Turning an Abandoned Japanese Village Into a Permaculture Paradise

[@NaturesAlwaysRight]

Watch a 150 year old Japanese home renovation and homestead tour with my friend Brian - kzbin.info/www/bejne/hoPZZGCCmKZrotU

[@gregorythomas5768]

I really dig this kind of movement. Would love to be a part of it

[@rzadigi]

That was by far the best video I’ve seen of a foreigner doing permaculture in Japan. Byron was well spoken with a wealth of knowledge and experience. I’ve been living in Japan almost as long as Byron and moved here with a strong desire to do something very similar. But I never could find the right property and eventually I stopped growing rice and wheat and everything else. I definitely miss it and may do so again one day, but I’ve since built a wonderful life around other equally important things and I’m not sure if I still have the drive and commitment to build such a beautiful place. But I have the utmost esteem for Byron and all the amazing things he’s accomplished🙏much love and respect from Miyazaki

[@lynnschooler992]

Byron, I know exactly what you mean when you laughed and said you'd probably build a tiny home and call it good, and wouldn't recommend the process to anyone else. But keep at it, brother, and enjoy. I am at the end (?) of 20 years of building a place in Alaska and though I am well into being a 'senior citizen,' I am now sitting in the living room of a beautiful timber home on a ridge overlooking mountains and the sea in every direction, eating at a table I built myself of wood from trees from the property. The process makes absolutely no sense, takes all your time, money, effort, and a huge chunk of your life - and in the end, it is the song you have made of your life. Sing.

[@pablodm9]

I'd love to see you house sir

[@kristinjacobsen3417]

A beautiful song

[@feiryfella]

Yeah, but what a life! I endeavour to do similar given the chance. My oldest friend lives in Alaska living her best adventurous life!

[@jeffimas4559]

When are you going to sell it?

[@TheKamakuraGardener]

Good day from Kamakura, Japan 🇯🇵. A fascinating look into life in the Japanese countryside. Thank you. I’ve lived in Japan now for 42 years and have often dreamed of living in a place like this. 👍🏾🤩🐶

[@tokiomitohsaka7770]

The fact the chicken came running back shows he is doing something right.

[@Trangjony]

This video beautifully captures the transformation of an abandoned Japanese village into a thriving permaculture paradise. It’s inspiring to see how sustainable practices can breathe new life into forgotten places. The blend of traditional techniques with modern permaculture principles not only honors the village's history but also creates a vibrant ecosystem. A true testament to resilience and innovation!

[@prieten49]

I have lived in Japan for twenty years now. I like the interest in gardening that many Japanese have. Yes, you can get just about anything in the grocery stores but many still take the time to grow vegetables. My neighbor let's me use her garden and I also help a friend who has a much bigger vegetable garden. I always come home with several boxes of veggies, far more than we can eat, and we share them with neighbors and friends. Although I live almost in the middle of a small city, we have deer that wander in. This year they ate my potatoes down to the dirt hills but the plants came back and are nice and bushy. I bet I will get a good haul.

[@alexandrep4913]

Lol wtf is that profile photo?

[@prieten49]

@@alexandrep4913 "wtf" is with that language?

[@fernandotillman]

They are excellent quality too. Before I moved to Japan I hated tomatoes because all I had were generic store tomatoes. Got some at a bar in Japan fell in love. And fell more in love when I started growing my own during COVID.

[@Catford_Bridge]

This is part of the reason the Japanese economy has been stuck in the mud for the past 15+ years. My heart felt heavy at the end of the video. I live in home built in 1899 in Brooklyn. My grandparents didn't take spectacular care of the home. I've had a lot of work to do. I'm developing an organic garden in the backyard for the past 3 years which is why I'm on this channel. I take my hat off to you Byron. You are doing what I've done over the past 3 years to the 100th degree. Your dedication is inspiring. My advice to anyone that wants to live in an old home. Buy the home that you want. Avoid something where you have to do major renovations. It's a major headache. And super time consuming. And can be super expensive. And you are exposed to hazardous materials if you live in the house while doing the work. You cant get the time back that should be spent enjoying the space you are living in. Hes put so much time and effort into this project. I hope he can turn it into some sort of Air BnB again and take advantage of the tourism boom.

[@mom-o8n9s]

日本の事知らないのによくマクロ経済で話進めるよね アメリカの傀儡国家でひたすら税率上げられてるって知らんでしょ

[@feiryfella]

I plan to escape to Portugal and do similar on a small scale. One of my requirements is buying a place I don't have to rebuild from the ground up! I want to be able to do as much by myself as possible as someone with a chronic illness can do. I want to put my energy into the outside as much as possible.

[@MichaelKleyn]

Happy to have found this video. Byron's life is certainly something I've been dreaming about here in San Francisco, but for now I appreciate just getting to live vicariously through his wisdom here. Thanks to everyone involved!

[@lifeontherally]

Interesting to hear that a lot of people in our generation went off after college to find something to create value. I rarely meet like-minded people, but I do see a lot of our generation coming around to it now. I did that too and learned permaculture, gardening, sustainable living, eco-tourism after working in high demand, high end tourism. And then unlearned some of that, and see the balance to everything now. I think this kind of work is healing society and creating a bit of hope for future generations.

[@nealm6764]

Dude has some impressive skills. Not many would be able to do all the things he has done. I am definitely envious and impressed with what he has done and the life he has carved out for his family. Thanks for showcasing it!

[@jasonmendelli6023]

Really enjoyed your interview style. I spent many weekends in 2020-22 helping the build and hanging out with Byron and our families. You allow his vision, realism, humour and character to shine. I have great memories and the view across the valley will always captivate its viewer

[@oyajiblues]

I am so glad you mentioned “round-up” My wife inherited her parents house in Shiga. Wonderful traditional turn of the century house. It has a large area for a garden and I was who excited. Then I learned that if you are not at the top of the hill your water is most likely infused with “Round-up”. Around weed time if you go to the hardware store they will have huge displays of liquid weed killer. They buy it up and use it. So although the run off that comes through our yard is a nice thought…. THe ground is saturated with that shit. Oh yeah, if that isn’t a suck they (and I saw many) have giant wasps. I mean they are larger than humming birds. oh and then the centipede things that have a thousand legs and bite. You are supposed to burn them if you catch one. Because if you smash them they release a hormone that attracts more of their friends…. I learned the hard way that they are attracted to waxy hair stuff.

[@oyajiblues]

Google “Mukade”

[@maralfniqle5092]

😮😮😮😮

[@JayB-Aus]

Great to see such an honest interview. I've been renovating an Akiya and building a permaculture garden in Kyushu for 3 years. It's been a great experience but so many more challenges than expected. Even with a background as a landscape gardener /horticulturist.

[@kristinjacobsen3417]

Thank you to all of you who participated in this video. I'm glad to see people using the land, anywhere!

[@nolo4449]

My new favorite “tv show” love seeing different farmer’s experiences

[@NaturesAlwaysRight]

Thank you I love this compliment! A lot more to come!

[@coops4549]

That was such a great watch. I'm in the early stages of something similar in Kyushu. I have the benefit of being a builder in Sydney Australia and sending a container with some of my workshop equipment on to the property for the planned renovation to make windows, kitchens, joinery and the ability refurbish any materials we can find. I'm always impressed how people make use of what they have available and get great results.

[@EmanLannehc]

are you going to document it? I'd like to see it!

[@TheRootedBlueprint]

Oh wow, you need companion? Lol

[@JayB-Aus]

Hey Coop, which part of Kyushu are you in? I moved here from Oz 3 years ago. Been renovating an Akiya and building a permaculture garden. We had to build the kitchen from scratch because the system kitchens were way too expensive for plastic. Good move bringing your own tools, the biggest circular saw I could find only cuts about 70mm deep.😅

[@ExpectMiracles55]

I'm so delighted I just discoverd this gem of a channel. I can listen to Byron for hours to no end.

[@colemurphy3585]

Byron-san! It's incredible to see what y'all have accomplished in these crazy last few years! Katya and I still think of y'all often and we hope you and fam the best in whatever your next step may be :) Great video guys

[@virginiatibbetts1551]

That was an amazing interview. Byron is a very impressive fellow. He's building skills are incredible. Thanks for this video.

[@eslnoob191]

He's a really eloquent speaker too. I usually don't like to watch these videos where it's mostly just a long interview, but it was captivating to listen to his descriptions of everything on his farm.

[@pjstew9331]

Well done Byron. Japan sustainability and permaculture master! Good luck with the next stage of the bi-cultural adventure. You and your family have established an amazing base which I'm sure will be well capitalised on going forward.

[@pebbleman54]

What a beautiful area and way of life. Wish I had the opportunity to do the same. That house is also absolutely beautiful and I love the way he has it set up. Plus that sun room will be absolutely amazing I would love to see it once it's planted and blooming.

[@SandraAnaklinger]

Beautiful place and so inspiring to watch. Thank you for sharing

[@patrickryan6317]

I’m a Professor at Musashino Art University in Japan and was trying to find out who Byron is because I’d love him to give a lecture to our students - please allow me to know his contact

[@NaturesAlwaysRight]

Cool! I've put his Instagram in the video description for contact.

[@MerwinARTist]

1st .. I want to say .. thank you for letting us tour some very authentic Japanese style homes .. It's fascinating to see how these places are built. 2nd .. regarding the deer .. I've tried many things .. and I haven't tried what I'm going to tell you about .. but I have a friend who says it's working! Collect a bunch of eggs and let them rot a bit .. then spread them around the area you want to protect from the deer. Apparently the deer don't like the rotten egg sulfur smell. 3rd .. I live in southwestern Arkansas .. lots of old time families who have their own way of doing things. So when a Korean man came into the neighborhood .. the idea of taking your shoes off before going inside the home .. is not well understood .. and serves as a metaphor for a lot more! I enjoyed my Korean neighbors .. and did a lot to help him set up an irrigation system for his large garden. It's a really nice thing when they end up coming to you when they need to know something important because of the language barrier. We are all neighbors .. as long as we act neighborly!!!

[@NaturesAlwaysRight]

Thank you I'm glad you are enjoying these videos. Thanks for the tips!

[@blessed4hs]

Love this!!

[@ExpectMiracles55]

Thank you for sharing such an inspiring, lovely story!

[@NedGeeslin-hm7xu]

Thought the trick for deer was gap fencing. They hate it?

[@judithsmith9582]

I like chickens! So does everybody else: Hawks like chickens Possums like chickens Dogs like chickens Raccoons like chickens Snakes like chickens ...

[@karacho1]

Your care of the chickens is great! You give them alot room and shelter.

[@catherineleslie-faye4302]

Wow I wish I was young enough and fit enough to help with this village project.

[@seeksustainablejapan]

Great talk & walk thru thanks for this! I had talked with Byron and Kaori years ago, but wow so much has changed and evolved since then

[@Augustus171]

The air will be as fresh as it should be!

[@Anne-LiseH]

You have picked up several different tasks at once. Just doing the permaculture and chickens right is almost full time. I hope you learn a lot with your house it looks like a nice layout.

[@alainlusson9811]

Merci de cette visite , cette maison ,le propriétaire, à tout compris , que sa famille soit heureuse dans ce,petit paradis

[@lucyp8993]

That is paradise on earth. Like riftvalley but here is very green

[@ThanaBrunges-mx7ji]

Heated floors! Radical! 😅

[@cjyoung7372]

"The algebra is changing" is a fantastic quote 👌

[@jeremiahthomas2669]

Japan needs to recreate. We cant loose such an amazing culture ❤

[@soymilkman]

There’s 120 million people living in japan right now what are you talking about

[@Skepticismistheway]

​@@soymilkmanthey have a negative birthrate and an aging population is likely what he's referring to

[@lynxthewise7233]

@@soymilkman probably meant 'procreate'?

[@CausticLemons7]

Very peaceful, I love how natural everything feels.

[@ThanaBrunges-mx7ji]

I love the house it’s massive! 😅

[@kaisekiryori]

Love this, I worked as a WWOOFer a long time ago and would love to do something similar to what Byron has done where I live!

[@Elanexus]

Very cool to see, I'm trying to turn my land into a functioning homestead in Fuji next year. Hope it all goes well for you!

[@anniebancroft1175]

Steven THANKYOU for another fascinating interview and tour!!

[@ThanaBrunges-mx7ji]

That is so cool to have Fuji rock foundation! 😅

[@Dandersenification]

That was a staggering amount of times the word "like" was used.

[@Hashishin13]

That indigo wall is beautiful.

[@ThanaBrunges-mx7ji]

Yay you got it handled on the earthen walls! 😅

[@GeneralPing]

This is paradise for me

[@rigodon97]

so cool that Michael Cera came for this video

[@ThanaBrunges-mx7ji]

The deer seem to have good taste in vegetation! 😅

[@Godzillajz]

This is totally awesome! more please

[@darwonboyful]

Breathtaking vision and effort

[@aenthv]

The way he said “Half of them might out live me” with a smile.

[@dianagula8101]

Amazing! So much hard work but I see the vision. Magnificent!! Really impressive. !!!🧡

[@ykoontz9620]

this seems very close to Fujino Transition Town and home of the Permaculture Centre of Japan - am I close? I love Fujino and will visit again soon. I am half-Japanese, 4th generation Canadian Nikkei and I am eager to learn more from Japan in terms of textile techniques, the wonderful world of koji and the culture in general. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.

[@boa1793]

I have a waist high garden and it’s my third year with it. In august the deer tore down the plastic netting and just ravaged it. Tomato, cucumber, carrot tops were down to nothing. I laughed because there has to be a creative, persistent, adventurous individual among the local population to paw at the netting to bring it down and then jump up and meander around all the obstacles I’ve put in the garden to prevent this.

[@ThanaBrunges-mx7ji]

Love the indigo wash walls!

[@jaybeecee1949]

I came for information about obtaining one of Japan's abandoned homes and got like, you know, like, a lot of like, personal convo, like I wanted actual like info. Didn't know there were Valley Boys too! Aside from that, good job making it all work.

[@biform13]

Please include information about the tax situation(s). Many rural areas here in America are unaffordable because of outrageous property taxes.

[@fernandoscrenci4874]

GOD'S Nature Is Always Right !!! 👍

[@ThanaBrunges-mx7ji]

What a resourceful man! 😅

[@bosse641]

Such an interesting culture and history. Would have loved to live there and experience the nation for myself.

[@sebnemb935]

looks like paradise

[@flyoverurbangarden4315]

Excellent video.

[@Servant_of_Christ]

I'm too lazy for that... I bought a sailboat and rebuilt it to a live-aboard bugout survival pod that can stay out at sea self-sufficient for up to 10 years if needed. I don't have to do anything for my food, just sit there and pull it up. I have a 100 liter chest freezer and when it's full I have food for three months. So I sail back to the marina in Portugal to eat my fish, drink wine and smoke doobies! 😁 I have a yearly cost of living of $3500 + marina costs.

[@kristinehardy6424]

I'd love to move there 😊

[@hobo_sapiens]

Great, guys! All the best!!!

[@artboymoy]

Really interesting look into this. So sad to see all that land just not be used. I know Japan probably doesn't just want to open these emptying towns to people form outside but there would probably be so many people in need that would be willing to work the land again and being a peaceful life.

[@Raptorade]

Chickens aren’t good at pest control, they tear the land apart. Ducks on the other hand are excellent due to how accurate and gentle they are.

[@NikaBoyce]

Fellow permie here (MA, USA so completely different biome, we hit -20F in the winter, sometimes for a week or more) and am enjoying seeing the work that you all did! (Oh, also, I adore Japan but do not have the $ to visit, let alone do this!) I got a bit queasy toward the end, worried that you are thinking about moving back here to the US.. that would be huge mistake, hard to express just how toxic it is here these days. in terms of your kids - know that our schools do not put any precautions in place for COVID these days (vax not required, masks are just not worn, etc) - I taught through all of COVID when we did take "precautions" and that was "interesting" (trying to not be too much a downer) .. COVID (and other lovelies) rise a lot with back-to-school each year. need I mention our nationwide issues re: school shootings - something that doesnt happen in Japan (or any modern civilized society).

[@peaceatferngully8369]

What an absolutely beautiful place to live.

[@Nicedesk]

Great interview!

[@ThanaBrunges-mx7ji]

Definitely living the dream! 😅

[@bejul2]

Could someone explain why strawberry is so expensive in this country? The climate seems to favor growing of the strawberry and it should be relatively cheap at least during the season?

[@_gonz842]

Since mountains and forests cover 67% of Japan's land, the amount of land available for farming is limited. In addition, small-scale farmers take great care in growing their crops, so Japanese fruits tend to be expensive.

[@HomesteadJapan]

Well it's certainly weird to refresh my page and see basically my channel name in the thumbnail, haha. I'm definitely envious of the set-up and space!

[@Hazaerdt]

The entire video, I was distracted by his collar and wanted to fix it 😬

[@mayworth4567]

😂

[@Snarggle]

He is living my dream......

[@aikankei]

Amazing journey. As you age, other issues will arise (as you noted). And then comes decision time!

[@ThanaBrunges-mx7ji]

Like the tatami room! 😅

[@shawns0762]

I would like to buy some nearby property, I have a lot in common with Byron

[@ThanaBrunges-mx7ji]

The chickens seem to like him! 😅

[@pertinaciousD]

I've been looking to do this exact thing, currently at a university in Chiba doing postdoc research on carbon stocks in Satoyama but also very interested in permaculture. I'd love to come see what's happening.

[@_Aeon_]

Earthquake & Typhoons.....

[@fierce1904]

Amazing 👏

[@sumdude4281]

If Japan would make it easier to to reside there in the countryside I would go in a heart beat. Don't come to the states right now dude.

[@maxsym718]

I want to live here

[@AdventuresOfSpeckles]

love your stuff!

[@z0ro_62]

I would love to do this get my own little piece to fix up

[@spitalhelles3380]

The turkeys seem so aristocratic among the chickens

[@kasamatsufarms9030]

Yes, the turkeys also protect the chickens from crows and hawks and such. They are such gentle birds, but because they are bigger (and also quite loud), they scare off other prey.

[@m.goodengumman3941]

Very cool 👍🇬🇧

[@lotharlights]

Why did you take stones from Mount Fuji?

[@ElenasMoneyMatters]

amazing, thank you for sharing

[@downrightmike]

Have you thought about setting up a zone to give the wild things access to something to eat, but not come into the rest of the area? Setup a trailcam could be fun.

[@julieowen5874]

Nice life...the way we should all live....

[@ThanaBrunges-mx7ji]

Someone suggested to separate out the turkeys from the chickens for health reasons. 😅

[@michaelpelissari4444]

How do I sign up to join lol

[@AlexPine84]

EPIC!

[@xiaoka]

0:30 you brought clay all the way from Okinawa?

[@bambupringgodani1]

Terimakasih banyak pak atas informasinya 🙏 26:47

[@meishangchung411]

I love that he says "i have access" -- this is how our relationship to land should be. We have access, we don't "own" land.

[@99loops]

Indeed. The government does, and despite paying off the loan, they continue to take, take, take. Property tax is a crock. Here in Japan there are millions of abandoned/unclaimed homes thanks to family members not wanting to foot the bill once someone passes.

[@8jdkkakskn]

Its a nice sentiment but that was not his meaning. he means that someone else owns it and has not allowed him to use it; like as he has no easy way of contacting them as they dont live there

[@meishangchung411]

@@8jdkkakskn Thanks for the explanation, but I live in japan and have a rice field given to me by the government. I don't own the field. But yeah, thanks for trying to explain that but I know what I'm talking about. Note, Japan has a very different idea of usufructuary relationships to ownership than the West. In case you weren't aware. The right to own, use and abuse is not a universal notion.

[@Level_Up_Nation]

Could grow some amazing grapes in those hills 🤔

[@TheNewMediaoftheDawn]

Cool place in an idyllic spot, takes time to get humming,,,🐝🐝🐝

[@paulskillman6634]

Does it snow there?