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If you ask any Japanese person where the heart of Japan is
the odds are they'll point you in the direction of Kyoto.
Let's face it. It's not hard to see why.
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When I come here to make a video, I'm always kind of spoiled for choice.
I can cover the food, the history, the culture, the shopping.
But for me, the thing that really gives Kyoto a sense of identity is
the architecture. Look at this beautiful, stunning, traditional building.
It's a- It's a Starbucks.
It's where I got my cappuccino from, believe it or not.
But we've not come here today to look at Starbucks
Hidden down every side street in Kyoto are the majestic, stunning
townhouses that really give the city its magical atmosphere.
We've come here today to take a peek behind closed doors
and see what's inside.
So let's go and find out.
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Today we'll be staying overnight in a stunning traditional Kyoto townhouse
known in Japanese as machiya (町屋).
We'll take a look inside a variety of different homes to discover what
characterisctics and design choices make up a machiya.
And we'll hear from the man who's dedicated his life to renovating them.
Who reveals the sad truth about why Kyoto's townhouses are under threat.
If Tokyo is the beating heart of Japan as the center of politics and commerce
Kyoto is the country's soul.
They may be only 2 and 1/2 hours away by Shinkansen
but the two cities feel like a world away from each other.
That being said, arriving in Kyoto for the first time can feel like an
underwhelming experience when you first step out of the
futuristic colossal structure that is Kyoto station
and into the city's unremarkable downtown area.
It's not really what you imagine it to be and it all feels rather anti-climactic.
But then as you leave the station behind and the bland, generic buildings
you go a few blocks and climb a staggering amount of stairs.
You are rewarded with a view like this.
This is when the beauty of Kyoto really starts to reveal itself.
This is the Kiyomizu dera temple (清水寺). Probably the most famous temple in Kyoto.
The views from up here are nothing short of breathtaking.
Particularly if you climb all those stairs. Very breathtaking indeed.
Of all the cities I've visited in Japan over the years, Kyoto is the one
that's most like an RPG, like a video game.
Hidden down every alleyway there's a secret.
There's a shrine, a temple, a cafe, a park.
Right now we're in front of an alleyway, down a side street, off a back street
and I'm about to show you where I'm staying for the night.
Hidden down this inconspicuous alleyway are four townhouses.
And this is the place I'm going to be calling home just for tonight.
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So off the side street and into the townhouse, away we go.
This is the entrance room. Lots of slippers here, of course
when you go into a Japanese house, any house, you must switch to slippers.
The only time I've seen a Japanese person get angry with my friend was
when he walked into a house without taking his shoes off.
Understandable, really. It's the one rule in Japan that you need to know.
So then let's go inside. Into the townhouse and into
the kitchen, the dining room, and the sitting room, all in one.
So as you can see it's quite a small townhouse.
It fits two people ideally but you can have four folks in here
as we'll see upstairs in a minute.
I love it. It's very peaceful, very quaint, and you kind of feel
locked off from the world. You've got your own private slice of Kyoto.
But we do have a window here to the outside world.
There's a little zen garden there, which is really nice.
You've still got that indoor-outdoor connection.
The Japanese have a word for this sort of place:
Kakureya (隠れや), which means private space, hidden space.
Apparently a lot of Japanese guests come here to hide away for a few days.
You can see how, you can see why.
Beautiful exposed beam here as well. It's got that really nice connection.
Traditional and contemporary.
Let's go and check out the bathroom area.
We've got a nice kitchen space here, but over here, the real highlight:
a washer and dryer, ladies and gentlemen. If you like to wash and dry your clothes
This is the townhouse for you.
Restroom. Very well signposted, just in case you get confused.
But the best room in this townhouse is this one right here.
This is the bathing room. Complete with a Hinoki wooden bath.
Cypress wood, beautifully finished. Why don't I have one in my house...
Hinoki wood comes from the Japanese Cypress tree
It is known for giving a very high quality timber, which is used in temples
and shrines throughout the country, and of course bathtubs.
And it is said to smell like lemons, so...
It's kind of a sweet scent, don't know if it's lemons.
It's a very nice, refreshing smell.
But also because it's a high quality timber it doesn't rot easily.
Perfect for bathtubs, hot springs and onsen.
Having spent the morning sitting inside it I can attest to its magnificence.
I never want to go back to my generic, mass market plastic bathtub ever again.
So we're upstairs now and into the bedroom area.
It is really cozy and quaint. As you can see, two twin beds here.
At first you might think it's kind of small, but
behind each of these shoji sliding doors is a surprise.
Behind shoji sliding door nr. 1 we have a balcony.
A nice outdoor balcony, which we'll get to in a minute.
Over here, as I said earlier, you can fit up to four guests in this townhouse.
Two guests here, and the other two in this little secret, hidden room.
Come on in.
And for the quintessential Kyoto view... Look at that.
You can see across the street to the other townhouses and it feels a little bit
like going back in time to the Edo era. I love it.
But with a space like this you can fit two futons or
given I'm just gonna be in here alone I'm just gonna
roll around on the floor, do some press-ups.
The sort of things you can exclusively do in a Japanese townhouse.
So, out here on the balcony. I haven't been out here yet
I don't want to smash my head on these nice Kawara roof tiles.
Oh wow. That's so cool. You can really appreciate the
beautiful, traditional roof of the house.
Unfortunately over the years Japan has lost a lot of its
traditional architecture throughout the country.
Prefabricated houses are the norm and they last for about 30 years
before they're bulldozed and rebuilt.
But this is one of the smaller townhouses. We're gonna see what you can get
on the higher end of the scale, and also hear about the process
behind renovating these houses
It can't be cheap and it must take a lot of time.
Let's find out how these are renovated and what you can get
for more of your hard-earned cash.
Without banging your head on the roof tiles.
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So what are the key characteristics that make up a machiya townhouse?
Here are five things to look out for:
Nr. 1 are the ubiquitous Kōshi (格子) wooden lattices that you find
on the exterior of most townhouses. They evolved as a security measure
during a period of social upheaval and military conflict during the 1400s
and subsequently became popular by allowing a degree of privacy from
passersby walking down the narrow streets
Speaking of narrow, nr. 2: you may hear machiya being referred to as
unagi no nedoko (うなぎの寝床), literally "eel's nest", in reference to
the narrow fronts and deep, thin interiors.
This style originates from the Edo era when a property was taxed
according to the width of the front of the building.
Residents would have their shops at the front and their homes towards the back
which leads us to characteristic nr. 3: towards the back of the house
a small garden or courtyard allows residents to enjoy a slice of nature
and peace and quiet from the comfort of their own home
even amongst the bustling city center.
Not only that, but the garden can have a ventilating effect allowing the air
to pass through the front of the house and leave at the rear.
While we're on the subject of ventilation, nr. 4: if you look up
you might find skylights, which are common features in larger machiya.
Not just to allow light in but also to help cool the rooms in the summer months
by releasing heat.
Nr. 5 is an adherence to natural materials, from the wooden timber
to the tatami straw mats, which give a warm glow to the interior
reflecting the soft light through the paper on the shoji sliding doors.
All of these characteristics resonate with the senses to create a feeling of calm
that can often be hard to come by in a modern home, and yet despite this
the stunning townhouses have been in decline for many years now.
Between 1996 to 2003 alone, 13% of Kyoto's machiya were destroyed.
On the search for answers I meet with an entrepreneur who's renovated almost
two dozen townhouses, including the very one that I am staying in tonight.
Koji Maeda was once an investment banker living and working in Tokyo
but after a visit to Kyoto he fell in love with the city and started a new
successful career in renovation.
I sit down with him to uncover why machiya are disappearing and what it takes
to bring them back to life.
-So how long have you been renovating townhouses in Kyoto?
-I started my business five years ago.
-And you've got twenty properties now?
-Yes, twenty. -That's a lot of properties
in a very short space of time. Why so many?
-Because I like a hard job. If I can be successful in rebuilding the machiya
I can stay in Kyoto and live in Kyoto.
-A townhouse like this, how long does it take to actually renovate it?
-Maybe two months. -Only two months? Really?
-I thought it would take two years. And how much does it cost?
-Maybe 200 000 USD. -Quite a lot of money.
-I always talked with my bank...
[Koji] People in Kyoto don't like machiya because machiya are very old and
not comfortable. In summer they're very hot. In winter, maybe cold.
-The people of Kyoto try to destroy the machiya to make new, modern houses.
-Old Japanese people are very short and the ceiling is a bit low
so we raise the ceilings.
[Chris] That's interesting, I never would have thought of that.
[Koji] A few years ago, the Kyoto city government destroyed an old townhouse
because of the fire.
They urged people to make new houses.
[Chris] Like safer houses. That's interesting.
-It's a problem. I used to live in Sakata in Yamagata prefecture
and in the 1970s all of Sakata was burned down, all the old houses gone in a day
because of that, but it's a real shame because the best houses in Japan
are these traditional townhouses.
I think it's really great what you're doing and I think it's exciting.
If you can keep Kyoto's history and you can keep these townhouses
it's great for Kyoto and hopefully other cities in Japan will take notice as well.
-I want to expand my development to another city, like Kobe or Kanazawa
-I think that's fantastic, I think it's really great.
-Thank you today for joining us.
-You're welcome.
It's sad to hear that Kyoto's machiya have fallen out of fashion as places to live
but understandable, given the lack of con- venience, let alone the expensive upkeep.
However, there is a ray of hope. It's exciting to hear that Kyoto's
townhouses are finding a new lease of life for tourists looking to
escape and hide away in a more traditional setting.
Especially if their popularity amongst travellers is able to convince
local entrepreneurs and Kyoto's own government to have a more proactive role
in their long term preservation.
The machiya that I'm staying in costs around $200/night
and whilst you can find cheaper places to stay, such as a business hotel
if you are looking to make the accommodation as much a part of your
experience in Kyoto as the city itself, then the price is worth it for the
extra space, the beautiful setting, and of course the amazing Hinoki wooden bath.
Even if it doesn't smell like lemons.
Certainly a bold move, letting me cook my own dinner.
I'm the world's worst cook, as we've established in previous videos.
Letting me cook sukiyaki was not a good idea.
But it's turned out alright. I might not be a great cook but
it looks pretty good. And the beef, this beautiful wagyū beef
you just let it sit for about 20-30 seconds and it's cooked.
It is the most idiot-proof dish in the world.
That is why I'm doing a relatively good job of it.
But I hope you've enjoyed our tour through Kyoto and these beautiful
stunningly renovated townhouses.
But for now guys, many thanks for watching the Abroad in Japan channel.
Stick around for more videos and I hope to see you right back here, and...
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It was going so well, wasn't it?