東京　物件　購入

Hi Danny,

Great article. Thanks for sharing your experience. I have a question regarding land in Tokyo. If you buy a property that is built on leased land -from a private owner. What are the regulation when it comes to lease and how much is it discounted as opposed to buying the land and building a house on it?

BTW, great pics. Could you post some exterior ones? ^^ what is the size/tsubo? ^^

dude your home rocks! always love to see how fellow toy collectors do up their homes. :)

Guess I'm the only one who didn't find the info useful.

Don't get me wrong. I'm sure someone will find it useful, but I sure as hell wouldn't go through all that hassle to buy a home that depreciates in value.

I'm also perfectly fine living in an apt. Unless you can only afford one of those one room, that's your bedroom, kitchen, living room, etc type apts.

I actually took a look at one of those type places in Tachikawa. Didn't want it, just wanted to look at it. If a real estate agent is going to charge you a lot of $$, might as well waste his/her time.

I'm guessing you don't own a car or you could write up an article on that. I had a 91 Daihatsu Mira J Turbo. Also like a house, depreciates in value, immensely.

Dude! I love your house? Can I get it prefab and ship to the States? haha...
Question, do you have to be a Citizen of Japan to buy a house in Japan? (sorry if this already been answered...)

Answered lots of questions I had about buying a property on Japan.
Basically, when I finally manage to go there, I won't buy a place to live.
lol

I knew it was very complicated to do it, but I didn't know it was this hard.

Congrats for your patience Danny, I wouldn't stand the prejudice against foreigners.

But in the end, I guess it was rewarding... your house is beautiful! A real dreamhouse considering it's Japan and all. Looks like a decent neighborhood too.

I believe this is my first comment after joining your blog.^^

This is a great info on renting and buying a house, and since you mentioned about how hard and demanding it is to rent a place or buy a place, noe I know what to expect.

Thank you so much.

thank very much for spending your time to write this article/mini guide/ post.. i found it very interesting and informational.. i tip my hat to you.

talking about $$$$$....

so hard to reach my dream... but nothing gonna stop me !!!

After looking at all those zeros, I feel kinda depressed...

Wait... Those are yen XD! I just have to erase 2 zeros...

I feel depressed _|¯|O ...

Thanks so much. This was a very helpful post. As for getting a discount on the real estate agent fees, is this standard practice? What kind of a discount were you able to get? Can you give any tips on how to negotiate this? Are there particular fees that can be dropped or reduced or is it the total fee that can be negotiated down? I'd be grateful for any advice you could give me.

WOA!!! I just moved in to NYC, and I thought I had it rough!!! the whole story about the broker and key money is just amazing.....

Wow, this is pretty amazing stuff. I don't think I'll move to Japan now, unless I make a fortune. Still very useful information, if I ever want to buy a property in Japan. But you never know, maybe I'll get a job in Japan, which the company arranges housing, that would be great.

Oh god! These prices in Japan are terrible! You must make a lot of money to support yourself and buy all those nice toys and gadgets. I mean, I thought I earned quite a bit, but I could never support myself in Japan with prices like that! Reality hurts!!!!!

with cheap paper thin walls you're bound to overhear pururin songs everyday (~.~)

Wow......................I no longer want to live in Japan. I'll stick to a $2500 2 Week vacation semi-anually.

You might want to check out Sakura House at http://www.sakura-house.com/ if you're interested in renting a place in Tokyo with less hassle (and more friendliness). :)

This was a very disturbing read. Maybe i should give up on my "dream" is what i'm thinking.

OMG I luv ur place! especially the entertainment area! so nice and spacious, wish my place was like that :(

Thanks for your details sharing.

Nice house Danny, thanks for sharing.

is there an ikea in japan?

Great article Danny! How comfortable is your work space? I actually work out of my living room and it's the best because I spend a good part of my day in my very comfy recliner and there's always a breeze going through since I live on the top of a hill. You should think about upgrading your chair.

Overall, I enjoyed how honest you were about Japanese landlords and what goes on with them. I find it completely ridiculous to not only pay the rent, but also an additional charge to "Thank" them for renting to you. F That! My thank you to my landlords is paying on time! And I also typically don't have my music or TV shows blasting where it'll cause them a nuisance. The no foreigners thing got me too. How are foreigners supposed to embrace Japan and want to live there when it's so difficult to get an apartment?

Your house looks amazing too! Hopefully, when I finally own a home, mine can look as stylish as yours ^_^

Sugoi!! I'm learning japanese and am pretty good. I was even thinking about doing business in Japan. International Trade. But your article reveals the sad and harsh truth about Japanese living.
Demo, Nihon ni ita toki ni, Tanoshi katta?? Ima, anata wa nihon ni sunde imasuka??

Thanks for the heads up, Ja Ne

I bought two foreclosed properties in Japan. My opinion, but I suggest its an exaggeration to say a house only lasts 25 years. I would suggest after 25 years, if not before, a house requires maintenance. Afterall you need only look after the basic places that Japanese old folk live in, built around war time I dare say. I would suggest that a place more than 15 years old starts to require renovation in order to lease it, unless its near the train station, then you could always find someone for less rent.
I wrote a book about buying foreclosed property in Japan, and am doing one on Philippines as well. Japan makes sense for lifestyle sense and yield value, Philippines for a different lifestyle value proposition and growth value. See Foreclosured.blogspot.com. It doesn't make sense to live in the West anymore. Sell up and retire if you are not happy with your job! :)

Danny, I am a Japanese girl born and educated in USA, currently living in New York, just took over my father's property develop company, promote US market now as you know it's time to buy when it is really low...anyways, I was looking for business partner in Japan, that I may present Japan properties in US, the other way round I need to get some japanese buyers who is interest to buy in New York or LA-CA.
Feel free to let me know if there is a chance to do something together.
Thanks for your time.
Michiko. T.

wow thanks for taking time out to give us a very good indepth article on property buying in japan. now I know what to look for and what questions to ask.

why don't landlords out there like to rent to gaijin?

I quite like East Tokyo I was impressed with Funabashi

all i know is tokyo is the place to be and imma break my arse to get there =D

danny you should write a book. :)

Takasugiruuuuu TwT .......

Danny, you're part of what inspired me to commit to move to Japan, and richly informative articles like this put my mind more at ease, and will hopefully make the transition much easier!

Thank you!

after i have read this, its clear for my than i rather live in the usa, no doubt

Some pictures remind me visiting Proud's house :D

Just bought a house now in Chiba (but not so fare)
made by Sumitomo

Damn, I went through that about a month ago. HAd lease signing for my first 200square meter apartment. Luckily, I'll be living in the north end of own in the arts district. *sigh* Damn, I have to leave/get rid of soime of my colection of models bheind in shipping boxes. I double wrapped them in bubble wrap and paper, now I pray they dotn get smashed! I have some models in that box that took me forever to find!

Lovely pics >.< I wanna a house like that.

Very informative post, though it will be another 100-150 years until I have to use this info directly. Buying land is definitely a pain anywhere but Japan seems to be on top of the list. Nice Striker figure!

Read this article yesterday, then found this today:

http://noisetank.com/hugeasscity/2009/02/12/what-density-looks-like/

They measure things in dwelling units/acre, I haven't done the conversion to DU/Ha. I wonder what Tokyo looks like in these terms.

Excellent, excellent post. Love it.

I dream about living in Japan all the time. I just want to live in rural Japan, maybe only half of any given year, or perhaps a season and a half. I recall the prices being very high even in remote areas.

Unlike Danny, I am not a Network/Code master elite god - just IT/Helpdesk, and my Japanese is horrid. Perhaps I could make a living on Photography there, probably not. So my plan is simple. I will win the lottery and buy my get away home in Japan.

Simple.

Thanks.

That's a real challenge for real estate buyers from the foreigners. But i'll bet my income totality, 'till we speak togheter: DEAL!

How a bout these 2 housing considerations:

1. Your property built exclusively on rural or suburban area
2. Built underground, as long it complaies with building codes including mandatory anti-seismic reinforcement

Failure to follow these guidelines will result in a 113,000,000,000 yen fine, and your house might even pass to state property(Government owned) or might be even demolished

Hi Danny.

This was an amazing article and I greatly enjoyed reading it. I love those stairs. That woodwork looks awesome. I've taken an interest in Japanese architecture after reading about your house.

Have you ever thought of a more detailed gallery of your house or similar houses? Three story houses are rather uncommon to me and seems rather neat.

Thanks Danny, a lot of good info. ^_^

Hi Danny,

Thanks for sharing the info. I like Japan and dreamed of living there someday but the digits and figures you shared was way too painful to accept. lolz.. yet still i laughed at the way you jokes. Cant say I'm too happy that now I know the painful truth. I mean I only have a 90k usd annual salary but the prices in there is really a shocker. So after calculating many times with my handy dandy calculator, I was forced to go to option C. lolz..
Option A - Move in, Get land job and stay permanently and get a hot jappie wife^^
Option B - Move in, rent a place and return home for after many years(plus the last part of option A)
Option C - Visit, tour around Japan for a couple of weeks, marry a cutie jappie (as if i can for only a couple of weeks) and get out from there^^
But thanks again for the info. loved it except the long long long digit parts. any advice on how can I search for my destined jappie thier? lolz

-rj

Danny I work in real estate and I have to say that the rental system there sounds HORRIBLE. I wish I could move to Tokyo but take my apartment from Bangkok with me. I have a new 2bed 2bat 140SQM for only 28,000 Baht (77,000 Yen) a month in the heart of Silom/Sathorn district. It's a steal in BKK standards but I work in real estate so I can find the deals. My clients from Tokyo are blown away when they see the condos here lol, they are defiantly not used to the size.

Start-Year 5: In the country side
Year 6-Year 9: On the suburbs
Year 10-End: TOKYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I found this article be very informitive. I was always curious what it was like to rent or buy a home in Japan. Wow with houses only lasting 25 years architects and drafters must be busy. Perfect for me I would love to draw houses in Japan one day!

Only just came across this article from a recent one and I must say I never knew that with all those additional costs (reiken, paying the estate agent, etc.) it would cost so much to move into an apartment! The apartment you bought that had you pay 1,540,000 yen is...insane. Looks like it will be a while before I live in Tokyo >.<

Hi everyone, this will be my first post on Danny Choo's website, and first of all I want to say what a great and interesting site this is...

You are really helping out with some of your articles, and this one really hits my jackpot...

Thank you for sharing your experiences with everyone, and helping people like me, who are living in Japan, when sometimes life is not always easy hehe...

http://www.tomguez.be/blog/

Sincerely,
Tom Guez

the way the rental market works in Japan just boggles the mind. its excruciating.
does anyone know of other countries where things work in such an bizarre manner?

Beautiful lightning and shapes in the dining room :)

I always forget Danny once had long hair.

BOSE speakers?

Hi Danny,
This is a great posting and a very entertaining read.

We're in the process of detailing our experience of building a home in Kichijoji below:
http://kichijojilife.blogspot.com/

Kichijoji Dude