Izakaya Dreaming

We bought an abandoned house in rural Japan. Izakaya Dreaming is the story of what we do with it.

We talked about Japan for nearly twenty years. In 2023 we stopped talking. We left our careers, got rid of everything, and spent three years getting ready. Our Melbourne house was the budget. The plan was an akiya near the city, with an izakaya to come.

The year we were to leave, the house suffered major structural damage. There wasn't time to fix it, so we sold it as it stood, and half the budget went with it.

We changed the plan instead of dropping it. The location changed, and that's how we ended up here — in the mountains, in an old akiya, doing as much of the work ourselves as we can.

I'm not a builder... There's a garden to clear, rooms to fix, a life to build, and plenty to learn.

It turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to us. This is where we live now, and we're doing it slowly and properly.

The izakaya remains the dream, for now.

Cheers, Adam.