I hadn't heard about this akiya phenomenon, but it reminded me of a guy I met in Houston 20+ years ago, who built art houses for single mothers out of discarded building materials.
Hi Sam, Gianni speaking here. I'm new to Substack (I've just finished the About page for my newsletter, Tokyo Calling, but haven't published anything yet) and I was checking out who else was writing about Japan when I found you.
Two years ago I traveled around Japan (from my home in Yokohama to Hiroshima, roughly following the coast) and more than once, as you pointed out, I found akiya and shuttered shotengai everywhere, particularly in Toba, Mie Prefecture, and Imabari (Ehime). I even passed through Onomichi on my way to Hiroshima but didn't have enough time to stop.
Looking forward to reading more of your stories. In the meantime, I downloaded your Master's dissertation.
Thanks for subscribing and showing interest in my earlier work. Yes, the whole country is a land of akiya now. People seem to be playing around with them everywhere these days. I will be sharing more stories soon!
I hadn't heard about this akiya phenomenon, but it reminded me of a guy I met in Houston 20+ years ago, who built art houses for single mothers out of discarded building materials.
https://texashighways.com/travel-news/roadside-oddities-the-legacy-of-dan-phillips-creator-of-huntsvilles-boot-house/
Also of this book.
https://www.npr.org/2017/04/27/523587179/in-walkaway-a-blueprint-for-a-new-weird-but-better-world
Very interesting post.
Hi Sam, Gianni speaking here. I'm new to Substack (I've just finished the About page for my newsletter, Tokyo Calling, but haven't published anything yet) and I was checking out who else was writing about Japan when I found you.
Two years ago I traveled around Japan (from my home in Yokohama to Hiroshima, roughly following the coast) and more than once, as you pointed out, I found akiya and shuttered shotengai everywhere, particularly in Toba, Mie Prefecture, and Imabari (Ehime). I even passed through Onomichi on my way to Hiroshima but didn't have enough time to stop.
Looking forward to reading more of your stories. In the meantime, I downloaded your Master's dissertation.
Thanks for subscribing and showing interest in my earlier work. Yes, the whole country is a land of akiya now. People seem to be playing around with them everywhere these days. I will be sharing more stories soon!