Our new (old) farmhouse in Okaya, Nagano Prefecture

Nao and I bought a new house, well, a very old one actually. In fact it's more than 100 years old, an old farmhouse in the center of Okaya town, rather than in the countryside. It used to be an old silkworm farm (the silk industry was the main industry in this region in the Meiji Era). When we bought it in late 2020 it was in a pretty rough state so there has been a lot to do to renovate the inside and outside. We even found the old silkworm equipment in the attic and when the builders started to strip out the old fittings, old silk cocoons fell down on the floor. Amazing really. Here's a photo of downstairs as of November, 2021. There are lots of farmhouse wooden beams throughout the house which adds to the old-world feeling of the place.

The upstairs attic is being converted so that we can use it for a study room and storage space. We removed the ceiling above the living/dining area on the ground floor so that we can look up to the attic. This gives the house a feeling of extra space and light. Here is the view from downstairs.

Things are moving quickly with the renovation work and the tentative schedule is for it to be finished by March, 2022. I think some work will be ongoing after that time but we still plan to live and work here in Niigata for another 5 years till my retirement. We are really looking forward to being able to stay in the new house overnight for the first time some time this year!