A home can be said to be one of the biggest purchases in life. Many people likely have non-negotiable preferences when it comes to building their homes.
Kuramoku Homes Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Kuramoku Homes") located in Nakajima, Kurashiki City, is a construction company that specializes in fully custom-built homes.
Not only that, but they also handle “Passive House,” which is considered the world's highest performance housing. While there are many construction companies in Japan, it seems that only a limited number can build Passive Houses.
What exactly is the appeal of Kuramoku Homes, which is committed to high-performance home building?
We spoke with a young employee at Kuramoku Homes, Akaida Reiji, about the company's charm and the fulfillment of his work.
About Kuramoku Homes Co., Ltd.
Kuramoku Homes Co., Ltd. is a construction company that conducts new construction and renovation mainly in Kurashiki City, Okayama, and Hiroshima.
Founded in 1907 (Meiji 40), Kurashiki Lumber Co., Ltd. has long been active as a housing division, and Kuramoku Homes was established in 2023 through a corporate split.
Utilizing the know-how of a long-established lumber company, they engage in building wooden homes with high airtightness and high thermal insulation that enrich people's lives.
What is the world-class high-performance housing "Passive House" created by Kuramoku Homes?
The biggest feature of Kuramoku Homes is that they can build "Passive Houses" that meet the world's highest energy-saving standards.
Passive Houses, built using wood and insulation materials suited to the local climate, as well as high-performance windows and ventilation systems, can effectively utilize solar gain, allowing for comfortable living in winter and coolness in summer.
Kuramoku Homes has a Passive House Consultant with international qualifications. There are only a few in Japan, and it seems that in Okayama Prefecture, Kuramoku Homes is the only company with such a valuable presence.
Of course, not all customers build Passive Houses, but the ability to create high-performance homes at the level of Passive Houses is also a strength of Kuramoku Homes.
In the past, they have received the Eco House Award for Excellence and were the first in Okayama Prefecture to be certified as a long-term excellent housing by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
Reiji Akaida, who proposes comfortable home building
The person who agreed to this interview is Reiji Akaida, who works in sales at Kuramoku Homes. Born in 2003, he is from Wake-cho, Wake-gun, Okayama Prefecture.
Reiji has loved making things since he was a child, and he became interested in architecture in the second year of junior high school. He participated in a workshop held by an acquaintance who is a first-class architect, where he designed a floor plan and created a model of a building, which became the impetus for him to pursue a career in architecture.
After graduating from junior high school, he entered Okayama Prefectural Okayama Technical High School's architecture department, and then went on to a specialized school in architecture, joining Kuramoku Homes as a new graduate in 2024.
Regarding the fun of architecture, Reiji said, "Architecture is a form of making things that can be designed freely. The joy of seeing my envisioned shape become the foundation of someone's life and enrich their living is what I find enjoyable."
About Reiji's job
Reiji's main job is public relations activities and sales of new homes.
In public relations, he mainly disseminates information about events such as open houses on Instagram, YouTube, and the website. He is also responsible for creating images used in public relations and accompanying photographers with whom they have partnerships.
Reiji's sales work started in April 2025, his second year after joining the company.
This is because in his first year, he accompanied site supervisors to learn the basics of Kuramoku Homes' home building. He has been involved in actual home building while assisting craftsmen and carpenters at various sites.
After a year of on-site training, he finally started his sales job. Reiji is responsible for conveying the charm of Kuramoku Homes' home building to customers, proposing new home designs, and finalizing contracts.
Currently, he is learning sales know-how by accompanying seniors while working on CAD drawings, contract documents, and estimates.
The CAD drawings he creates are checked by his seniors, and Reiji said, "I feel very happy when I receive approval without any corrections."
Encounter with Kuramoku Homes
Reiji, who has loved making things and has been aiming for the construction industry since childhood, encountered a construction company he was interested in during his job search, but they were not hiring new graduates.
However, the construction company introduced him to Kuramoku Homes. Reiji did not expect to be referred to a competing company through a connection.
Later, he learned that Kuramoku Homes was a company that builds high-performance homes, and he participated in an information session and open house during the sweaty late summer. At this point, he still did not know about the existence of Passive Houses.
Then, the moment he stepped into a Passive House during the open house, he was shocked by the coolness that felt unlike a summer indoor environment.
Experiencing that comfort firsthand, Reiji thought, "I want to create a house like this too!" He was also attracted by the warm atmosphere of the employees and decided to join Kuramoku Homes.
What is the charm of Kuramoku Homes from Reiji's perspective?
Reiji believes the charm of Kuramoku Homes is "the high ambition to create high-quality homes."
Even now, they are building sufficiently high-performance homes, but they are striving for further quality improvement through various initiatives such as training and meetings within the company.
During the weekly sales meetings, employees actively share opinions such as "How about incorporating this design?" and "If we use this material, won't the performance improve even more?", making efforts to provide better living conditions. They sometimes invite external instructors as well.
Additionally, training and study sessions are frequently held, providing numerous learning opportunities at Kuramoku Homes, such as participating in Panasonic training sessions to learn about equipment and visiting high-performance homes in Awaji Island.
When asked by Reiji, "It's a strict environment for learning, isn't it?" he replied with a smile, "There is so much to study that I'm struggling to keep up, but I feel fulfilled working in this environment, including all of this."
Having joined Kuramoku Homes, Reiji is entering his second year in 2025. We interviewed him about the enjoyment of his current job and the memories of the struggles he faced in his first year, sharing episodes unique to young employees.
Data on Kuramoku Homes Co., Ltd.
| Organization Name | Kuramoku Homes Co., Ltd. |
|---|---|
| Industry | Design and construction of high airtightness and high thermal insulation homes, renovation, real estate brokerage, etc. |
| Representative Name | Miyake Hiroshi |
| Year Established | 2023 |
| Address | 999-1 Nakajima, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Contact | 086-465-7700 |
| Website | Kuramoku Homes Website |
