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New construction house in Mabori Kaigan (Part 1)

~Enchanted by a chic appearance~

Hello! I'm Nono! 😍

I am participating in a new construction project for the first time!

We are building a detached house for future rental by U.S. military-related customers in the 1-Chome area of Yokosuka City's suburb called: Mabori Kaigan! 🌟

After demolishing the existing building, new construction will begin.

To demolish a building, a preliminary survey and application process must be done with the city government.

A contractor investigated whether asbestos, which is harmful to the human body if inhaled, was originally used in the old house.  Happily, the inspection revealed that the building did not contain any asbestos.

Demolition of the existing old house began in late July,

The structure was cleared away quickly, in a little over a week.

In the process of being demolished

The land plot was cleared in less than two weeks.

Demolition and removal were finished in no time!

When I looked at the land plot when the old house was there, and then after the demolition was finished, I felt that the area was extremely spacious because the building was gone.

At a pre-construction planning meeting, we went over the architectural and floor plan drawings in detail.

Items which were reviewed included: location and number of electrical outlets, positioning of electrical switches, orientation of storage areas and doors, number of steps up to the front door, type and location of windows, placement of air conditioners, details of plumbing installations, etc.

We also decided on colors for the exterior and interior walls!

I was surprised to learn from participating in the meeting for the first time that details of the house, which most people are not usually aware of, are so carefully thought out by the planners and creators.

There were many technical terms and numbers that I could not follow, but I took notes.  I will try not to miss any words I didn't understand, and learn their meanings, etc. -- so that I will know what they mean the next time I hear them or am asked to do something.

The "Ji-chin-sai" ground-breaking ceremony was held on a peaceful day in late September in preparation for the start of construction in October!

The Ji-chin-sai is a traditional Japanese ceremony in which, before construction work is started, the property owner family asks the deity who protects the land for permission to use it and invites a Shinto priest to pray for the safety of the construction work.

The ceremony began with a purification rite called "shu-batsu", where the Shinto priest waved a sacred branch from side-to-side to purify the participants and altar offerings.  It was followed by a "ji-chin-no-gi", in which the owner, builder, and designer used shovels or hoes to dig-into a small pile of sand which had been prepared near the altar.  The ceremony then ended with a "nao-rai", where participants made a toast with sake.

I myself had seen a traditional ground-breaking ceremony taking place before, but this was the first time I had actually participated in one.

It was interesting to see the movements of the Shinto priest as he prayed.

It was a special and meaningful event that I would not normally have experienced!

I hope the building construction will be completed safely!

We will be updating our company's staff blog with the progress of the new Mabori Kaigan house's construction and would be happy if you could take a look!

Our company has a wealth of information on land suitable for lease to U.S. military-related customers, and we can offer building construction plans and financial plans to our clients based on their budgets and other factors.

We can assist you in stable real estate management, by condensing our know-how to the maximum extent possible, in concert with house builders, construction companies, and other contractors with whom we have business experience, according to your needs.

Please feel free to contact us.

Written by Goodfield