They bought an abandoned 'ghost house' in the Japanese countryside

He'd spent years backpacking around the world, and Japanese traveler Daisuke Kajiyama was finally ready to return home to pursue his long-held dream of opening up a guesthouse.

Guesthouse vision: Daisuke Kajiyama and his late wife Hila convinced the owners of an abandoned Japanese house to let them turn it into a guesthouse.

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'Akiya' house: While they were aware that they had a lot of work ahead of them, the couple were thrilled to be one step closer to having their own guesthouse.' class='image__dam-img image__dam-img--loading' onload='this.classList.remove('image__dam-img--loading')' onerror='imageLoadError(this)' height='1200' width='1600'/>

'Akiya' house: While they were aware that they had a lot of work ahead of them, the couple were thrilled to be one step closer to having their own guesthouse.

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Renovation process: Kajiyama took on much of the work on the guesthouse himself, replacing the floors and adding in a toilet, which he says was a wedding present from his parents.' class='image__dam-img image__dam-img--loading' onload='this.classList.remove('image__dam-img--loading')' onerror='imageLoadError(this)' height='2133' width='1600' loading='lazy'/>

Renovation process: Kajiyama took on much of the work on the guesthouse himself, replacing the floors and adding in a toilet, which he says was a wedding present from his parents.

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Lengthy project: "From my several years of backpacking I saw so many interesting buildings," says Kajiyama, who had little renovation experience before taking the project on. "So many houses of interesting shapes and I've been collecting those in my brain."' class='image__dam-img image__dam-img--loading' onload='this.classList.remove('image__dam-img--loading')' onerror='imageLoadError(this)' height='1200' width='1600' loading='lazy'/>

Lengthy project: "From my several years of backpacking I saw so many interesting buildings," says Kajiyama, who had little renovation experience before taking the project on. "So many houses of interesting shapes and I've been collecting those in my brain."

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Complete makeover: Around two years after beginning work on the house, which has been named Yui Valley, they were able to welcome their first guests.' class='image__dam-img image__dam-img--loading' onload='this.classList.remove('image__dam-img--loading')' onerror='imageLoadError(this)' height='2133' width='1600' loading='lazy'/>

Complete makeover: Around two years after beginning work on the house, which has been named Yui Valley, they were able to welcome their first guests.

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Dream realized: "It was a beautiful feeling," says Kajiyama. "Of course, this was my dream. But people really appreciate that it [the house] was abandoned and I brought it back to life."' class='image__dam-img image__dam-img--loading' onload='this.classList.remove('image__dam-img--loading')' onerror='imageLoadError(this)' height='1067' width='1600' loading='lazy'/>

Dream realized: "It was a beautiful feeling," says Kajiyama. "Of course, this was my dream. But people really appreciate that it [the house] was abandoned and I brought it back to life."

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Country retreat: Yui Valley has helped to bring many travelers to the village of Tamatori over the years.' class='image__dam-img image__dam-img--loading' onload='this.classList.remove('image__dam-img--loading')' onerror='imageLoadError(this)' height='1600' width='1600'/>

Country retreat: Yui Valley has helped to bring many travelers to the village of Tamatori over the years.

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Team effort: Kajiyama stresses that he wouldn't have been able to make Yui Valley what it is today with Hila, who passed away in 2022.
"We were really together," he says. "She created this place with me. Without her it would not have been like this."' class='image__dam-img image__dam-img--loading' onload='this.classList.remove('image__dam-img--loading')' onerror='imageLoadError(this)' height='2133' width='1600'/>

Team effort: Kajiyama stresses that he wouldn't have been able to make Yui Valley what it is today with Hila, who passed away in 2022.
"We were really together," he says. "She created this place with me. Without her it would not have been like this."

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Couple transform Japanese 'ghost' home into guesthouse (photos)

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He’d spent years backpacking around the world, and Japanese traveler Daisuke Kajiyama was finally ready to return home to pursue his long-held dream of opening up a guesthouse.

In 2011, Kajiyama arrived back in Japan with his Israeli partner Hila, who he met in Nepal, and the pair set about finding the perfect location for their future venture.

However, there were a couple of major stumbling blocks in their way. To start with, Kajiyama had very little money to speak of after years of globetrotting around destinations like Korea, Taiwan, India, Nepal, Guatemala, Cuba and Canada.

He also happened to have his heart set on a traditional Japanese house, typically known as kominka, which are usually passed down over generations.

“I wanted to have a traditional house in the countryside,” Kajiyama tells CNN Travel, explaining that he was determined to find two houses located next to each other, so that he and Hila could live in one, while the other would be a guesthouse that they’d run together. “I had a vision.”

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Guesthouse dream

[Daisuke and Hila Kajiyama transformed an abandoned farming residence in Japan into a guesthouse.]

Daisuke and Hila Kajiyama transformed an abandoned farming residence in Japan into a guesthouse.

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When he was unable to find anything that met his requirements, Kajiyama decided to shift his search to include the growing number of abandoned homes in the country.

As younger people ditch rural areas in pursuit of jobs in the city, Japan’s countryside is becoming filled with “ghost” houses, or “akiya.”

According to the Japan Policy Forum, there were 61 million houses and 52 million households in Japan in 2013, and with the country’s population expected to decline from 127 million to about 88 million by 2065, this number is likely to increase.

Kajiyama was driving around Tamatori, a small village located in the Shizuoka prefecture, between Kyoto and Tokyo, surrounded by green tea plantations and rice fields, when he came across an elderly woman farming, and decided to approach her.

“I said ‘Do you know if there are any empty houses around here?’ And she just pointed,” he recalls.

He looked over at the area that she was signaling to and spotted two neglected houses side by side – a former green tea factory and an old farmer’s home – located close to a river.

Both properties had been uninhabited for at least seven years and needed a huge amount of work. Kajiyama asked the woman to contact the owner to find out if they’d be interested in selling.

“The owner said that no one could live there, as it was abandoned,” he says. “But he didn’t say ‘no.’ Everybody was always saying ‘no.’ But he didn’t. So I felt there was a small chance.”

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Ghost house

[Japan's countryside is littered with ghost houses, known as "akiya." Kajiyama managed to convince the owners of this house to let them take it over.]

Japan's countryside is littered with ghost houses, known as "akiya." Kajiyama managed to convince the owners of this house to let them take it over.

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