Eco Homes

Eco-Greenhouse & Earthships Building Workshop

This summer we will build a passive solar Earth Ship greenhouse that can be used as a living space or for growing plants year round.

Earth Ships are built largely with recycled materials, most of which are easily available and free for the asking. Used, steel-belted automobile tires, packed solid with earth, become giant 400- pound bricks that create sound-proof, fire and earthquake resistant, fortress- like walls.

Once built, Earth Ships collect rain water from potable roofing material into water storage tanks that provide an abundant source of water, even in areas with minimal rainfall.

Dates: July 28 to August 1, 2010 (tentative)
Cost: ¥ 48,000 (weekend only: ¥20,000)
Location: The Earth Embassy Solar Café and Farm, on the foot of Mt. Fuji.
Contact: info@earthembassy.org

The Experience Includes:
• Classroom overview of Earth Ship building and its environmental advantages. Discussion in English with Japanese support.
• Hands on experience building an Earth Ship. We will line a 4m x 8m hole with earth-packed tires and build a roof and south-facing wall designed to function as a passive solar greenhouse.
• Farm tour and organic farming activities.
• Hike to nearby Ice caves.
• Three home-cooked meals a day prepared with locally grown organic foods.
• Lodging in the Earth Embassy Guest House.

The Solar Shower is heating up!

The solar shower at the Solar Cafe & Guest House catches rainwater from our roof, which is stored in 3 (200litre) tanks in an insulated box which heats up in the sunlight. The building itself was done with recycled floor boards from the Shojiko High Village house second floor. The boards are over 150 years old, with the original ax marks still showing where they were hand hewn long before advent of power saws, and the natural coating of creosote was layered on over years of smoke from the fireplace, and are thus the wood is naturally water resistant and will last for another 150 years. THAT’S sustainability baby!

Shojiko Kitchen – Classic Japanese meets Ikea

Reforming this kitchen was the biggest adventure of the whole house. We pushed out the south wall into the garden, and added big windows to let the light in and a deck next to the pond. The heated cherry floors were the only place in the house where we used imported wood; every where else is Japanese cedar. The real charm was when we exposed the beams above the drop ceiling that had been added. We polished them up and had to configure the new room to leave them visible. I really didn’t want to use wall-board behind the counter, so we ended up doing plaster by hand and added a piece of glass we recycled from an old pinball machine above the stove to catch the grease and be easily cleanable. We also wanted to keep a traditional country feel, but make the kitchen easy to use, so we added Ikea cabinets with all the special shelves inside for pots and cutting boards, etc, and an electric induction range with a grill built in for fish and toast. The final touch was the cedar splash board which we custom fit under the windows and gave 4 coats of varnish to make it last.

The treehouse

Upstairs at the Shojiko Minka

The upstairs at the Shojiko Lake House  ( currently for sale ), is a beautiful example of old Japanese woodworking.  We left the hand hewn beams exposed to give character and show the strength of the old home.

The house is available for viewing.  Call Jake @ 090-9346-3774.

Spring at Shojiko House

The antique Minka home we recently reformed is enjoying its first spring with all the new double pane windows letting lots of light in to warm the house. It is always a joy watching the gardens grow for the first season in a new home. The lilies and daffodils are coming up, the bamboo in the back garden looks healthy, and the yard is full of “sansai”, wild Japanese mountain vegetables that we didnt know about until they sprouted. In our small pond, the tadpoles are clamoring about the edges, hoping to make it soon to full frog-hood.

The 198m2 house is available for viewing for interested parties.
Call Jake @ 090-9346-3774 if you would like to arrange a visit.
Asking price Y34,500,000
More details here…. http://www.earthembassy.org/eden-homes/homes-for-sale/

New Mini Eco Home!

David Howenstien and the Jambo International crew have sponsored a new mini-eco house for our farm.   We got an old grain silo from a local farm and set it in the garden next to the cafe.  Koji Watanabe helped prepare the foundation and brought the big truck to drive it in and unload it.  In June, David and the Jambo team will come up for a weekend and help us put in the new floor.  We will be using twice recycled wood that was once floor boards in a barn, then used at the Tokyo International Flower Show for a country-style garden, then came to us!  Contact David if you would like to join the Jambo farming and building weekend on June 25-27.  jambodave@green.email.ne.jp

Shojiko High Village House – Sunroom & Dining

Restoring an old home is a new adventure in design everyday.  When we took out the southern kitchen wall at the Shojiko Lake House  ( currently for sale ), to add a sun room and dining area, we exposed the old beams which held up the thatched roof.  We hadn’t realized they were buried there in the ceiling, so when we saw how beautiful they looked, we redesigned the new ceiling on the spot to leave them visible.  It was an extra half day of consulting with the carpenters to figure it out, but well worth the result.

“The stairs to heaven are paved with stones our grandfather laid”

The Shojiko High Village House ( available May, 2010 ) , sits atop an ancient stone wall at the very highest point of the village.  The stones (and much of the woodwork in the house) predate power tools and were built long before the current road around the lake connected the village to the rest of the prefecture.  The stones and wood were mostly crafted right in the village, and the original thatching for the roof came on small boats from the grassy plains on lower My. Fuji from across the lake.

Handmade Staircase

This one was tricky.  The stairs in our restored Shojiko Home  (currently for sale ), had to fit in between the old beams, and not be too steep so as to allow easy access for kids or elderly.  We also wanted something with a massive feel, for solidity and to match the large structural beams of the home.   Akaike-san came up with this pine log solution.  On the side facing the entrance, the heavy stairs seems to float in the air, retaining lightness while giving strength at the same time.

visit to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West

Frank Lloyd Wright coined the term Organic Architecture nearly 100 years ago and the advances in design, materials and natural architecture he developed are seen ubiquitously in our homes and communities around the world today.  I arrived at Taliesin outside Scottsdale, Arizona after closing hours just at sunset.  Not wanting to miss a chance to see my hero’s winter encampment where he and his students built an oasis out of the desert rock, I wandered into the library and met one of the current fellows.  We got into a long discussion about developing eco-sustainable communities and I was invited in to share dinner with the fellows.  The exterior of Taliesin West flow seamlessly up from the desert floor, appearing as if they have been there for a thousand years, or perhaps are just natural features f the desert itself. The interiors are the most comfortable, human-sized rooms you could imagine, with natural light filling the space and the boundary between inside and outside delightfully blurred. 

High Village House, winter tour

Engawa 縁側

日本語   The Engawa is a hallway that runs along the south side  of traditional homes to completely open the home. It allows light into the house, air flow, and a place to sit and enjoy the view.

See house details and pricing at….   Shojiko High Village House

Oni

日本語    The Oni ridge cap on classic Japanese houses is more than ornamental.  They act like gargoyles to keep away bad spirits and protect the home.  In these restoration photos you can see the original thatched roof under the steel roof which provides 30 inches of insulation.  We also added insulation to the walls, vapor barrier, double pane windows and cedar siding on the outside.      See house details and pricing at….   Shojiko High Village House  

和様玄関 Japanese Farm Home Entrance

日本語 We retained and restored the original massive beams of the house, but added glass in all the right places to light the interior and showcase the structure.  Here the “genkan” entrance was pushed out 3 feet to accommodate a larger area for coming in out of the rain and taking off your shoes.  The kitchen sunroom faces south over the gardens.

See house details and pricing at….   Shojiko High Village House

Zen Meditation Room

The second floor of our Shojiko Minka Restoration has a small south facing tatami room that was originally used as a meditation space.   The beautiful view overlooks the Japanese garden and frog pond, and down to lake over the rooftops of the village.  New sliding glass doors are double pane glass to maximize solar gain. The house is for sale now.

More House    details at     http://earthembassy.org/shojikoeng/

掘り炬燵 – Hori Kotatsu – Traditional Fire Place

日本語

The center room of the newly finished Shojiko house has 150 year old 2ft wide floor boards surrounding a traditional horikotatsu fireplace.  Perfect for sitting around drinking sake and roasting kuri and yakiniku with friends.  The home is offered with a collection of rare and beautiful antiques from Meji and Edo period Japan.   The house is currently for sale, with a 2,000,000 yen discount for families who enroll in the local schools.

See house details and pricing at….   Shojiko High Village House

Kitchen Reform Process

Just to show you some of the work behind the scenes.  We started with an old un-insulated wall and a lot of circa 1975 cabinets.  Demolition of the walls, added a new post for support, pushed out the south end 2meters and put in sliding glass doors, polished the beams, uncovered some old thatched roof supports that were hidden in the ceiling and decided to leave them in as an accent.   Then custom cabinets, track lighting, a beech hardwood floor with heating……

New pictures of the finished room coming soon…..

Cedar Heated Floors 杉床暖房

日本語

The living room in the High Village House has a new floor of 100% Japanese Cedar with electrical heating installed.  Really cozy, especially when you are watching the snow fall out the windows in the village.    The house is currently for sale and we are offering a 2,000,000 yen discount for families who enroll in the local schools.      See house details and pricing at….   Shojiko High Village House

Shojiko Thatched Roof Restoration 藁葺き回復

日本語 The upstairs loft of the High Village House at Lake Shojiko was traditionally used as silk raising room.  The silk moth caterpillar were tended here in winter and fed mulberry leaves to keep them happy and producing.  We have restored the thatched ceiling, keeping the 60cm of original straw as a super insulation, added a wide plank Japanese cedar floor, a clear double paned window over looking the kiwi and shiitake mushroom garden, and added new wall outlets and track lighting.  Perfect for an artists studio or big family room.

More details on the house here….   

Shojiko High Village House

日本語

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