Journal
The journal. Reportage, field notes, letters from the snow country.
Published fortnightly. Long-form pieces about specific houses, specific towns, the carpenters and municipal officers and the foreigners who have already made the move.
4
entries in the journal so far
Updated fortnightly
Updated fortnightly
01
Field notes
What ¥4 million actually buys you in 2026, in five different prefectures
Side-by-side notes from five recent closings at the same price point. What you give up. What you get. What surprised us about each.
02
Reportage
The carpenter who restores akiya in Iiyama, and what he charges
Eight years of kominka restoration in northern Nagano, in his own words. With the rate sheet he agreed to publish.
03
Letter
The depopulation curve, in five villages the foreigners haven't noticed yet
Why the houses are cheap. Why they will be cheaper. The five places where the curve has the steepest slope — and why we still recommend them.
04
Letter
A weekend in Ginzan Onsen, off-season and what it costs to live there
We spent three days in February in Obanazawa-shi, looking at three akiya near the Ginzan riverbanks. Notes from a walk.