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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!

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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.

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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/

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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

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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.

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“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.

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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.

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WIND POWER- if California can, why can’t Japan

Driving out of LA traffic through the valley towards Arizona, I came across this huge array or wind generators.  In a way it made up for all that consumption in LA, seeing all this natural energy being harvested.  With Japan’s high unpopulated mountains and long coast line, and amazing technological skills, why arent we seeing more wind farms popping up.  Social responsibility is stronger here than NIMBY (not-in-my-backyard), so I dont think the opposition of  ‘environmentalists’ is what is holding us back.    2 BIG wind turbines along Tokyo bay are an encouraging site these days.  Is Japan on track to become a leader in renewable energy?

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High Village House, winter tour

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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

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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  

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Eden Homes – Pre-fab Ver. 2

Wow! I did this new sketch in about 2 hours. Josh has convinced me to make the shift in software to Sketch-up. The whole world of design just shifted to a global community! It’s becoming an open-source planet very quickly.

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Eden Homes – Pre-fab Urban Eco Home

A project that has been slowly simmering for the last few years in finally getting close to reality. We just got funding and are starting construction on our demo “Mini Eco Home” which will be based on a shipping container format for strength, durability, mobility and affordability. The model will be ready in Spring 2010 at the Lake Saiko Lodges location with small farm lots for sale. We are also talking to partners about building a demo site with rentals in Tokyo in the coming year.

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Insulating Pipes at High Village House

Masaru, ever dilligent, is here wrapping the pipes in the wall with heated tape to keep us from ice skating in the bathroom all winter. This wall will also be fully insulated and hold our sink vanity and washing machine in the cedar changing room.

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Proud Mama!

Congratulations Na-chan, it’s a ZUCHINNI!!!

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Harvest Festival Puppet Show

Ko was the Moon, Natsuco was the Pepper, Jake was the Sun, and Eli played the organ….and they all made the garden grow! Our little fall event was pleasant with Mother and Child Yoga in the morning taught by Tomo-chan from Fuji Yoga. Lunch was pizza the children made from vegetables they picked in the garden. And the puppet show was spectacular! Special thanks to the volunteers and Natsuco for making it all happen and working on those paper-mache puppets all week and still keeping the cafe (mostly) clean.

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New windows and weather proofing

The High Village House at the Shojiko Traditional Village is getting an all new exterior. Our weather proof moisture barrier paper is being laid over insulation, and will be covered with Japanese Sugi cedar siding. The outdated windows have been replaced with double paned sashes and enlarged to open views of the Japanese garden and Lake Shojiko.