Corrugated metal - curse of the country side

This weekend again I went searching for a house. I drove up west towards Suwa-ko, and just checked out small villages for something that could fit our profile. Many houses in that area are dilapidated, but it looks like they are still occupied. Its a shame that they leave their houses to fall apart, or fix them with ugly corrugated metal sheets. I think corrugated metal is the true curse of the country side - its versatility and ease of use has made it tempting for people here to use it for anything: clad the sides of houses, sheds. Repair roofs, build garages. It looks so alien on a traditional building, and quickly turns into a rusty eye sore.

Nevertheless I had also a nice experiences today: In a small village I saw a bunch of kids and adults planting some flowers near the roadside, to make their village more beautiful. You can imagine their surprise when a foreigner stopped to take a photo! Its nice to see that such community spirit exists.

Keep searching ...

Tomo and I have been scouring the country side nearly every weekend and free day we have. Unfortunately its is much harder than expected. First of all Estate Agents are not interested in dealing with old buildings, as they make little profit with them, while having the same work.

Secondly often small things spoil a potential good candidate: Maybe a pachinko parlour nearby, or a noisy road in the distance, or someone build an incredibly ugly house just in front. We also must consider required repairs, and climate as well - a house in Niigata may experience up to 4 metres of snow in Winter, and may be difficult to access.

Many of such houses are not connected to public services, and require plumbing, electricity and gas connection, as well as structural improvements, insulation, a new roof and a cleanup of all the garbage that is dumped on the property.

So far we have found a few that may be considered, but we are not in love yet. So, the search must continue...