I remember when I first noticed this on Japanese products it struck me that it was the presentation of the food visually that they were concerned about whereas in America the text on the packaging is about the amount of food, as in the food is not the same size as the picture.
I once woke up on my futon to see something dark on my leg. Freaking out, I turned on the light to find it was a gokuburi. That was actually a slight relief, because at least it wasn't a mukade or a spider. Still made my skin crawl >_<
You forgot a case: yes, it would be cheaper to knock it down but, due to changes in law (to allow emergency vehicle access, IIRC), the road is not wide enough to support any changes to this structure. Bonus points for a cultural properties or airport restriction. I now have a house in rural Tohoku, but man was this my life for so long trying to get out of renting to own at least *something*
i guess if you want to pay 110,000 dollars for a house with no insulation, no electricity, cockroaches, and half a wall missing you can always look in texas. skip having to move across an ocean.
I have Wise, specifically because I lived in Japan for a year, and I was so glad I got an account and card from them! It's a great option for anyone living in Japan that needs to access funds from abroad, as you said. The only real issue I had was that since the card isn't issued in Japan, I couldn't use it for online credit card payments for services like food delivery or event tickets. Would be great if Wise could find a way to issue cards in Japan and distribute them to foreigners (if only those with a long-term visa), though I don't know if the legislation would allow for something like that. On a student visa, I had no way of getting a Japanese credit card either, so my Wise card was still always the best option, and as for the online ticket sales, I could just easily pay at the konbini around the corner, even with my foreign-issued card.
2:00 I feel you. I'm renting an apartment in the center of Tokyo right now. Newly built house, 4 years ago. Still no insulation. What the actual fvck Japan? Your summers go 30-40°C. Why don't you use insulation??!
I'm sure you can make it work, but it takes a lot more money than you'd think at first and a lot of work if you're keen on doing it yourself. And just because you own a house, it won't grant you any sort of permanent citizenship even if you're looking to live in Japan for the rest of your life, right? Most people don't have that kind of money in cash, but I think it's unlikely that a Japanese bank will just loan you the money.
You just have to spend enough time researching and checking out different houses. There are some that are absolutely worth purchasing, but more that aren’t…
The 6.7% markup in this sketch (from 158,000 -> 148,000) is kind of high, but far from unheard of, even outside of Japan. You're lucky you're not exchanging money at a Travelex at an airport, where I've seen markups as high as 30%.
Huh? Termites? Mold? Structural damage? Constructed before housing codes? It's actually a long term lease and not ownership due to complex registry reasons? Probably some 5 to 10 years spent on renovations only to realize it's better to demolish and rebuild? ..........ok, not quite what I expected. :P
As a teenager, i really wanted to learn more language and more i couldn't waste my time on something pointless So i ended up knowing 3 languages then i got interested in learning Japanese and i asked myself "why i shouldn't study it" although i watch anime and many people will think just because i watch anime and i will want to learn Japanese But no.... The reason is for getting smarter and for education and experience in languages . Although its hard but i accept the challenge as long as possible And anybody who is reading this comment i want you to know that never fear your challenges and accept them , in the end there's always a big reward waiting for y'all. And i always support you for accepting your challenge 👍 (Edit: im still studying)
@@IronLotus15 Thank you for your kindness. But ボットン便所 is ancient toilet. That toilet was just a hole. Maybe same with old western country. How do you say such ancient toilet? Sorry for my Engrish.
@@kmi9272 Oh, I totally misunderstood! I assumed wrongly that ボットン was referring to the button that flushes the toilet...sorry about that. I don't know if there is a specific word for the kind of toilet that is just a hole. After looking up some photos, maybe you could say "squat toilet without a flush"? Squat toilets don't really exist in the US, but we do also have toilets that don't flush. Some examples include porta-potties (at large events that need temporary restrooms), some toilets in US national parks, and toilets on coach buses (a specific style of bus meant for traveling long distances) Edit: I just remembered that the non-flushing toilets in national parks / wilderness areas are called pit toilets! (Named because of the pit that all the, uh, stuff falls into)
At that point you’re pretty much just buying on overpriced lot to build your new home on which is what you should’ve done in the first place honestly… Do the Dogen solution and build custom if you can BUT don’t underestimate how livable and more importantly affordable the preset type of homes can be. Sure it’s not unique but if you don’t have any different needs or wants then they can make a wonderful home still.
First sensible comment. You buy an Akiya just for the cheap land. Mind you, you still have to pay the recycling costs for the house you tear down. But it can still be way cheaper. Then you build a custom or a prefabricated house which is the standard anyway. If you don't want to live that off grid. There are complete houses, sometimes with basic furniture even, with a lot and everything... key ready in more countryside areas. They are pretty cheap all things considered. I could pay one off in 10 years, which is nothing. Only haven't done yet because the commute for me is 3hrs and the next house is an arm length away. 😭
@@StevenBara There are definitely cheap houses that can be worth it, but Dogen is definitely not wrong about how misleading the posts can be. The homes you would expect to be move in ready are exclusively the ones that look spotless. But that's pretty much acting under the assumption that people will buy a home without looking at it in person first which is an insane thing to do and I hope nobody seriously considers it. If nothing else, every country, including Japan, has remote real estate assistance agencies where they will send a representative there on your behalf and check out certain features specifically or hire an inspection of the home on your behalf etc. and nowadays that can even include videoing the visit or a live video call if it's in an area with stable enough internet. Even when buying a prebuilt home or getting a good deal on an existing home that's been in use for over 5 years or something, you're still getting a good deal. It's like buying a car that's been used as a rental for a year or something. Probably has an okay mileage and is well taken care of but not "new" so you get it for cheap despite being a recent model. Same concept. But generally speaking it bugs me when people want to buy a home "just because" rather than buying it to actually live there.
I've been in a multi-year long process of trying to get the concept of "insulation" over. The word seems to have no obvious meaning or translation in Japanese language or culture. And when it's understood, by some, it's seen as a kind of luxury, like customized paintwork on a car (i.e. not something which is actually needed or particularly useful) As for strengthening the house for earthquakes.. the regulations have been updated and upgraded over the decades, so a house from the seventies *could* be improved on, but.. We've had experts going over our house, and whatever is done can't get us to "3" which is the current good standard for earthquake-safety. We can get to 1.5 or so. Much better than what we have, which is way below 1.. but in the end, it's actually cheaper and better to tear down everything and start over. In any case, as anyone familiar with houses know, if it's 50 years old you are 100% certain to have got drainage issues (water from outside no longer kept away from the base) and you may as well get all the groundwork redone anyway. Another reason for just starting from scratch. Another thing.. while talking to a representative for a construction company (the owner actually), he presented what is actually a common myth: That a house can be too well insulated, that it can be too air-tight. Which is false. A house can never be too well insulated or air-tight, as it's way more efficient and better to get the air refreshed in a controlled way (ventilation, air circulation, even windows). So there's still a way to go, even though modern concepts are starting to make its way into Japanese house construction. One company actually stated that they were still 30 years behind Europe.
Hello again. Yeah, it sounds like you’re in the exact same situation we were in 5 years ago. And as for the “too much insulation” concept, that came up for us too. What our company did was put a small (closable) air intake duct in each room.
Yeah, a Heat Recovery Ventilation System in a "air tight overly insulated" home will always be better then the cost and energy need to cool/warm the home constantly when poorly insulated.
