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Grand Opening: Guest House Shiro’s Journey has Now Begun!

Finally this special day has come. On August 28th, 2014, Guest House Shiro has opened its doors.

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Since the completion of the renovation, we didn’t have a chance to share the interior of Shiro, so here is a sneak peak.

Stepping inside, you will be greeted by a breezy entrance hall.

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There are large cross beams, a skylight that brings in warm daylight, and rustic mud walls that remind us of the long history of 115 years.

This is our beautiful patio next to our kitchen.

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We will shortly introduce our living room, kitchen and shared lounges.

Just two steps away from the beautiful Kanazawa castle, we will be waiting for your arrival at Shiro Guest House.

Annual Night Festival at Kenroku Park and Kanazawa Castle

In mid April, Kenroku-Garden and Kanazawa Castle were lit-up on a special occasion.
The two sites are located right next to each other and are connected by a bridge. So you can enter from either premises.

From Shiro, our guesthouse, Kanawaza Castle Park is only ten minutes walk away. A perfect location to enjoy the scenery is accessibly day and night.

Usually, we cannot see these premises in the dark.

The fully-blossomed sakura trees were glowing in the dark on a chilly night of an early spring.

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Not only sakura, palm trees were also lit-up, revealing their majestic torso.

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Overall, the trees were dimly lit but that created a surprising effect – it looked like trees were floating in the dark.

The parks were bustling with many street food stalls out that night.

However, unlike chaotic festivals in big cities, there weren’t too many people and hence we were able to keep our own space and enjoy the beautiful light-ups in a relaxed environment. This must be a charm of quiet Kanazawa.

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This is Kanazawa Castle. The stone walls and sakura make us wanting to imagine what the life used to be back in the past.

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Can’t emphasize enough how beautiful sakura trees were.

This is a picture of sakura when the flowers just started blooming.

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There were many people ‘sakura-watching’ under the trees.

Drivers and cyclers who usually speed through the street slowed down on this particular day, unable to resist the beauty of sakura.

The scenery of Kanazawa is getting greener and greener everyday as the Sakura season comes to end.

Renovation Day 9(2)

Hi again, let’s take a look into the second floor.

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The ceilings are walls are all gone, exposing the window frame.

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Here we can view the beam. Beam speaks of its old history as well.

A wall shown below is quite rustic as well.

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So this is how the renovation started; we stripped off to view the structure.

We are making a baby step toward the opening of Shiro. Wonder how the construction begins.

Days pass by as we squeeze our brains to come up with a great interior design and finding the best furniture.

Shiro’s DM is coming up pretty soon!

Renovation Day 9

Though a little late, let us update about Shiro on the 9th day of the renovation (February 5th 2014).

Practically the first floor was stripped clean including the walls.

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Now we see a clay wall that was hidden behind the walls.

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Remember that handsome vault? We had to take it away sadly.

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They had a lot of trouble moving this heavy object. They ended up using a cart.

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So we got our hands dirty in a forbidden storage and encountered some great founds, including this:

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Can you guess what this it?

It’s so-called ‘air-raid hood’ if to translate directly from Japanese.

Like the name suggests, people used to protect their heads with this thin piece of cloth during the war. We found a helmet as well.

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And we found this unknown object made out of white ceramic tiles.

We wonder what it is…Was this used during the war as well? 

We also found old magazines from hundred years back that were published in Meiji, Taisho, and Showa period, some ceramics, a door knob.

There were some work-related things that may had been used by the prior owners.

We will introduce some other treasures we have found on some other occasion.

The corridor with three bathrooms and water sinks was stripped like this as well.

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It’s almost like a different space comparing to the picture taken below before the renovation.

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Of course the second floor.

I couldn’t believe my eyes how it changed so much.

We will catch up on that later.

 

The Renovation Started Today!

On January 28th, we are a step closer to the opening of Shiro with the renovation starting.

We rushed to see Shiro excited to see how Shiro looks…

Look!

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Unbelievably in just one day, the outlook has changed already!

This is Shiro just a day ago!Shiro Guesthouse

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The front space facing the road was deconstructed, exposing the indoor design.

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Before the renovation, I wondered why a random pillar stood near the window, but know we know that originally this pillar separated the indoor and outside.

It is so exciting to see the original faces of Shiro soon. 

I wonder how the carpenters who first built the house feel if they see the newly reborn Shiro after 115 years later.

How would they feel if they find out that the building will be hosting visitors not only from Japan but from all around the world?

Imagining that made us to sincerely thank the carpenters and those who took care of the house and pledge to make Shiro an amazing guesthouse.

I am so excited for how the renovation proceeds, I don’t mind coming in every single day.

 

Shiro Before Renovation (3)

 

This time we want to give you a peak of Shiro’s second floor before the renovation.

An open ceiling also seen from the first floor delivers a soft, calming light, spotlighting the rustic old pillars supporting the building.

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And this is where we plan to renovate into a visitor room.  There is a sunny veranda too.

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This is the view from the window side. The wall is painted in bright red. There may had been pictures hanged to match the color. shiro-nikai3

On a window in the deeper room remained a lovely flower patterned wall papaers and an old calender.

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Time has stopped here since an autumn in 1980.

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There was another picture pasted on a storage sliding door that reminds us of the old days.

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This is another room facing the streets. We plan to renovate this room as a beautiful visitor’s bedroom as well!

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Yes, it’s still far from completion, but the view from this room is just outstanding.

Opening the window you will see…

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The Kanazawa’s proud black gate greenery, which is known for a fantastic view of cherry blossoms in the spring.

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Thinking that we will be able to have a full view of fully blossomed sakura flowers from this room, our hearts pounce in excitement.

We can view the cherry blossoms from the first floor as well, so we hope to relax, sit back and enjoy a precious scenery from Shiro. If you have a chance, please join us.

There are also the Kanazawa castle, the Kenroku Garden and Oomi town fresh market nearby. We hope to find a perfect way to enjoy all seasons and bring up Shiro as sensing the flow of seasons together with our precious guests.