I'm sorry to see that there are some really horrible comments. I think what you're doing is great, and what you're doing for the community there is great. Keep doing what you do! For every horrible commenter, know that there are 10-20 people who are watching your videos and loving your good work.
What you deemed horrible comments are reality checks... If one can post and spin the positive aspects, someone else shld also be able to comment otherwise.
Thank you! I live here because I think Ryujin, like many places in rural Japan, have hope of turning things around in the next few years. The guesthouse already has high demand and I will be hiring in 2024. If things go on we’ll have a community of like-minded people who care about the environment and want to lead quiet but sustainable lives.
@@Collectabots I’m sorry about people deemed your comment “horrible”. These people are Singaporeans, they will sell their own mother to get ahead of anyone. Always on survival mode or stuck in the rat race mind space. No bandwidth to give a shit about anyone else except themselves. You would think a reality check would be reasonable but here we are.
Not sure why people are negative. He's very transparent about the issues & costs. This is only for those who are willing & able to do a renovation. It also assures that the local tradesmen get a job. Sounds like a good way to go about it.
I just want to say what a nice guy you seem to be! I would love to move to Japan, but right now is not the right time, as I have to take care of my daughter. Maybe sometime in the future. You’re giving a house away, preparing it for them, offering to let them use your truck, put them in contact with people. It’s really nice to see there really are people around like you! I hope the project goes to the right person, and wish you all the best on your own projects too!
Brilliant idea for the next generation of your community. Can’t wait to see who ends up here and would love to see them or their family documenting the renovations as well as the local life.
Go live your best life young man! You are an inspiration to many who wants to lead lives differently and ignore the haters who seem to have taken a personal vendetta against what you are doing. Fellow Singaporean “uncle” here!
You are so nice. Big hug for you for revealing costs and damage to the property, some people would hide that. It looks like a great diy project. Good luck finding the perfect person to take over this wonderful house.
This video is right on time because I spoke recently to my friends in Tokyo and I expressed to them that I will visit Japan soon. It is my intent to move to Japan and I have already searched different areas outside of Tokyo. The Yamanashi area seems to be one of their favorite places. 😊 My friends asked me do I know how to use tools. No problem I said but of course consulting a professional would be wise.
Kudos to you for disclosing all of the challenges with moving into this house, I hope you find a lovely person or family to become a part of this nice community.
I would love to live there, rehabilitate the home and property, doing what I can myself and hiring local craftspersons to support the community during my retirement! What a great, charitable idea. 🙇🙇♂🙇♀ Gasho!
I just found your Channel and watched video whereby you purchased a home for yourself. Then I searched to see what other videos you had and found this one. I wished I would have found your Channel earlier. But I am hoping you come into possession of another house in Beautiful Japanese countryside and offer it as you did this one. I have to sell my condo so PLEASE DO NOT GIVE UP TRYING TO HELP PEOPLE that would love to move to Japan. You have a Beautiful Soul do not change. My Father was part Japanese and he was an honorable man. Thank you! 🌺
What a gourgeous house!; thank you for your insights and sharing this opportunity. I am excited to see the journey of the renovation and hope you the home can find its dream owners soon to love it :)
I've read the majority of comments here. Even though some comments is cynical towards your good deed, i have to admit, those views is valid, precautions, and a "reality check". The thing with Japan, you can't just drop into a community and live solo, as you are deemed to commit and help to be a volunteer for this village. Acceptance to the community is important in Japan, and living in such a rural area, indeed you need to keep up your duty as a resident each month, i.e. helping out the (abandoned) fields like cutting and trimming the landscape and be part of a team. Which in my opinion is the right thing to do, but I would not recommend anyone without any knowledge of 日本語, and need to be fit and healthy for such long projects. I do question the terms and conditions for one to live there, must 100% "invest" to renovate before you sign your name off. Which indeed is true those who benefit will be the locals, as it will create jobs for this renovation. Let's be real here. The person who take this opportunity is deemed, and dedicate themselves as a community member, pay land tax every year, be a helper in the area, and prepare to be a farmer, as you stated you want the area to grow your own food (organic without pesticides). It seems all in good faith, but one must know these future potential burden. The person here who question your position is also correct, as one of your videos, you offer a house in this area for $14k, but in the end you turned it into an AirBnB. Thus you know as a property or a guesthouse owner, you need people to inhabitants in this area, it is good for businesses after all. Honestly, it's not a bad thing, far from it. But you need to be transparent to the viewer what to expect. I want to tell you an experience (nothing to do with this channel). But I, myself, have volunteered and stayed with young farmers in Japan (Tokushima). Promoting themselves as "organic" and true to Fukuoka Masanobu method. But in the end, it's all a farce, as they only wanted volunteers to help their farming business for free, and barely feeding the volunteers or teaching "organic" method. And only treat those well who they consider worthy, and outcast anyone who doesn't pay by their rule book. Not to mention, they're not truly Masanobu method, but to use a famous name to lure foreigners or young volunteers (students) to work for free. And they had this idea of starting a community for people living free (presumably Akita houses in the area), but the condition is to help their farming business. Also during my weeks of stay, they got me and their "volunteers" (turned out to be staff and paid for) ripping through a nearby abandoned house to turn it into a coffee house. While I questioned "do we allowed to enter this home"? The answer was, "so what" (expressing it's abandoned anyway". I'm not saying your one of those types of groups, but one must be cautious, and check all future potential problems and burden. Anyway, im not accusing any sinister offer here, im just stating it's right to be careful and consider such "offers". I only hope this opportunity is all in good faith.
Hi, just to clarify, the $14,000 house in one of the earlier videos was meant to be turned into a guesthouse from the start and I was not selling it (please watch the video). I am giving the house to someone who really can use it for 180 days a year, so my terms are that that someone needs to commit to repairing the house to a liveable standard before I hand it to them. I don’t want to receive a house for free and then just turn it over to someone who will squat in it for a couple of months just for the kick of it, and then leave, and saddle the community with another empty house that may end up trashed because that person did not care. It is right to be careful, but one particular commenter insinuates that the villagers have ulterior motives. That really made me upset because so there are so many kind-hearted locals here that truly will help anyone who wants to live here. They want people to come, sure, but that’s not a hidden agenda. It’s clear to everyone that all the locals want more people to be here so that the village may survive. I have done my best in this video to discourage anyone who is not seriously thinking about what they want to do here from just getting “a free house”. I urge anyone who is serious to watch my previous video, ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-n65XZiFocfI.htmlsi=EzXleXQ11rHkwAM-
Apologies on the guesthouse confusion. Although it is still valid in what I said previously and concerns to who is interested in these type of house. Normally in Japan, the house like these are sold for peanuts. Which end up being purchased and demolished to rebuild a new one. As the cost to renovate an old home is more expensive than one thinks. Especially in the last few years, wood price for construction had almost doubled. Anyway, one must research thoroughly before making such decision. As for this channel, all the best in your journey and I hope you find a suitable candidate. Peace.
@@Ryunohara You were very clear on your motivations to benefit the community and your selflessness is apparent, with concern for current residents and outlining a community-based filtering process to assure success for everyone! I salute your efforts to reinvigorate a demographically challenged Japan and anyone would be most fortunate to have you as a neighbor. Hopefully you will find new stewards who have or plan on having some young children ;) Thank you for your kindness!
Hi I'm Singaporean here, been watching your videos. I'm setting up a company in japan and in the final process for my business manager visa. i also secured an akiya in Yamanashi prefecture as the home-office. Hopefully one day got chance to meet you in person.
What a fantastic opportunity for a lucky someone. You have certainly supplied a lot of information for whoever wants to apply. I wish much luck and happiness to whoever acquires this home in a beautiful country with beautiful people. ❤
There are some 9 million empty homes and buildings around Japan, some are quite nice. In the rural areas you'll find housing which costs almost nothing, you can rent a family-size home for $200 per month. If you are collecting a pension, or can work remotely, these homes are a great way to live in a quiet and safe place. But you'll need to keep in mind that living in the countryside pretty much requires that you own and can drive a car. Shops and stores are not always convenient, and things like emergency medical care can be an issue. One thing which has occurred in the more beautiful parts of Japan is foreign "gentrification." Niseko is a good example. It was a quiet and rural area with spectacular winter scenery, and a good place for winter sports. It was "discovered" by wealthy finance types who lived and worked in Hong Kong and Singapore, and they began buying up land and properties. A nice home in Niseko nowadays costs as much as something in Tahoe or even Aspen.
You cant have a resident visa if you are working remotely or collecting a pension. You need to have your own a business or being hired by a company in Japan.
@@Ssaidak No one gets a resident visa unless they have been in Japan for several years. In Japan you can get an investor visa, which requires you have $50,000 or more in assets you can deposit in Japan. You can also get a business visa, or, do like I did, incorporate a business in Japan and sponsor yourself. If your income is high enough, and you pay into the national healthcare and pension plans you can sponsor yourself easily enough.
There is a lot of interest from USA/Canada for houses like this. The model you have is certainly a win-win situation for both the locals and potential new members of the community. Having a local/expert break down majority of issues so a potential buyer have a honest and reasonable money like is a very big plus to your review process. You should expand and educate/teach other communities to resell any unused properties and bring them more attention and exposure to potential buyers. Great job to all the volunteers and the organizer :P Merry Christmas!
This is incredible! My partner and I visited Neyagawa last fall & rented a traditional inn there. It was life changing, and I wish to wake up to the smell of tatami everyday. We talk constantly about moving to Japan to open a Mexicali restaurant! We're huge sumo fans & studying Japanese. We're discussing the logistics of it right now; our next trip we wanted to talk to a real estate agent about details of moving to Neyagawa. Thank you for how sweet you're being to help the future owner of this beautiful property. I'm excited to watch what happens!
As of last year, the Japanese Government was giving away houses that had been abandoned. Mostly in the more rural areas of Japan. I dont know if this is still the case. But, a great opportunity for young folks/families just starting out.
$50,000 USD was about what I was guessing--for a very basic renovation to make the place livable. Another $50,000 or so if you want to make major improvements (e.g. a new kitchen and bath). I would love to live here!! Anyplace close to you and Ryunohara I think would be an exciting and worthwhile experience. 🙂 Unfortunately, we just bought another (small!) place across the street from my house and bar in Toyama, so moving is not in the cards for me anytime soon. I hope you find a great person to take this on!
I want to live in Japan more than anything! I would take such amazing care of a house and try my best to fit in with the locals and treat them with kindness. Whoever wins this will be so blessed.
Love all the work done and indeed this is a great place for anyone looking to try living close to nature. Especially for us who live most of our lives in the city. Thank you for your generous gesture and all the extra work done for whoever is taking over the house. They will be lucky to at least get to know nice people like you🎉
This is a great offer and perfect for a starter home here in Japan! Unfortunately I own my house already, so I have enough property taxes to pay. But I hope someone with a keen sense of DIY will turn this into a great home!
Thank you! We are very far away from where the earthquake happened so we didn’t feel a thing here, but I hope the Noto Peninsula will recover from the damage.
Great video! This is informative for us since we are moving to Japan early next year and strongly considering living in the countryside. We'll check out your other videos. Thanks for sharing and committing to this project. The terms of the offer are quite fair, especially considering the work your volunteer team has already done. Best of luck in finding the right candidate!
Thank you so much for providing a tour of this house and explaining the details of what needs fixing. Your kindness and generosity is admirable. I hope you find the right person to move in. 👍
I am planning to buy a home or two in Toyama and maybe Mie. Good luck to everyone that enters. Unfortunately, I won't be able to enter as I have no plan in the next several years to live in Japan full time.
The Kumano region is home to the Kumano Kodo, a Unesco-listed pilgrimage path, and Ryujin Village has Ryujin Onsen, a 1,200-year-old hot spring with silky smooth water.
@Ryunohara I watched a video the other day about it, it look very hard. Ill stick to nice comfy residential walking, that way I wont miss any ice cream shops :)
The home needs some work but the overall layout is very nice and is otherwise beautiful! As with any foreigner that decides to live part-time in another country, you'll have to get all the permits and meet/pass inspection so it's not as easy as one may think, but if you're serious about owning a home in Japan, then this would be a good head start for sure. The tatami room looks pristine!
From my research a lot of the abandoned houses might not be up to earthquake code, or even have proper insulation. Wouldn't you be better off tearing it down and building something back up?
That is almost always what happens to buildings in JP. The land is more valuable than the actual building on it. The house being as old as it is certainly isn't up to modern standards of safety. I'm not an expert but if we take the known problems of the house and add the potential unknown problems it likely has, it would probably be a better idea to just tear-down and rebuild new. I don't think that's really a workable option though because a lot of taking ownership of this property seems to be whether or not the future owner would be accepted by the community and part of acceptance seems to be whether or not you'd be giving work to local tradesmen that can do the repairs. I think the guy is super nice and his heart is in the right place, but this is a project for a *very* specific type of person and finding that person will take a long time _if_ they are ever found.
A video I have seen about abandoned homes given away by the government, something similar to this one. The requirement is that you do not tear down the building but restore it.
wood frame buildings are fairly earthquake resistant, moving with the waves, so if repaired I wouldn't worry about that so much. but an earthquake triggered fire in old and dry building is perhaps larger risk, so would pay to insure gas and electrical are updated to avoid ignition points.
Your terms are better than perfect and I would live in the village full time but I will explore the island. Working with local trades men/women is also perfect as I want to learn Japanese gardening and carpentry. Thank you.
If you have another one of these. I would love to be a part of this. I live in Chiba now but would love to own another property that’s about 1-2 hours away!
What a great offer, it is sooooo tempting too. It isn't the right scenario for me unfortunately. I had the form all filled out and everything but in my research of the climate it is just a teeny bit too cold in the winter for my plans. I would like to start a cactus nursery in Japan and they can only get down to 20F at the least which it looks like this area could get a little bit below that but I hope you are able to find someone who can fix up the house and become a part of the community! Awesome of you to clean it up first before giving it away!
I’d love to visit Japan. I love the Japanese culture and love its culture.. And would even consider trying to own a home in Japan. But don’t you think that I should visit the country first? Before buying.. Your house is so beautiful. I love the countryside and the views you’ve shown.
What a wonderful opportunity for the right match. I like your spirit. Very cool. I hope you can attract an agriculturally minded musician. Your property looks like the perfect place for expressing music.
I would love love love a home like this and live in Japan forever!!! Very little to make last another 30 years. I'm am looking at homes here in America that are 650sf and I'm crippled and live on a fixed income due to breaking my back...TWICE! I AM TRIED OF LIVING IN AMERICA!! The homes I look at are dumps and are 150k, small, old and really in my eyes worth nothing at all. I need a home like this and make the giant leap to Japan. I love the people, culture, food, and way of life immensely!! I need to start my life of working hard, to being happy and finally being able to live free and worry free. It's a big ask...
Thanks for this video. Too bad the applications are closed. I would have made a bakery and little café. I love to bake and cook. I would have opened up the second floor for students from a local school to make it a club.
Wow! You and your volunteers are so nice! I can't believe it. I am from Southern California and I want to live there but I can't right now. I also really want a Japanese wife to share my life with. My dream 😂. Is it easy for a foreiner to find a job there?
I find this house very charming, it needs a work to it, but this could be a warm and lovely home to someone. My wish is to live in Japan, but it won't come true, it is very unrealistic. Even with house for free. I hope this house finds a family that will treasure it. Happy new year, with best wishes.
Thats nice i hope we can get house in japan too for free but they said its quite expensive specially when its not clean and not in good condition at all i hope to see more of your contents god bless❤
I am singapprean and lived in Miyazaki and Okazaki (chubu area) and i feel daunted to speak to Japanese to peeform these works. Its a bona fide attempt to repopulate the area and i admire you for that but a house is really a lot of works
I would only resell it after renovations. There are quite a few caveats in your committee. But I'll look at your application as I live in Japan and know a bit.
have always wanted to live in japan for a while but with my size, i will be tearing down alot of doors and funitures in no time. lol but thanks for the tour
