Gojo Machiya History

After looking for an old Machiya (townhouse) in Kyoto for a couple of years, and missing a few opportunities, we finally got our chance at the beginning of 2014. We found the house while being in France, by regularly checking out the websites of our real estate contacts in Kyoto.

The location was great. The size was what we were looking for and the price was within budget. We called the agent and confirmed our wish to acquire the house, even without actually visiting it! Well, we knew everything would have to be rebuilt anyway, so the details of the current house didn’t really matter.

The acquisition was finalized and we arrived in Kyoto in March 2014 and moved into the house the way it was. It was cold, very cold and very humid. No insulation. No heating except for one working air conditioning unit (out of three). Also, no hot water as the heater wasn’t working anymore and was simply too old for repair (no more spare parts). Well, we survived (and got to know all the “sentô” (public bath) around the neighborhood.

This is the house we acquired and moved into in March 2014.