Take Your Time: Arayashiki

アラヤシキの住人たち

This documentary was filmed at Maki, a small commune at the foot of Japan’s Northern Alps in Nagano Prefecture. Maki is deep in the mountains, inaccessible to vehicles. The residents have to walk a narrow mountain path for 90 minutes to get in or out. Various kinds of people with varying mental and physical problems live alongside their healthy fellows in a grand two storied thatched house. They eke out a living by growing their own food and bartering for essential items.