November 25, 2025

Japan’s akiya properties have been the subject of a great deal of media attention lately, whether among those seeking to escape the corporate grind in urban Japan or millennials overseas who see their dreams of property ownership slipping away with rising prices in their home country. You may have head of akiya houses in Japan selling for very cheap, and sometimes even being listed for free!...

You may have read about cheap (or even free) akiyas in Japan and now you’re dreaming of buying and fixing up a beautiful old kominka in the Japanese countryside. But first you want to know for sure: “Can a foreigner buy a house in Japan?” The short answer is: YES! Foreigners have (almost) exactly the same rights as Japanese citizens when it comes to purchasing property or land in Japan,...

Dream of buying a home in Japan? The good news is that, whether you are a resident or not, anyone can purchase real estate in the country. And, with the yen at record lows against most major currencies at the time of writing, housing here is more affordable than ever to those living overseas. But the first question that likely comes to mind is: what exactly are the prices of homes like in Japan? We’ll...

Western news media homed in on the story of Japan’s depopulation crisis and the eerie ghost towns left behind about a decade ago now. More recently, though, the focus has been on the abandoned properties up for grabs. Headlines like Japan Is Giving Away 8 Million Abandoned Houses — Here’s How to Get One and Want a free country house in Japan? They’re giving them away may raise...

While Japan may be an unconventional choice of location to retire, it’s an increasingly attractive one. Though I am not yet retired, the relaxed pace of life outside of major Japanese cities has been a highlight of my time here. Amazingly, this is also where the most highly affordable properties can be found. See also: Our comprehensive e-guide to buying cheap property in...

The 2024 Cheap Houses Japan survey results are in! We had 2,197 people answer the survey this year – up from just 578 responses two years ago! I wanted to understand your thoughts on purchasing a property in Japan, as well as your budget and location preferences so I can improve the relevance of future listings. If you are new here, my weekly newsletter showcases 20 listings for...

A Comprehensive Look at Why Houses in Japan Are So Affordable In 2019, I bought a two-bedroom house in Japan for only $36,000 (the actual house I bought is pictured above in the title image). This number includes all real estate fees and taxes. At that same time, the average home price in my home country of Canada was $565,800. That’s nearly 16 times higher than how much I...

Shenike bought her first house for 2.5 million yen and her second house for only 230,000 yen — and those numbers are including taxes and realtor fees! Here she shares her thoughts and experiences about buying and renovating her houses. *All the photos on this page are of the houses Shenike bought and the surroundings. Would you mind quickly introducing yourself to our readers? How long have you...

Jamie lives in Tokyo and bought a vacation home in the Izu peninsula for under 2 Million JPY. She graciously gave us some of her time for this interview about using her house for remote work, the lessons she learned during the buying process, and even how much it cost to renovate.  *All the photos on this page are of the house Jamie bought and the surroundings. Would you mind quickly...

Marc has lived in Japan for about 15 years and recently bought his dream home on the world famous island of Naoshima. In this interview, Marc shares with us about the real estate market in Naoshima, the challenges of working with renovation contractors, and convincing the owners to sell the house to him!  *All the photos on this page are of Marc’s house. Would you mind quickly introducing...