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Recently my idea of a dream house would something in the traditional Japanese style with wood, tatami, shoji, and a beautiful garden. I remember being really bl

Recently my idea of a dream house would something in the traditional Japanese style with wood, tatami, shoji, and a beautiful garden. I remember being really blown away by the Nomura house [1] in Kanazawa many years ago. Of course I would probably want to update it with better insulation, air conditioning, and more glass/screens to let me enjoy the views of the garden while keeping the bugs out. The best part is you don’t even need to break the bank to get something like that. An old abandoned Japanese folk house can be purchased for next to nothing and completely renovated for less than the cost of a 1 bedroom condo in the Bay Area. [2] [1] https://www.kanazawastation.com/nomura-samurai-house-garden/ https://www.kanazawastation.com/nomura-samurai-house-garden/ [2] https://www.rakusumu.com/sale/detail/00166-200049 https://www.rakusumu.com/sale/detail/00166-200049

discordance 6y ago
If you're into that, you might dig this guys YouTube channel [0]. He bought an abandoned traditional house in Japan and is documenting the process of fixing it up. 0: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBQ3TEq5SrUuTJuMl1S_4ig https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBQ3TEq5SrUuTJuMl1S_4ig
- freetime2 6y ago
  Yup I have seen that. Just seeing how intricate the roof is on his house has really given me a new appreciation for that style of building.
seanmcdirmid 6y ago
A lot of those homes are difficult to retrofit with decent heating and insulation. I had a friend thattried this with an old Beijing hutong whose bones simply weren’t designed for central heating. You can put in something, but it will be expensive and/or ineffective.
- 082349872349872 6y ago
  炬燵 are a thing
  - astrobe_ 6y ago
    For those too lazy to copy/paste into an online translator: it's "kotatsu" [1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kotatsu https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kotatsu
  - elric 6y ago
    True. It's long been my opinion that it's more efficient to heat a person (or a couple of persons) than to heat an entire home, most of which is empty at any given time. A kotatsu fits that bill rather nicely.
    - seanmcdirmid 6y ago
      Kotatsus are limited: they are ok if you are idle, but they don’t warm your hands if you want to get work done on a laptop. I can never get anything done MIL’s apartment in southern China in the winter (southern China gets no central heating, and it still gets cold).
      - carapace 6y ago
        Put a lump of butter in your tea. Sure it's gross but you'll be warm. ;-)
        seanmcdirmid 6y ago
        Doesn’t stop your hands from freezing.
        carapace 6y ago
        It suspect it would (unless you have circulation issues in your hands or something.) Your body burns the extra fat and whatnot to keep your core temp up. At least that's the theory I was told. I was camping in the mountains and too cold at night when a friend told me about this. We used hot chocolate, a cup after dinner with a tablespoon of butter in it. Sure enough, I was roasty toasty all night. I'm not sure it would stop your hands from freezing but it might be worth a try.
- dillonmckay 6y ago
  So, I have been looking at high velocity air conditioning, but also the newer minisplit form factors, where you can have a lower wall mount, but more flat, or a hidden ducted unit, or even a ceiling mount unit. I was surprised at the number of options.
- baybal2 6y ago
  > thattried this with an old Beijing hutong And those hutongs are coming at few megabucks apiece now...
twelvechairs 6y ago
For anyone with a serious interest in traditional Japanese houses, the best book in English is by Heinrich (Heino) Engel "The Japanese house: a tradition for contemporary architecture". It goes through everything from climate to philosophy to woodworking. A few of its chapters were later republished in a smaller version you can borrow free from zlib here: https://b-ok.global/book/2696550/f47105 https://b-ok.global/book/2696550/f47105 [edit] Someone else online who has found the same love for this book as I have: https://mypeculiarnature.blogspot.com/2015/08/japanese-woodworking-books-measure-and.html https://mypeculiarnature.blogspot.com/2015/08/japanese-woodw...
- kaybe 6y ago
  Which chapters are missing from the downloadable version?
harpratap 6y ago
But it's in the middle of bumbfuck-nowhere, population steadily declining for 40 years. Even if you want to work remotely there's no guarantee the infrastructure will keep up with proper electricity, medical facilities, internet, mail and all the 1st world conveniences.
- ghaff 6y ago
  What's in the middle of "bumbfuck-nowhere" as you so eloquently put it? Kanazawa--which was the subject of the comment that you appear to be replying to--has a population of about half a million people. I've never personally been there but that doesn't seem to be a very accurate description.
  - freetime2 6y ago
    They were referring to the real estate listing (the second URL I linked), which is located in Itoigawa. Admittedly Itoigawa is very rural (population 40,000 and on the decline) and wouldn't be my first choice of location. But on the other hand, it is a stop on the Hokuriku Shinkansen line which means you are within a couple hours at most of Tokyo, Takasaki, Nagano, Toyama, and Kanazawa. It also has good skiing an hour to the South in Hakuba (where they held the 1998 winter olympics) and hiking in the nearby mountains. For anyone interested in a self-sufficient lifestyle, you could also buy some inexpensive farmland and grow a lot of your own produce. It may not be for everyone, but I can think of worse places in the world to live.

discordance 6y ago

If you're into that, you might dig this guys YouTube channel [0]. He bought an abandoned traditional house in Japan and is documenting the process of fixing it up. 0: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBQ3TEq5SrUuTJuMl1S_4ig https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBQ3TEq5SrUuTJuMl1S_4ig

freetime2 6y ago
Yup I have seen that. Just seeing how intricate the roof is on his house has really given me a new appreciation for that style of building.

seanmcdirmid 6y ago

A lot of those homes are difficult to retrofit with decent heating and insulation. I had a friend thattried this with an old Beijing hutong whose bones simply weren’t designed for central heating. You can put in something, but it will be expensive and/or ineffective.

082349872349872 6y ago
炬燵 are a thing
- astrobe_ 6y ago
  For those too lazy to copy/paste into an online translator: it's "kotatsu" [1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kotatsu https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kotatsu
- elric 6y ago
  True. It's long been my opinion that it's more efficient to heat a person (or a couple of persons) than to heat an entire home, most of which is empty at any given time. A kotatsu fits that bill rather nicely.
  - seanmcdirmid 6y ago
    Kotatsus are limited: they are ok if you are idle, but they don’t warm your hands if you want to get work done on a laptop. I can never get anything done MIL’s apartment in southern China in the winter (southern China gets no central heating, and it still gets cold).
    - carapace 6y ago
      Put a lump of butter in your tea. Sure it's gross but you'll be warm. ;-)
      - seanmcdirmid 6y ago
        Doesn’t stop your hands from freezing.
        carapace 6y ago
        It suspect it would (unless you have circulation issues in your hands or something.) Your body burns the extra fat and whatnot to keep your core temp up. At least that's the theory I was told. I was camping in the mountains and too cold at night when a friend told me about this. We used hot chocolate, a cup after dinner with a tablespoon of butter in it. Sure enough, I was roasty toasty all night. I'm not sure it would stop your hands from freezing but it might be worth a try.
dillonmckay 6y ago
So, I have been looking at high velocity air conditioning, but also the newer minisplit form factors, where you can have a lower wall mount, but more flat, or a hidden ducted unit, or even a ceiling mount unit. I was surprised at the number of options.
baybal2 6y ago
> thattried this with an old Beijing hutong And those hutongs are coming at few megabucks apiece now...

twelvechairs 6y ago

For anyone with a serious interest in traditional Japanese houses, the best book in English is by Heinrich (Heino) Engel "The Japanese house: a tradition for contemporary architecture". It goes through everything from climate to philosophy to woodworking. A few of its chapters were later republished in a smaller version you can borrow free from zlib here: https://b-ok.global/book/2696550/f47105 https://b-ok.global/book/2696550/f47105 [edit] Someone else online who has found the same love for this book as I have: https://mypeculiarnature.blogspot.com/2015/08/japanese-woodworking-books-measure-and.html https://mypeculiarnature.blogspot.com/2015/08/japanese-woodw...

kaybe 6y ago
Which chapters are missing from the downloadable version?

harpratap 6y ago

But it's in the middle of bumbfuck-nowhere, population steadily declining for 40 years. Even if you want to work remotely there's no guarantee the infrastructure will keep up with proper electricity, medical facilities, internet, mail and all the 1st world conveniences.

ghaff 6y ago
What's in the middle of "bumbfuck-nowhere" as you so eloquently put it? Kanazawa--which was the subject of the comment that you appear to be replying to--has a population of about half a million people. I've never personally been there but that doesn't seem to be a very accurate description.
- freetime2 6y ago
  They were referring to the real estate listing (the second URL I linked), which is located in Itoigawa. Admittedly Itoigawa is very rural (population 40,000 and on the decline) and wouldn't be my first choice of location. But on the other hand, it is a stop on the Hokuriku Shinkansen line which means you are within a couple hours at most of Tokyo, Takasaki, Nagano, Toyama, and Kanazawa. It also has good skiing an hour to the South in Hakuba (where they held the 1998 winter olympics) and hiking in the nearby mountains. For anyone interested in a self-sufficient lifestyle, you could also buy some inexpensive farmland and grow a lot of your own produce. It may not be for everyone, but I can think of worse places in the world to live.