Otaru gets five to six meters of cumulative snowfall per winter. I want to make sure that number registers. That’s not a dusting. That’s not a white Christmas. Five to six meters is sixteen to twenty feet of snow falling on your house, your yard, your street, and every surface that faces the sky, accumulating …
Read more “Snow Country: What Hokkaido Weather Does to a House”
Everyone wants to know the purchase price. That’s the wrong number. The right number is the total cost — purchase plus renovation — and in Japan, especially in Hokkaido, renovation is where the real spending happens. A house that costs ¥3 million ($20,000) might need another ¥3-8 million to bring it up to the standard …
Read more “Renovation Costs in Japan: What Things Actually Cost to Fix”
I’ll be upfront about something: I did not get a professional inspection on my Otaru house. I walked through it once, in winter, with snow on the ground, and looked at the rooms, turned on a few faucets, checked that the lights worked. Brief. Cursory. The kind of walkthrough where you’re already emotionally committed and …
Read more “What to Look for When Inspecting a Japanese House”
A 40-year-old house in the United States is normal. A 40-year-old house in England is new. A 40-year-old house in Japan is a tear-down. This is the single most disorienting thing about Japanese real estate for Western buyers. The house you’re looking at — solid foundation, intact roof, functioning plumbing — is valued at zero. …
Read more “Japanese Houses Are Not Built to Last — And That’s the Point”
Maybe. But probably not the kind of money you’re imagining. When people hear “I bought a house in Japan for $20,000,” the next sentence out of their mouth is usually about Airbnb. They picture a ski-season rental near Niseko, a canal-district listing pulling ¥15,000 a night, passive income flowing while they sit on a beach …
Read more “Can You Make Money Renting Out a Japanese Property?”
Participants — many in colorful yukata or festival happi coats — from local groups like the Otaru Ryūsaikai (小樽龍祭會) and enthusiasts across Hokkaido shouldered the heavy portable shrine.