海から山へと
心が傾いた理由。

あなたは都会派？海派？山派？それとも──。

Oさん夫妻の住まいは恵比寿と代官山の間。職場にも近く、食事に誘われればすぐ出向く。そんなライフを満喫していた一方、マンションは１階で、自由に窓を開けることさえままならず、どこか息苦しさを感じていた。

そんなふたりのネクストステップが、逗子に別荘を持つこと。購入したオーシャンビューのマンションは抜けもよく、週末ごとに訪れた。ところが2～3年経った時、ふと気づいた。「そういえば一度も泳いでないよね」と。土曜の夕方に着いて外食し、1泊して戻る。1時間で行ける近さゆえの「東京を切り離しきれない感」があった。とくに自然を近くに感じていたわけでもなく、犬連れでビーチに散歩へ行く程度。それも「夏は砂浜が熱くなるので犬によくない」と聞いてから、余計に足が遠のいた。海はそこにあるのに。

「やっぱり山じゃない？」次第に心が傾いたのは、齢を重ねたふたり（と1匹）にとって自然な選択だった。親友が持つ軽井沢の別荘に行くようになってから、より思いは募った。

最初はマンションを探していた。今のライフスタイルだと「自分で建てる」なんて、現実離れしていたから。家＝家族、別荘＝豪邸のイメージが強かったのだろう。ただモリノイエと出会って話すうち、いろんな選択肢があることが分かってきた。狭くてもいい（逆に使わない部屋があると物置になってしまう）、床暖房もなくていい（すると薪ストーブで部屋をあたためる過程を楽しめる）、シャンデリアなんて付けなくてもいい（そもそも誰が決めたのだろう）。そうしてもとあった価値観を手放すうち、むしろ自分たちらしい家ができあがった。

軽井沢で長く過ごすようになり、最も変わったのは食事の時間だ。もともと夫はすこぶる早食いだった。めまぐるしい日々、常に仕事が延長線上にある生活ゆえに身に付いた術。それが、ここにいると時間をかけて食事をすることを知った。新鮮な野菜で簡単なサラダを作り、明るいうちからワインを片手にテラスに座り、外を眺めたり、他愛のない会話をしたり、庭いじりをした。突っ走ってきた人生の、立ち止まった瞬間だった。

Why their minds turned from the sea to the mountains.

Are you an urbanite? A sea person? Or a mountain person?

Mr. and Mrs. Ohara live between Ebisu and Daikanyama, in the heart of Tokyo. This put them close to their workplaces, and they can go out to eat right away when invited. While enjoying their life there, they do feel somewhat suffocated. They cannot even open the windows freely as their apartment is on the first floor.

The next step for the couple was to have a vacation home in Zushi.They purchased an ocean-view condo in Zushi that allows plenty of sunlight to shine in, and they visited every weekend. A few years later, they suddenly realized that they had never been swimming. They would arrive on Saturday evening, eat out, stay overnight, and return to Tokyo. Its closeness, being able to get there in an hour, gave them the feeling of not being able to completely separate themselves from Tokyo. Nor did they feel particularly close to nature. About the only thing they did was go for walks on the beach with their dog. Although the ocean was right there, they went down to the beach less often after hearing that the sand gets too hot for dogs in the summer.

As the couple (and their dog) grew older, it became the natural choice for them to have their minds turn gradually towards preferring mountains. The desire grew stronger when they started visiting a close friend’s vacation home in Karuizawa.

Initially, they were looking for a condominium. With their current lifestyle, building it themselves was unrealistic. They probably had the strong image of “house = family” and “holiday home = mansion”. But as they met and talked with morinoie, they realized that there are many options.

It doesn't matter if the house is small (and any unused rooms would just become storage space). They don't have to have underfloor heating (so they can enjoy the steps of heating the room with a wood stove). They don’t need to install a chandelier (who decided a chandelier was necessary in the first place?). As they let go of their original values, a house that was suited more to them took shape.

What changed the most since they started spending extended periods of time in Karuizawa is mealtimes. The husband used to be a very fast eater. It was a skill that he acquired due to his fast-paced life, in which work was always an extension of his life. However, when staying here, he takes time to eat. He makes simple salads with fresh vegetables, sits on the terrace with a glass of wine in hand while it’s still light, admires the scenery, engages in chit-chat, or tinkers in the garden. These are moments to pause in a life that he had been rushing through.