Because getting permission to live there is arguibly harder than becoming rich.
I followed PewDiePie and even for him it took massive effort and many years.
- It’s in bumfuck nowhere
- I don’t speak Japanese
- Building it up to a modern living standard will be expensive
- I’d have to move to Japan
Unsorted list of reasons why not from the top of my head
I think those first 2 cancel each other out.
Still need to be ble to do the paperwork and go get groceries though. So I doubt it cancels out.
Nothing that a translation app on your phone can’t fix.
I rarely talk to the cashier when I go shopping, so I highly doubt they’d turn up their nose at my money just because I’m incapable of making smalltalk.
You sound like someone who never went outside of their home country.
I’ve been to several countries.
Translation apps are not perfect, but they can get you by in a pinch.
This is very true, but imagine living ‘in a pinch’ for months/years before you get a grasp on the language.
They say that immersion is one of the best ways to pick up a new language.
If it was everywhere all of the time, and you took advantage of things like community language learning events and language learning apps, you could become fluent in a matter of months.
After all, most people only need like a thousand to two thousand words to get by, So yeah, well, you may not be languidly discussing Proust during a bachanal with your neighbors by the end of the season, you should be able to identify stores and food items and discuss the weather and minor events.
Only one of those is a problem.
Sure, it looks cheap. It’s cheap for a reason. Buying abandoned property in a remote place is often the most expensive way to find out why.
Japanese houses in particular are basically a consumable. They are designed for a very short lifetime compared to pretty much any other developed country.
Lol, I’ll have to trust you on the source.
Lol, yeah, I was trying to find a source for the average home age, and an article in English cited this as the official government statistics, which i thought would be more responsible to cite, even if I couldn’t understand it. I did auto-translate it to double check, though.
I watched a video on this and while it does vary widely by prefecture one of the big reasons is their waste management/recycling rules.
Often, to demolish a house, theres usually a flat fee and its just bulldozed, put into a truck and dumped. To renovate, you have to dispose of every type of waste according to the class of that waste. Which is labour intensive and time consuming.
Japan is in the middle of a population crisis. These houses are empty because there’s not enough people. They’re desperate for people to immigrate.
They’re an isolationist society… they’re not looking for people to immigrate at all, they’re trying to get their own citizens to have kids. They’re also quite xenophobic and racist as well.
Japan is cool as hell, but people put way to much of their knowledge from animes… being a tourist is gonna give you a completely different perspective than actively living there would.
Don’t buy these old japanese houses, they’re literally made of mud and sticks and have absolutely fuck all for insulation.
Living in nature is all fun and games until you’re expected to sleep in 50 degree weather while your split unit struggles to keep your paper box of a bedroom cool.
Most of the time the closest hospital is like 2-3 hours away on a bus that only comes twice a day, so you better hope you never get in an accident cause the ambulance won’t come for hours and your only other hope is the only other person in neighborhood: your 90 year old neighbor who you’re not sure is even still alive.
Source: lived in one for multiple years.
Edit: also when I say old I mean as soon as 1995 Before they majorly overhauled the earthquake and insulation codes nationally
for $3k i’d buy it just for the land it sits on. who cares about the house
Right? That’d be a solid investment for someone with enough money to replace/remodel the house
Land in Japan only appreciates in large cities. If you buy it now at 3k it’ll be worth 2k in 30 years.
Nah in 30 years it’ll have a real fuckin nice house on it that’ll bring up the value
If you built a house in Japan now for the cost of 100k the house would be worth 50k in 30 years.
Real estate in Japan appreciates like cars, unless you have an especially rare piece of land, it depreciates over time. It’s a bad investment unless you’re actively getting use out of it.
Part of why there’s so much cheap and abandoned land in Japan, there’s no real estate investment structure outside of land near train stations.
there’s no real estate investment structure outside of land near train stations.
So it’s the way it should be, then.
No real “I’m gonna buy cheap land in fuck-off nowhere and build a fucking theme park or whatever and run ads to make sure some idiots make the long trek out to this miserable tivoli of scams and no options. But then other people get the opportunity to settle close to me and compete by selling almost reasonably priced sustenance, and such. And some years down the line we’ve got a shitty pointless desert town going, one with a defunct theme park about raccoons or some shit.”
Sounds like Totoro. Here’s you 3k I’m in.
Sounds perfect honestly.
so you’d* better hope
Wattle and daube is actually pretty insulated for what it is. That said Japanese homes are cold because they’re breezey choosing high air turnover over high insulation value in an attempt to circumvent some of the summer humidity.
There are way more complexities than meet the eye here.
Not the least of which: just buying property doesn’t give you a way to extend a visa beyond the normal tourist period (usually 90 days per 6-month period). Japan ultimately is still an isolationist country, and it shows the most in its immigration policies.
I mean its remote, if you don’t interact with any gov’t agencies then how they gunna know you living there longer than the visa?
They know. They know when you entered and what kind of visa you carry.
I guess you could hide out in the woods, but… then why be in Japan?
Edit: and if they idea is to hide out in the house that you bought, well… may as well put a sign up that says “check here.”
But they’re japanese, so the most they can do is knock insistently on the door; something like kicking the door down would be rude. And if you marry, you solve the visa problem and help repopulate. Two birds one stone. Jokes aside, the place is really rundown and also not much “classic/picturesque”, looks more like an old factory or warehouse.
I guess you could hide out in the woods, but… then why be in Japan?
Are there large, carnivorous predators in Japanese forests?
If you’ve ever been around the monkeys in Japan, you know they are not to be toyed with.
…like bears?
No MAGA?
Oh, I get that. I guess I’m suggesting there are better options if it’s hiding out without an appropriate visa in the woods. It’s probably easier in, say, Borneo.
The Japanese government functions and has enforcement of immigration policy.
And their version of enforcement is quite… forceful.
When you try to leave…
Correct. There is no “I own property” special visa status. The 90 day/6 mos can even be denied for any or no reason by immigration if they think you’re shady meaning zero access to the property.
terminal birth rates means that won’t be an issue for too long
Because Japan can be extremely xenophobic.
going to nightclubs as a foreigner in japan: everyone loves you and wants to talk to you
getting a job (other than teaching english to kids) as a foreigner in japan: good luck
Ehhh. My experience in some bars was not like that. I had a couple where they where the bouncer clearly didn’t want me inside and I was told a place was closed several times when clearly they were not. It was just closed to me.
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Nightclubs are not the same as bars.
Nevermind! Misunderstood
going to nightclubs as a foreigner in japan: everyone loves you and wants to talk to you
OP was talking about nightclubs, not bars.
Ah thanks. I’ll edit
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Mate, bouncers do that all over the world.
I think you meant “going to nightclubs as a white foreigner in Japan”
There are all kinds of jobs here. Most common is IT-related, though, which is where I’m at.
It’s a very remote place
As others in this thread have said, buying a property in Japan doesn’t extend your Visa or grant you residence in the country. This would be a waste of time if you didn’t already have that lined up. However, there are countries that do. Some have what’s called the Golden Visa program, or Investor/Real Estate Visa program (there are other names, but if you’re doing a search, this should turn up decent results). Here’s a list of some countries that do this, and the minimum amount you need to spend.
Portugal - Golden Visa Investment - €500,000 ($540k USD) or €350,000 ($380k USD) for lower population areas, or properties that need to be renovated Residency benefits - Residency permit for 5 years, with the opportunity to apply for permanent residency after that
Spain - Golden Visa Investment - €500,000 ($540k USD) Residency benefits - Residency permit for 1 year, renewable as long as you own the property, and you can apply for permanent residency after 5 years
Greece - Golden Visa Investment - €250,000 ($270k USD) Residency benefits - Residency permit for 5 years, renewable as long as you own the property, and you can apply for permanent residency after 7 years
Thailand - Thailand Elite Visa Investment - THB 1,000,000 (about $30k USD) for a 5 year Visa Residency benefits - Renewable every 5 years with no residency requirement
Ecuador - Investor Visa Investment - $42,500 in real estate Residency benefits - Grants you permanent residency
Malaysia - Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) Investment - RM 1 million (about $240k USD) in real estate Residency benefits - Grants you a 10 year renewable Visa
Philippines - Special Resident Retiree Visa Investment - $50k in real estate Residency benefits - Grants you permanent residency
When I was looking into bailing on the US, I made a Libre Office spreadsheet with like 70 countries and all this info plus a bunch of other personal requirements for what I was looking for, so some of it may be outdated. Hell, some of it may be straight up incorrect, so feel free to double check it.
Portugal doesn’t have a property based golden ticket visa as of October 2023 due to concerns that it was affecting real estate prices in cities like Lisbon and Porto. But you can still donate 250K euro in cash or invest 500K euro in a local business that leads to job creation (among a couple other investment options). Another option for Portugal is the D7 visa, which requires you to live in the country 6 months the year for 5 years, but requires foreign income of 10K euro per year. Either way, after 5 years, you’re eligible to apply for citizenship.
Thanks for the info! I was unaware of the Spain and Portugal options, so looked it up.
Spain ended their program in January, with application deadline April 3.
Potugal ended their real estate version, but still has investment options.
Yeah I figured things would be changing soon.
The catch is that rural Japan is a a shithole rife with xenophobia, privacy violations, bullying, and problematic neighbors. And that’s for ethnically Japanese people, so it’s be way worse if you were actually a foreigner.
There’s a reason why people in Japan try so hard to move away from rural areas into cities.
Universal truth I think
Can’t tell if the way small minded bigots stay away from the best parts of every country is a fun coincidence or causal.
I read a while back, a testimony from someone who grew up in small town America and then moved into the city when they were older. They explained that there is a lot of indoctrination against “cityfolk” because it’s largely used as a scapegoat. As city dwellers tend to be more progressive due to their heightened social stimulation, this leads a lot of small-towners to hate the idea of progress
The issues with city people go way beyond just progress.
What kind of privacy violations? Do the neighbors peek into your windows?
Panty theft, naturally.
We hit the jackpot, boys!
I actually looked into that property once; there was no way it was going to happen for a number of reasons. I ended up buying a house in much better condition in another area.
I really need to do a video about the topic or something. There are many, many landmines with stuff like this. For a very TL;DR and assuming every single other thing is perfect: owning a home does not give you the right to spend any extra time in Japan nor grant a visa; you are on the hook for taxes, fees, septic maintenance (though the above property may have been a pit toilet; I don’t remember), and other bills which will have to be paid from a Japanese bank account. There are also certain neighborhood association obligations, property maintenance, fire control, etc.
Essentially, there’s usually good reason it was abandoned.
Additionally, houses in Japan aren’t really built to last. Properties like these are usually bulldozed and rebuit when purchased.
Essentially, there’s usually good reason it was abandoned.
I knew it…
Ghosts
Basically.
Grandma died and nobody wants to live in a 50 year old house in the middle of nowhere.
Essentially, there’s usually good reason it was abandoned.
For $3400, I’m fine with living with tormented ghosts.
Building standards are improving but, yeah, slowly. Kominka over 100 years can have really good structure if well maintained, but it definitely would not be something who isn’t already knowledgeable about them. The majority fall into ruin.
I watched a video from an American guy who did this. But he already had residence, and made it very clear that if you don’t have residence, doing something like this would be a waste of time and money. He bought a massive junker of a house and it took him like 2 years and a bunch of help to make it livable. Still a good video, and still a cool idea, assuming you have certain ducks already lined up. Definitely not something to do on a whim.
I looked at doing something like this in quite a few countries, and skipped on Japan pretty quickly. Happy with my decision though.
Also, why buy if you don’t want to live there?
It’s not gonna earn rent out there. Italy, among other countries also let’s you buy abandoned homes.
Not sure if they’re still doing it, but a few years back (holy shit maybe a decade), Italy was even offering to pay people to move there. But there were massive conditions. Like, you had to buy a historical property, maintain it to their standards, and open a business to boost tourism, or something along those lines. I looked into it and was kind of intrigued, but it seemed pretty obvious it was designed to draw rich expats, not average losers like me.
I believe they now charge $1. Still unaffordable.
In my case, I moved to the Japanese countryside because I wanted to farm, mostly. But, yeah, I’m definitely not the average case.
Sounds amazing, as long as the locals don’t show dissent.
So far so good a year in. Everyone’s been super friendly and helpful.
In some cases in Italy the condition for buying is that you’ll live there.
That’s good.
Not all of us gaijin are tourists. I have permanent residency and I would love to find a cheap house far from the noise and smoke. Do you know where I can look up houses like this?
I’d start by researching areas and find places you like the climate, vibe, future prospects, etc. from there, start with suumo then the akiya bank to get an idea. Next, go in person and spend a weekend there. See what exists that is NOT listed anywhere other thanaybr a sign in the yard (or not even listed but obviously not lived in).
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ghosts
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Chances of being isekaied are much higher immediately after moving to Japan.
Why are you listing benefits? They asked why not.
:P
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I’m sure you could find a cheap condemned shit hole in your nearest rural area too. That doesn’t mean that it’s a good deal.
It’s so cheap because the current owner doesn’t want to spend the money on demolishing the structure before selling vacant land. And if it is still available it is because no developer has looked at it and thought that they could make money on the flip.
Tons of places like that in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsyltucky, and all over the Midwest US. My girlfriend was scrolling through them talking about selling her house and buying one of those places on a big plot of land and thank fucking Jeebus I talked her out of it. I was like “babe, have you never seen the cinematic masterpiece ‘The Money Pit’ with Tom Hanks?”
Two weeks…
My husband occasionally talks about the same things. There’s no way of making real money out there, and there’s no way I’m living in a small town/city ever again, unless a high six figures job somehow hinges on it.
If I never had to work again and I was single, I would gladly live out in the middle of nowhere like a hermit. I hate almost everything about city life.
The interesting part about a bunch of the homes in more rural Japan is that they’re not actually condemned or shit holes. They’re old and would definitely need some love and attention but their population hasn’t been at replacement levels for a long time and people would rather live in a big city where they have access to all of the things so slowly and steadily the outer Fringe population areas in Japan have ben getting more and more empty leaving perfectly good houses to sit vacant for years. That’s not to say that there aren’t shit holes that aren’t worth the time it takes to go see them but a large portion of them are actually quite nice.
There are no visible electric or telecom lines running to the house which means they have a generator for power And no communication. And it looks like it might not have a poured foundation although I’m not sure about that.
But the farmer who lived there didn’t need those things. Someone who plans on working from home will need such things.
I know Japan is redoing it’s electrical system to have no overhead lines of any kind so when earthquakes hit there’s not live electrical lines dropping on people.
Either way the point isn’t that this specific house is or isn’t a shit hole, it’s the idea that any house sold for so cheap must inherently be a shit hole. It might be, but the situation in Japan is different than the situation here because of aforementioned population decline and condensation into cities. There are many challenges to buying a home in another country not least of which in Japan is gaining the right to live there permanently, but as long as you do the work to ensure you know what you’re buying and that you can live there safely and legally once whatever works needs done is done, there’s no reason to assume a home like that in Japan is 100% a shit hole by nature. Especially since technology has advanced to the point that power and telecommunications don’t require a direct line anymore to be effective and affordable. Solar power and wireless communication is only getting better and better. Again, I’m not saying that house specifically couldn’t be a shit hole, I’m saying that in Japan specifically there’s no reason to automatically assume it is one. It will have problems but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t be worth it if you did your research.Your knowledge is impressive but my guess is that they are still using above ground infrastructure in rural areas because of the high cost of underground infrastructure. Underground lines are usually reserved for cities where they can serve a large number of people and their cost is warranted. But you are probably right about rural areas using off-grid tech, like satellite and solar. But things like home batteries are quite expensive. So those are added costs which drive up the expense of living off grid. But my understanding is that Japan is not very welcoming to foreigners. But you could buy a very similar house in a rural area which caters to foreigners, like in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Thailand, etc… and and do the same thing with fewer bureaucratic hassles.
That place is abandoned likely because the farmer who lived there died or went into a senior care facility. There are houses like this one all over the world in rural areas and I can guarantee two things: poor infrastructure and septic tanks. The reason it’s cheap is because no developer wants an undeveloped lot.
Also watched a video about a $4K unit in tokyo because you are literally not allowed to renovate it.
Do you remember the title of that video? Even if it’s got concrete floors and walls you’re not allowed to cut, I’m surprised if you can’t improve it enough to sell for more than 4K.
Because they won’t sell it to a foreigner. It’s not exactly legal but they won’t sell anyway.
Unless you lawyer up beforehand.
A lot of these are sold by real estate companies that take 100% commission for customers who just don’t want to pay the taxes on it. They couldn’t care less about if you are a foreigner. The local government however, may place restrictions to prevent you from just making it an Air b&b.
Legally, you need to have a minpaku license and other things to make it an AirBnB anyway.
Are you saying this particular house or in general? I live and work in Japan and bought a house a year ago. I actually looked at the property linked or a similar one, but noped out of it.
they do for a lot of them, it’s money going in to their country. Getting the rights to live there is a different matter though.
You’d die when the next big earthquake or landslide hits that home. Or when Sadako crawls out of your TV
I can fix her.
She’s crawling out of my TV cuz she wants the D.
…Diaper, she wants to change my Diaper ?
Someone somewhere just started rifling through their shadman archive.
With house prices that good, I can’t afford not to die!
That place is either haunted or home to some nature spirits. Either way thwy’ll fuck you up.
Sounds like having roommates
They’re garbage spirits, but I guess there are some similarities.
So I can live a real-life Studio Ghibli movie!?
Sounds like a deal then
Honestly seems like a more dignified way to go out than in American Civil War 2: Brain Rot Edition
I wonder if there are soot sprites in the attic. Is there a giant camphor tree nearby?
You’ll see all sorts of crazy shit breathing in the toxic mold that’s in the attic.
