Shinsaku Museum Renovation
A creator shared a renovation diary about carefully restoring a 100+-year-old house called the 'Shinsaku Museum,' documenting delicate repairs and the unexpected role of cream buns as morale fuel. (x.com)
A Japanese drummer who calls himself a DIY novice has spent the past two years turning a 100-plus-year-old house into the “Shinsaku Museum,” posting each repair as a running renovation diary. (youtube.com) Shinsaku introduced the project on YouTube in July 2024 with a first walkthrough of the house, saying he found “numerous issues” during an inspection with a professional. By August 2024, he was already replacing foundation members and one structural pillar. (youtube.com, youtube.com) The work has expanded beyond cosmetic fixes. In one update, Shinsaku said the storehouse floor alone covered about 20 tatami mats, and in another he said a first-floor area measured 28 tatami mats after the original base and flooring were fully replaced. (youtube.com, youtube.com) The project has also become a studio build. Shinsaku said he decided the detached storehouse could be turned into a soundproof room for drums, with the first floor set aside as a studio and the second floor as his room. (youtube.com, youtube.com) That shift explains why later videos focus on layers viewers would not usually see in a before-and-after clip: absorbent wool in the ceiling, plasterboard, and a second inner wall built in front of the old one to keep sound from leaking outside. (youtube.com, youtube.com) As the series went on, the storehouse changed from a dark mud-walled space into something closer to a finished room. Shinsaku said he covered earthen walls with plywood, added framing for plasterboard, installed sash windows, and brightened the second floor enough that it “felt like a room” at last. (youtube.com, youtube.com) The renovation is still active in 2026. A short video posted within the past week showed Shinsaku replacing a steep ladder with an L-shaped staircase, while a recent long-form upload showed him finishing the storehouse ceiling with carpet tiles after considering plaster or wallpaper. (youtube.com, youtube.com) Across the series, Shinsaku keeps describing himself as an amateur builder and a working drummer in Japan’s visual kei scene, not a contractor. The appeal of the diary is that the museum is being built in public, one pillar, wall, ceiling panel, and improvised meal break at a time. (youtube.com, youtube.com)
