I didn't want my family's old house in Japan to sit empty - so I turned it into a cafe

"I grew up visiting this house. It originally belonged to my grandfather's older sister, and whenever I traveled down from Iwate, the northern prefecture in Japan where I grew up, this was where the family gathered. Later, I worked as a rehabilitation consultant at hospitals in Osaka and Yokohama. I moved, but this place was always in the back of my mind."

"The original 85-year-old tatami is still intact, and the main beam and post structure remain. The shoji paper screen doors are intentionally torn, encouraging kids to poke their fingers through them - some adults can't resist, too. The mud walls used to be darker; painting them white brightened the atmosphere a bit, but overall, we kept things close to the original bones."

Aoi Onodera grew up visiting his great aunt's house, which originally belonged to his grandfather's older sister and served as the family gathering place when he traveled from Iwate. He later worked as a rehabilitation consultant in Osaka and Yokohama, and the house remained in his thoughts after his great aunt died and it became technically empty. Determined not to let the 1940s house become an akiya, he and his sister renovated it into a café while preserving original elements. The 85-year-old tatami, main beam and post structure remain; shoji doors are intentionally torn; mud walls were lightened with white paint; a counter was added. He has run the café for almost four years, with weekdays drawing mostly local customers.

Read at Business Insider