Consider This Before Buying A Cheap House in Rural Japan 

As a Polish girl I understand the hard work that is need to be put in the making of a house mine.Respect of the neibours is also on first top of the list.Kind regards

Great video. People tend to rush into things without knowing what is expected. Thank you for spelling it out for those who want to take on a property in a rural area. You make it look easy and I am glad you said how difficult it is. Excellent!!!

usually people do not see the hardwork behind people's success. The city dwellers are so used to using money to pay for all problems and I am glad you addressed them here.

Thank you for taking the time to make this video. It is so very helpful. As a foreigner I always think about moving to and living in rural Japan. But seeing the steps it actually takes makes me realize it is not a simple process. This video definitely gives me some things to consider. Thanks for being so candid😊

I'm into my 4th year living and running a cafe in rural Japan and everything said here is indeed correct.

I'm in the UK. I'm helping with a house renovation. This week I added 7 tons of soil to a builder's skip. I've removed soil to make a block paved back garden, and moved 20kg bags of builder's sand, blast and cement. It is very hard work. So I salute you with all of the hard work you are doing on these houses.

As usual, you've done a great job of sharing essential information in a way that's positive and easy to understand. As the market gets flooded with foreign real estate 'investors' who know little or nothing about the realities of life here, you're really providing a great service with your videos!

Your audio has gotten so much better from the last 3 videos I watched. 👌 Very nice channel. It's informative.

Thank you for making this video to educate people who are considering moving to rural Japan. Its nice to have a realistic idea of how longbit takes to learn japanese. ❤

Thank you so much for telling us all the information : )

Thank you for clearing up these points. I live in Japan and considering buying an akiya in the future, but there is so much steps to even thinking about it seriously, so I probably will still rent for a couple of years. You have a great channel, glad to find it!

I love your videos, they are so genuine and I appreciate you sharing your experience with such honesty. I'm glad you pointed out the importance of understanding the social and cultural norms as #1! I worry about people buying properties in Japan thinking it's easy and then negatively impacting the residents, or gentrifying neighbourhoods... Hope more people see this!

I will keep it simple and to the point. THANK YOU for your time and effort in putting together this video and sharing it with us. 😊

Very useful 😊 and really appreciate you made this video to explain everything in details especially with the cultural part.

I agree with you! I'd say it took me at least 10 years until I started to feel comfortable with speaking Japanese.

This is direly important info!!! THANK YOU!!! I'm saving this to come back to!

Get a sythe its fun effortless once you have it figured. Can use the green manure as mulch

What I particularly liked in this video was the content about your Japanese language and cultural understanding. I say that as I am now on my 8th year in Japan and can completely relate with both aspects. Best wishes for the cafe.

I suppose that as a Singaporean you are accustomed to navigate culturally complex terrain. Thanks for your very informative videos. They go a long way to explaining why there are so many seemingly impossibly cheap akiyas in Japan. It's the unseen costs. I do wonder, still, why there is not more of a domestic second-home market in Japan. Osaka is not that far away. And many of the costs you cite would not be incurred by native Japanese. I am certain that many Japanese from the urban parts of kansai feel the same yearning to escape to a more natural environment that I would feel.

Thanks to you and your channel we don't necessarily have to live in Japan, we can learn a lot of Japanese culture and implement some of it in our western lifes. ;-) I recently ordered a binchotan extinguishing pot. I wouldn't even know such thing exists if I wasn't watching your videos!

Wow so brave boy. I am Japanese who has been working in SG for more than 5 years. I can be friend with you without fluent Japanese. 😆 Jiayou! Love to watch your video.

I thank you for your honesty

Very good info. Yeap not easy at all for foreigners indeed in rural area. We are in US and Thailand. Just thinking,, it will be nice to have 3nd home in Japan for us, families and friends to visit especially in Winter.

Like your channel and respect your resilience. I have bought a Kyo-machiya in Kyoto located near Kiyomizu-Gojo station, and between Kamogawa River and Takase River. I overlooked the language barrier and had difficulty fixing this 110 years old machiya that needed plenty of TLC. Appreciate if someone living in Kyoto and speaks English can link me up with an English speaking carpenter that undertakes machiya renovation. 🙏

nice video very informative ❤❤

Nice video!

I lived in rural Shikoku. Most other foreigners living there or near there didn't last long. It's hard to assimilate when you have limited language skills and country/ rural life isn't for everyone. As I have witnessed my parents in their old age - they need to be close to decent medical facilities and the socialization aspect is also something I under looked. There's a lot to consider.

ようこそ日本🇯🇵へ！ 古民家生活を楽しんでね〜 Looking very nice your house. Now not easy to get good quality one.

Great advice. You have convinced me that getting a cheap rural house is not for me. Too old, not wealthy, do not speak Japanese, back and knee pain. My best thing would be to pay for a small apartment in the city.

Great vid!

This is a good channel. One thing to keep in mind is everyone's experience is different. As a white man it was very easy for me to make friends in rural Japan. But because I did not know anything about the language or customs, I also made a lot if mistakes. So my experience is sort of the opposite to yours. Also, my philosophy is that my land is my land, my time is my time. My neighbours should live and let live. I don't tell my neighbours how to dress, either, so they shouldn't be commenting on my clothing choices. Although attitudes seem to be slowly changing towards those alligned with my views, it is happening very, very slowly. Foreigners underestimate how conservative some areas of rural Japan are. By conservative, I actually mean feudal, lol.

All of what you are saying is completly normal everywhere for villages . Especially here in the UK , villages are fiercly opinionated and probably more hostile to people from different mind sets or deifferent races then anywhere else . Japan is a wonderful place however if you have the attitude that the world owes you something which seems to be more and more common at the moment then you will have a bad time . If you go to japan to live long term and cannot speak the language , you are a idiot anyway in my opinion . I currently live in london and its amazing to me how many people are rude and obnoxious and only still speak their own langauge , it really irritates me as pretty laid back person to repeat every single time every time i order here . If you work hard wherever you are you will do well japan is no exception . There are dirt cheap houses everywhere in the world uk usa anywhere, the people who complain ware the ones who also want convineince and connection from where they live .

I am really pleased for this video.Thank You and I respect the rules.

Hi, I am fellow Singaporean lady, I am interested to buy a Akiya house. You mentioned in your video the tax. Can you explain in detail what's are the tax needs to pay after completion of the requisite of the Akiya House. Would appreciate the step by step procedures to look for to purchase the Akiya house.

The toughest part is making relationships, I worked as an acrobat as a young man and had many friends who worked in Japan for years, learned the language but never made friends, shame. I still dream of motorcycling across the country 😎

I have visited Nachi-Katsuura, Wakayama twice already and I plan to come again this year. (onsen!). Are you familiar with that city, or do you know someone who is? I plan to buy a kominka/akiya sometimes in the future.

What job i can do in rural area to make a living ?

What about government taxes, fees, regulations. Can you explain those.

Great video idea and transitions!. Silly question, if you were nice to neighbours and followed the rules, would they be upset if you decided to demolish and drop a new prefab building on the land rather than restore an old building?

That was real eye opening lol

Would these comments apply to the same degree if the rural house doesn't have farmland attached? There are many empty house listings where it's just a house and 500-1000 sq m of residential land. Also curious to know, if you are currently renting that place, is it dangerous investing so much money in renovations? Do you have any agreement that you'll be able to buy it at the pre-renovation price?

Hey why don't you place a live camera on the Kissa 🍵 a lot of people including myself like to watch live cameras in Japan, especially if it's raining to relax, n sometimes to sleep. I'll love to watch Ryunohara as I try n sleep.

You spoke a bit about having bad relations with neighbours but in the end what can they do if they don't like you? If someone wants to sell his house and doesn't care who will buy it then they can't do anything or am I wrong? Also why would it be hard to live without getting along with neighbours? Is it only about helping each other or something else?

You say how important the upkeep is and how much the neighbors judge you on this pride. How is it that the former owners had left it in such poor shape? And left 10 or more truckloads of trash/recycling. Was it all inside the house or outside in the yard? Just curios. Thanks for posting.

What would be a typical gift given to community members upon introduction?

Are you working in Japan? I'm trying to figure out how to expatriate there

Would love the link to that instagram/newsletter you mentioned at the end, just for reference.

5:47 it ain’t USA babiiiiie 😂

How come you can not hire workers to repair the houses?

Some people rather put in hard work than worry about stressing over being shot or abused

Google will translate for you!

Hello 👋 friend ☺️ 🐕❣️🗾 🏡

I would really love to live in Japan in a older house/farmhouse and be a honeybee keeper and little farmer. but Japan doesn’t just give citizenship to American citizens. It would be really hard to get even permanent residence there, so why would I buy a property there? Someone tell me if I marry a guy that I would get permanent residence ? Well, I would like is to find a guy in his 30’s or 50s he can even have children since I can’t have any because I am transgender. Maybe I should marry a really old man in his 70s.? that’s how bad I want to move to Japan so beautiful there in the country side.

About making friends, I'm fine with it. It's been 7 years I'm in USA and I still have no friends and neither my American husband has friends. Even for him that is American! It's been hard to find real friends. I think the social media is making people more anti social and more selfish. It wouldn't be different from where I live. Probably it would be much better having a nice and quiet neighborhood without loud Mexicans playing loud music the whole night

Can foreign be allowed to buy property in Japan?

really 10K sqm? a lot for Japan

My neighbors already hate me. they end up cutting the grass for me ahahaha.

Is raci sm a problem in Japan?

Really appreciate your honesty. I have dreamt of living in rural Japan but not now. I would not be able to handle the ridiculous rules for having dogs. I love dogs more than humans and this proves why. You describing the pettiness and arrogance of the neighbors would not work well with me because unless I see danger my property and others is mine and theirs own business. I would not tolerate neighbors thinking they can tell me what I can and cannot do on my property. I would never inhumanely tie my dogs up just because Japanese hate dogs. I know they love and worship cats but still doesn't make it okay to treat dogs like criminals. I am so so glad you did this video because I see Japan in a whole new light.

Hi if I travel to Jap how and where can I find your place? :)

8:38 You might need a proper lawn mower. If you only have a half an acre there can't be that much land left for grass. I mow a half an acre with a walk behind mower in about an hour and 10 minutes. Are there any homes left for any more foreigners? I'd totally respect the local culture. Even be down to making it look like a 19th century village.

Nice. good advice. first step, japanese wife :)

dude new business :) introducing japanese wife :)

I wish there was a way to get a COE or a long term VISA by buying property in Japan because I would already be there. I am used to living in a highly rural environment and would prefer that style of living with a house I can fix up myself over a period of time.

Okay, i help you cut grass when i visit XDDDD

"Everyone here keeps their land clean." So you say. Then how come you had so many truckloads of garbage to haul away before you could start doing anything? I looks like a double standard. I've seen other akiya on other sites that absolutely looked horrendous.

You gotta kiss arse to be accepted? That is insane!😅

I have a question unrelated to akiya. How are you residing in Japan? Do you have a residence permit? I've been researching the best/quickest way to obtain residence without having a Japanese employer and finding it difficult. Would be very interested in what all your process entailed. Thanks!

Good video man. I'm curious, why spend $20k on renos for a house you don't even own?

Btw I saw 2 videos with you on my feed, one was from Seek Sustainable Japan, the other from TedxYouth 👍👍😊