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He had spent years backing all over the world, and Japanese traveler Daisuke Kajiyama was finally ready to return home to pursue his long hero I dream of opening a guest house.
In 2011, Kajiyama sent him in Japan with his Israeli partner Hila, with whom he in Nepal, and the couple set out to find the perfect location for their future company.
However, there were a couple of great obstacles on their way. To begin with, Kajiyama had very little money to talk about after years of globetroting around destinations such as Korea, Taiwan, India, Nepal, Guatemala, Cuba and Canada.
Hey, he also had his heart placed in a traditional Japanese house, generally known as Kominka” Which are generally transmitted in generations.
“I wanted to have a traditional house in the country,” Kajiyama tells CNN Travel, explaining that he was inter -founded to find two houses located next to each Eather, so that and Hila could live in one, while Ethe Tun. “I had a vision.”
When he could not find anything that with his requirements, Kajiyama decided to change his search to include the growing number of abandoned houses in the country.
As younger people launch rural areas in search of work in the city, the Japan field is being filled with “ghosts” houses, or “Akiya”.
According to the Japan Policy Forum, there were 61 million houses and 52 million homes in Japan in 2013, and with the population of the country that is expected to decrease from 127 million to approximately 88 million by 2065, this number is likely to increase.
Kajiyama was driving on Tamatori, a small town located in Shizuoka Prefecture, between Kyoto and Tokyo, surrounded by green tea plantations and rice fields, when he came as an old woman.
“I said that you know if there is any empty house here?” And she just pointed out, “he recalls.
She looked at the area she was pointing out and saw two careless houses next to each other, an old green tea factory and the house of an old farmer, located near a river.
Both properties had been uninhabited for at least seven years and needed a lot of work. Kajiyama asked the woman to contact the owner to find out if they would be interested in selling.
“The owner said no one could live there, as he was abandoned,” he says. “But he said” No. “Everyone always said” no. “But he did.
Kajiyama returned to visit the houses about five times, before visiting the owner himself to negotiate an Arelement that would see him use the old green tree factory as a home, and convert the Fervisioned. The guest at home left.
While I was anxious to buy the two houses, he explains that the traditions on the property of housing in Japan mean that he cannot do it until he transferred to the son of the current owner.
“They said” if you assume all the responsibility yourself, you can take it. “So we reach an agreement on paper,” he says.
Both he and Hila knew that they had a lot of work ahead, but the couple, who married in 2013, was delighted to be one step closer to having their own guest house in an ideal place.
“It’s a very nice location,” says Kajiyama. “It is close to the city, but it is really a field. [in the city].
“The house is also facing the river, so when you go to sleep you can listen to the sound of the water.”
According to Kajiyama, the process of clearing the house, which is about 90 years old, before beginning the renewal work was one of the most difficult parts of the process, simply because there was a lot to classify. However, he was able to reimburse some of the articles.
Duration The first year, it spent a lot of time connecting with the locals, obtaining knowledge about the home and helping local farmers with agriculture during the first year or so.
There was blank of renewal work, had spent some time growing and completing the building while it was backing on, and also had strange tasks that arranged people’s houses.
He completed much of the work in the guest house, replacing the floors and added a bathroom, which according to him was a wedding gift of his parents, at a cost of around $ 10,000.
“I’m not really a professional,” he says. “I like to do carpentry and enjoy creating things, but I have no experience in my background.
“From my several years of backpack, I saw so many interesting buildings, so many houses in interesting ways and I have picked them up in my legs in my brain.”
Kajiyama was determined to keep the house as authentic as possible through the use of traditional materials.
He saved money by collecting traditional wood from construction companies that were in the process of breaking down traditional houses.
“They need to spend money to throw it,” he explains. “But for me, some of the things are like treasure. So I would go and take the material 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 totally authentic.”
He explains that very little work had previously done the house, which is quite unusual for a construction of a home so many years ago.
“It’s totally authentic,” he says. “Usually, with traditional houses, some renovations are made to the walls, because the isolation is not so strong. Therefore, you lose the style.”
He says he recovered some financial support from the government, which means that he could bring a carpenter and also benefited from the Japan’s work program, which allows travelers to work in exchange for food and together, when he needs additional help.
After investigating a little about the permits of the Japanese guest house, he discovered that one of the simplest ways of acquiring one would be to register the property as an agricultural guest house.
As the area is full of bamboo forests, this seemed obvious, and Kajiyama decided to learn everything that could about bamboo agriculture to combine the two businesses.
“This is how I started growing,” he says.
In 2014, two years after begging at home, the couple could finally welcome their first guests.
“It was a beautiful feeling,” says Kajiyama. “Or, of course, this was my dream. But people really appreciate that I was abandoned and returned it to life.”
He says that the host of guests from all over the world has helped him stay connected to his previous life as a backpack.
“I stay in one place, but people come to me and I feel that I am traveling,” he says. “Today, it is Australia, tomorrow is the United Kingdom and next week South Africa and India.
“People come from different places and invite me to join them for dinner, so sometimes I join someone’s family life.”
Unfortunately, Hila died of cancer in 2022. Kajiyama emphasizes that the beloved wife played an important role in helping her achieve her dream of having a guest house and says she could not have done it without him.
“We were really together,” he adds. “She created this place with me. Without her she wouldn’t have a leg like this.”
While the three bedroom guest house, which measures around 80 square meters, has opened for about eight years, Kajiyama is still working on it and says he has no idea when he will end.
“It never ends,” he admits. “I’m halfway, I feel. It’s already beautiful. But he starts abandoning, so he needs more details. And I’m improving in creation, so I need time to do it.”
He explains that he cannot complete the work at home while the guests are there. And while the property is closed at the winter door, it spends two months as a bamboo farmer and generally spends a month traveling, which leaves him a lot of time renovations.
“Sometimes I do nothing,” he admits.
Yui Valley, who sacrifices activities such as bamboo tissue workshops, has helped take many travelers to the town of Tamatori over the years.
“Most guests come after Tokyo, and it’s a great contrast,” he says. “They are very happy to share nature and tradition in our house.
“Most people have dreamed of coming to Japan for a long time and have a very short time here.
“Then they have such beautiful energy. I am happy to organize in this way and join their vacations. It is very special. [for me]. ”
Kajiyama estimates that he has spent around $ 40,000 on the renewal work so far, and if the comments of the guests and the locals, anything why pass, it seems to have well -spent leg money.
“People appreciate what I have done,” he adds. “So that makes me feel special.”
As for Hiroko, the woman who pointed out the house approximately a decade ago, Kajiyama says she is surprised by the transformation, and is surprised at how many international travelers come to Tamatori to stay in Yui Valley.
“She can’t believe how much more beautiful she is 1750307345″He says.” She didn’t believe it was going to be like that. Then she really appreciates it. She says, thank you very much. ”
Yui Valley1170 OKABECO TAMATORI, FUJIEDA, Shizuoka 421-1101, Japan