In the village of Kiyomi, there's a woodcrafting company named Oak Village. This company was established in 1974 and created almost anything out of wood, from as small as keychains and children's toys, to as large as homes and office buildings.
The Oak Village stand by 3 principles:
Craftsmanship with a 100-year guarantee "We strive to create products that will last at least as many years as the age of the trees used in those products. It is our way of paying respect to the forests from which we receive great resources, and in the meanwhile, we can plant and nurture trees to grow new forests."
From Bowls to Buildings "Using solid wood (as opposed to plywood or veneer), we use different parts of a given tree for different purposes. We create a wide range of wooden products, ranging from small articles like accessories and tableware, to larger items like furniture, and we also specialize in wooden architecture. Through our products we hope to support the needs of a sustainable lifestyle."
One Acorn for Every Child "If we take one tree from a forest, we must give one back. Out of this belief, we created a sister NPO, Donguri no Kai (Acorn Club), which plants and nurtures tree saplings, and maintain healthy forests in various places in Japan. We hope to create a sustainable cycle of resource usage and renewal."
This year they're celebrating their 40th anniversary. The Oak Village began with five men working on wood-crafts in a barn. They continued to make high quality products. That became their hallmark, and gave them success. The products they created were born out of the 1000year woodcrafting tradition of Kiyomi with modern advancements of treating woods, and modern styles, as well. Everything created in the Oak Village is 100% natural, and 100% made from resources of Japan.
It's located a few kilometers west of the Takayama Nishi highway exit, and in the middle of the woods they craft and carve into usable and useful items. Just follow the numerous signs. The only building open to the public is on your right side. This building essentially has four areas.
When you approach the entrance, on your left, there's a cafe. They sell plenty of coffee, and some treats. There's plenty of locally produced Kiyomi goods, too. On most weekends, they'll provide live music.
On your right is the gift shop. Here you will find the smallest items crafted at Oak Village. Some keychains, goblets, eye glass cases, business card cases, picture frames, children's toys, and so forth.
Most of these things are pretty expensive. Many of the small items range between 3000円 ($30) and 10000円 ($100).
Through the gift shop, you can proceed downstairs, and view their larger items. In the room underneath the gift shop, there are cabinets, tables, and chairs or various sizes.
Some of the smallest chairs and cabinets cost 4万円 ($400), but when buying some of the larger sets together, they can cost 40万円 ($4000).
Then, finally, past the furniture showroom, you can find the "reform" gallery, and oak village museum.
On the wall, they show off their best works, which include houses built from scratch. Models are shown along with photos illustrating their designs and handiwork with the woods they're so comfortable with. On the opposite side of the room, the show the type of woods used, and their process for building such sturdy and beautiful structures.
I think you could probably imagine how much any of these kinds of products would cost.
The reason I came to the Oak Village on this day was to purchase a business card holder for my newly printed cards. I bought a beautiful cherry finished and lacquered case that cost 7500円 ($75). Quite expensive, but it looks really nice. :)
In addition, I bought a book, too. The book contains 15 oak hearts, which are basically wood samples from all the species of tree they use in their products. You can feel and smell each wood. It comes with another book that shows a photo of the grown tree, and explains its history and use.
They gave me some more brochures and catalogues, too, that showcase their most recent furniture creations. They gave me a copy of their quarterly magazine, too, which features articles of their past and current architectural plans.
Feel free to take a look at their website: http://oakv.co.jp/. Anything available at their Kiyomi location, is available online, too. I don't know about shipping though.