Sustainable Travel Japan

Azby Brown always has wonderful insights on Japan house designs old and new and the connections to history, culture and good craftmanship

https://azbybrown.com/about/

Catching up with no-till farmer Thomas Kloepfer who runs Pitchfork Farms on Mukaishima island in Hiroshima, Japan. Thomas was inspired by Fukuoka-sensei to try no-till farming techniques in Japan and now balances farming with animals and various climate-change resilient crops on a sunny hillside in central Japan. Website https://www.pitchforkfarms.jp/about-3

Chuck Kayser has been taking over abandoned farmland in rural Kyoto and Shiga Japan to create vegetable farms and do community workshops to raise awareness of the why and how of organic, natural farming and self-sufficiency. #sustainable #living #organic #farming #japan Chuck Kayser Website for Midori Farm Kyoto https://www.midorifarmkyoto.com/

Watch all the talks with Organic Farmers in Japan on this Seek Sustainable Japan YouTube Playlist here:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcyYXjRuE20GajKYIPFOfVexBBeLTXFHk&si=yhnTqYaHBc9uN8J_

As a part of this year's MINKA SUMMIT event at the end of April 2026, we had the wonderful opportunity to tour keynote speaker Jeff Berglund's fabulous riverside MACHIYA in Kyoto along the famous KAMO river.

Jeff shared so many fascinating stories of design, history and culture.

Jeff's Website: http://www.jeff-kyoto.com/

See the images from the house tour by watching the video version of this tour on YouTube: https://youtu.be/EXRVcgVcfEc?si=oLq_KdOFkl46A2w6

#renovation #traditional #japanesehouse #machiya #minka #kominka #minkasummit #housetour #kyoto

Chuck Kayser shares his insights from trial and errors of organic farming in the Kyoto and Shiga area of Japan to an audience of Minka traditional house and rural living enthusiasts from across Japan and even some from abroad.

Chuck Kayser at Midori Farm

https://www.midorifarmkyoto.com/

Clips from a talk by Professor Iain Davey who teaches Sustainable Development strategies in a Kyoto University and who is based in Shiga Japan.

For over the last 30 years Iain Davey has been renovating old houses, taking over abandoned farmland, converting his car to run on waste oil and so many other wonderful strategies to reduce his environmental impact. This also saves him money and most importantly helps him live his life in the way he wants to, closer to his community and nature.

#minkasummit #sustainable #strategy #japan #sustainaleliving

Originally from London, UK- Emily Smith has been living in rural Nara with her partner and enjoying the slow life, building a lovely homebase with collaborations in the community while she documents the 72 microseasons and goes foraging in the forest with her 2 rescue dogs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji_1hilqG9Y

LINKS

https://www.instagram.com/down2forage/ https://www.youtube.com/@down2forage NHK feature of Emily and her partner Felix in 2025 - WHERE WE CALL HOME https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/shows/2087146/

Tiffany Rossdale is a long-time international resident who has worked in the entertainment industry but is now more involved with social impact projects and businesses in Japan.

In this talk, we explore some of Tiffany's latest projects talking about LGBTQ+ issues with universities and for WeExist film events, suggest being accepted by her professional name by LINKEDIN, helping to support homeless in Tokyo, make more inclusive travel for LGBTQ+ travelers in Japan and insights from her podcast BREAKFAST WITH TIFFANY.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffanyrossdale/ https://www.instagram.com/tiffanyrossdaleofficial/

The 2026 Minka Summit in Hanase village, Kyoto - a community gathering of people from across Japan who love traditional Japanese houses, rural living, renovations, traditional crafts and cultural preservation.

Join us for a day or for the entire 3 days - looking forward to seeing you there! https://kominkajapan.online/events/