Minka Summit 2024
Friday 19th - Sunday 21st April
Kominka Japan is delighted to announce that Minka Summit 2024 will return to Hanase, Kyoto, from April 19 – 21, 2024!
Minka Summit 2024, our third such event, will be bigger and better than ever! You'll not want to miss our speaker presentations and workshops, panel discussions, Minka Tours, Minka Mall, Friday Night Meet & Greet and Saturday Night Dinner & Keynote Speech!
Meet like-minded foreign residents and Japanese restoring and renovating minka across Japan, as well as those in search of their dream forever home! Learn traditional methods and modern DIY skills! Engage with experienced owners and akiya specialists!
We will be regularly updating information about the event, including directions to the event and news about speakers, Minka Mall booths, and nearby accommodations, on the Kominka Japan website (kominkajapan.org) and on the Kominka Japan Facebook page. If you have specific questions, please write to us at stuart4th@yahoo.com.
By popular demand, Minka Summit 2024 will be held once again at Sanson Tori Koryu no Mori, a one-hour drive from downtown Kyoto City, in the minka-dotted mountains to the north. Google Maps location is 6Q9J+XM Kyoto, Japan. The event will be offered in both English and Japanese, with language support offered in both languages.
Buy your 3-Day Admission Pass now through January 15, 2024 and receive a 15% discount!
Please note that tickets for the Saturday Night Dinner & Keynote Speech (by esteemed scholar Azby Brown) is a separate charge should you wish to attend. This event will likely sell out, so we encourage you to buy your ticket online as soon as possible.
The Friday Night Meet-and-Greet is also a separate ticket this year, but will likely not sell out, and tickets for that event will be available at the door.
We're enhancing and upgrading Minka Summit in many areas, and will be offering a few new and exciting events -- you'll not want to miss it!
Minka Summit 2024 Keynote Speaker
Azby Brown
We are delighted to announce that Azby Brown will be the Keynote Speaker at Minka Summit 2024.
Originally from New Orleans, Azby Brown has lived in Japan since 1985. A widely published author and authority on Japanese architecture, design, and environment, his groundbreaking writings on traditional Japanese carpentry, compact housing, and traditional sustainable practices of Japan have brought these fields to the awareness of Western designers and the public.
In addition to his seminal The Genius of Japanese Carpentry, he has written Small Spaces (1993), The Japanese Dream House (2001), The Very Small Home (2005), and Just Enough: Lessons in Living Green from Traditional Japan (2010). He retired in 2017 from the Kanazawa Institute of Technology, where he founded the Future Design Institute, and is currently on the sculpture faculty of Musashino Art University and the architecture faculty of Japan Women’s University, both in Tokyo.
Kominka Japan and the Minka Summit 2024 team is thrilled to have Azby Brown delivering next year’s Keynote. As with past Keynote speeches – by Alex Kerr in 2022 and Yoshihiro Takishita in 2023 – this is an event you won’t want to miss!
Where to stay
A PDF with detailed information about places to stay is available to download.
Download the accommodation PDF
Getting to the Summit by car
If you’re inexperienced driving mountain roads, from Kyoto City we recommend using Route 162 as your major northbound part of the drive, which connects with Route 477 in Shuzan, Keihoku, Ukyo Ward, going east toward Hanase, the village where Minka Summit 2022 will be. Both the 162 and 477 are major roads presenting no driving difficulties. Once you reach the village, you’ll continue north on Route 38 for the last couple kilometers. That stretch widens and narrows abruptly in several places, so you will want to be careful for that part of the drive (looking in mirrors, being prepared to yield to oncoming traffic, etc.)
Here are the recommended routes, depending upon your starting point:
From Central Kyoto: Medium difficulty, but most direct:
An easy route, but about 30 minutes longer:
From Western Kyoto:
From Osaka:
From Kobe:
From Kanazawa:
From Tokyo:
Regardless of your point of origin, the main thing to AVOID is Route 477 between Ohara and Hanase, which takes you through a tiny village called Momoi. Google Maps often recommended this route, but it is a mountain road you’ll want to skip at all costs!
Things to remember when driving in rural northern Kyoto Prefecture, particularly mountain roads:
Take your time getting here; we’re not going anywhere
Try to keep your eyes focused as far down the road as you can see. That will allow you more time to react to vehicles coming from the opposite direction when the road narrows
Road mirrors are your friends. Use them to check for oncoming traffic, especially around sharp curves
Watch out for narrow canals at the side of the road. Believe me, you don’t want one of your wheels stuck in those!
When the road narrows, be prepared to yield to oncoming traffic; keep an eye out for turn-offs!
I think you’ll find getting here is relatively easy and certainly not frightening if you follow the directions above. Mountain roads are different but not all that daunting and you’ll quickly get used to them as we did!
Getting to the Summit by bus from Kyoto
It is possible to go to and from the Minka summit by the #32 local bus from Kyoto’s Demachiyanagi Train Station’s bus terminal.
The trip takes about 90 minutes, and the cost is 920 yen one way.
Get off the bus at Hanase Resort Park (Hanase Koryu No Mori / 花背リゾート-山村都市交流の森)
Demachiyanagi Station is accessible from these two train lines:
Eizan Electric Railway Co., Ltd.
Keihan Electric Railway Co., Ltd.
There are two buses on weekdays from Demachiyanagi Station:
7:20 am
15:10 pm
There are two buses on weekends from Demachiyanagi Station:
7:50 am
15:10 pm
There are two buses on weekdays from Hanase Koryu No Mori to Demachiyanagi Station:
10:00 am
17:54 pm
There are two buses on weekends from Hanase Koryu No Mori to Demachiyanagi Station:
11:04 am
17:54 pm
Watch this space!
We will be sharing information about presentations, DIY demonstrations & workshops, Minka Mall booths, as well as exciting news about the Meet & Greet and Keynote Dinners, Minka Tours, food vendors, and more!
We thank our corporate sponsors for their very generous support of Minka Summit 2024!