let's find out  on today's episode of WAORYU! Only in Japan

hey guys welcome to another video

so i'm  excited whenever i get a tour a traditional japanese home in kyoto

known as machiya

and  that's what we're doing today

with lovely Yee

and she can point out something very  specifically cool about these that we're exploring

so the owner of these properties loves Murakami Haruki

which is a famous Japanese author

and while we're doing a tour you will see the  connection between the properties and that author

Murakami Haruki

to give a little background on Haruki Murakami-san  he was born january 12, 1949

had his books translated into 50 languages

sold millions of  copies

and writes with a kind of surrealistic style

the first time i heard about him was in  high school

when a friend had told me he really enjoyed reading "Hard-boiled Wonderland"

and "the  End of the world"

it's so interesting to see that in the renovation of a home you could have the  crossroads with an author

welcome to the first room of the house guys

this is the meeting room

now some interesting details with naming

there's a compound of three houses here

and they're called  1891

and that refers back to when they were first registered

they were built before this

but first  registered in the Meiji restoration

so that's the collective name but they actually have individual  names as well

yes so the house we're in right now is called SANAGI,

and there are two properties at  the back

one is called two moons

another is called AOMAME.

if you notice these are three elements  from the book "1q84" which is written by Murakami Haruki

let's move on from the meeting room

so cost of the  building

The compound is going for 288 million yen which converts to roughly 2.6 million us dollars

so if you got that under your mattress come get this place

it's amazing

in through this way is  the dining room

and it has some really really nice features in here

so the first thing that  you would notice making it unique as to a western experience is the tatami floor

which gives off a  really really unique fragrance

which i quite like

we have an antique cabinet ,we have some art  on the walls

and a little mini kitchen in the corner

now for me, possibly my favorite room in  a house like this

behind the sliding shoji doors

is a reading room

and it has some  really really cool features in here

one of the details that YEE shared with me  is that this owner really really likes art  

and he particularly likes art from Denmark

so  you can come into the reading room enjoy a book

be surrounded by art from Denmark

and also enjoy a pleasant view of the adjacent garden

that is with this huge  rectangular window next to us

easily viewable

so this is bathroom

where you have the bath

you can enjoy the peak from the garden

and what i like a lot is this rain shower

it's kind of rare  in MACHIYA

and that's because the owner loves it

the cocoon room

that is where we're going to  take you to next

and avoid bumping my head so

we have retained the original structure here

this  is a KYO-MACHIYA that not much has been altered to make overly modern

but this room  is a complete departure from that

and also where we're seeing that illusion  again to the author that we mentioned

so this cocoon bedroom which features the  beautiful wallpaper

also has the characteristic of curved surfaces all over the place

mimicking  a cocoon

you come in here it's cozy. It feels nice

that is not traditional in any  way whatsoever

that is where, while retaining the original structure of the building

the designers have come in and really tried to make it its own unique space

and  one that i would feel really cozy sleeping in

much like if you had gone to a bath house in  japan

in the second floor bathroom, if you sit down there are water jets which provide  you with a back massage

how cool is that?

once again we find ourselves sitting in a  wonderful comfy reading chair

The owner really does love to read, thus the connection with the book and so on, so you can chill here next to the  cocoon bed

and enjoy a nice book while you're  reading

and then over in the other direction there is some of this art from Denmark

a cool  suspension and the the colors are really neat

i like the fact that it actually like changes where you two sit here

It's kind of slowly moving around

but definitely a peaceful room whether you're  wrapped up in the cocoon or enjoying a book

this is the master bedroom

we have two single baths comfortably sitting here

and that's another reading chair

and you can see beautiful garden from the window

and here is what i like the most

the wall

don't make a mistake this is not sculpture

these pieces are actually from a roof

which is repurposed into the art feature

stunning property today

i will never get  tired of seeing the inside of these

they're always so varied

and interesting and unique

but  before we sign off

there's an interesting fact which you may not actually know about  Machiya

Machiya can no longer be built again

if they're torn down they're torn down forever

therefore if you stay in one or purchase one

you actually directly contribute to retaining this  beautiful Japanese culture

and it's actually something i would like to do one day

if i could  purchase and renovate one that would be a dream come true

i wonder after you've watched, would  you live in a MACHIYA?

or would you rent one?

why don't you let us know in the comments down below

thanks again for watching really appreciate you guys

that is going to be all for now

take care  out there and we'll catch you in the next video

you