Signing and Treasure hunt

Finally yesterday all procedures were completed. Many documents were checked, and afterwards many stamps had to be attached to the contract.

We saw the investigation report from the house and found out the Erection date: It was built in Year one of Meiji Emperor!!! For non-Japanese, that is 1868. Several damage were listed together with date when it was fixed. Very neat. Also the cleanup was scheduled for next week, so we can start stripping the house after that.

Before the cleaning out of movable objects, we wanted to take a pick at old items, but due to short time remaining, it meant that we had to do the treasure hunt yesterday! Tomo and I got really dirty from rummaging dusty alcoves, and storage sheds, but out efforts were rewarded by some nice findings: An old sewing machine, camera, several pots, some furniture and old books, a pretty bicycle, as well as Farmer tools, and even some Kimonos.

Taifun and Earthquake

We went one more time to inspect the house on Sunday. What a day! A powerful Typhoon hit Honshu and inundated the country with massive rain falls. A lot of rain, but still the Shinkansen securely carried me to Ueda on time.

Tomo brought his family, as well as an intern. While both of us discussed necessary jobs and rebuilding measures, the intern was busy taking accurate measurements of the interior.

Despite massive rainfall, we were glad to see that the interior of the house remained absolutely dry!

A signing date was agreed with the agent, so that we can soon complete the transaction.

On the next day though, another disaster: Earthquake level 6+ in Niigata. Another test? Again the building withstood the tremors - it is a sturdy little house!

WE'VE GOT IT!!!

Again a call from Tomo. In his gravest and most serious voice he told me that the agent had phoned again about the house. My heart stopped for a second. Then the good news: we got lucky and can now apply for the house! Brilliant!!

A setback

Damn - Tomo just called me. He received a call from the Agent, and was told that someone else has an option on the house. Apparently a friend of the owner ...

Quite depressing, do we need to start the search all over?

On the positive side, we only have to wait for one more week, until we learn whether we can make an application. This guy apparently has also applied for public housing, and if he gets lucky, we also get lucky because he doesn't need this house anymore. Just have to wait for one -eternal- week...

Is this the one?!

Yesterday, Tomo and I went again searching, this time in Nagano prefecture. We met an agent who showed us a couple of places. And there it was - a beautiful house. Could it be the one?

This house seems to have been extended over its life time. The Main structure uses a traditional straw roof, topped by a "crown" of metal. It looks as if the owner had made the house wider below the thatched roof, by adding a lower angled conventional shingle roof. Another extension is in the east with a lower metal roof. There is also a peripheral 2 floor building at the back. It looks like it was originally used as a agricultural store house, similar but not as sturdy as a "Kura". Now it has been converted into a bed room connected to the main building by simple stairs. The outside of this building is clad with - corrugated metal sheets (please see my earlier post as to what I think of this material). We also find two more external buildings: a shed stuffed with old rice cookers, TVs and other rubbish, and a shed/toilet, which is nearly falling down.

The location of the house is very convenient. It can be reached from Tokyo within 90 minutes of Shinkansen journey, and a further 30 minutes buy car. It is surrounded by many hotsprings, and in fact one is located just 5 minutes walk from the house. It is surrounded by fields and agriculture, and the forested mountains 200m behind the house invite to pleasant and peaceful strolls.

Included in this home are two fields, one smaller patch just in front of the house, and a bigger one around 300m distance. It means we could also start to grow things - great!

The inside is traditional Japanese and as expected needs to be completely replaced. However, it is in good condition and is absolutely dry. Because it is connected to public water and sewage system, only very little plumbing is needed.

We checked two more houses that day, but this one made a lasting impression, so we expressed our interest to the agent and ask him to inquire about it.