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Japanese Real Estate Situation
To begin with, the area available for human habitation in Japan is very small. Because Japan is an island nation and has many mountainous regions, the land area that can actually be lived in is quite limited. About 70% of Japan’s terrain is mountainous, and the remaining 30% is suitable for plains and urban areas. However, since many mountainous areas are uninhabitable, people actually live mainly in the plains and coastal areas. Of Japan’s total land area of approximately 378,000 square kilometers, only about 100,000 square kilometers is habitable (plains, urban areas, and coastal areas).
For this reason, land itself is expensive in Japan today, and even if you build or buy a house, it will most likely are small building with small gardens. Even so, there are still a certain number of Japanese who consider owning a home to be happiness, status, or something they should do after marriage, and these people take out 35-year loans with no foreseeable future, buy small lots at high prices, and build expensive custom homes. While there are certain people who would like to build their own new homes in this way, it is also true that Japan, at the forefront of an aging society, is now overflowing with uninhabitable houses.
Guesthouse Business Attracting Attention in Japan’s Housing Surplus
As mentioned earlier, purchasing new land and building a house in Japan is often very expensive, and investing a large sum of money to build a new house is often not that appealing for non-Japanese residence. However, there is actually an easier way to get a house. It is to purchase a vacant house that has been abandoned for decades.
There are many vacant houses for sale in Japan because no one lives in them anymore due to the aging or death of the owner. When vacant houses are left unattended, they cause problems such as deterioration of public safety and the environment, and impede local revitalization, so owners often put them up for sale, such as when they inherit them.
Today, an increasing number of foreigners are buying and converting these old Japanese houses into guesthouses for various reasons. Some are tired of working hard in their home countries, some are fascinated by the world of Japanese animation and long to live there, and some have visited Japan on vacation, fell in love with the country, and want to actually live there. This trend is evident throughout Japan, regardless of the area. They choose to purchase, renovate, and reside in old Japanese houses for a variety of reasons, not only as guesthouses, but also as ateliers and their homes or just as a vacation home.
How Non-Japanese Develop Business in Japan?
Guesthouses run by non-Japanese are becoming more and more common these days. I was also interested in guesthouse management, so I did some research and found that it is not that difficult for non-Japanese to run a guesthouse.
Reason#1 Japanese Real Estate Can Be Bought by Non Japanese Customers
In Japan, there are no restrictions on foreigners purchasing real estate, and they can basically purchase real estate under the same conditions as Japanese nationals. Foreigners who wish to purchase real estate in Japan need to open a bank account, prepare a Japanese address, and complete registration procedures, but as long as these procedures are followed, they can legally purchase real estate without problems.
Reason#2 Guests Find the Guesthouse on Their Own
Inbound tourism is still very popular in Japan, with visitors coming from one place to the next. Some guests who have been to Japan several times and are accustomed to visiting Japan may be a little eccentric, saying that they have already enjoyed the sights in the cities and want to visit untouched areas with few tourists! Some guests who have been to Japan several times and are used to visiting Japan, have already had their fill of city sightseeing spots and want to go to a less touristy place! So they decide to visit Inaka.
These adventurous guests use accommodation reservation sites and Google Maps to find guesthouses and contact them directly, so it seems that guesthouses in Inaka can expect to attract guests in the current wave of inbound tourism in Japan, even without much PR effort.
There is Much to Do, Though!
However, if you are purchasing an old private house like the one in the Ghibli movie, it is advisable to actually view the property since many of them do not meet the modern Japanese earthquake resistance standards and the condition of the house itself may be poor! No matter how inexpensive the purchase price is, repair and maintenance costs for renovations can be expensive, so we recommend consulting with a specialist beforehand regarding total cost estimates.
As long as you can clear these issues, purchasing an old private home can be a wonderful opportunity to live and enjoy Japanese culture and scenery. Good Luck!♡