Couple who transformed an abandoned Japanese home into a guesthouse

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He had spent years hiking around the world, and the Japanese traveler Daisuke Kajiyama was finally ready to go home to continue his long time Dream to open a guest house.

In 2011, Kajiyama returned to Japan with his Israeli partner Hila, whom he met in Nepal, and the couple began to find the perfect location for their future business.

However, there were a few major stumbles on their way. To start, Kajiyama had very little money to say after years of globetrotting around destinations like Korea, Taiwan, India, Nepal, Guatemala, Cuba and Canada.

He also had his heart in a traditional Japanese house, generally known as Komika,, which are generally transmitted during generations.

“I wanted to have a traditional house in the countryside,” Kajiyama told CNN Travel, explaining that he was determined to find two houses next to the other, so that he and Hila could live in one, while the other would be a guest house that they would run together. “I had a vision.”

When he could not find anything that met his requirements, Kajiyama decided to move his research to include the growing number of abandoned houses in the country.

While young people abandon rural areas looking for jobs in the city, the Japanese countryside fills with “ghosts”, or “Akiya.”

According to the Japan Policy Forum, there were 61 million houses and 52 million households in Japan in 2013, and with the population of the country which should go from 127 million to approximately 88 million by 2065This number should increase.

Kajiyama led around Tamatori, a small village located in the prefecture of Shizuoka, between Kyoto and Tokyo, surrounded by green tea and rice fields, when he came across an elderly woman and decided to approach her.

“I said,” Do you know if there are empty houses here? ” And she just pointed, ”he recalls.

He looked at the area to which she pointed out and spotted two houses neglected side by side – an old green tea plant and an old farmers’ house – located near a river.

The two properties had been uninhabited for at least seven years and needed a huge amount of work. Kajiyama asked the woman to contact the owner to find out if they would be interested in selling.

“The owner said that no one could live there because he was abandoned,” he said. “But he didn’t say” no “. Everyone always said “no”. But he didn’t do it.

Kajiyama returned to visit the houses about five times, before visiting the owner himself to negotiate an agreement that would see him use the old Green Tree factory as a house, and convert the farmer’s house to the guest house he had always considered.

While he wanted to buy the two houses, he explains that traditions around accession to Japan mean that he cannot do so until he is transmitted to the son of the current owner.

“They said,” If you assume all the responsibility yourself, you can take it. ” So we have concluded an agreement on paper, ”he says.

He and Hila both knew that they had a lot of work in front of them, but the couple, who married in 2013, was delighted to be one step more to have their own guest house in an ideal place.

“It’s a very nice place,” says Kajiyama. “It’s close to the city, but it’s really a campaign. People always live here and will work [in the city].

“The house is also in front of the river, so when you fall asleep, you can hear the sound of the water.”

According to Kajiyama, the house cleaning process, which is about 90 years old, before starting the renovation work was one of the most difficult parts of the process, simply because there was so much to sort. However, he was able to reuse some of the articles.

During the first year, he spent a lot of time connecting with residents, acquiring knowledge of the house and helping local farmers in agriculture during the first year.

Although he was not extremely experienced in the renovation work, he had spent a little time in agriculture and finishing construction while he hiked, and also took jobs to repair people’s houses.

He finished a large part of the work on the guest house himself, replacing the floors and adding toilets, which, according to him, was a wedding gift from his parents, at a cost of around $ 10,000.

“I’m not really a professional,” he says. »I like to do carpentry and I like to create things, but I have no experience in my history.

“For my several years of hiking, I have seen so many interesting buildings, so many houses of interesting shapes and I collected those in my brain.”

Kajiyama was determined to keep the house as authentic as possible using traditional materials.

He saved money by collecting traditional wood of construction companies that were breaking traditional houses.

“They have to spend the money to throw it away,” he explains. “But for me, some things are like treasures. So I would take the equipment I wanted.

“The house is a very, very old style,” he says. “So, it wouldn’t look good if I brought more modern materials. It’s completely authentic.”

He explains that very few work had already been done at home, which is quite unusual for a house built so many years ago.

“It’s totally authentic,” he says. “Usually, with traditional houses, certain renovations are made to the walls, because the insulation is not so strong. So you lose style. ”

He said he received financial support from the government, which meant that he was able to call on a carpenter and also benefited from Japan Holiday Holidays programWho allows travelers to work in exchange for food and pension, when he needed additional help.

After researching the Japanese guest house permits, he discovered that one of the easiest ways to acquire one would be to record the property as agricultural guest house.

As the area is filled with bamboo forests, it seemed to be obvious, and Kajiyama decided to learn everything he could on bamboo agriculture so that he can combine the two companies.

“This is how I started to cultivate,” he says.

In 2014, two years after starting to work on the house, the couple was finally able to welcome their first guests.

“It was a beautiful feeling,” says Kajiyama. “Of course, it was my dream. But people really appreciate that he was abandoned and I brought him back to life. ”

He says that the welcome of guests around the world helped him stay connected to his old life as a backpacker.

“I stay in the same place, but people come to me and I have the impression of traveling,” he said. “Today is Australia, tomorrow is the United Kingdom and next week in South Africa and India.

“People come from different places and they invite me to join them for dinner, so sometimes I join someone’s family life.”

Unfortunately, Hila died of cancer in 2022. Kajiyama stresses that his beloved wife played a huge role to help her realize her dream of having a guest house and says that he could not have done it without her.

“We were really together,” he adds. “She created this place with me. Without her, it would not have been like that. ”

While the three -bedroom guest house, which measures approximately 80 square meters, has been open for about eight years, Kajiyama is still working on it and says he has no idea when he has finished.

“It never ends,” he admits. “I’m halfway, I feel. It’s already beautiful. But it started to give up, so it needs more details. And I improve to create, so I need time to do it. ”

He explains that he is unable to finish work on the house while the guests are there. And while the property is closed during the winter, he spends two months as a bamboo farmer and generally spends a month traveling, which does not leave him much time for renovations.

“Sometimes I don’t do anything,” he admits.

Yui Valley, which offers activities such as bamboo weaving workshops, has helped bring many travelers to the village of Tamatori over the years.

“Most guests come after Tokyo, and it’s such a contrast,” he says. “They are really happy to share nature and tradition in our house.

“Most people dream of coming to Japan for a long time and they have very little time here.

“So they have such a beautiful energy. I am happy to welcome this way and join their holidays. It’s very special [for me]. “”

Kajiyama estimates that he has spent about $ 40,000 on renovation works so far, and if the comments of guests and residents are something, it seems to have been well spent.

“People appreciate what I have done,” he adds. “So that makes me feel special.”

As for Hiroko, the woman who highlighted the house over ten years ago, Kajiyama says that she is amazed at the transformation and is amazed by the number of international travelers in Tamatori to stay in Yui Valley.

“She can’t believe how beautiful he is 1748809051″, He said.” She didn’t think it was going to be like that. So she really appreciates it. She says a lot. “”

Yui valley1170 Okabecho Tamatori, Fujieda, Shimaka 421-1101, Japan