Island Getaway: A Young Family Trades City Life for the Comforts of Sado

Leaving Tokyo

As newlyweds, Nakatsuka Yūki and Shūko had just settled down to their new life in Tokyo, where they had met while studying at Hōsei University, when the events of the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake altered their view of city life. Halted trains—it took the pair five hours to walk from their offices back to their home in Shinjuku—and rolling blackouts exposed the capital’s vulnerability to disaster and started the couple thinking about a more self-reliant lifestyle.

They eventually chose to leave the metropolis behind and start over on the opposite side of Honshū, on the Japan Sea island of Sado in Niigata Prefecture, where they now live surrounded by forests and fields in a 200-year old house they converted into a minshuku inn and café.

The 200-year old house was reborn as the traditional inn Yosabei in May 2016. An old storehouse standing next to the main structure provides an added sense of history.

The pair say the disaster was an eye-opener. “We were shocked at how easily the city came to a screeching halt,” explains Yūki. Their concerns over shortages of basic items due to snarled transportation networks were exacerbated by the meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. “We were particularly anxious about the safety of our food,” states Shūko, who says she took the precaution of using bottled water for cooking.

Around this time, talk of plans of demolishing Shūko’s grandparents’ house on Sado reached the Nakatsukas. Shūko, a Niigata native, had often visited the residence, a traditional kominka built in the early 1800s, as a child. But the old building had sat empty since 2001, becoming rundown from neglect. Unwilling to let the historic structure be knocked down, though, the couple decided to oversee its renovation.

An Expert’s Hand

An important factor in the decision was a chance encounter with the works of Karl Bengs. While researching kominka in the library Yūki came across a book introducing the German-born architectural designer, a long-time resident of Japan and an expert in renovating traditional Japanese homes. On a whim he decided to pay Bengs a visit at his office in Tōkamachi on the Niigata mainland.

Although the Nakatsukas could only offer a small budget for the project, their sincerity moved Bengs to agree to restore the house. Following his creed of preserving and using the original building materials, he featured the structure’s ancient timbers as a decorative element in an atrium-like space that extends from the first floor to the height of the house’s angled roof.

The old structure’s pillars and beams were showcased in a new, open design for the house.

“During the renovation we learned that the ceiling beams are made from locally grown chestnut, pine, and sugi cedar as well as a species endemic to Sado called atebi,” explains Shūko with a hint of pride. Discovering the history of the building further strengthened the pair’s yearning to move to the island.

The Nakatsukas chose a subdued orange for the outside of the house—the same color as Bengs’s office on the mainland.

A Great Place for a Family

The birth of the couple’s daughter Koharu in 2014 shifted the balance toward relocating to Sado. As working parents, the Nakatsukas came face to face with the harsh reality of Tokyo’s endemic shortage of daycare. “It’s an immense struggle to secure a place at a facility,” laments Shūko, adding that their way of life hinged on finding a spot. Compared to the intense competition in the city, daycares on Sado had plenty of room.

Shortly after Koharu’s arrival, Yūki left his wife and infant daughter in Tokyo and traveled to Sado to help with renovation work on the house. While he was busy plastering and painting walls, a resident of the neighborhood approached him about a job with local transportation company Niigata Kōtsū Sado. Yūki jumped at the offer without even waiting for the house to be completely refurbished.

The sudden turn of events sent ripples of concern spreading among coworkers, family, and friends, who questioned the soundness of the young family’s decision to leave the city. Yūki’s parents in nearby Saitama Prefecture demanded to know why he would opt for such a risky venture, but he saw things differently. He first began pondering a move to the country while working at a staffing agency and seeing the fallout from the 2008 financial crisis. In his opinion, Sado was a safer option.

Although the island has fewer than 60,000 residents, it is 1.4 times the size of Tokyo’s densely populated 23 central municipalities and offers a higher per-person ratio of daycare facilities, schools, and hospitals. Its abundant agricultural land and proximity to the sea also provide islanders with a wealth of fresh, healthy foods.

The Nakatsukas are among a burgeoning group of people relocating to the countryside. According to the Sado city government, the influx of new residents to the island doubled to 22 people the year after the 2011 earthquake and has continued to climb, reaching a record 86 in 2016. The government has even set up a dedicated support center for people considering moving to Sado.

A Communal Gathering Place

The Nakatsukas opened the minshuku Yosabei in May 2016. The pair are a special case among new residents to Sado, as Shūko’s grandfather owned property and was a former village head. This connection, though, places them in a unique position to bring together residents and people from outside the island.

Along with running the minshuku, the couple has made the house the center of a growing community, opening it as a café on Tuesdays and Wednesdays as well as renting it out for events like tea ceremonies, musical performances, and art exhibits. These activities have proved popular among outsiders as well as locals, who freely share the attractions of their native island with lodgers and other visitors. The Nakatsukas even dole out advice to people pondering a move to Sado.

A second-floor guestroom.

Nowhere is the leisurely pace of life more apparent than at Yosabei. Guests are treated to home-cooked meals featuring locally grown ingredients, often picked from the minshuku garden. In the morning, they might also catch a glimpse of the couple playing with their daughter before Yūki leaves for work, taking Koharu to daycare on his way.

Yūki admits he would have to think hard about renovating another kominka, but says saving the house was a worthwhile undertaking. “Moving to Sado was the best thing for our family,” he exclaims. Shūko agrees whole heartedly with her husband, adding that she looks forward to Yosabei bringing islanders and visitors closer together. Smiling, she says, “I want to share what we have in Sado with others.”

(Originally written in Japanese by Kawakatsu Miki and published on January 26, 2018. Photos by Nakagawa Kōsuke. Banner photo: The Nakatsuka family greets guests outside their minshuku Yosabei.)