The Flood, the Fix, and the Free Floor: Mayer's Ski Rental in Tenjin, Otaru
Mayer's renovation started with a burst pipe and a flooded ground floor. Here's how a disaster became a free new floor, a fired contractor became a better one, and a dated Otaru house became a Japandi ski rental — in a neighborhood the Shinkansen is coming to.
The Phone Call Nobody Wants
Three days into the new year's plumbing work, a contractor left a water line on. Mayer's ground floor flooded for twelve hours. The message he got from Nick opened with “good news and bad news” — the bad news was the flood, the good news was that the contractor had taken full responsibility, and the entire downstairs floor was being replaced for free.
Then YukiHomes fired that contractor anyway. Three replacement candidates were interviewed, a clear winner emerged — more experienced and more affordable — and Nick and Derek personally guaranteed to cover any shortfall in the transition. Mayer's response to the whole episode: “Thanks — appreciate you letting me know.” That's what radical transparency buys.
The Expected Unexpected
Mid-renovation, the crew found what no inspection could have seen: a hidden roof leak and mold tucked under the flooring and behind wallpaper. Roughly $11.5K to fix the roof and boiler — quoted, translated, and passed through with zero YukiHomes markup. A city renovation subsidy was evaluated and rejected when the math came out net-negative. The punch list grew; the trust didn't shrink.
The Build
The real build kicked off March 4. Eleven weeks later the house was done: new kitchen with a bar and an induction cooktop (chosen to make fire licensing easier), a full wet-room bath, new windows, doors, roof, and boiler — with the upstairs floors polished instead of replaced to save money. Interior designer Hana Matsunaga dressed it in Japandi, down to the black-finish fridge. Mayer's contribution: the 65-inch OLED. “I don't mess around when it comes to cinema.”
“Looking clean ✨ Can't wait to get it furnished.” — Mayer
Why Tenjin
Otaru's Tenjin neighborhood sits on the route of the Hokkaido Shinkansen extension to Sapporo — the bullet train is slated to arrive around 2038, with the new station minutes away. Buy a ski-town house at Otaru prices today; own bullet-train-adjacent property tomorrow. That's the bet.
What's Next
Mayer went the ryokan route — up to 365 rental days a year instead of minpaku's 180 cap. Fire inspection: passed. License paperwork: submitted, awaiting the municipal stamp. The plan is to be listed ahead of the winter push, with YukiHomes handling management, cleaning, linens, and the guest guide (which Mayer personally copyedited — and yes, he caught our typos). His first year of tax and utility management: on the house. As Mayer puts it, he's ready to “see some green on the balance sheets.”
