Kyushu villa revamped into pandemic retreat

TOHO, Fukuoka — The heavy rain that devastated northern Kyushu in July 2017 led to reconstruction projects such as a lodging facility created by renovating a kominka old Japanese-style house in the village of Toho.

Called Kominka Villa Antage (“antage” is the local dialect for “your house”), the facility opened in July 2020. The popularity of the nearby terraced rice paddies in the Take district built more than 400 years ago and the hospitality of locals has helped the facility continue to receive reservations even during the pandemic.

The village hopes the rich natural environment that is a world away from the so-called Three Cs — closed spaces, crowded places and close-contact settings — can give rise to reconstruction efforts.

In mid-December, Shinjiro Nakamura, an architect from Fukuoka City, cooked and dined with friends at Kominka Villa Antage.

The facility is operated by general incorporated association Take Tanada, which is run by about 50 locals and the village. About 20 part-time employees clean and disinfect rooms and work at the reception counter at the facility.

The one-story wooden house has a tsukimidai moon viewing platform that offers night-sky views. The facility only accommodates one group per day.

The Take Tanada association had expected that at most 25 groups would stay there from its opening in July 2020 through March 2021. But when 2020 ended, the house had already hosted 20 groups. Another seven groups have made reservations through March.

“I like the beautiful terraced paddies and the star-filled sky,” said Nakamura, who was staying there for the third time. “I can relax here without worrying about the virus.”

The Take district’s 400 terraced paddies covering an estimated 11 hectares were designated in 1999 as one of the 100 top terraced paddies in Japan by the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry. The 2017 heavy rain, however, damaged one hectare of the paddies, along with the stone masonry used for terracing.

The old Japanese-style house was bought by the village two months before the disaster struck. Based on requests from local residents, the village spent about ¥85 million, using central government subsidies, to renovate and transform the house, built in 1887, into the lodging facility.

Take Tanada director Masayuki Wada was among those whose fields were damaged in the disaster. He then began planting potatoes in the fallow rice paddies to make shochu, a distilled alcoholic beverage.

“Having realized the beauty of the terraced paddies through their experience with the disaster, local residents came to feel the need to protect them,” Wada said.

The heavy rains that hit northern Kyushu left 42 people dead or missing in Fukuoka and Oita prefectures. The village of Toho was seriously damaged and reconstruction has progressed.

The operation of the JR Hitahikosan Line has been suspended in some sections including those in the village, but those sections have been replaced with a shuttle bus.

“The novel coronavirus has led people to renew their appreciation of the importance of healthy living amid abundant nature,” said Kazuhiro Yoshioka,