We built a house in small-town Japan: construction wrap-up, home tour, rural Japanese life!
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- čas přidán 10. 12. 2022
- Construction has finally wrapped up, and we've been living in our new house in central Japan for about year now. If you remember from the last video, construction wasn't completely finished when we moved in here. This video, part 10 in my "Home Construction Adventure in Japan" series, documents the completion of the construction process, finishing touches, and how we dealt with a few unexpected issues that came up. And I'll finally be able to give you a tour of our completed new home. And you can even join me while I head out to polish a bag of rice. It's a good chance to check out rural, small-town Japan while we're at it. And finally, why don't you join me for a beer (or tea) on the patio afterwards? Unless of course we have a typhoon to deal with first. Which we will.
As for the music used in this video, it's the same story as usual: some of it is original (ie. courtesy the Mysterious Doctor Ebot) some is from the CZcams Creators' Media Library, and one or two tracks may have been 'borrowed' without permission. (I'll be happy to provide more info if you ask.)
Thanks for watching. I'm Jordan, Inside-Outsider in Japan, and this is my life.
Lovely interior design and the corner lot layout looks well situated to maximize your privacy.
Reminds me of our visit in 2019 when we were literally dodging typhoons from Ishigaki through western Honshu, finally catching up to us in the end with all domestic flights cancelled so we had to Shinkansen (SRO no less) to Tokyo to make our flight home, just barely. Chiba was particularly hard hit. Typhoons in Japan are no joke.
Plans vs Typhoon: typhoon always wins
I live in semi rural Ibaraki, we bought an 8 year old house with a huge fenced yard (for the dog), couldn't be happier. Mentioned the rice polishing to the wife (she's from Niigata) she said she used to do that "all the time" as a kid, so I will be on the look out for the local polish station. Agree on the insulation, while my house is new-ish, still some cold spots where I think they skimped on weatherproofing. So much better than other places I have lived in Japan, but still I will never understand why they just dont insulate more given the lack of heating/cooling in older homes.
Congratulations on getting a place with a proper yard. They must be awesome! The only way to do that in my neighborhood is to buy the adjacent lot (= rice field) and expand your property that way. Anyway, sounds like you did things right! As for finding a rice polishing station, if you have an agricultural “coop” grocery store in the area, it’s a good place to start.
Hey everyone, sorry about the wait for this one. The original video was over 30 minutes, so I had to do considerable editing to get it down to a manageable length. Plus there’s been a whole lot of other stuff going on (family, work, beer…) that’s been demanding my attention over the last couple of months. Anyway, hope you enjoy this one. And if not, let me know what kind of content you want to see next! 🍻
First look at your channel, and this is the first video I decided to watch. You and your wife truly built something fantastic there. To many happy memories to you and your family in this beautiful house.
Thank you! 🍻
Fantastic build, really turned out well. I'd enjoy a video on what its like to live in a small town in Japan
Thanks!! And noted. 👍
Cool house props for building a reverse Dogan House that actually has head room. Had a couple of questions first can you rent power tools anywhere you live because usually when you do walkways like that you use a circular saw after attaching the steps also do you have to do railing for those or can you get away with out them.
Second to build a house like that do you need a general contractor or can you hire your own laborers as long you file a building plan with the planning commission and is the labor less expensive than Europe.
I have a suggestion for your outside balcony try to see if you can buy a portable mister and attach to a box fan to it or place it in its path, its really great for hot summer days.
I want to see a video on you central air system and solar panels always a fan of H/Vac systems.
Thanks for the detailed comment! To answer a few of your questions… about tools, I’ve heard we actually can rent them, but I always just use whatever my father-in-law happens to have around. And about building regulations in Japan, my understanding is that for add-on stuff like a deck, you can pretty much do whatever you want, unless it’s physically connected to your house or crosses your property line (oops). But for the home itself the rules are pretty strict. I think you actually need to be licensed and registered (in Japan) to build a house, so yes, you would need to go through a general contractor. (Not totally sure about this but that’s how I understood it.) And… a portable mister for the patio. Yes, we do have those here and it’s a great idea! 👍
@@Jordan-inJapan Thanks for answering my questions and I am glad my suggestion was useful.
Really enjoyed watching this one - seems you've got a really nice set-up out there! Might have to get you to teach me a wee bit about editing as well! ;)
Only if you teach me about beer tasting. I clearly have a lot to learn in that department. 😆
House tour was cool
Glad you enjoyed it! 🍻
I would love to see a dedicated video for the central heating system
Thanks for the comment. This idea seems to be getting a lot of votes… I guess I’ll have to make the video! 🍻
great video. looking forward to a video focused on your central air system !
Thanks! I’ll start working on that one pretty soon - as soon as I finish a couple of other videos I’ve got in progress.
@@Jordan-inJapan sounds good!
Our Home's "Elegantly Simple" Japanese Approach to Heating (and Cooling) | System Design & Costs
czcams.com/video/NcZ-6OBJcTM/video.html
This looks awesome 💜💛
I used to live in Ise-shi, so the little drive around the 1-minute mark was very nostalgic! :)
Not far away at all! 🍻
Beautiful house
Thank you!
Great to see at last! I'm interested in the heating, and a video on small town living would be great too :)
Thanks! And noted. 🍻
Love your house and ideas. Wish we had central air 😅
Hey, thanks for stopping by! 🍻
Hi Jordan, chatted with you over on Coco Lencho's channel the other day & have since been checking your channel out. Of course I wanted to start with the construction of your new home, as I am considering buying an Akiya in Japan sometime in the future and want to see what other people are doing, or how & what they are doing with their homes. Let me start by saying that your house is simply beautiful! It's a very modern looking structure from the outside. I love the design & open floor concept with the high ceilings that you selected. It seems that you & your wife really put a lot of thought into your new home & what works for you. I also especially love the idea of having the kitchen & main family space on the second floor & that patio area is 'killer!'
One question I had about the design is did you work with an architect to custom design this home or did you work off an existing home plan, maybe with some customization? I find it fascinating how space within the home is maximized given the size restrictions of the exterior. I hope to be able to chat with you more in the future. If you're interested in communicating with each other, is there another way to contact you? Regards, Kerry
Hey, thanks for the comment! (And the compliments. 😊 ) As for the design process, we purposely went with a smaller local company where we could work directly with the architect and main carpenter to co-develop the plan. Basically, my wife and I (along with her parents) sketched out a rough plan and then let the pros adjust it as necessary, in a back-and-forth process. It took a bit longer than a normal build, but it was great in that I really feel that we ‘own’ the final result. (Japanese construction companies usually work the other way, where you get to customize based on a pre-existing plan.)
As for earlier communication options, either Instagram (DM) or Facebook (Messenger). Instagram is the same as my channel name, and FB is just “Inside Outsider in Japan”
Congratulations, the house is beautiful, so happy for you man! Glad you’re doing OK, was looking forward to your videos.
Thanks!! And sorry to keep you waiting. 😅
Thanks Jordan! Great to see where your project has landed. Your house looks really well put together.
As for future videos, I am interested in small town life, but whatever piques your interest really. BTW we enjoyed seeing the rice-polisher - not something we see in Australia 😉. When we last stayed in Tokyo we were similarly smitten with the dry ice machine at our local supermarket. Hey maybe that's a new series!😄
The dry ice machine! Ha, I’d forgotten that I used to be amazed by that one as well. 😆
Nice house and nice video..!
Wow!!! great video man! Keep it up
Thanks! 🍻
What a beautiful house! Your wife has impeccable design taste. The upstairs living space is truly amazing. I can also definitely see why the patio is your favorite; such a perfect relaxing spot! The tiles really made it unique. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for the comment! Yeah, the patio has been great…I just wish I could spend more time out there. For the last couple of months, most days have been so hot (even in the evenings) that I haven’t wanted to spend any more time outside than necessary. The occasional 10pm star-gazing session, but that’s about it.
@@Jordan-inJapan I hear you! The temps even here have been insane (Arizona)! I'm so ready for that cooler fall weather.
The house looks great and functional. Adding the deck outside not only looks a lot better, but functional. The kitchen is among the best I've seen in beauty and function.
The installation of the Housing boxes for the windows is a happy accident. It made the windows LOOK better when open. There's no curtains in the way, clean design... the wooded boxes makes the windows look more like PART of the house. I love how doors slide out of walls, compared to N. American doors that suck up space. (I've never been to Japan, but always wanted to go).
I have a few questions or thoughts
- The tiles on the patio, are they leveled or also angled for water? Was it possible to put in angled slats(?) to create a level frame to put the tiles on top?
- My OCD sorry picks up on one thing (sorry - with such perfection in the house) - For the track lighting above the sink (3 lamps) - It has a white power cord hanging down. Due to the beam, it can't be routed elsewhere? I didn't see any for the black track lights in the rest of the room.
- The laundry room is very neat, and much improvement for the dryer, that it's even hidden.
- The creek or floodway behind the house. It's small, but it also seem nice to have as something that has moving water sounds. Is that typical and something you enjoy having next to your home? (Glad it doesn't seem to flood enough to be a problem)
Thank you for the (very detailed) comments!! As for the patio, the whole surface is just uniformly inclined toward the drainage part on the side. We were thinking of doing something clever so the tiles could be totally level but it ended up not being necessary since you can’t really notice the incline when you’re out there. And…that cord. Yeah, when it first got installed it bothered me right away. I asked our carpenter about moving it and he convinced me it was overly complicated since it involved drilling through a beam and I just gave up and accepted it. Now I don’t even see it anymore! But that’s also kind of an interesting cultural point: in general, Japanese people are really good at ignoring power cords. So much attention to detail and then…a cord draped unashamedly across the finished project. 😆
Finally, that little river (irrigation drainage ditch) next to our place has been really nice. In spite of the (slight) flooding risk I’ve loved the feeling of having running water nearby. Especially, the sound is so relaxing!
Beautiful door 👌
Thanks! 🍻
I really love the house and all the work you guys have put in. As for the video, you have the ability to project a really calm and overall relaxing energy, which I truly love. And the style of the content you create is also raw, which is a rarity nowadays. Thank you for the experience!
Thanks for the comment! It sounds like you really ‘get’ what I was going for with this video. (Which I’m glad to hear because I was trying something a bit different and wasn’t sure how well it would work. 😅) Anyway, I plan to make more content like this. 🍻
Jordan, did you say "I can't drink crap beer all the time" or "I can't drink craft beer all the time"? The details you added to your house, especially so close to your in=laws, seem very nice. Let me know when your wife laments you didn't do underfloor heating.
craft vs crap 😂
(I intended the former.)
But I should take better care to enunciate… 😅
The inside came out great! And that rice you were polishing looks so incredibly delicious!
Thanks!! Yeah, that some seriously tasty rice. 👍 😆
This was so awesome! Dude I miss you guys so much.
Thanks! We miss you too!!
i shared rooms all my growing life. i instantly new the loft would be nuisance for privacy and noise, maybe you can add a sliding door one one of the sides or glass windows.
That’s a good idea. I had been thinking along the lines of sound-proof curtains, but I suppose a sliding glass (or plexiglass) window-door would look quite a bit better.
@@Jordan-inJapan excelent house btw. Congrats on the project. Great taste.
@@clumsykoala3699 🍻
I would love to hear more about your heating system!
You mentioned a lack of privacy due to sound isolation - maybe you can look into sound damping / isolating curtains? They help stop the sound propagating from one space to another, so it might work for you.
Sounds like a good, possible solution. Will look into it, thanks! 🍻
👍👍
I came here after seeing your comment on Paolo's video and I've subscribed. Why did you choose to make your house black?
Welcome to my channel! Why did we go with black… I guess it’s kind of a neighborhood ‘heritage’ esthetic. We have a lot of old agricultural storage warehouses in area, and the traditional color is black. For a while most new houses were built with a more modern or Western look, but these days that ‘warehouse aesthetic’ is just what’s cool here. (Shorter answer: my wife wanted it black. 😆)
Have you tried eating rice, not polished?
(And risk being run out of town?? 😆)
Well, I’ve never heard of anyone eating it just as is. But the machines have a “genmai” (brown rice) setting that just polishes off some impurities but leaves most of the husk intact. It’s tasty that way too, and healthier I assume, but less versatile for cooking.
@@Jordan-inJapan I see, I would try it at least once, especially if there is a setting for Brown rice. )))
Thanks for answering anyway )
Never stop posting! I love this channel!. Do not miss out = 'promo sm'.