A couple transformed an 150-year-old abandoned farmhouse in rural Japan into an Airbnb. Here's how they built their country homestead.

Eliza RelmanMay 21, 2023, 17:10 IST

Courtesy of Byron Nagy

Byron and Kaori Nagy have fully renovated a 150-year-old unoccupied farmhouse an hour outside Tokyo.
Byron, who's originally from New Jersey, also created a farm on land nearby.

About 12 years ago, Byron and Kaori Nagy decided to leave their office jobs in Tokyo and move their lives to the Japanese countryside.

Byron, who's originally from New Jersey and moved to Japan after college, was attracted by the prospect of living more sustainably, starting a farm, and buying and renovating one of Japan's millions of unoccupied rural homes.

With the country's population in decline, there simply aren't enough people willing to buy and restore Japan's approximately 8.5 million such "akiya," the Japanese word for unoccupied house, as Insider has previously reported. But with the rise of remote work, there's growing interest from both foreigners and Japanese citizens in salvaging these properties, Japan-based real estate consultants Matthew Ketchum and Parker Allen of Akiya & Inaka told Insider.

The Nagys, who've had three children while living in the countryside, have taken the task to the next level, leasing and renovating an old farmhouse, building a new one in the traditional style, and starting a farm in a rural village outside Tokyo.

Over the last decade, Byron and Kaori have transformed a 150-year-old silk worm production farmhouse into their home as well as a guesthouse for short-term visitors, created an organic farm, and are putting the finishing touches on a new home built from scratch in the style of a traditional Japanese farmhouse, known as a "kominka."

"I make this joke that if you're a Westerner in Japan and you've been here for more than ten years, you get this itch where you just want to get an akiya and start renovating an old house in the Japanese countryside," Byron told Insider.

Rural areas in Japan have also become more accessible to foreigners in recent years with the advent of Google Maps and an increasing number of street signs translated into English, according to Ketchum and Allen, both American-born millennials.

"It's easier today to live in this country than it's ever been," Allen said. "The prices are still as low as they were 10, 20 years ago."

Byron, who's American, and Kaori, who's Japanese, met while working in the corporate world in Tokyo.

The Nagy family at their home in the Japanese countryside.Courtesy of Byron Nagy

The devastating earthquake, tsunami, and Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011 made the couple rethink their urban lives.

Byron Nagy posing with produce harvested at his family's farm.Courtesy of Byron Nagy

Byron and Kaori decided they'd leave Tokyo and pursue their desire to live more sustainably in the countryside. "I was really keen to get out of the city and try to develop my own homestead in the Japanese countryside," Byron said.

Courtesy of Kaori and Byron Nagy

Byron and Kaori decided they'd leave Tokyo and pursue their desire to live more sustainably in the countryside. "I was really keen to get out of the city and try to develop my own homestead in the Japanese countryside," Byron said.

The Nagys found a 150-year-old unoccupied farmhouse in a town called Fujino in Kanagawa Prefecture, about an hour from Tokyo. The house had previously been used for silk worm production.

The inside of the 150-year-old farmhouse during renovation.Courtesy of Kaori and Byron Nagy

The Nagys found a 150-year-old unoccupied farmhouse in a town called Fujino in Kanagawa Prefecture, about an hour from Tokyo. The house had previously been used for silk worm production.

The Nagys gutted the farmhouse and rebuilt it with local and recycled materials, often using traditional Japanese building techniques. They didn't pay rent on the farmhouse during the year they spent renovating it, and now pay a couple hundred dollars per month in rent.

Byron Nagy renovating the Nagy family's guesthouse.Courtesy of Byron Nagy

The Nagys gutted the farmhouse and rebuilt it with local and recycled materials, often using traditional Japanese building techniques. They didn't pay rent on the farmhouse during the year they spent renovating it, and now pay a couple hundred dollars per month in rent.

"We basically completely gutted the place, ripped all the windows and walls and everything off, stripped it down to the frame and the roof, and then rebuilt it from the foundation with some recycled materials and local timber," Byron said.

Courtesy of Kaori and Byron Nagy

"We basically completely gutted the place, ripped all the windows and walls and everything off, stripped it down to the frame and the roof, and then rebuilt it from the foundation with some recycled materials and local timber," Byron said.

The Nagys used 150 recycled tatami mats as insulation in the walls and employed a traditional technique of using charred wood as siding on the house.

Kaori and Byron Nagy

Neither Byron nor Kaori had any experience in construction or farming prior to moving to the countryside.

Courtesy of Kaori and Byron Nagy

Byron said that in Japan there's often "stigma associated with selling or renting land that's been in your family for generations."

Courtesy of Byron Nagy

Byron did most of the construction work himself, but had help from volunteers through the Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) program.

Courtesy of Byron Nagy

Byron and Kaori transformed the farmhouse into a spacious home and guesthouse they named Yokomura Eco-Lodge, which they rent out on Airbnb.

Courtesy of Byron Nagy

The Nagys live in the guesthouse, and have to temporarily move out when large groups rent the place. But this summer, they'll move into a new home they've spent years building.

Courtesy of Byron Nagy

The Nagys live in the guesthouse, and have to temporarily move out when large groups rent the place. But this summer, they'll move into a new home they've spent years building.

The Nagys also bought a plot of land in a nearly abandoned village nearby for about $10,000. They created Kasamatsu Farms on the land and have spent the last seven years constructing a new home. They're planning to move in this summer.

Courtesy of Byron Nagy

The Nagys also bought a plot of land in a nearly abandoned village nearby for about $10,000. They created Kasamatsu Farms on the land and have spent the last seven years constructing a new home. They're planning to move in this summer.

The house is in what was once a tiny village with nine houses. About 15 years ago, five of the nine houses burned down and the village has since remained largely unoccupied.

Nagy family and friends plastering the walls of a bedroom in their home.Courtesy of Byron Nagy

The house is in what was once a tiny village with nine houses. About 15 years ago, five of the nine houses burned down and the village has since remained largely unoccupied.

When COVID hit and the hospitality industry slowed to a near-halt, the Nagys pivoted to farming and sold their produce and eggs online to customers in Tokyo. But it proved challenging to make a profit on that business.

Courtesy of Kaori and Byron Nagy

When COVID hit and the hospitality industry slowed to a near-halt, the Nagys pivoted to farming and sold their produce and eggs online to customers in Tokyo. But it proved challenging to make a profit on that business.

Keeping the hospitality business and farm afloat through the pandemic — during which time the Nagys also had their third child — hasn't been easy, Byron said.

Eating outside at the Nagy family's eco-lodge.Courtesy of Byron Nagy

Keeping the hospitality business and farm afloat through the pandemic — during which time the Nagys also had their third child — hasn't been easy, Byron said.

The Nagy kids — who are two, eight and ten years old — go to the Steiner Waldorf school in Fujino. Kaori handles marketing and sales for the farm, which still sells eggs, and the guesthouse.

The Nagy family harvesting plums from their farm.Courtesy of Byron Nagy

The Nagy kids — who are two, eight and ten years old — go to the Steiner Waldorf school in Fujino. Kaori handles marketing and sales for the farm, which still sells eggs, and the guesthouse.

They've spent between $300,000 and $400,000 on constructing their new home and gotten help with manual labor from volunteers, WWOOFers, and friends.

Courtesy of Byron Nagy

The house is designed like a traditional Japanese farmhouse, with natural earthen walls, cobb floor, foot-think walls with straw for insulation, and massive timber beams. But it will have solar power and a wood-fired boiler for heating.

The exterior of the Nagy family's home.Courtesy of Byron Nagy

The house is designed like a traditional Japanese farmhouse, with natural earthen walls, cobb floor, foot-think walls with straw for insulation, and massive timber beams. But it will have solar power and a wood-fired boiler for heating.

The Nagys installed a hydronic radiant floor heating system, which pumps heated water through tubes in the floor. The method is more energy efficient than forced air heating.

Courtesy of Byron Nagy

The Nagys installed a hydronic radiant floor heating system, which pumps heated water through tubes in the floor. The method is more energy efficient than forced air heating.

"The downside of traditional Japanese houses is that they were never insulated and they would be really hot in the summer and cold in the wintertime," Byron said. "Everybody who's renovated an old Japanese house knows that that's a big struggle of trying to make it comfortable all year round."

Byron Nagy in the sunroom of his home during construction.Courtesy of Byron Nagy

"The downside of traditional Japanese houses is that they were never insulated and they would be really hot in the summer and cold in the wintertime," Byron said. "Everybody who's renovated an old Japanese house knows that that's a big struggle of trying to make it comfortable all year round."

The houses are full of handcrafted details, like a cypress wood bathtub.

Courtesy of Byron Nagy

The Nagy kids have also jumped in to help where they can.

Courtesy of Byron Nagy

Byron said building the new house was a "labor of love," but exhausting, particularly through the pandemic.

Byron Nagy pouring concrete in his home.Courtesy of Byron Nagy

Byron described the project as building "a kominka or an akiya from scratch."

Courtesy of Byron Nagy

"It has these aesthetic aspects of Japanese traditional architecture, but it's very much focused on performance and modern living," Byron said.

The front exterior of the Nagy family's home.Courtesy of Byron Nagy

Byron's next project, he hopes, will be recycling materials from old kominka and akiya that the owners don't want to sell or renovate.

Courtesy of Kaori and Byron Nagy

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A couple transformed an 150-year-old abandoned farmhouse in rural Japan into an Airbnb. Here's how they built their country homestead.

Byron, who's American, and Kaori, who's Japanese, met while working in the corporate world in Tokyo.

The devastating earthquake, tsunami, and Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011 made the couple rethink their urban lives.

Byron and Kaori decided they'd leave Tokyo and pursue their desire to live more sustainably in the countryside. "I was really keen to get out of the city and try to develop my own homestead in the Japanese countryside," Byron said.

The Nagys found a 150-year-old unoccupied farmhouse in a town called Fujino in Kanagawa Prefecture, about an hour from Tokyo. The house had previously been used for silk worm production.

The Nagys gutted the farmhouse and rebuilt it with local and recycled materials, often using traditional Japanese building techniques. They didn't pay rent on the farmhouse during the year they spent renovating it, and now pay a couple hundred dollars per month in rent.

"We basically completely gutted the place, ripped all the windows and walls and everything off, stripped it down to the frame and the roof, and then rebuilt it from the foundation with some recycled materials and local timber," Byron said.

The Nagys used 150 recycled tatami mats as insulation in the walls and employed a traditional technique of using charred wood as siding on the house.

Neither Byron nor Kaori had any experience in construction or farming prior to moving to the countryside.

Byron said that in Japan there's often "stigma associated with selling or renting land that's been in your family for generations."

Byron did most of the construction work himself, but had help from volunteers through the Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) program.

Byron and Kaori transformed the farmhouse into a spacious home and guesthouse they named Yokomura Eco-Lodge, which they rent out on Airbnb.

The Nagys live in the guesthouse, and have to temporarily move out when large groups rent the place. But this summer, they'll move into a new home they've spent years building.

The Nagys also bought a plot of land in a nearly abandoned village nearby for about $10,000. They created Kasamatsu Farms on the land and have spent the last seven years constructing a new home. They're planning to move in this summer.

The house is in what was once a tiny village with nine houses. About 15 years ago, five of the nine houses burned down and the village has since remained largely unoccupied.

When COVID hit and the hospitality industry slowed to a near-halt, the Nagys pivoted to farming and sold their produce and eggs online to customers in Tokyo. But it proved challenging to make a profit on that business.

Keeping the hospitality business and farm afloat through the pandemic — during which time the Nagys also had their third child — hasn't been easy, Byron said.

The Nagy kids — who are two, eight and ten years old — go to the Steiner Waldorf school in Fujino. Kaori handles marketing and sales for the farm, which still sells eggs, and the guesthouse.

They've spent between $300,000 and $400,000 on constructing their new home and gotten help with manual labor from volunteers, WWOOFers, and friends.

The house is designed like a traditional Japanese farmhouse, with natural earthen walls, cobb floor, foot-think walls with straw for insulation, and massive timber beams. But it will have solar power and a wood-fired boiler for heating.

The Nagys installed a hydronic radiant floor heating system, which pumps heated water through tubes in the floor. The method is more energy efficient than forced air heating.

"The downside of traditional Japanese houses is that they were never insulated and they would be really hot in the summer and cold in the wintertime," Byron said. "Everybody who's renovated an old Japanese house knows that that's a big struggle of trying to make it comfortable all year round."

The houses are full of handcrafted details, like a cypress wood bathtub.

The Nagy kids have also jumped in to help where they can.

Byron said building the new house was a "labor of love," but exhausting, particularly through the pandemic.

Byron described the project as building "a kominka or an akiya from scratch."

"It has these aesthetic aspects of Japanese traditional architecture, but it's very much focused on performance and modern living," Byron said.

Byron's next project, he hopes, will be recycling materials from old kominka and akiya that the owners don't want to sell or renovate.