Renovating in Japan: The Reality of Project Managing My Friend's House
Chani Japan
35,052 views
Life in Japan lately has been a little busier than usual. This week I’m helping manage the start of a Japanese house renovation, spending some much-needed time in my garden, cooking with what I’ve grown, and finally taking a spontaneous drive to the sea.
Helping with a renovation in Japan has been fascinating — and much more involved than I expected. There are so many decisions happening behind the scenes, and navigating builders, materials, measurements and renovation terminology in Japanese has definitely given me a new appreciation for everything that goes into transforming an older home.
Back at my own little house, life moves at a much slower pace. I spend some time pottering around the garden, harvesting what’s ready and turning a few homegrown ingredients into a simple meal. These ordinary routines have become some of my favourite parts of living in Japan.
But after a particularly full week, I decided I needed a change of scenery.
I finally put my new ETC card to the test, packed up the car with Millie and headed out with no real plan. What started as a simple drive turned into a lovely little seaside escape — and the perfect place to sit quietly, do some writing and work on something very special that I’ve been creating behind the scenes.
Sometimes the best adventures really don’t have to be very big.
Thank you for spending another week of everyday life in Japan with Millie and me. ❤️
If you enjoy videos about real life in Japan, slow living, Japanese homes and renovations, gardening, simple cooking, road trips and starting over in midlife, I’d love to have you join me here on Chani Japan.
#LifeInJapan #JapanVlog #SlowLivingJapan #JapaneseHouse #JapanLifestyle #LivingInJapan
🌿 Useful Links
🧡 Postcard Club – I will send you postcards from Japan
http://ko-fi.com/chanijapan/tiers
👕 Chani Japan Merch
https://chanijapan.store
📚 Beginner Japanese for Real Life in Japan🇯🇵
https://www.chanijapan.com/
☕ Support the channel
https://ko-fi.com/chanijapan
If you are new to the channel, my name is Chani and I am a middle aged Australian who was stuck in a rut and moved to Japan to live. I bought an Akiya or empty house and started renovating. I'd love it if you subscribed and joined the community. I look forward to seeing you in the next video 😀
@ChaniJapan
0:00 A Week of Renovations and Spontaneous Travel
0:49 The Reality of Managing a Renovation Project
4:29 Finding Peace and Fresh Produce in the Garden
8:50 Testing the New Toll Card on a Coastal Drive
15:03 Productivity and Reflection by the Harbor
20 Comments
I so enjoyed this quiet day outing!
Your friend is extremely fortunate having you as general contractor, what a job! Please don't burn yourself out and take good care. 🇨🇦
Renovating in Japan: The Reality of Project Managing My Friend's House
Chani Japan
35,052 views
Life in Japan lately has been a little busier than usual. This week I’m helping manage the start of a Japanese house renovation, spending some much-needed time in my garden, cooking with what I’ve grown, and finally taking a spontaneous drive to the sea.
Helping with a renovation in Japan has been fascinating — and much more involved than I expected. There are so many decisions happening behind the scenes, and navigating builders, materials, measurements and renovation terminology in Japanese has definitely given me a new appreciation for everything that goes into transforming an older home.
Back at my own little house, life moves at a much slower pace. I spend some time pottering around the garden, harvesting what’s ready and turning a few homegrown ingredients into a simple meal. These ordinary routines have become some of my favourite parts of living in Japan.
But after a particularly full week, I decided I needed a change of scenery.
I finally put my new ETC card to the test, packed up the car with Millie and headed out with no real plan. What started as a simple drive turned into a lovely little seaside escape — and the perfect place to sit quietly, do some writing and work on something very special that I’ve been creating behind the scenes.
Sometimes the best adventures really don’t have to be very big.
Thank you for spending another week of everyday life in Japan with Millie and me. ❤️
If you enjoy videos about real life in Japan, slow living, Japanese homes and renovations, gardening, simple cooking, road trips and starting over in midlife, I’d love to have you join me here on Chani Japan.
#LifeInJapan #JapanVlog #SlowLivingJapan #JapaneseHouse #JapanLifestyle #LivingInJapan
🌿 Useful Links
🧡 Postcard Club – I will send you postcards from Japan
http://ko-fi.com/chanijapan/tiers
👕 Chani Japan Merch
https://chanijapan.store
📚 Beginner Japanese for Real Life in Japan🇯🇵
https://www.chanijapan.com/
☕ Support the channel
https://ko-fi.com/chanijapan
If you are new to the channel, my name is Chani and I am a middle aged Australian who was stuck in a rut and moved to Japan to live. I bought an Akiya or empty house and started renovating. I'd love it if you subscribed and joined the community. I look forward to seeing you in the next video 😀
@ChaniJapan
0:00 A Week of Renovations and Spontaneous Travel
0:49 The Reality of Managing a Renovation Project
4:29 Finding Peace and Fresh Produce in the Garden
8:50 Testing the New Toll Card on a Coastal Drive
15:03 Productivity and Reflection by the Harbor
You can read it here: https://www.chanijapan.com/blog/hirogawa-wakayama-exploring-a-coastal-town-shaped-by-tsunami-history 🩷
And a little bonus — my next Chani Japan postcard is from this very trip, so Postcard Club members will be getting a little piece of Hirogawa in the mail too.