This site is prepared in English and Japanese with independent goals targeting different audiences. Therefore, the contents of each language are NOT a direct translation, but rather based on the direction below.
Japanese: Target audience is the Japan local consumers. The aim is to consolidate benefitial information on Home Theatre and Automation gathered from around the world. Hopefully, this will help in building better solutions resulting in a more active market.
English: Target audience is industry stakeholders from the rest of the world. The intent is to try to share the current market environment in Japan and identify needs for invigorating more market activity.
In the summer of year 2020, we decided to re-build our 50-year-old house. 3 years later, construction hasn't begun; scheduled completion is 2024 year end. This wasn't intentional, but it did allow more time to research the internet on the latest technologies from foreign markets. Several issues to cope with: 1) a lot of incorrect information, 2) topics that many experts do not agree upon, 3) biased information for sales purposes. Home theatre and acoustical information can be subjective, and therefore, visitors of this site must understand that he/she needs to be the final judge on these controversial topics.
It is no secret that Japan continues to be a closed and mysterious market, even for the locals. I sincerely hope that this site will contribute to kick start the needed "baby steps" in order to allow Japanese consumers to take advantage of what the rest of the world is already enjoying.
Designed by my father, the original house was built in 1973. It featured: 1) a large open concept living room with vaulted ceilings, and 2) an indoor garden. My father was a Landscape Architect, so it was natural for him to showcase plenty of plants, both indoor and outdoor. Some images can be found here.
After my mother passed away in 2019, my father followed in 2020. It was not an easy decision to re-build, but there were several issues: 1) the house does not meet the latest earthquake standards, leaving it vulnerable to the next big one, 2) changes in local laws forbid any renovation, 3) material, hardware were all outdated resulting in poor environmental control. Our goal was to implement the latest technology while maintaining the same design concept. Hopefully, when my parents look at the new house from heaven, they won't be able to tell the difference.
Finding the ideal contractor is clearly the most important step for any house project. However, finding this partner may be comparable to discovering a microscopic needle in a gigantic haystack, so perserverance is key. A Woodcrafter in Izu once told me "A good contractor will attract good sub-contractors". Conversely, bad contractors will collect bad sub-contractors. Due to a failed attempt, I have had the unique experience of working with both.
Horror stories of contractors are all over the internet, with most of the issues being budget related. My case was no exception, and the countless failures, ignored requests, project/budget management was horrendous. My advise: never sacrifice your standards to save time.
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After spending 18 months with the first contractor, we had to start from scratch, which is easier said than done. Again, we kept our standards high, exercised patience, and ignored all third party opinions. Eventually, we finally found the right partner who was able to produce a design that cleared all our requests. The real adventure is about to begin.
Utility costs continue to increase in Japan. The government continues to offer subsidies for solar panels, EVs, etc. Nevertheless, according to wikipedia (based on 2021 data issued by the International Renewable Energy Agency), Japan ranked 120th out of 224 countries listed with 21.1% renewable energy usage compared to the global average of 28.1%. Aside from the latest technologies, I strongly believe in being energy efficient without sacrificing convenience, paying attention to details.
Another important consideration for Japan is disaster recovery (earthquakes, typhoons). To address this, we recently purchased a Nissan Aria that carries a 91kWh battery, which will be connected through a Vehicle-To-Home system. This will work as our back-up energy in case the grid goes down.
Control: Home Assistant is an open-source system that has become popular in the U.S. and Europe. It's strength lies in the customizations (integrations), flexibility/adaptability, and the strong user community. Included is the Node-Red software, which is also gaining popularity. Although there is a Japanese language interface, local user population appears to be low but growing. Two challenges: 1) the home automation market in Japan is still in its infancy, 2) integrations for Home Assistant with Japanese manufacturers is not readily available.
Devices: Automation device manufacturers continue to produce advanced products at a rapid rate. Unfortunately, this has not been reflected in the Japanese market, most likely due to the relatively small market size.
The two focus areas for our new house are: 1) kitchen, and 2) home theatre. While there are plenty of custom kitchen makers in Tokyo, there are fewer home theatre installers with limited purchasing options for equipment. Again, the market has not grown like the U.S. (yet).
Avoiding details, the most important reference (for me) has been a book written by Floyd Toole called "Sound Reproduction". The reader will be able to distinguish corrrect information on the internet vs "folklore" (quoting Dr Toole). It is not an easy read, but definetly recommended.
Hisakata Naito (Hisa): Born 1965, graduated the Hotchkiss School in '83, Graduated International Christian University in '87. Worked for Buffet Crampon Japan, Nokia Networks, and Amazon Japan as a Procurement Manager.
