From Trash to Treasure

In my local area here in Yokohama we noticed that an old possibly pre-war house was being demolished. I had been admiring it for a while and could see such potential, but sadly its day was numbered. Roof tiles were being pulled off and the demo men were in full swing. What is the old expression, "One man's trash, is another man's treasure." The demo men were happy to pass off roof tiles, shoji screens, an old exterior lamp light and this little beauty, a tetsutoro, a wrought iron lantern! But it didn't look like this when we got it.

I knew under all that rust was a little treasure, like a little jewel that just needed some elbow grease and a coat of paint. 

My enthusiastic assistant was on hand to help give the little lantern a good old scrub, wearing her swimming goggles!

Then a spray of rust repellent paint and after drying a spray of black....

And voila!

Our little tetsutoro restored and hanging proudly once again, but now at Obachan chi's! 

Unfortunately, the plate underneath which would have held a small candle is missing. So we are thinking about how to replace it. Any ideas?

Some street appeal

The weather has been warm in Izu but that hasn't stop me from giving the little old farmhouse some street appeal. As you can see the side of the house with its rusted corrugated iron was needing some attention, so that is what we did. 

With some corrugated iron cutting scissors I painstakingly tried to cut a straight line to remove the rusted parts. I may have even asked for some help with this task, those scissors are tough to use! 

One side revealed some badly damaged mud wall, but we repaired that with some spare sheets we found lying around.   

Once we replaced the rusted parts I gave these areas a spray with rust repellent.

Using a wire brush I scrubbed and then gave the side area a spray as well.

This is the side of our toilet. We just laid recycled timber boards across the metal tin underneath and....

....gave it a paint!

We are fortunate that we have good neighbours with one in particular who is also doing some renovations, so we help each other out with resources. In our case, we were able to use their scaffolding. While it doesn't look that high up, remember I have no bracing and nothing really to hold onto around me should I fall, so let's just say my legs were a little like jelly. But I got the job done! Don't you just love the colour!

Here is the side of the house...BEFORE

And........ AFTER!!

You can see I have only painted part way up to the peak. The reason being that from the rusted line and up we are planning to attach a white board, which is in-line with the traditional black and white look we are going for at Obachan chi's. I thought about replacing that side blue tin door with a timber one, but for the moment I just ended up painting it. 

We cannot wait to share the final results with you, but this is our progress so far. We have a way to go, but it's a good feeling to get a start on outside.The tiled roof is also on our plans to repair. And yes, they are weeds growing on the toilet side roof! Due to the traditional way of using mud under the tiles and then said tiles either cracking or falling off, it had resulted in some unsightly growth. I never thought in my life that I would be painting the exterior of a house black, but we are liking what we see (while it isn't much just yet). It seems to really be a theme in the little farmhouse both in and outside. It's all slowly coming together. So what do think of the colour?

The other side

                      

I had an idea....to open up and allow more light and and airflow throughout the little farmhouse. Not everyone was onboard with my idea initially, but during some discussions one night the realization that my idea was indeed a brilliant one was soon realized and so the mud wall was finally coming down.

BEFORE- Mud wall behind refrigerator

I forgot to mention that another very worthy reason to remove this wall was due to it's crumbling condition when we pulled the vinyl board off. I know we could have repaired it, but again there was a greater need to bring more light into the area and to also allow for better access from the main living area to the kitchen. 

The end result has really opened up the rooms creating a totally different, but good feeling. It also allows us to walk on one level, instead of sliding the shoji screen open in the main area walking down a step through the genkan and then up again to get to the new kitchen area. I know it's hard to visualize what I am talking about at the moment, but when we share the new kitchen with you and the progress there you may me able to understand what I am talking about. At this point we are happy with the end result. Surprisingly I thought we'd need a sledge hammer to knock the mud wall out, but all that was needed was a hand saw and then a good old shove! It's amazing just how strong mud walls are, with a bamboo frame securing them together.

And you guessed it...feeling dirty and dusty we are off to the onsen!

Spinning history

One Saturday morning we found ourselves at a nearby antique market. One thing I noticed  as we walked around was that a lot of the store holders were selling these wooden stands. I'd never really noticed them before, but they are actually spools that are used to wrap silk and/or cotton thread around the outside of the legs. Like a large bobbin in your sewing machine. Little did I know that my interest for these spools would be connected with the Osawa Onsen Hotel that I shared with you in my previous post here

The town of Matsuzaki was one of three major silk worm producing areas in Japan. The other two areas in Japan being Gunma and Nagano. 

Of course my spools were not going to be used for their original purpose. I don't see myself weaving a kimono anytime soon! I gave my frames a wipe over since they looked like that had been kept in some dirty, dusty old box for a considerable amount of time and a lick of  clear varnish. It was a very therapeutic project sitting outdoors in the open air with the bamboo forest surrounding me.  

Here are two ways I like to use mine....

Firstly as a plant stand and secondly as....

 ...a plate stand.

I love how they turned out and since buying these I have added to the collection with a medium sized frame. They were a fun and budget friendly DIY project. 

   

Have you ever bought something with another use in mind? 

Historical treasure of Matsuzaki

While enjoying some lunch at our local community centre, Kulala  we were told about an art show that was happening at a nearby onsen hotel. The event was raising money to bring the same old hotel back to its former glory. Why didn't we know about this hotel? Even my own mother-in-law who was born and raised in this town wasn't aware of it. You can guess it really spiked our interest! 

                                   

The owners of this historical hotel being the Yoda family (a descendant is my mother-in-laws school friend) originated from Nagano and dealt in charcoal, but due to feuding clans many centuries ago the family moved to the Shizuoka area. Moving with the times and with the recent doors of Japan opening up to the western world, they changed their business to silk. They grew silk worms which was a very financially viable business to be in at the time with their main business as international merchants. Hence the impressive hotel was firstly built as a family home more than 300 years ago and then an onsen hotel for 55 years before deciding to close its doors in 2014.

As you can see time has weathered this beauty but with both the support from the local towns people and a group of history professors (from a well known university in Tokyo), they have come together to maintain its future in the town of Matsuzaki, which is a real credit to them. 

While I can't be completely sure, this pathway maybe made of roof tiles that have been cut down, which I love! It's all in the detail!

Walking inside the entrance you are welcomed by these impressive beams which command your attention.

The art show was in full swing! Much to see and appreciate as we enjoyed the ambience.

A view of the ceiling. Real craftsmanship with wood panelling is present everywhere you look.

The hotel is made up of different buildings with a centre Japanese garden connecting them. But just imagine for a moment a small pond with crystal clear water flowing over precisely placed rocks and the bamboo shishi-odoshi (water fountain used to scare away deer) filling up with water and then breaking the quietness of the tranquil garden when it hits a rock. I could so imagine myself walking by this garden wearing my kimono or sitting along the terrance enjoying a class of omeshu (plum wine). The atmosphere of this place really does emit a bygone era.

Walking outside you can see the effect of weathering on this fence line that was treated with the yakisugi technique. And below an example of using bamboo for a fence. This whole hotel gave us ideas for Obachan's humble farmhouse. Presently, the hotel  is used for history students with study camps, which I think would be a wonderful experience as a student. 

It is a true example of community spirit and the desire to retain ones valuable history. We hope they will hold more events that we can support in our own small way. 

                                       

Source: Onsawa Onsen ~  Matsusaki, Shizuoka