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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.

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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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High Village House, winter tour

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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.