The most welcome visitor to the Suzuki house is, quite possibly . . . rain. The three-story building on a hillside in Asaka, southern Saitama Prefecture, is like a theater designed for the enjoyment of performances by that most versatile player from the sky, as it dances and sings and soothes on its way to the sea.
The show usually begins with a pizzicato of raindrops on the south-facing, glass-roofed upper balcony, soon followed by a flowing chorus. The family sitting comfortably at the dining table inside is thrilled to watch and hear the rain's improvisations on the see-through roof and walls.
Nobuhiko Suzuki, an architect and professor at Tokyo University of Science, and his wife, Yasuko, thoroughly enjoy living in this unique house, designed by them and built in 1989. "We have never been bored watching the rain show. It is new every time," she says. Nobuhiko nods, adding, "It is so enjoyable that you just want to keep the company of rain as long as possible."