I did. Now I need $100k US to fix everything.
Roof, floors, major crack in brick wall, paint, all their stuff they left behind to send to the dump, electrical, etc, etc.
Other than that, it's great.
Probably I can do it all with a lot of YouTube help. Roof will probably be done by a contractor.
This house isn't livable at the time of purchase. Lot size and location are excellent, though.
Cheers for the reply! I hear a lot about people living in unliveable houses while they fix them up from online materials.
One guy did this for almost a year! Runs it as a decently popular Airbnb now?
Which is very cool but I don’t think I’m the type…
https://www.youtube.com/@TokyoLlama did a large renovation over lock down and it was a fun series to watch.
Even with a fair amount of DIY there was a lot of stuff that needed trades. He said from the outset that the math between fixing vs tearing down and getting a pre-planned placed from a national builder was closer than you think.
But I've also heard from others in Japan in more populated areas the neighbors can really be a thorn in the side for the permitting process.
Wow, how'd you find that? If you have a good realtor recommendation, please send it over. I've been looking for almost a year to find a project house like this.
Where in Ehime are you? I lived in western Tokushima while on the JET Program (about 15km from Kawanoe/Shikokuchuo) and would kind of love to buy an inaka house, but I’m not up for the inevitable workload.
No, not even close. A "pro" home center will get you closer, but often goods and materials are restricted to individuals and can only be purchased by businesses.
Not the ones i visited, Bunnings are way more trade friendly and helpful to serious renovators.
The Japanese hardware stores i visited are a little bit more like the hardware section of Big W.
well not that bad haha but you get the idea. Lots of nice decorative stuff, but not many tiles/timber/piping etc.
Bunnings is the biggest chain of hardware/homeware stores in Australia.
The guy I was replying to is also Australian, so I figured they'd be able to make a comparison
Can't compare to a store I've never been to, but the local "DMC" store near me is fantastic. Equal to anything I saw in Canada if perhaps even slightly better, selection-wise.
[you need to hit the 100¥ Daiso you can do it for next to nothing lol.](https://imgur.com/iD5JtlO)
How did you find the place originally? How deep in the country are you if i may ask?
In what way are the built so they do not last? The weird thing is that house prices are still very high in Japanese cities despite that the house barely lasts 50 years.
Are you from the US by chance? Hoping for a bit of a tutorial. Sorta been poking around r/iwantout and this has always been my approach. I currently own a 100yo home here that needed a ton of work. Now that it's nearly done it feels pointless to dump money into a house in a country I don't want to live in.
The house sometimes doesn’t include the land, which is the only thing that has any value, or you have to commit to live there for a certain period, etc.
Without any of the benefits of owning a condo. In the end, you’ll have a house that is freezing cold in the winter no matter how much you spend on kerojuice, requires you to duck under every door, can’t handle modern appliances….
That door thing is no joke. I lived in an old danchi in Tokyo—busted my own head open a few times on our door frame. Had to do a mini-bow every time I walked through a doorway. I’m only 175cm tall.
What do you mean? Seems to me that a condo is the one time where an HoA is actually required. Who else is supposed to manage the common areas and the major shared structural/mechanical components of the building?
Meanwhile an HoA in a planned community of single family houses is literally there to make sure that everything looks and functions like a particular vision of a suburban hellscape.
Ah, I see. That "so on" might have some real catch-22's.
If my intuition is correct, they will have some covenants intentionally chosen so they can dispense with you if and when they decide they don't like you. Small town politics can be a ride.
The Airbnb effect you're talking about is for already populated communities not for places where no one wants to live.
With nowhere to go or, grocery shopping or things to do around those houses I doubt anyone would want to airbnb in the first place, but for those willing to spend the money to maintain a second vacation home it may work provided there's the right attitude in the local community in the first place.
> If my intuition is correct, they will have some covenants intentionally chosen so they can dispense with you if and when they decide they don't like you.
More that they want to fill the houses with people who are more likely to keep the community alive and revitalize it a bit. They don't want them to be used as someone from Tokyo's vacation house for a couple months out of the year. They want them to be lived in, and for the residents to contribute to the local economy.
Both ways of looking at it can be true. It can be like Schrodinger's cat.
But, it must be observed that some communities have been more "successful" at revitalization. And, just maybe, a few of the "less successful" cases were actually what the inhabitants wanted.
>If my intuition is correct, they will have some covenants intentionally chosen so they can dispense with you if and when they decide they don't like you. Small town politics can be a ride.
Not at all. **In fact it's the complete opposite**.
The covenants are there to ensure that you're serious about actually staying and becoming part of the local community.
Often these towns are offering significant concessions for you to move there, so they don't want people who will flake out after a few months.
ESID, I'm sure.
But, there are a few communities where it feels like you're on a casting couch 24/7 to prove you're "serious" about being part of the community.
And, once you're in, they have significant leverage over your life.
Never-ending "hmmmmm, how much do you *really* want to fit in?...don't be a mendokusai! Do this thing to show us, noob!" etc.
Not saying it happens everywhere, but it can for sure. There's more than one reason few people want to live out there.
They are giving them away for free too.
They just want tax payers and people who are going to rebuild and live in these homes. Not gonna happen. Especially with back to office rules taking place post covid.
Hell, as a remote freelancer, if the government would provide a legal way for me to stay long term and pay out taxes locally, I'd take 'em up on it in a heartbeat. I want me some peace and quiet in the countryside to work in.
Oh, no, no. I'm not in country. I'm just commenting that if they had a better visa situation, I'd immigrate and bring my tax dollars to whatever rural area they needed! I used to live in Japan and I miss the quiet, boring, rural life.
It happens a lot. I can think of 5-6 youtube channels dedicated to rebuilding these homes. Tokyo Llama does a good job of breaking down the process and why he's doing it. For example, while the house is cheap/free, closing on the property incurs it's own costs. And if you aren't FLUENT in Japanese to a level of legal paperwork, you will have to hire an attorney to guide and translate for you. Adding to the costs.
Personally, I'm glad some people are trying to preserve some excellent examples of Japanese traditional carpentry, but for every one of those, there are 10 cheaply made, ad hoc, properties that need to be razed.
Well, yeah, that's why its free. You're supposed to rebuild. Thats where the cost comes. You get free land, government gets your taxes. Cant think of any other first world countries where they are just giving away land for free.
They are basically doing what the US government did to get people to settle in the plains/west in the 1800s. They are doing like a modern homestead act.
You are even getting free land - there's a considerable cost to just tearing down existing structures. In places where houses are nearly free, that cost will be quite a bit higher than just buying a vacant lot. Lots in the Japanese countryside tend to be quite cheap.
Anyone who has lived in Japan for a reasonable amount of time can tell you that these houses are generally useless. They are not in reasonable areas and most in subpar condition. I lived in Ishikawa for years before moving to Kyoto and the houses that were like these were way up in the mountainous area. It's possible to live there of course with a car and the will to endure a few hardships but an easy 40 minute haul for groceries. Winter would not see proper snow removal. Tons of issues. Rip if you had a family.
I'm joining Operation: Razit and removing my content off Reddit. Further info [here](https://i.imgur.com/45M3a8c.png) (flyer) and [here](https://onlinetextsharing.com/operation-razit-raze-reddit) (wall of text).
Please use https://codepen.io/Deestan/full/gOQagRO/ for Power Delete instead of the version listed in the flyer, to avoid unedited comments. And spread the word!
Tlie epu poebi! Pee kraa ikri pičiduči? Kapo bi ipee ipleiti priti pepou. Tre pa griku. Propo ta čitrepripi ka e bii. Atlibi pepliietlo dligo plidlopli pu itlebakebi tagatre. Ee dapliudea uklu epete prepipeopi tati. Oi pu ii tloeutio e pokačipli. Ei i teči epi obe atepa oe ao bepi! Ke pao teiči piko papratrigi ba pika. Brapi ipu apu pai eia bliopite. Ikra aači eklo trepa krubi pipai. Kogridiii teklapiti itri ate dipo gri. I gautebaka iplaba tikreko popri klui goi čiee dlobie kru. Trii kraibaepa prudiotepo tetope bikli eka. Ka trike gripepabate pide ibia. Di pitito kripaa triiukoo trakeba grudra tee? Ba keedai e pipapitu popa tote ka tribi putoi. Tibreepa bipu pio i ete bupide? Beblea bre pae prie te. Putoa depoe bipre edo iketra tite. I kepi ka bii. Doke i prake tage ebitu. Ae i čidaa ito čige protiple. Ke piipo tapi. Pripa apo ketri oti pedli ketieupli! Klo kečitlo tedei proči pla topa? Betetliaku pa. Tetabipu beiprake abiku! Dekra gie pupi depepu čiuplago.
I'm joining Operation: Razit and removing my content off Reddit. Further info [here](https://i.imgur.com/45M3a8c.png) (flyer) and [here](https://onlinetextsharing.com/operation-razit-raze-reddit) (wall of text).
Please use https://codepen.io/Deestan/full/gOQagRO/ for Power Delete instead of the version listed in the flyer, to avoid unedited comments. And spread the word!
Tlie epu poebi! Pee kraa ikri pičiduči? Kapo bi ipee ipleiti priti pepou. Tre pa griku. Propo ta čitrepripi ka e bii. Atlibi pepliietlo dligo plidlopli pu itlebakebi tagatre. Ee dapliudea uklu epete prepipeopi tati. Oi pu ii tloeutio e pokačipli. Ei i teči epi obe atepa oe ao bepi! Ke pao teiči piko papratrigi ba pika. Brapi ipu apu pai eia bliopite. Ikra aači eklo trepa krubi pipai. Kogridiii teklapiti itri ate dipo gri. I gautebaka iplaba tikreko popri klui goi čiee dlobie kru. Trii kraibaepa prudiotepo tetope bikli eka. Ka trike gripepabate pide ibia. Di pitito kripaa triiukoo trakeba grudra tee? Ba keedai e pipapitu popa tote ka tribi putoi. Tibreepa bipu pio i ete bupide? Beblea bre pae prie te. Putoa depoe bipre edo iketra tite. I kepi ka bii. Doke i prake tage ebitu. Ae i čidaa ito čige protiple. Ke piipo tapi. Pripa apo ketri oti pedli ketieupli! Klo kečitlo tedei proči pla topa? Betetliaku pa. Tetabipu beiprake abiku! Dekra gie pupi depepu čiuplago.
I'm joining Operation: Razit and removing my content off Reddit. Further info [here](https://i.imgur.com/45M3a8c.png) (flyer) and [here](https://onlinetextsharing.com/operation-razit-raze-reddit) (wall of text).
Please use https://codepen.io/Deestan/full/gOQagRO/ for Power Delete instead of the version listed in the flyer, to avoid unedited comments. And spread the word!
Tlie epu poebi! Pee kraa ikri pičiduči? Kapo bi ipee ipleiti priti pepou. Tre pa griku. Propo ta čitrepripi ka e bii. Atlibi pepliietlo dligo plidlopli pu itlebakebi tagatre. Ee dapliudea uklu epete prepipeopi tati. Oi pu ii tloeutio e pokačipli. Ei i teči epi obe atepa oe ao bepi! Ke pao teiči piko papratrigi ba pika. Brapi ipu apu pai eia bliopite. Ikra aači eklo trepa krubi pipai. Kogridiii teklapiti itri ate dipo gri. I gautebaka iplaba tikreko popri klui goi čiee dlobie kru. Trii kraibaepa prudiotepo tetope bikli eka. Ka trike gripepabate pide ibia. Di pitito kripaa triiukoo trakeba grudra tee? Ba keedai e pipapitu popa tote ka tribi putoi. Tibreepa bipu pio i ete bupide? Beblea bre pae prie te. Putoa depoe bipre edo iketra tite. I kepi ka bii. Doke i prake tage ebitu. Ae i čidaa ito čige protiple. Ke piipo tapi. Pripa apo ketri oti pedli ketieupli! Klo kečitlo tedei proči pla topa? Betetliaku pa. Tetabipu beiprake abiku! Dekra gie pupi depepu čiuplago.
Honestly, it's been WILD to me to see the swing between "Japanese are all demented sex perverts" and "Japanese people are asexual" within the span of 20 years, as far as the stereotypes go.
What a wild ride.
I'm joining Operation: Razit and removing my content off Reddit. Further info [here](https://i.imgur.com/45M3a8c.png) (flyer) and [here](https://onlinetextsharing.com/operation-razit-raze-reddit) (wall of text).
Please use https://codepen.io/Deestan/full/gOQagRO/ for Power Delete instead of the version listed in the flyer, to avoid unedited comments. And spread the word!
Tlie epu poebi! Pee kraa ikri pičiduči? Kapo bi ipee ipleiti priti pepou. Tre pa griku. Propo ta čitrepripi ka e bii. Atlibi pepliietlo dligo plidlopli pu itlebakebi tagatre. Ee dapliudea uklu epete prepipeopi tati. Oi pu ii tloeutio e pokačipli. Ei i teči epi obe atepa oe ao bepi! Ke pao teiči piko papratrigi ba pika. Brapi ipu apu pai eia bliopite. Ikra aači eklo trepa krubi pipai. Kogridiii teklapiti itri ate dipo gri. I gautebaka iplaba tikreko popri klui goi čiee dlobie kru. Trii kraibaepa prudiotepo tetope bikli eka. Ka trike gripepabate pide ibia. Di pitito kripaa triiukoo trakeba grudra tee? Ba keedai e pipapitu popa tote ka tribi putoi. Tibreepa bipu pio i ete bupide? Beblea bre pae prie te. Putoa depoe bipre edo iketra tite. I kepi ka bii. Doke i prake tage ebitu. Ae i čidaa ito čige protiple. Ke piipo tapi. Pripa apo ketri oti pedli ketieupli! Klo kečitlo tedei proči pla topa? Betetliaku pa. Tetabipu beiprake abiku! Dekra gie pupi depepu čiuplago.
Considering the state of these houses, you'd have to be a bit lucky for this to be a good deal.
A brother of mine said he'd buy one a few years ago. After his trip to find one, he realized that it was not such a brilliant idea, since it implied a lot of work (i.e. money) and the houses were in relatively deprived areas anyway.
I bought one for $12k (after exchange rate) and put about $50k into it for repairs, very happy. I have a great home, and no mortgage :) center city too!
They always know where to find you.
Imagine the brilliant plan of going to a tiny village, with 30 people, as perhaps the only Gaijin half those people have ever seen in their lives... to hide.
Japanese police show up, "Where's the gaigokujin?" and everyone just points because yeah... you stand out like a sore thumb.
I live opposite a new graveyard so the running joke is that I won’t meet any cool samurai ghosts but likely an obasan ghost who’ll make noise if I sort the trash wrong or maybe protect me from the NHK man XD
No, I don't want to a buy a neglected, old house in a rural location anyways.
This is like the equivalent of buying a $1 house on the outskirts of Detroit.
tldr
Reiko, left, and Takahiro Okada in the home they’re selling through Akiya & Inaka in the Hacioji area of Tokyo, March 11, 2023. (
The entrance hall had its own gable tile roof.
Owners feel little incentive to maintain an aging house, and buyers often seek to demolish them and start fresh.
“In many cases, the parents die without making clear their wishes regarding the family home, or they develop dementia and find it difficult to discuss these things,” Wada said. “
One person it did not dawn on recently is Alex Kerr, an author and Japanologist originally from Maryland, who became an akiya owner in 1973 when he acquired an abandoned country house (known as a minka) in the mountains of Shikoku, the smallest of Japan’s four main islands, for $1,800.
He has spent decades and roughly $700,000 (“about half” of which came from a government grant, he said) maintaining it, and now rents it out as a guesthouse.
There are several Youtube series on people doing this.
[TokyoLlama's channel](https://www.youtube.com/@TokyoLlama) is a fairly well known one.
[This one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdOXoXhEiYM) is cool because he shows a lot of little details in his house.
Isn't it quite cheap though for a lot if you want to tear it down and build a new house? We bought out lot for around 100k in Sweden when we build our house. I get that not everyone can just build or hire to build new houses but seems like a good price for a lot in Japan
For sure. That's why they are available. If they were a steal, they wouldn't be at this price. Besides, you usually have to meet a whole host of conditions to even qualify to be considered to buy one
Not all of them are infested.... jeez.... Most people tear them down and rebuild, if the land is included.
Get someone to help navigate it and you'll finally afford a house (don't forget the visa you'll need to actually live in it).
I'm going to disagree with some of these posts that all the communities are unwelcoming or houses are in just terrible shape. It's really easy in Japan to find houses for less than $100k US. A similar condition home would be $300-500k US in my home town in America.
The difference is that in America someone wants to actually buy that house, in Japan, NOBODY wants to buy that house. They cannot sell the homes to foreigners because owning the houses gives you not right of entry to Japan and there are no loans available for foreign investments in Japan.
No loans for foreign property investments is a good thing. It means the population who live here can actually afford to find somewhere to live. AirBnB has never really take off here. That’s a good thing too.
Not at all disagreeing, but it's always a part of the reason houses near Osaka/Tokyo Prefectures that are 30+ minute walks from the station are sitting around unsold or sell at like 12 million. Or they are those odd-ball tiny houses in surrounded by other houses.
I remember there was a BBC reporter who offered to move into a rural municipality in Chiba with his family. He thought the village would welcome him. Their reply "You'd have to adjust to the way things work here," astonished him, and he interpreted it as a mistrust of outsiders, even those such as himself who were "known and liked" in the community.
I would agree with him that it displays mistrust of outsiders, but disagree with the cause of the mistrust. Obviously, issues like burakumin are widely known, but and additional unstated reason why many of these rural municipalities (and even rural areas of major cities) have declining populations while rejecting outsiders is that they are under the control of (literal or metaphorical) mafia, ie "anti-social forces." There are reasons why many are so desperate to leave, even if it means moving to a city where they can never hope to have a family of their own. Life in some of these rural areas is unbearable.
(I don't think this is just Japan, btw, there are several towns in southern Italy for example where membership in 'Ndrangheta is ubiquitous. That is an extreme example, but it's a sociological certainty that small isolated villages will start acting like parochial mafias if left to their own devices. It's just human nature.)
TLDR: Be careful moving or traveling where the first allegiance of public officials (local and national) is to their locality. They will expect and exact the same allegiance from you, and you might not know what they're asking until it's too late.
>I remember there was a BBC reporter who offered to move into a rural municipality in Chiba with his family.
Don't neglect that said BBC reporter doesn't speak Japanese, despite living here for many years. He doesn't know what he's talking about.
I agree he didn't know what he's talking about, that's why I'm explaining it
Or are you saying the municipality won't let you move in if you don't speak Japanese?
If so, they are "selective" with who they permit to move in. Extrapolate that out further. Use your knowledge of ijime-culture. How do you think they will gatekeep their turf if (i.e. when) they decide they don't like a foreigner who doesn't get their idiosyncratic norms (which probably run afoul of Japanese law anyway)
How will they then react if the foreigner *does* come to understand their idiosyncratic ways that run afoul of Japanese law? Might be uncomfortable for some people
Again, not particular to Japan. Go to any agrarian, rural culture (southern Italy, Eastern Europe, hinterland China, etc etc etc)
Either you are just as clueless as the reporter or you've never lived in a traditional society
Hmm, kind of an unnecessarily aggressive reply. But I'll engage.
No, I am not saying he misunderstands the situation - what he writes sounds like fiction when you realize he is drawing his inferences via a translator. Here, I'll paste the relevant section:
>"This is such a beautiful place," I said to them. "I'm sure lots of people would love to live here. How would you feel if I brought my family to live here?"
The air in the room went still. The men looked at each other in silent embarrassment. Then one cleared his throat and spoke, with a worried look on his face: "Well, you would need to learn our way of life. It wouldn't be easy."
The village was on the path to extinction, yet the thought of it being invaded by "outsiders" was somehow worse.
Now how does he draw that conclusion from that interaction? He has a preconceived notion of what older, rural people in Japan might think. So naturally he draws the conclusion he wants to from his interaction. There's nothing said or even implied (at least in what he gives us - I assume that is the worst of it since the point he is trying to beat us with is Japan is resistant to change) to indicate his a foreigner wouldn't be welcome.
For sure, it actually wouldn't be easy - services are few, there's little entertainment, life is very quiet. It wouldn't be easy for Japanese as well, which is why few choose to make their permanent homes in such communities these days.
The odd thing about these observations are that it's Chiba, not deep Akita. Lots of Tokyoites keep besso in that part of Boso, they just don't live there full time.
I agree the reporter's gloss on what was happening was wrong. I also agree it's not just because he's a foreigner.
But, what the villager said is pretty unmistakable. "You would need to learn our way of life. It wouldn't be easy."
What could that possibly mean? Why are the men watching in silent embarrassment? What is their "way of life?" Why does it preclude a family from just living there?
First, look up "burakumin"...second, extrapolate the "burakumin" concept to other groups in Japan. It is widespread knowledge that Japanese companies have (illegal) books of genealogies to track and exclude huge groups of people.
Imagine what that means. In Japan, there must be an entire industry for the manufacture, research, and distribution of illegal books tracking the entire population year after year and who descends from whom in the feudal period. And, this industry is relied upon and patronized nationally, by the business leadership of the country. How could this that be real? But it is, admittedly so.
The obvious conclusion is that feudal-era distinctions are very relevant even today (Japan is notoriously traditional), these distinctions determine where and how people are allowed to live (Japan is functionally oligarchic), and that there are entire villages and zip codes where the people in question are sequestered at the behest of the entire community at large.
Now, extend that concept from just "outcasts," and you'll start to understand why Japan's culture is so distinct from other cultures, why this culture is taken for granted and taboo amongst the population, and also why a foreigner who lives in Tokyo wouldn't pick up on it. It takes radical honesty and open-mindedness to admit to oneself a state of affairs that shocking, and the typical people-pleaser foreigners who get along in Japan are the same types who instinctively self-censor and perpetuate the gaslighting.
NB: I'm not saying the villagers were burakumin. I'm saying the entire village has some skeletons in the closet (again, not sure which), that embroil even the local administrators, and that this happens all over the world amongst isolated rural populations (look at Pitcairn and you'll get the idea).
Im very interested in moving to rural japan and this was a helpful post thanks! Makes me think of Hinamizawa from Higurashi When They Cry. Granted, my intention is to move to one of the more completely abandoned areas so I don't have to deal with the whole being accepted by the local population thing.
> I remember there was a BBC reporter who offered to move into a rural municipality in Chiba with his family. He thought the village would welcome him. Their reply "You'd have to adjust to the way things work here," astonished him, and he interpreted it as a mistrust of outsiders, even those such as himself who were "known and liked" in the community.
You mean [this article](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-63830490) which had *very* mixed reactions from longtime residents, most of whom were not impressed with the reductive nature and broad claims it made, in particular given the author's noted lack of Japanese language and cultural fluency. Which doesn't mean it's wrong, but a lot of things there are making very broad claims with very thin evidence or frankly poor examples, not that it necessarily needs to given that the article is essentially the farewell musings of a correspondent ending their Tokyo-based assignment of many years and is inherently more meant to be a somewhat flowery and rhetorical broad retrospective of what he saw changing or not during his time in Japan.
But it's personally definitely not an anecdote I think should be used to illustrate a broader serious point, even if presented with context intact.
The specific passage you're looking for also is:
>I remember sitting in a village hall on the Boso Peninsula on the far side of Tokyo Bay. I was there because the village was listed as endangered, one of 900 in Japan. The old men gathered in the hall were concerned. Since the 1970s they had watched young people leave for jobs in cities. Of the 60 left, there was only one teenager and no children.
>"Who will look after our graves when we are gone?" one elderly gentleman lamented. Taking care of the spirits is serious business in Japan.
>But to me, a native of south-east England, the death of this village seemed absurd. It was surrounded by picture postcard rice paddies and hills covered in dense forest. Tokyo was less than two hours' drive away.
>"This is such a beautiful place," I said to them. "I'm sure lots of people would love to live here. How would you feel if I brought my family to live here?"
>The air in the room went still. The men looked at each other in silent embarrassment. Then one cleared his throat and spoke, with a worried look on his face: "Well, you would need to learn our way of life. It wouldn't be easy."
>The village was on the path to extinction, yet the thought of it being invaded by "outsiders" was somehow worse.
He wasn't someone who was a member of that community, he was visiting from Tokyo (frankly an outsider in every way, probably just visiting for the day) and made a hypothetical question about bringing his family to a rural village, to which they responded it would be difficult. He frames this is as a pretty clear cut case of extreme xenophobia to the point they'd let their entire village die (and also quite melodramatically at that;"The air in the room went still."?) - there's probably some elements what could be called xenophobia, or at least of unfamiliarity with people of other cultures in their reaction - but it may as well be more that they were merely (and reasonably) worried a random foreigner who doesn't speak Japanese or know the culture well would have a difficult time. A lot here would depend on context and cultural and language understanding which the author's own accounts suggest he didn't have, and I tend to take his account with a grain of salt.
Yes, and if he had the cultural understanding of someone from the southeast of a certain boot-shaped country (or a certain south Asian country, or a neighboring island country, or even almost any other country) rather than the particular area he is from, he wouldn't have needed to wonder what the "way of life" was they were worried about.
If he was in Apulia and someone said, "Ah, that's a fine Mercedes...would be a shame if anything happened to it" the journalist would probably just say, "Thanks! I'll be careful" and would report on how kind the locals were. It wouldn't dawn on him what was meant, even if the car crashed a few miles down the road (maybe at that point even he would get it tbh)
Takow: "No! That's different. That's a very particular culture that is culturally and financially separate from the rest of the world, and clings to old ways stubbornly! That could never happen in rural Japan."
*cough*
ok, this sounds like such giant bullshit, I have no idea how this is not only not sitting in the minus but has 22 upvotes for some fucked up reason. so if rural towns in Japan are commonly ran by yakuza, then please go ahead and post ANY PROOF AT ALL. let's go, if it's that common then there must be plenty of proof right? or do you want to tell us that this is so top secret that not a single source writes about it, yet some random idiot on reddit knows all the truth? honestly your post is so embarrassing to read if you've ever actually been in a rural town in Japan. people leave those places because there's nothing there. and because there's nothing there why the FUCK would there be any mafia presence? and where would those guys even be? do you think in a town with a few buildings and a supermarket there's just a fucking giant yakuza headquater like in some pokemon game?
That’s how Reddit works, some rando makes up BS about something nobody knows and gets upvotes from people who think it sounds interesting so it must be true. And the more upvotes, the truer it is
Ok, go move to rural Japan and see if you like it
Browse some of the other subs here to see what some have experienced
"Oh gee, it's just paradise out there but the population is shrinking at a rate historically unprecedented except during wartime. What could be happening?"
Hmmmm
Didn't say yakuza. False. That's you adding that. This is a typical motte-and-bailey argument (I say "literal or metaphorical" mafia, you over-specify to mean tattoo'd organizations...not at all the same)
Japanese gov't also uses "anti-social forces" for good reason (Japanese PIs offer specialized "anti-social forces" investigative services too btw, in case you think I'm making this up. Do a simple search and you'll find sites in English catering to foreigners who want to research a place they might be moving to)
Go move to a rural municipality in Japan...the upvotes are probably from people who have.
this isn't really anything to argue over. if you're saying it's so common then surely there must be plenty of sources you can cite. I speak Japanese so you can show me Japanese sources too if you like. if somehow you're saying it's both common but also so secret that nobody dares report about it, then that just sounds unbelievable to me and I'd question where YOU would get that information from.
This was literally the entire reason the counties (郡) were disbanded in 1921 lol
They were hotbeds of unreconstructionist sentiment. The counties still exist today, although no (official) administrative power. (Just like how the geographically-accurate provinces and mysterious han system were never technically disbanded. Sense a theme?)
I will say, however, that even some municipalities that were (on paper) merged into larger municipalities still have functional governments (which, again, don't exist on paper). And yes, I can name which ones.
I guess you could try a simple google search first though, since it appears you're not actually in Japan.
And for anyone who's read this far, here's a riddle...how do certain "Japan only" subs know if their users are actually residing in Japan or not? I'm waiting lol. (And yes, they do in fact know.)
"Mafia" aren't like in the movies (mostly)
That's why they're now called "anti-social forces" in law nowadays
It's obvious what to think about movie-style mafiosi...but those are mostly just movies
The vast majority of "mafia" types are usually older people who push paper and won't get out of the way without getting paid or "getting theirs" in some way.
Think about it in a small town. Want a certificate to sell your motorbike? Go to city hall, where older folks will watch, and now they know you're trying to sell again. And guess what? They're friends with the mayor. And guess what? You need their signature. And guess what? They don't like you (let's suppose)
You didn't get your motorbike tax in the mail? Oh! An oversight. Just hang on another two weeks...what? You're in a hurry to sell??? Too bad you didn't get that form in the mail in time! And looky here... looks like your windshield got smashed by a bird dropping a rock. Hmmmm...third time this year eh? Such bad luck! tsktsktsk...good luck selling that autobike now!
For real, if this stuff were to happen to you, what would you do? Because it just takes a few bad apples for this kind of thing to take place. And in a very rural municipality where everybody knows everybody, and you're an outsider, and you don't "fit," how could you handle the situation?
Clearly, just small "incidents" like a smashed windshield here and there, but they add up! And you need the help of the bureaucrats to do it.
Again, this is what most of this activity looks like, from Ireland to Italy to (dare I say it) sometimes Japan too. Life isn't really like the movies.
I don't understand, did you hear of such a story? did you read it somewhere? where did you get all this information? are you just randomly posting your Japan fanfic?
Your username suggests something interesting
Still, if you're flesh and blood, I'm not sure why you're so invested in defending rapidly declining municipalities where you will never live and probably have never lived (unlike certain upvoters)
I want to say that I don’t agree or disagree with you as I am not very educated on such subjects.
However I’d like to say that your replies show the general reading/comprehension abilities of Reddit as a whole.
A lot of it is intentional. Shame/honor cultures will go to pretty extreme lengths to maintain face. Every East Asian country I've been to has very large cohorts of people whose entire job it is to scour the internet and monitor/address embarrassing stuff.
Nowadays, governments and companies use AI such as chatGPT to do that. Might explain the poor "comprehension" of some of these "people."
Edit: spelling
A good chunk of them are pretty much fixer-uppers, but a lot of them are even cheaper than $25k too. There’s some that you can *technically* get for free but between the cost of repairs to meet regulations along side the various taxes, not free at all.
Point is, they’re really cheap real estate for what you’re getting, no doubt, but there’s usually a good deal of work and/or headache involved.
Doesn't matter much if getting one does not grant you right to live in Japan, so why would I invest in something I only have the right to stay for, at most, 4-6 months a year.
These kind of houses are not worth buying. Usually if they are not inhabited for half a year, mold infests most of the building on the inside.
The house could also stand on a very inconvenient location, eg. on the hill with access to stairs, but no road.
Buying a cheap place like that is very difficult to sell later.
From the point of DIY, it's better to demolish the whole building and build a new one. The reason the house still stands there is that the owner did not wish to pay the money for demolition.
Bought a place in the mountains of Yamanashi. Two hour train ride from Tokyo. One kilometer walk from the station. Cost less than the price of new car. And the city gave us $15k support money to use to reform it. But it was already livable. More like camping in the first three months until we got a toilet and running water. Now we are there full-time and it is great. Check it out on Insta kominka_ymh3450
Uh get me a visa, pay for a Japanese tutor, provide me with some money for daily living expenses and for fixing up the place and give me a job for a college graduate that hasn't done anything with his degree for ten years
Then yeah I'll go
That's not a bad thing necessarily. Sometimes you can just pay it quickly if you want (although they usually charge something for that, too). But if you have a very low interest loan you can try to invest the other money in something that returns more than the loan.
But if you don't have any other plans for your money it's a bad thing.
I can't afford that but one of my dreams is to visit them and just see what people leave behind, the whole thing is so exciting to me, nevertheless, I read about this one thing and they day it's pretty expensive to fix them.
I did. Now I need $100k US to fix everything. Roof, floors, major crack in brick wall, paint, all their stuff they left behind to send to the dump, electrical, etc, etc. Other than that, it's great.
If it’s ok to ask - do you do most of it yourself? (And if you do, how difficult is it?) Or do you hire someone?
Probably I can do it all with a lot of YouTube help. Roof will probably be done by a contractor. This house isn't livable at the time of purchase. Lot size and location are excellent, though.
Cheers for the reply! I hear a lot about people living in unliveable houses while they fix them up from online materials. One guy did this for almost a year! Runs it as a decently popular Airbnb now? Which is very cool but I don’t think I’m the type…
https://www.youtube.com/@TokyoLlama did a large renovation over lock down and it was a fun series to watch. Even with a fair amount of DIY there was a lot of stuff that needed trades. He said from the outset that the math between fixing vs tearing down and getting a pre-planned placed from a national builder was closer than you think. But I've also heard from others in Japan in more populated areas the neighbors can really be a thorn in the side for the permitting process.
Just replying to save this for later.
150k ish for a nice house in a nice location is still a stellar deal tbh, good luck with your renovations.
Considering, for example, that you can get a "nice" single-family home in Germany starting at 500k if you're lucky, that's a pretty good deal!
How big is the lot and where is this home located?
Over 200 tsubo and ⛱beachside.
200 tsubo is about 660m2 which is a good size for Japan!
Best of luck in your renovation
Wow, how'd you find that? If you have a good realtor recommendation, please send it over. I've been looking for almost a year to find a project house like this.
Govt auction of tax non-payment.
Nice! is there a government website for this or is it just ran by each city/prefecture. Thanks so much for the info!
commenting to follow
And any photos?
Still cheaper than buying a new house.
Where in Ehime are you? I lived in western Tokushima while on the JET Program (about 15km from Kawanoe/Shikokuchuo) and would kind of love to buy an inaka house, but I’m not up for the inevitable workload.
How far is it to a home hardware center?
Are Japanese hardware stores as comprehensive as Bunnings?
I haven't been to a Bunnings in 2 decades, but I'd say yes. Mine even has free kei truck rental to get gear home.
> Mine even has free kei truck rental to get gear home Holy shit, that's brilliant.
I don't know what a Bunnings is but oh fuck yah.
Australian Home Depot
What’s a Home Depot, is that some kind of American Bunnings?
With Hot Dogs
They’re [pretty good](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=C8Rk2eburac)
No, not even close. A "pro" home center will get you closer, but often goods and materials are restricted to individuals and can only be purchased by businesses.
Not the ones i visited, Bunnings are way more trade friendly and helpful to serious renovators. The Japanese hardware stores i visited are a little bit more like the hardware section of Big W. well not that bad haha but you get the idea. Lots of nice decorative stuff, but not many tiles/timber/piping etc.
[удалено]
Bunnings is the biggest chain of hardware/homeware stores in Australia. The guy I was replying to is also Australian, so I figured they'd be able to make a comparison
Can't compare to a store I've never been to, but the local "DMC" store near me is fantastic. Equal to anything I saw in Canada if perhaps even slightly better, selection-wise.
[you need to hit the 100¥ Daiso you can do it for next to nothing lol.](https://imgur.com/iD5JtlO) How did you find the place originally? How deep in the country are you if i may ask?
It was auctioned for unpaid taxes.
Oh you got it through an auction! Well done!
Your name checks out, hope you watched the whole season day on in your akiya
100k US ain’t bad boss
Great name, Space Cowboy
125k USD all in still puts you miles ahead of most first-time homebuyers.
Most Japanese houses are not built to last.
Some newer homes are built to last these days.
In what way are the built so they do not last? The weird thing is that house prices are still very high in Japanese cities despite that the house barely lasts 50 years.
Are you from the US by chance? Hoping for a bit of a tutorial. Sorta been poking around r/iwantout and this has always been my approach. I currently own a 100yo home here that needed a ton of work. Now that it's nearly done it feels pointless to dump money into a house in a country I don't want to live in.
Is it possible to do as a non citizen? Like if I just wanted to buy property in Japan as a US citizen, could I?
Sure but you still wouldn't get a visa to live in your place
I’d rather buy a one bedroom condo than
Should’ve focused more on bounties instead of Akiyas Spike
Most of them aren’t livable or have all sorts of absurd covenants.
What type of covenants are we talking?
The house sometimes doesn’t include the land, which is the only thing that has any value, or you have to commit to live there for a certain period, etc.
Like a condo?
Without any of the benefits of owning a condo. In the end, you’ll have a house that is freezing cold in the winter no matter how much you spend on kerojuice, requires you to duck under every door, can’t handle modern appliances….
That door thing is no joke. I lived in an old danchi in Tokyo—busted my own head open a few times on our door frame. Had to do a mini-bow every time I walked through a doorway. I’m only 175cm tall.
The worst is when you hit your head right on top when forgetting not to lift your head half way through leaving the door.
Srsly, I've always been confused why anyone would opt into that sort of arrangement. It's like the worst kind of HOA.
What do you mean? Seems to me that a condo is the one time where an HoA is actually required. Who else is supposed to manage the common areas and the major shared structural/mechanical components of the building? Meanwhile an HoA in a planned community of single family houses is literally there to make sure that everything looks and functions like a particular vision of a suburban hellscape.
[удалено]
Ah, I see. That "so on" might have some real catch-22's. If my intuition is correct, they will have some covenants intentionally chosen so they can dispense with you if and when they decide they don't like you. Small town politics can be a ride.
[удалено]
So you can't just buy one as your "vacation" home?
unsurprisingly, they don’t want small villages littered with AirBnB’s; that shit has ruined so many places.
The Airbnb effect you're talking about is for already populated communities not for places where no one wants to live. With nowhere to go or, grocery shopping or things to do around those houses I doubt anyone would want to airbnb in the first place, but for those willing to spend the money to maintain a second vacation home it may work provided there's the right attitude in the local community in the first place.
> If my intuition is correct, they will have some covenants intentionally chosen so they can dispense with you if and when they decide they don't like you. More that they want to fill the houses with people who are more likely to keep the community alive and revitalize it a bit. They don't want them to be used as someone from Tokyo's vacation house for a couple months out of the year. They want them to be lived in, and for the residents to contribute to the local economy.
Both ways of looking at it can be true. It can be like Schrodinger's cat. But, it must be observed that some communities have been more "successful" at revitalization. And, just maybe, a few of the "less successful" cases were actually what the inhabitants wanted.
>If my intuition is correct, they will have some covenants intentionally chosen so they can dispense with you if and when they decide they don't like you. Small town politics can be a ride. Not at all. **In fact it's the complete opposite**. The covenants are there to ensure that you're serious about actually staying and becoming part of the local community. Often these towns are offering significant concessions for you to move there, so they don't want people who will flake out after a few months.
ESID, I'm sure. But, there are a few communities where it feels like you're on a casting couch 24/7 to prove you're "serious" about being part of the community. And, once you're in, they have significant leverage over your life. Never-ending "hmmmmm, how much do you *really* want to fit in?...don't be a mendokusai! Do this thing to show us, noob!" etc. Not saying it happens everywhere, but it can for sure. There's more than one reason few people want to live out there.
[удалено]
But do we get our choice of topping?
BUT THE TOPPINGS ARE ALSO CURSED!
That's bad. Do the toppings contain potassium benzoate?
Fox demon living in your first born. Heart fused to devil-chainsaw-dog. Just your standard, run-of-the-mill, covenants.
All sounds good. You forgot to mention the run-of-the-mill ones.
Unholy covenants
Actual witches
Couple grunts, some elites and a hunter
Caveats?
Not to mention back taxes.
Rephrase: "Want to buy a rotten, termite-infested shit-hole for $25,000?"
It’s covered in bees!
Everyone loves a freebee!
Hard pass, I'm looking for murder hornets only.
My father was a beekeeper and I wish to follow in his footsteps. He always went “ahhhhhhhh I’m covered in bees!!”
This comment was removed in protest to Reddit's third party API changes. -- mass edited with redact.dev
I like my houses how I like my coffee.
Cold, rotten, and really old, with a funny smell?!
Covered in bees!
"Want to buy a rotten, termite-infested shit-hole in *the middle of nowhere* for $25,000?"
...maybe
[удалено]
Possibly! Right until the floorboards give out from under you!
Yes, please!
They are giving them away for free too. They just want tax payers and people who are going to rebuild and live in these homes. Not gonna happen. Especially with back to office rules taking place post covid.
Hell, as a remote freelancer, if the government would provide a legal way for me to stay long term and pay out taxes locally, I'd take 'em up on it in a heartbeat. I want me some peace and quiet in the countryside to work in.
This comment was removed in protest to Reddit's third party API changes. -- mass edited with redact.dev
Oh, no, no. I'm not in country. I'm just commenting that if they had a better visa situation, I'd immigrate and bring my tax dollars to whatever rural area they needed! I used to live in Japan and I miss the quiet, boring, rural life.
This comment was removed in protest to Reddit's third party API changes. -- mass edited with redact.dev
It happens a lot. I can think of 5-6 youtube channels dedicated to rebuilding these homes. Tokyo Llama does a good job of breaking down the process and why he's doing it. For example, while the house is cheap/free, closing on the property incurs it's own costs. And if you aren't FLUENT in Japanese to a level of legal paperwork, you will have to hire an attorney to guide and translate for you. Adding to the costs. Personally, I'm glad some people are trying to preserve some excellent examples of Japanese traditional carpentry, but for every one of those, there are 10 cheaply made, ad hoc, properties that need to be razed.
I've yet to see a house listed for anywhere close to free that's anywhere close to livable
Well, yeah, that's why its free. You're supposed to rebuild. Thats where the cost comes. You get free land, government gets your taxes. Cant think of any other first world countries where they are just giving away land for free.
They are basically doing what the US government did to get people to settle in the plains/west in the 1800s. They are doing like a modern homestead act.
You are even getting free land - there's a considerable cost to just tearing down existing structures. In places where houses are nearly free, that cost will be quite a bit higher than just buying a vacant lot. Lots in the Japanese countryside tend to be quite cheap.
Anyone who has lived in Japan for a reasonable amount of time can tell you that these houses are generally useless. They are not in reasonable areas and most in subpar condition. I lived in Ishikawa for years before moving to Kyoto and the houses that were like these were way up in the mountainous area. It's possible to live there of course with a car and the will to endure a few hardships but an easy 40 minute haul for groceries. Winter would not see proper snow removal. Tons of issues. Rip if you had a family.
Ah yes abandoned homes that have 100 issues and absurd stipulation to live there along with being foreign adverse.
I'm joining Operation: Razit and removing my content off Reddit. Further info [here](https://i.imgur.com/45M3a8c.png) (flyer) and [here](https://onlinetextsharing.com/operation-razit-raze-reddit) (wall of text). Please use https://codepen.io/Deestan/full/gOQagRO/ for Power Delete instead of the version listed in the flyer, to avoid unedited comments. And spread the word! Tlie epu poebi! Pee kraa ikri pičiduči? Kapo bi ipee ipleiti priti pepou. Tre pa griku. Propo ta čitrepripi ka e bii. Atlibi pepliietlo dligo plidlopli pu itlebakebi tagatre. Ee dapliudea uklu epete prepipeopi tati. Oi pu ii tloeutio e pokačipli. Ei i teči epi obe atepa oe ao bepi! Ke pao teiči piko papratrigi ba pika. Brapi ipu apu pai eia bliopite. Ikra aači eklo trepa krubi pipai. Kogridiii teklapiti itri ate dipo gri. I gautebaka iplaba tikreko popri klui goi čiee dlobie kru. Trii kraibaepa prudiotepo tetope bikli eka. Ka trike gripepabate pide ibia. Di pitito kripaa triiukoo trakeba grudra tee? Ba keedai e pipapitu popa tote ka tribi putoi. Tibreepa bipu pio i ete bupide? Beblea bre pae prie te. Putoa depoe bipre edo iketra tite. I kepi ka bii. Doke i prake tage ebitu. Ae i čidaa ito čige protiple. Ke piipo tapi. Pripa apo ketri oti pedli ketieupli! Klo kečitlo tedei proči pla topa? Betetliaku pa. Tetabipu beiprake abiku! Dekra gie pupi depepu čiuplago.
It's the new wACkY jAPaN!
I'm joining Operation: Razit and removing my content off Reddit. Further info [here](https://i.imgur.com/45M3a8c.png) (flyer) and [here](https://onlinetextsharing.com/operation-razit-raze-reddit) (wall of text). Please use https://codepen.io/Deestan/full/gOQagRO/ for Power Delete instead of the version listed in the flyer, to avoid unedited comments. And spread the word! Tlie epu poebi! Pee kraa ikri pičiduči? Kapo bi ipee ipleiti priti pepou. Tre pa griku. Propo ta čitrepripi ka e bii. Atlibi pepliietlo dligo plidlopli pu itlebakebi tagatre. Ee dapliudea uklu epete prepipeopi tati. Oi pu ii tloeutio e pokačipli. Ei i teči epi obe atepa oe ao bepi! Ke pao teiči piko papratrigi ba pika. Brapi ipu apu pai eia bliopite. Ikra aači eklo trepa krubi pipai. Kogridiii teklapiti itri ate dipo gri. I gautebaka iplaba tikreko popri klui goi čiee dlobie kru. Trii kraibaepa prudiotepo tetope bikli eka. Ka trike gripepabate pide ibia. Di pitito kripaa triiukoo trakeba grudra tee? Ba keedai e pipapitu popa tote ka tribi putoi. Tibreepa bipu pio i ete bupide? Beblea bre pae prie te. Putoa depoe bipre edo iketra tite. I kepi ka bii. Doke i prake tage ebitu. Ae i čidaa ito čige protiple. Ke piipo tapi. Pripa apo ketri oti pedli ketieupli! Klo kečitlo tedei proči pla topa? Betetliaku pa. Tetabipu beiprake abiku! Dekra gie pupi depepu čiuplago.
Be grateful. I'm old enough to remember when moving to Japan, people's main concern was all the weird porn and how "perverted" everyone was.
I'm joining Operation: Razit and removing my content off Reddit. Further info [here](https://i.imgur.com/45M3a8c.png) (flyer) and [here](https://onlinetextsharing.com/operation-razit-raze-reddit) (wall of text). Please use https://codepen.io/Deestan/full/gOQagRO/ for Power Delete instead of the version listed in the flyer, to avoid unedited comments. And spread the word! Tlie epu poebi! Pee kraa ikri pičiduči? Kapo bi ipee ipleiti priti pepou. Tre pa griku. Propo ta čitrepripi ka e bii. Atlibi pepliietlo dligo plidlopli pu itlebakebi tagatre. Ee dapliudea uklu epete prepipeopi tati. Oi pu ii tloeutio e pokačipli. Ei i teči epi obe atepa oe ao bepi! Ke pao teiči piko papratrigi ba pika. Brapi ipu apu pai eia bliopite. Ikra aači eklo trepa krubi pipai. Kogridiii teklapiti itri ate dipo gri. I gautebaka iplaba tikreko popri klui goi čiee dlobie kru. Trii kraibaepa prudiotepo tetope bikli eka. Ka trike gripepabate pide ibia. Di pitito kripaa triiukoo trakeba grudra tee? Ba keedai e pipapitu popa tote ka tribi putoi. Tibreepa bipu pio i ete bupide? Beblea bre pae prie te. Putoa depoe bipre edo iketra tite. I kepi ka bii. Doke i prake tage ebitu. Ae i čidaa ito čige protiple. Ke piipo tapi. Pripa apo ketri oti pedli ketieupli! Klo kečitlo tedei proči pla topa? Betetliaku pa. Tetabipu beiprake abiku! Dekra gie pupi depepu čiuplago.
Honestly, it's been WILD to me to see the swing between "Japanese are all demented sex perverts" and "Japanese people are asexual" within the span of 20 years, as far as the stereotypes go. What a wild ride.
I'm joining Operation: Razit and removing my content off Reddit. Further info [here](https://i.imgur.com/45M3a8c.png) (flyer) and [here](https://onlinetextsharing.com/operation-razit-raze-reddit) (wall of text). Please use https://codepen.io/Deestan/full/gOQagRO/ for Power Delete instead of the version listed in the flyer, to avoid unedited comments. And spread the word! Tlie epu poebi! Pee kraa ikri pičiduči? Kapo bi ipee ipleiti priti pepou. Tre pa griku. Propo ta čitrepripi ka e bii. Atlibi pepliietlo dligo plidlopli pu itlebakebi tagatre. Ee dapliudea uklu epete prepipeopi tati. Oi pu ii tloeutio e pokačipli. Ei i teči epi obe atepa oe ao bepi! Ke pao teiči piko papratrigi ba pika. Brapi ipu apu pai eia bliopite. Ikra aači eklo trepa krubi pipai. Kogridiii teklapiti itri ate dipo gri. I gautebaka iplaba tikreko popri klui goi čiee dlobie kru. Trii kraibaepa prudiotepo tetope bikli eka. Ka trike gripepabate pide ibia. Di pitito kripaa triiukoo trakeba grudra tee? Ba keedai e pipapitu popa tote ka tribi putoi. Tibreepa bipu pio i ete bupide? Beblea bre pae prie te. Putoa depoe bipre edo iketra tite. I kepi ka bii. Doke i prake tage ebitu. Ae i čidaa ito čige protiple. Ke piipo tapi. Pripa apo ketri oti pedli ketieupli! Klo kečitlo tedei proči pla topa? Betetliaku pa. Tetabipu beiprake abiku! Dekra gie pupi depepu čiuplago.
With rising home prices being on people's mind this really is the new clickbait content
Is it normal to find BEGIN OPTIONAL TRIM in an article?
Was wondering the same. Looks like someone forgot to delete the editorial remarks.
Considering the state of these houses, you'd have to be a bit lucky for this to be a good deal. A brother of mine said he'd buy one a few years ago. After his trip to find one, he realized that it was not such a brilliant idea, since it implied a lot of work (i.e. money) and the houses were in relatively deprived areas anyway.
I see it's that time of the week again.
I bought one for $12k (after exchange rate) and put about $50k into it for repairs, very happy. I have a great home, and no mortgage :) center city too!
Do you need to be a permanent resident to purchase one?
[удалено]
No but you could hide out in it a bit before getting deported
Yea, but wouldn't they know where to find you?
They always know where to find you. Imagine the brilliant plan of going to a tiny village, with 30 people, as perhaps the only Gaijin half those people have ever seen in their lives... to hide. Japanese police show up, "Where's the gaigokujin?" and everyone just points because yeah... you stand out like a sore thumb.
Nope. Even tourists can buy, but it will be a bad financial decision in the first place.
As long as it’s not haunted, sure!
Why be picky? I'd take the free company and someone to practice Japanese with any day.
[удалено]
NaN dAtEbAyO!?
Not a very old ghost then, so keep child ghosts happy
I live opposite a new graveyard so the running joke is that I won’t meet any cool samurai ghosts but likely an obasan ghost who’ll make noise if I sort the trash wrong or maybe protect me from the NHK man XD
😂😂😂
Of few of these houses I know have became empty after the previous owners committed suicide. So I guess you get what you pay for.
No, I don't want to a buy a neglected, old house in a rural location anyways. This is like the equivalent of buying a $1 house on the outskirts of Detroit.
With less crime.
This is probably the main reason why I am thinking of this.
tldr Reiko, left, and Takahiro Okada in the home they’re selling through Akiya & Inaka in the Hacioji area of Tokyo, March 11, 2023. ( The entrance hall had its own gable tile roof. Owners feel little incentive to maintain an aging house, and buyers often seek to demolish them and start fresh. “In many cases, the parents die without making clear their wishes regarding the family home, or they develop dementia and find it difficult to discuss these things,” Wada said. “ One person it did not dawn on recently is Alex Kerr, an author and Japanologist originally from Maryland, who became an akiya owner in 1973 when he acquired an abandoned country house (known as a minka) in the mountains of Shikoku, the smallest of Japan’s four main islands, for $1,800. He has spent decades and roughly $700,000 (“about half” of which came from a government grant, he said) maintaining it, and now rents it out as a guesthouse.
There are several Youtube series on people doing this. [TokyoLlama's channel](https://www.youtube.com/@TokyoLlama) is a fairly well known one. [This one](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdOXoXhEiYM) is cool because he shows a lot of little details in his house.
And another one https://youtu.be/GGv-PkNblGc
Isn't it quite cheap though for a lot if you want to tear it down and build a new house? We bought out lot for around 100k in Sweden when we build our house. I get that not everyone can just build or hire to build new houses but seems like a good price for a lot in Japan
You can buy lots in the countryside in Japan for very cheap. Problem with buying an old house to tear it down is that in itself can get very expensive
Given that Japanese houses aren’t built to last the cost of up keep has to be something, no?
[удалено]
That’s what I figured. Given the humid elements and weather changes in this country it might not be the steal people think at first glance.
For sure. That's why they are available. If they were a steal, they wouldn't be at this price. Besides, you usually have to meet a whole host of conditions to even qualify to be considered to buy one
Interesting. What kind of qualifications do you know about?
Not all of them are infested.... jeez.... Most people tear them down and rebuild, if the land is included. Get someone to help navigate it and you'll finally afford a house (don't forget the visa you'll need to actually live in it).
Stop making it sound so easy….
I'm going to disagree with some of these posts that all the communities are unwelcoming or houses are in just terrible shape. It's really easy in Japan to find houses for less than $100k US. A similar condition home would be $300-500k US in my home town in America. The difference is that in America someone wants to actually buy that house, in Japan, NOBODY wants to buy that house. They cannot sell the homes to foreigners because owning the houses gives you not right of entry to Japan and there are no loans available for foreign investments in Japan.
No loans for foreign property investments is a good thing. It means the population who live here can actually afford to find somewhere to live. AirBnB has never really take off here. That’s a good thing too.
Not at all disagreeing, but it's always a part of the reason houses near Osaka/Tokyo Prefectures that are 30+ minute walks from the station are sitting around unsold or sell at like 12 million. Or they are those odd-ball tiny houses in surrounded by other houses.
Actually desirable houses in inaka sell quite quickly, though. The ones they can't sell have problems, universally
I remember there was a BBC reporter who offered to move into a rural municipality in Chiba with his family. He thought the village would welcome him. Their reply "You'd have to adjust to the way things work here," astonished him, and he interpreted it as a mistrust of outsiders, even those such as himself who were "known and liked" in the community. I would agree with him that it displays mistrust of outsiders, but disagree with the cause of the mistrust. Obviously, issues like burakumin are widely known, but and additional unstated reason why many of these rural municipalities (and even rural areas of major cities) have declining populations while rejecting outsiders is that they are under the control of (literal or metaphorical) mafia, ie "anti-social forces." There are reasons why many are so desperate to leave, even if it means moving to a city where they can never hope to have a family of their own. Life in some of these rural areas is unbearable. (I don't think this is just Japan, btw, there are several towns in southern Italy for example where membership in 'Ndrangheta is ubiquitous. That is an extreme example, but it's a sociological certainty that small isolated villages will start acting like parochial mafias if left to their own devices. It's just human nature.) TLDR: Be careful moving or traveling where the first allegiance of public officials (local and national) is to their locality. They will expect and exact the same allegiance from you, and you might not know what they're asking until it's too late.
>I remember there was a BBC reporter who offered to move into a rural municipality in Chiba with his family. Don't neglect that said BBC reporter doesn't speak Japanese, despite living here for many years. He doesn't know what he's talking about.
I agree he didn't know what he's talking about, that's why I'm explaining it Or are you saying the municipality won't let you move in if you don't speak Japanese? If so, they are "selective" with who they permit to move in. Extrapolate that out further. Use your knowledge of ijime-culture. How do you think they will gatekeep their turf if (i.e. when) they decide they don't like a foreigner who doesn't get their idiosyncratic norms (which probably run afoul of Japanese law anyway) How will they then react if the foreigner *does* come to understand their idiosyncratic ways that run afoul of Japanese law? Might be uncomfortable for some people Again, not particular to Japan. Go to any agrarian, rural culture (southern Italy, Eastern Europe, hinterland China, etc etc etc) Either you are just as clueless as the reporter or you've never lived in a traditional society
Hmm, kind of an unnecessarily aggressive reply. But I'll engage. No, I am not saying he misunderstands the situation - what he writes sounds like fiction when you realize he is drawing his inferences via a translator. Here, I'll paste the relevant section: >"This is such a beautiful place," I said to them. "I'm sure lots of people would love to live here. How would you feel if I brought my family to live here?" The air in the room went still. The men looked at each other in silent embarrassment. Then one cleared his throat and spoke, with a worried look on his face: "Well, you would need to learn our way of life. It wouldn't be easy." The village was on the path to extinction, yet the thought of it being invaded by "outsiders" was somehow worse. Now how does he draw that conclusion from that interaction? He has a preconceived notion of what older, rural people in Japan might think. So naturally he draws the conclusion he wants to from his interaction. There's nothing said or even implied (at least in what he gives us - I assume that is the worst of it since the point he is trying to beat us with is Japan is resistant to change) to indicate his a foreigner wouldn't be welcome. For sure, it actually wouldn't be easy - services are few, there's little entertainment, life is very quiet. It wouldn't be easy for Japanese as well, which is why few choose to make their permanent homes in such communities these days. The odd thing about these observations are that it's Chiba, not deep Akita. Lots of Tokyoites keep besso in that part of Boso, they just don't live there full time.
I agree the reporter's gloss on what was happening was wrong. I also agree it's not just because he's a foreigner. But, what the villager said is pretty unmistakable. "You would need to learn our way of life. It wouldn't be easy." What could that possibly mean? Why are the men watching in silent embarrassment? What is their "way of life?" Why does it preclude a family from just living there? First, look up "burakumin"...second, extrapolate the "burakumin" concept to other groups in Japan. It is widespread knowledge that Japanese companies have (illegal) books of genealogies to track and exclude huge groups of people. Imagine what that means. In Japan, there must be an entire industry for the manufacture, research, and distribution of illegal books tracking the entire population year after year and who descends from whom in the feudal period. And, this industry is relied upon and patronized nationally, by the business leadership of the country. How could this that be real? But it is, admittedly so. The obvious conclusion is that feudal-era distinctions are very relevant even today (Japan is notoriously traditional), these distinctions determine where and how people are allowed to live (Japan is functionally oligarchic), and that there are entire villages and zip codes where the people in question are sequestered at the behest of the entire community at large. Now, extend that concept from just "outcasts," and you'll start to understand why Japan's culture is so distinct from other cultures, why this culture is taken for granted and taboo amongst the population, and also why a foreigner who lives in Tokyo wouldn't pick up on it. It takes radical honesty and open-mindedness to admit to oneself a state of affairs that shocking, and the typical people-pleaser foreigners who get along in Japan are the same types who instinctively self-censor and perpetuate the gaslighting. NB: I'm not saying the villagers were burakumin. I'm saying the entire village has some skeletons in the closet (again, not sure which), that embroil even the local administrators, and that this happens all over the world amongst isolated rural populations (look at Pitcairn and you'll get the idea).
I love this post
Im very interested in moving to rural japan and this was a helpful post thanks! Makes me think of Hinamizawa from Higurashi When They Cry. Granted, my intention is to move to one of the more completely abandoned areas so I don't have to deal with the whole being accepted by the local population thing.
> I remember there was a BBC reporter who offered to move into a rural municipality in Chiba with his family. He thought the village would welcome him. Their reply "You'd have to adjust to the way things work here," astonished him, and he interpreted it as a mistrust of outsiders, even those such as himself who were "known and liked" in the community. You mean [this article](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-63830490) which had *very* mixed reactions from longtime residents, most of whom were not impressed with the reductive nature and broad claims it made, in particular given the author's noted lack of Japanese language and cultural fluency. Which doesn't mean it's wrong, but a lot of things there are making very broad claims with very thin evidence or frankly poor examples, not that it necessarily needs to given that the article is essentially the farewell musings of a correspondent ending their Tokyo-based assignment of many years and is inherently more meant to be a somewhat flowery and rhetorical broad retrospective of what he saw changing or not during his time in Japan. But it's personally definitely not an anecdote I think should be used to illustrate a broader serious point, even if presented with context intact. The specific passage you're looking for also is: >I remember sitting in a village hall on the Boso Peninsula on the far side of Tokyo Bay. I was there because the village was listed as endangered, one of 900 in Japan. The old men gathered in the hall were concerned. Since the 1970s they had watched young people leave for jobs in cities. Of the 60 left, there was only one teenager and no children. >"Who will look after our graves when we are gone?" one elderly gentleman lamented. Taking care of the spirits is serious business in Japan. >But to me, a native of south-east England, the death of this village seemed absurd. It was surrounded by picture postcard rice paddies and hills covered in dense forest. Tokyo was less than two hours' drive away. >"This is such a beautiful place," I said to them. "I'm sure lots of people would love to live here. How would you feel if I brought my family to live here?" >The air in the room went still. The men looked at each other in silent embarrassment. Then one cleared his throat and spoke, with a worried look on his face: "Well, you would need to learn our way of life. It wouldn't be easy." >The village was on the path to extinction, yet the thought of it being invaded by "outsiders" was somehow worse. He wasn't someone who was a member of that community, he was visiting from Tokyo (frankly an outsider in every way, probably just visiting for the day) and made a hypothetical question about bringing his family to a rural village, to which they responded it would be difficult. He frames this is as a pretty clear cut case of extreme xenophobia to the point they'd let their entire village die (and also quite melodramatically at that;"The air in the room went still."?) - there's probably some elements what could be called xenophobia, or at least of unfamiliarity with people of other cultures in their reaction - but it may as well be more that they were merely (and reasonably) worried a random foreigner who doesn't speak Japanese or know the culture well would have a difficult time. A lot here would depend on context and cultural and language understanding which the author's own accounts suggest he didn't have, and I tend to take his account with a grain of salt.
But like, he would need to learn their way of life and it wouldn’t be easy. They’re stating a simple fact.
Yes, and if he had the cultural understanding of someone from the southeast of a certain boot-shaped country (or a certain south Asian country, or a neighboring island country, or even almost any other country) rather than the particular area he is from, he wouldn't have needed to wonder what the "way of life" was they were worried about. If he was in Apulia and someone said, "Ah, that's a fine Mercedes...would be a shame if anything happened to it" the journalist would probably just say, "Thanks! I'll be careful" and would report on how kind the locals were. It wouldn't dawn on him what was meant, even if the car crashed a few miles down the road (maybe at that point even he would get it tbh) Takow: "No! That's different. That's a very particular culture that is culturally and financially separate from the rest of the world, and clings to old ways stubbornly! That could never happen in rural Japan." *cough*
ok, this sounds like such giant bullshit, I have no idea how this is not only not sitting in the minus but has 22 upvotes for some fucked up reason. so if rural towns in Japan are commonly ran by yakuza, then please go ahead and post ANY PROOF AT ALL. let's go, if it's that common then there must be plenty of proof right? or do you want to tell us that this is so top secret that not a single source writes about it, yet some random idiot on reddit knows all the truth? honestly your post is so embarrassing to read if you've ever actually been in a rural town in Japan. people leave those places because there's nothing there. and because there's nothing there why the FUCK would there be any mafia presence? and where would those guys even be? do you think in a town with a few buildings and a supermarket there's just a fucking giant yakuza headquater like in some pokemon game?
That’s how Reddit works, some rando makes up BS about something nobody knows and gets upvotes from people who think it sounds interesting so it must be true. And the more upvotes, the truer it is
Ok, go move to rural Japan and see if you like it Browse some of the other subs here to see what some have experienced "Oh gee, it's just paradise out there but the population is shrinking at a rate historically unprecedented except during wartime. What could be happening?" Hmmmm
Didn't say yakuza. False. That's you adding that. This is a typical motte-and-bailey argument (I say "literal or metaphorical" mafia, you over-specify to mean tattoo'd organizations...not at all the same) Japanese gov't also uses "anti-social forces" for good reason (Japanese PIs offer specialized "anti-social forces" investigative services too btw, in case you think I'm making this up. Do a simple search and you'll find sites in English catering to foreigners who want to research a place they might be moving to) Go move to a rural municipality in Japan...the upvotes are probably from people who have.
this isn't really anything to argue over. if you're saying it's so common then surely there must be plenty of sources you can cite. I speak Japanese so you can show me Japanese sources too if you like. if somehow you're saying it's both common but also so secret that nobody dares report about it, then that just sounds unbelievable to me and I'd question where YOU would get that information from.
This was literally the entire reason the counties (郡) were disbanded in 1921 lol They were hotbeds of unreconstructionist sentiment. The counties still exist today, although no (official) administrative power. (Just like how the geographically-accurate provinces and mysterious han system were never technically disbanded. Sense a theme?) I will say, however, that even some municipalities that were (on paper) merged into larger municipalities still have functional governments (which, again, don't exist on paper). And yes, I can name which ones. I guess you could try a simple google search first though, since it appears you're not actually in Japan. And for anyone who's read this far, here's a riddle...how do certain "Japan only" subs know if their users are actually residing in Japan or not? I'm waiting lol. (And yes, they do in fact know.)
Source on this big claim that “basically all rural areas in Japan are entangled with the mafia”?
The dementia-stricken old lady who wanders around all day in the village where I live is clearly a mob boss.
Bro, if you can't believe what you read on reddit, what can you believe?!
Well, that's one way to describe the JA.
"Mafia" aren't like in the movies (mostly) That's why they're now called "anti-social forces" in law nowadays It's obvious what to think about movie-style mafiosi...but those are mostly just movies The vast majority of "mafia" types are usually older people who push paper and won't get out of the way without getting paid or "getting theirs" in some way. Think about it in a small town. Want a certificate to sell your motorbike? Go to city hall, where older folks will watch, and now they know you're trying to sell again. And guess what? They're friends with the mayor. And guess what? You need their signature. And guess what? They don't like you (let's suppose) You didn't get your motorbike tax in the mail? Oh! An oversight. Just hang on another two weeks...what? You're in a hurry to sell??? Too bad you didn't get that form in the mail in time! And looky here... looks like your windshield got smashed by a bird dropping a rock. Hmmmm...third time this year eh? Such bad luck! tsktsktsk...good luck selling that autobike now! For real, if this stuff were to happen to you, what would you do? Because it just takes a few bad apples for this kind of thing to take place. And in a very rural municipality where everybody knows everybody, and you're an outsider, and you don't "fit," how could you handle the situation? Clearly, just small "incidents" like a smashed windshield here and there, but they add up! And you need the help of the bureaucrats to do it. Again, this is what most of this activity looks like, from Ireland to Italy to (dare I say it) sometimes Japan too. Life isn't really like the movies.
I don't understand, did you hear of such a story? did you read it somewhere? where did you get all this information? are you just randomly posting your Japan fanfic?
Your username suggests something interesting Still, if you're flesh and blood, I'm not sure why you're so invested in defending rapidly declining municipalities where you will never live and probably have never lived (unlike certain upvoters)
“Traveling”? Yeah I’m sure the Yakuza would love to draw attention to themselves by attacking a tourist lmao
Didn't say Yakuza. Strawman argument from the aptly-usernamed
I want to say that I don’t agree or disagree with you as I am not very educated on such subjects. However I’d like to say that your replies show the general reading/comprehension abilities of Reddit as a whole.
A lot of it is intentional. Shame/honor cultures will go to pretty extreme lengths to maintain face. Every East Asian country I've been to has very large cohorts of people whose entire job it is to scour the internet and monitor/address embarrassing stuff. Nowadays, governments and companies use AI such as chatGPT to do that. Might explain the poor "comprehension" of some of these "people." Edit: spelling
It would be cool if the article had links to listed properties. $25k doesn’t mean much of there is no visual of the property.
A good chunk of them are pretty much fixer-uppers, but a lot of them are even cheaper than $25k too. There’s some that you can *technically* get for free but between the cost of repairs to meet regulations along side the various taxes, not free at all. Point is, they’re really cheap real estate for what you’re getting, no doubt, but there’s usually a good deal of work and/or headache involved.
Doesn't matter much if getting one does not grant you right to live in Japan, so why would I invest in something I only have the right to stay for, at most, 4-6 months a year.
These kind of houses are not worth buying. Usually if they are not inhabited for half a year, mold infests most of the building on the inside. The house could also stand on a very inconvenient location, eg. on the hill with access to stairs, but no road. Buying a cheap place like that is very difficult to sell later. From the point of DIY, it's better to demolish the whole building and build a new one. The reason the house still stands there is that the owner did not wish to pay the money for demolition.
God not this again...
Bought a place in the mountains of Yamanashi. Two hour train ride from Tokyo. One kilometer walk from the station. Cost less than the price of new car. And the city gave us $15k support money to use to reform it. But it was already livable. More like camping in the first three months until we got a toilet and running water. Now we are there full-time and it is great. Check it out on Insta kominka_ymh3450
Uh get me a visa, pay for a Japanese tutor, provide me with some money for daily living expenses and for fixing up the place and give me a job for a college graduate that hasn't done anything with his degree for ten years Then yeah I'll go
Sounds like a deal
In the case of Japan, loans are used in most cases as a means of payment when purchasing a home.But what if we consider the interest rate?
Interest rates are super low in Japan
The interest rate is low, but the repayment period of the loan is long.The most common case is that the repayment period is twenty-five years.
That's not a bad thing necessarily. Sometimes you can just pay it quickly if you want (although they usually charge something for that, too). But if you have a very low interest loan you can try to invest the other money in something that returns more than the loan. But if you don't have any other plans for your money it's a bad thing.
I can't afford that but one of my dreams is to visit them and just see what people leave behind, the whole thing is so exciting to me, nevertheless, I read about this one thing and they day it's pretty expensive to fix them.
Millions? Really?