Daisuke Kajiyama, a Japanese traveler who spent years backpacking across multiple countries, opened a three-bedroom guesthouse called Yui Valley in 2014 after negotiating a use agreement for two long-abandoned properties in Tamatori, a small village in Shizuoka prefecture, Japan, and carrying out most of the renovation work himself.
Japanese traveler converts two abandoned rural houses into guesthouse after decade of renovation
Daisuke Kajiyama, a Japanese traveler who spent years backpacking across multiple countries, opened a three-bedroom guesthouse called Yui Valley in 2014 after negotiating a use agreement for two long-abandoned properties in Tamatori, a small village in Shizuoka prefecture, Japan, and carrying out most of the renovation work himself.
Kajiyama returned to Japan in 2011 with his Israeli partner Hila, whom he had met in Nepal, intending to find two adjacent traditional Japanese houses — known as kominka — so that one could serve as a residence and the other as a guesthouse. Unable to find suitable properties on the open market, he began searching among Japan's growing stock of abandoned rural homes, known as akiya.
According to the Japan Policy Forum, Japan had 61 million houses and 52 million households in 2013, and the country's population is projected to fall from 127 million to about 88 million by 2065, a trend expected to increase the number of vacant properties.
Kajiyama located the two properties — a former green tea factory and an old farmer's home — after approaching an elderly woman farming in Tamatori and asking whether she knew of any empty houses nearby. Both buildings had been uninhabited for at least seven years. He returned to view them roughly five times before negotiating directly with the owner, reaching a written agreement that allowed him to use the properties, though he said Japanese inheritance traditions prevented him from purchasing them outright until the owner's son inherited them.
Kajiyama and Hila, who married in 2013, cleared the approximately 90-year-old structures and undertook extensive renovation. Kajiyama said he had limited professional experience but drew on skills acquired during his travels, including farming and basic building work. He sourced traditional timber from demolition companies who would otherwise have paid to dispose of it, and received some government financial support that allowed him to hire a carpenter. He also made use of Japan's working holiday program, which allows travelers to work in exchange for food and accommodation. A toilet installed during the renovation cost approximately $10,000, which he described as a wedding gift from his parents. He estimates total renovation spending at roughly $40,000, with work still ongoing.
To obtain a guesthouse permit, Kajiyama registered the property as an agriculture guesthouse, a category he said was among the simpler routes to licensing. Because the surrounding area contains bamboo forests, he also took up bamboo farming, combining it with the guesthouse operation. Yui Valley, which measures approximately 80 square meters, offers activities including bamboo weaving workshops.
Hila Kajiyama died from cancer in 2022. Kajiyama said she was central to establishing the guesthouse and that the venture would not have taken the form it did without her involvement.
- The source does not state the full terms of the written agreement between Kajiyama and the property owner, including any rental or maintenance obligations.
- The source does not specify which Japanese government body provided financial support or the amount of that support.
- The source does not state the name of the elderly woman referred to as Hiroko, nor confirm that is her name — the source uses it only in the subheading reference; the article body refers to her only as 'the woman' and 'Hiroko' without introduction.
- The source does not state the current room rates or annual occupancy figures for Yui Valley.
- The source does not state the current ownership status of the properties or whether the owner's son has since inherited them.
- The source does not provide independent verification of the renovation cost estimate of approximately $40,000.