日本語
"Riverside" has had a long and varied existence.
Originally a warehouse, the buildings were converted in the mid-1990s into Honshu's first rafting company called "Great Outdoors". At that time the main building operated as a pool hall, bar and cafe.
It was on a rafting trip that Jenni and Jon first saw the site and immediately recognised the uniqueness of the location. Some years later they were able to acquire the site from where they immediately shut down commercial operations and commenced and extensive refurbishment that effectively rebuilt 99% of the facilities while retaining much of Riverside's heritage.
Why go to so much trouble?
The location is unique. Today, buildings must be set back at least 20m from the river; conversely by "refurbishing" the existing structure Riverside is located only a few metres from one of Japan's last unspoilt-by-concrete rivers.
Indeed, so close is the water's edge that you look down on wild Koi carp and ducks from the verandas.
Added to this, Riverside is only 1,400m from a bullet train station which is conveniently located on the other side of a hill so is out of sight and out of mind.
Equally, a major shopping centre, hospitals, schools and onsen are located within a few minutes drive yet Riverside, as the only house on a no-through road enjoys an ambiance of rural isolation making it perhaps the most accessible yet tranquil place in Japan.
Special Thanks.
We are indebted to the many friends who, from building rock walls to building vegetable gardens, from demolishing the old structures to insulating the cellar, have contributed to Riverside. While too many to list, to all we give our thanks. Of these, a mention in dispatches goes to:
Mike Burke, Master Builder
A phenomenal talent and a great guy with which to work. Mike painstakingly brought to life the character and ambiance of Riverside. Nothing was too much trouble: from designing the kitchen around a 1-tonne commercial stove to handcrafting the unique bartop.
You can see more of this work at http://www.aorakiventurecorp.com/
Kevin Ing, Webmaster
Kevin brought this site together thus bringing Riverside to the world. You can see more of his work at http://outpact.com/
Reiko Watanuki, Enthusiast
Lent a hand with a thousand little things. Without Reiko's support, we may still be tidying up paperwork instead of enjoying the tranquillity.
Yoshiko Suzuki, Allround supporter
Gave a hand with things from crawling through small spaces in the ceiling to run wiring to translating this homepage.
Gillian Ryan, Muralist
In the middle of the winter, when all is white outside, Gill's rainforest mural brings colour to your day. Taking two months to create layer-by-layer, it has hidden within trees and steams 42 animals: the turtle is easy to spot, the koala is notoriously difficult.
Alon Slabodnik, Vector graphics
Alon tirelessly turned a photo of Riverside into the vector graphic you see on the splash page. If you like his work, you can contact him at alon.slabodnik@gmail.com
Elvin Zoet, Gardening advisor
Elvin provided the inspiration (and a hand with the manual labour) to create the vegetable gardens. There are few things as good as a refreshing as a home grown, fresh organic salad on a hot summer's day.
Marc Morgenrood, Arborist
Riverside is surrounded by old fruit and nut trees -- walnut, pistachio, plum, mulberry & more. These got little attention for many years. While a work-in-progress, with bonsai level of care Marc is re-shaping and re-vitalising each of them.