Island housing renovations increase

A newly renovated house on the pathway
up to the Shiraishi International Villa

There are a lot of houses being renovated on Shiraishi Island. This is one of the most recent ones. This house is over 100 years old, probably more like 150 years old. It was stripped down to the beams and then rebuilt. They've kept the traditional style of the house and replaced the roof. The building to the left is a small "shop" where the woman plans on continuing her job as a beautician in her retirement.

The pieces of stones sitting outside the windows are called "fumi ishi." (stepping stones) These are cut into rectangles but you often see rounder, more natural stones used also. They serve as a something to step onto when entering or leaving the house through those windows.

The other stepping stones are the ones that form a pathway to and from the house from the road. These are surrounded by an entire yard full of little tiny stones which I presume are used for the practical purposes of having no grass to cut, garden to keep or mud to deal with in the rainy season.

I expect more and more houses on the island to be renovated as Japan's population gets older and people move back to the countryside to retire on the small island they originally came from.