A Touch of Zen Guesthouse

My wife, Wendy, and I now have responsibility for a fascinating piece of history - a 90+ year-old home originally built for a Japanese naval officer during the Japanese colonial period, that we have leased from the Kaohsiung city government in order to turn into a guesthouse. The building features original rafters made from whole hinoki cyprus logs, raised hinoki wood floors, with an intact, hinoki-lined tokonoma, or place of honor, where a particularly prized painting, bonsai, or family heirloom would have been displayed. The house had further additions made in the 1950s-60s, so it also reflects the architectural and decorative influence of the early KMT era on Taiwan. It is a fascinating building with a rich legacy, which unfortunately has until now been abandoned and left to rot.

As we looked at how to go about renovating this building to turn it into a beautiful, comfortable place of rest that also honors its own history, it became clear to us that we were a few thousand dollars short of the amount needed to renovate without cutting corners, and we really want the renovation to be authentic and true to the history of this lovely home. Please consider donating to make it possible for us to do an authentic, fully-realized restoration.

We will update this site periodically with progress reports as the renovation moves forward, so feel free to check back in every now and then.

Should you venture to Kaohsiung after our restoration is completed, donations above $25 USD will be rewarded with a free afternoon tea for two, and donations above $60 US will be rewarded with afternoon tea plus an overnight stay in an authentic Japanese tatami-style room. Here are our thank you gifts for different levels of contribution (all levels also receive the gifts from all lower levels):

$10 or above: A write up of a story of the history of the building and a blow-by-blow telling of the process we went through to renovate it, with many photos, emailed to you as a PDF.
$25 or above: A complimentary afternoon tea for two in our lounge.
$40 or above: A Touch of Zen T-shirt (design to be unveiled soon) shipped anywhere in the world.
$60 or above: A complimentary night for 2 in  tatami-style room.
$80 or above: All of the above, plus a guided half-day English-language walking tour of nearby sights including the Military Houses Museum, Navy History Museum, an artist's studio, the Lotus Pond, Confucian Temple, and orientation to several well-regarded local restaurants.