The program "Jūnin Toiro ~Ie ni Aru Aru Kazoku no Katachi~" (MBS, Saturdays at 5pm, Kansai local broadcast and others), hosted by talent Mifune Mika and actor Taro Suruga, will feature a house in Fushimi Ward, Kyoto City, that connects to a park and is a renovated 110-year-old Kyoto townhouse, in its June 27th broadcast.
The residents are an architect husband, a dentist wife, and their two children. They moved two years ago to a house near Fushimi, where the wife's family lives. The house is a rare Kyoto townhouse built in the Meiji era, over 110 years old, with the back facing a park. The back, connected to the long, narrow LDK of about 21 tatami mats, has a large opening to allow easy access to the park, so the children can go to play directly from the house.
The large windows offer a panoramic view of the park, and the husband can even work by the window. The space is also designed so that the children can do their homework there in the future. To address the "darkness" often found in traditional townhouses with walls closely packed to neighbors, a skylight was installed in the ceiling, and acrylic flooring was used in the second-floor hallway to allow light to pass through to the first floor. Additionally, a washbasin was installed under the stairs, a space that often becomes dead space.
The house, built under Meiji-era laws, occupies the entire plot of land, but if it were demolished and rebuilt under current laws, it would be nearly half the size. By renovating, they were able to secure a spacious area. Living in a house with ample space and direct access to a park, the wife looked satisfied, saying, "It's great for both the children and me. Even if they fight inside the house, they often make up when they go outside to play. I'm grateful for the environment that allows us to go to the park."
"Jūnin Toiro" is a program that visits homes across Japan and introduces the unique features and charms of the homes of their inhabitants. After the broadcast, it is available for streaming on TVer for one week.
