Comments by "XSportSeeker" (@XSpImmaLion) on "Living in Traditional Japanese Townhouses: Kyo-machiya" video.

  1. Truly beautiful, I'd love to spend some days or weeks in one... live, that'd be a bit harder. xD I kinda get the feeling that by comparison, modern japanese houses and apartments might look a bit devoid of "soul", but the thing is that they are just... practical. Let me tell ya that sure, government might help with some stuff, you can still install lots of ammenities, and the worst thing people say about these homes either aren't true or could be remediated somehow... but it still seems there is a whole lot of dedication to maintain, conserve and keep a place like that up to standards. And while prices might be cheaper than people think, they aren't super cheap per se (well, probably because they are in Kyoto too), but particularly it seems you'll be spending a whole lot of time and money on it if the objective is preservation or at least keeping the machiya style more or less intact. You also have very little flexibility if you don't wanna completely mischaracterize and ruin the entire thing. Forget plastic organizers, bunch of modern looking stuff, most mass fabricated things if you wanna keep the look. You might disguise some stuff to fit the historical looks, but that means it'll always be more expensive. For instance, the garden upkeep is no joke, everything that gets broken or damaged needs specialized service, you gotta get used to how the spaces are set up and distributed, and it feels more like you'll adapt to the style of living there rather than adapting the home to your style of living. Upgrades and a bit of modernization are possible, sure, but they all sound and look just that - upgrades. Expensive ones. By craftsmen that perhaps won't rip you off, but they will certainly not charge you hyakuen prices. xD Everything that you change, if authorized, will cost you a pretty penny. Which of course makes sense since all of those look more like a complete art showroom... xD Of course, if you are able and willing to pay for all that, absolutely love the style from top to bottom, plus wanna preserve that kind of historical home... pretty good opportunity, worth knowing about. Anyways, awesome video as always Greg.
    2