Japanese farmhouses (kominkas)
The legendary Japanese farmhouses were mainly built during the late Edo period. They came in all shapes and sizes, but the most common ones were 2-storey buildings with a footprint of around 20 x 10 meters. Some used the upper level for silk farming or simply storage, others were fully built out.
The best kominkas are found in the Japanese Alps, in Western Honshu. Here, the snowfall is extremely heavy and the snow is wet; this requires the buildings to be extremely strong and thus they are build with huge hardwood columns and beams.
Many of the kominkas, especially the larger ones, were built for wealthy farmers and traders, and have a variety of noble woods like rosewood, white and black oaks, cedar and sometimes even imported teak! And these are the ones that we find.
Heritage Homes works with kominkas in 2 ways
1. We, or our clients, find a kominka that they wish to buy or restore. This is common in the countryside directly adjacent to Kyoto. Here, we will restore the building with our local Kyoto team. For kominkas that are further afield, we do occasionally take on projects, but only for large projects that justify sending our carpenter team up to do the projects; usually for projects with a budget in excess of ¥200M.
2. Moving a kominka or temple: You have a piece of land in a lovely location. You don’t want a concrete box, you want a genuine Japanese house. So talk to Heritage Homes! We will find you a beautiful Edo period farmhouse, dismantle it, restore it and re-build it on your land – wherever it is!
If you have land, we can build on it.
If you need land, we can find it. Our team handles every step: sourcing, permitting, architecture, construction and fit-out.
We also work with temples and sake breweries — any heritage structure of genuine character. If you have seen something extraordinary and want to give it a second life, talk to us.
From Mountain Village to Your Doorstep
Every project begins with finding the right structure. We work with heritage preservation societies and rural communities across Japan to source farmhouses of genuine quality.
Once acquired, our master carpenters dismantle the structure piece by piece — every beam catalogued, every joint documented. The timber is restored or precisely replicated in our workshops in Gifu, then transported to your site and rebuilt to full modern building code. Projects typically take 12–24 months from first conversation to handover.
What to Expect
Kominka projects typically range from ¥100M to ¥300M depending on the structure, site, specification and location. We work with a small number of clients each year — this allows us to give every project the attention it deserves.
We are a fully licensed contractor, real estate agent and registered project manager — insured and regulated by the Construction Managers Association of Japan (CMAJ). We are one of the only firms in Japan with the end-to-end track record to take a project of this kind from first conversation to handover.
If you have a site, a vision, or simply a question — we would love to hear from you.
The Pavilions
A traditional farmhouse, built in 1880 in the Gifu Mountains of Honshu — one of Japan's most celebrated regions for its concentration of ancient rural architecture.
Annupuri
A traditional Japanese farmhouse had stood for over 140 years. Built during the Meiji era using techniques passed down through generations of master carpenters.