www.inakanet.jp/index.html
3 Comments
Nice table solid can throw a mattress on top as a backup bed
It is hard to believe that you are finished with reclaiming the home and guest house. The man cave and garage offer more possibilities and the garden is my great interest. Thanks.
She definitely needs a table that size and no smaller to spread out the fabrics easily to measure. If you are going to spend a lot of time somewhere the more practical something is the more enjoyable the space becomes. That is a seriously beautiful table.