Tag Archive for Tokyo

Surrounded by the forests unique kominka houses close to skiing resorts and delightful onsen hot springs in Niigata prefecture : Only 80 mins from Tokyo

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A relaxing, open plan space where each person can find their own way to chill out ?

Why don’t you try Niigata ?

Niigata prefecture is renowned for beautiful mountains and skiing resorts.

In addition, since Niigata is a major production center for high quality rice,  Niigata boasts many Japanese sake brands.

If you take Niigata shinkansen(bullet train) from Tokyo station, it takes only 80 mins to Echigo-yuzawa station.

From Echigo-yuzawa station, you can reach a number of delightful skiing resorts within one hour.

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Expect home sales to continue on a downward trend ? : Japan real estate market recap 2018

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Happy new year 2019 !　Year of Boar.

New year has just begun and I would like to quickly review the market using some statistics.
The data always tells you the fact. How to read the data is a key for success.
It is too early to know if housing is in another bubble in Japan (I don’t think so)
It will depend on what happens with the global economy. Unfortunately, bubbles are only recognized with 100 percent certainty
in 20/20 hindsight.

The national average standard price of land
According to the government announcement, the national average standard price of land (基準地価) published in September 2018
by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, land lots for all uses excluding forest lands nationwide
went up by 0.1% compared with the previous year, rising for the first time in 27
years since 1991. The average rate of residential areas was down 0.3% nationwide, falling for 27
consecutive years, but the rate of declines shrank 0.3% from the previous yearRead more

What to know about Akiya (unused house) investment in Japan : Options you should be aware. Is it really free ?

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Interested in high-performance Akiya (空き家, unused house or abandoned house) investment in Japan ?
Here are what you should know. If you are considering buying a akiya house,  you need to know the basic knowledge of akiya investment.
There are lots of things you should know about before ever considering purchasing akiya property.
It is in your best interest to educate yourself about akiya to avoid getting into a situation that you regret.
Buying akiya can be quite useful and comfortable, but only if they are properly searched and if you share the same goals with your agent.Some investors find out akiya investment where they have purchased is not what they expected. In many cases, you’ll be disappointed to find out that the renovation cost of akiya is very expensive. There are a few options in akiya investment.But before I get into details, I want to warn you that ​I can’t teach you how to get rich overnight by akiya investment or find you a dream
akiya house for free near the ocean in Tokyo area. Unfortunately no house is free in Japan.

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Can foreigners buy a property in Japan ? : Fundamental rules when acquiring a property

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Interested in buying a property in Japan where the country risk is lowest in the world ?
Japan is a rare Asian country insofar as it allows foreigners to buy a property. Foreigners can buy both land and building without special qualification.　When it comes to buying a property here, Japan has very few restrictions than the Western countries.

Ownership rights to land and building in Japan by a foreigner is also permitted just like Japanese citizens.

When a registrar has made a registration of ownership with respect to a real property with Legal Affairs Bureau, he/she shall can officially claim the title deeds of the property. However, there are restrictions on agricultural land (farmland). You need to get prior permission from a local agriculture committee (nogyo-iinkai) or governor when you buy the farmland. At least one corporate manager (one member of new owner) has to engage in full-time farming. In other words, if you want to buy farmland, you must become a farmer. The

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Controversial Japanese Government’s new immigration policy: PM Abe uses the acute labor shortage to push for relaxing the immigration law

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（A view from Japanese kominka house, folk house)

Japan is facing the serious shortage of workforce and ageing problem.
How should this country cope with a serious population decline and sustain the vitality of its society and economy?
According to Yomiuri shimbun, the overall shortage is estimated to be 580,000 at present, and was projected to reach 1.45 million five years from now. After subtracting from these figures increases in the number of elderly and women workers and the like, a maximum of 47,000 foreign workers will be accepted in the fiscal year when the planned revisions of the immigration control law take effect, and up to 345,000 over the five years from the revisions.
The government and the ruling camp, led by the Liberal Democratic Party(LDP), will now shift their focus to a key bill to revise the immigration control law and create new residence status in order to allow Japan to accept more foreign workers.Time employed under new visas won’t count toward working period requirement for permanent residency.
The Justice Ministry does not intend to count time spent employed under one of two new visas set to be introduced spring 2018 when checking whether those who apply for permanent residency status meet requirements.One of the prerequisites for permanent residency in Japan is having five years of work experience in the country. But according to the sources, those working under the new proposed visa status — which will be available to individuals with considerable knowledge or experience in areas where human resources are lacking in the nation – will not be able to cite time spent under this status as working time when they apply for permanent residency.
The new visa, along with another type intended for individuals with more seasoned skills in areas similar to those under the first type, is aimed at making up for labor shortages in certain job categories, and will open the door to more foreign blue-collar workers.
In the meantime, the ministry is still considering how to handle time spent working in Japan under the second type of visa.

(Hakuba, Nagano prefecture)

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Discover restful and super-affordable properties in Chiba Boso peninsula: Within easy reach from Tokyo

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（Boso peninsula)

* Foreigners can buy a property in Japan without having special qualification.

Explore the charming houses by the lovable ocean and beach
New listings in Boso peninsula, Chiba prefecture!
If you live in Tokyo and want to buy a second house near the ocean and beach,  I always recommend Boso peninsula (Kamogawa city, Katsuura city, Minamiboso city, Tateyama city etc). The location is excellent and it takes only 1.5 hours from central Tokyo by car.
You can drive on a highway all through to Kamogawa city from Tokyo and there is no traffic. If you don’t want to drive and rather want to indulge in drinking a beer on the way, there is very comfortable express bus service from Tokyo station. The seafoods and vegetables are nice and fresh (In fact, Chiba prefecture is a major supplier of seafood and vegetables to Tokyo Metropolitan kitchens so nice foods you are eating in Tokyo are often produce of Chiba).  Izu peninsula area in Shizuoka prefecture is also very famous for nice beaches and onsen (hot springs) but Izu’s location is not perfect. It takes about 3.5 hours by car to Izu Shirahama beach from Tokyo. In the modern busy life, proximity matters.
In Boso peninsula, they have great surf in the pacific ocean and the quality of sea water is superb.  (Believe me you can’t imagine how good the quality of water is in Kamogawa city  which is merely 1.5 hours away from Tokyo). In 2020, Tokyo Olympics surfing competition will be held in Katsuura city. According to one of my surfer friends, Boso peninsula is the best surfing spot in Japan.
Today I picked up two interesting properties in Boso Peninsula, Chiba prefecture.


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Japan market update. How are big players betting ? : Is it in the state of bubble ?

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JLL-Japan (JLL is an American professional services and investment management company specializing in real estate) recently held the conference in Tokyo with 400 participants from 250 companies.

JLL reported very bullish news about Tokyo market as follows: 

“Tokyo overtook London as the world’s busiest real estate market in the first quarter of 2018, with mega-deals and an unusually positive economic outlook driving demand.

Investment volumes in the Japanese capital more than doubled to US$9.1 billion in the three months to March (2017: US$4.3 billion), just beating New York (US$9 billion) and way ahead of third-placed London (US$5.9 billion).

Global deal volumes rose 15 percent to US$165 billion, making the start of 2018 the biggest quarter for commercial real estate deals since 2007. Asia Pacific transactions rose 34 percent to US$40 billion.”

Tokyo will continue to see the many office construction sites till 2020 and it would make the rental growth slow but the rents have been steady and are still rising.

According to a report by the prominent Japanese real estate consulting firm ‘Sanki shoji’, the vacancy rate of offices in upscale locations in Tokyo as of September 2018 stands at only 2.33 percent (down 0.12 percent from the previous month) and the rents have been steadily rising in last twelve months.
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The best buy places to own a new condo unit in Japan

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（Kashiwa station, Chiba)

Do you want to know the best buy places to own a condo unit in Japan ?

Toyokeizai, one of the renowned business magazines in Japan
recently featured the unique real estate (condo unit for home) information in Japan.

The magazine picked up some best buy railways stations in greater Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya to own for your home.

The ranking is based on unique method of PER (Price Earning Ratio).
This particular PER is used to calculate the length (years) to pay back the property price
(new 3 bed room unit with 70 m2) if you rent out.

For example, Read more

THE IMPACT of NATURAL DISASTERS. Nankai Trough Earthquake : Risk in Tokyo Bay from future tsunami

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Cleanup, rescue operations underway in Japan after severe rains kill over 200 people and strand thousands in the recent flooding and landslides in west Japan.

On Mar 11, 2011, a devastating 9.0-magnitude quake struck under the Pacific Ocean, and the resulting tsunami caused widespread damage and claimed tens of thousands of lives.
It also sent three reactors into meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant, causing Japan’s worst postwar disaster and the most serious nuclear accident since Chernobyl in 1986.
The devastating tsunami hit sites along the Tohoku coast. 
A public beach just opened in Rikuzentakata on July 20, 2018 for the first time in eight years, underscoring the destruction of sites.

In 1703, an 8.2 magnitude earthquake（Genroku earthquake) along the Sagami Trough triggered a tsunami that rippled towards Japan’s then capital, Edo. It is estimated that a couple of thousands lives were lost.
Japan has a lot of natural disasters and many foreign investors are worrying about it.
A major earthquake is expected to strike sometime along the Nankai Trough, a submarine trench running off the Japanese archipelago from around Shizuoka Prefecture in Honshu to the seas east of Kyushu.

How at risk is Tokyo Bay from future tsunami by Nankai Trough earthquake ?
The Nankai Trough is a 700-kilometer-long sea-bottom depression that runs about 100 km off the southern coast from Shizuoka Prefecture to the Shikoku region.

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Japan’s real estate price update: Price up for 3 consecutive years. Very strong growth in Tokyo buoyed by the booming inbound tourism

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(Ginza, Tokyo)

The results are in. You will be surprised to learn that Japan’s real estate price -at least some spots are- is breaking the record set during the bubble period.

On July 2, 2018, the National Taxation Bureau announced the average value of a square meter of land for tax assessment as of January 1 2018.The nationwide average price went up by 0.7% from the previous year and it increased for three consecutive years. By prefecture, growth is high in the three major metropolitan areas such as Tokyo (up 4.0%), Osaka (up 1.4%), Kyoto (up 2.2%), Aichi (up 1.5%)The rate of growth is higher in all three major metropolitan areas than the previous year.The rate of growth in core local prefectures is rather high such as Hokkaido (up 1.1%), Miyagi (up 37%), Hiroshima (up 1.5%), Fukuoka (up 2.6%).Average price in Okinawa was up 5.0% and it is the highest rate of increase in Japan.
Here are some key facts.

Tokyo
In Tokyo metropolitan, the average price went up 4.0%, the five consecutive years.
Ginza Chuo-dori has broken its record high for the second year in a row.The top appreciation in Tokyo was 15.8% at Aoyama Street, Minato-ku, Aoyama 3, which is also an upscale residential area. A number of luxury brand flagship stores are located in the area.In terms of growth rate, Aoyama regained the top place for the first time since 2007.The second spot is Adachi-ku Senju 3’s Kita-Senju Station West Exit Square  and it went up by 14.5%.In addition to the revitalization of the area due to the effect of a few universities campus being relocated, the convenience to the center of Tokyo boosted it.
These are the some major and the most expensive spots in Tokyo 23 wards.
(price per square meter ‘000 yen and the growth rate)Read more