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 you’re looking for confirmation, not problems.
Most guides will tell you: don’t do what I did. They’re right. A proper inspection would have flagged things I discovered later — some minor, some less minor. I got lucky in that nothing was catastrophically wrong. Luck is not a strategy.
Here’s what I know now about inspecting a Japanese house, built from what I learned after buying mine and from conversations with other foreign owners who were either more careful than I was or less lucky.
Professional Inspections
Japan has a home inspection industry. The service is called ホームインスペクション (home inspection, borrowed directly from English) and it’s been growing since the 2018 revision to the Real Estate Transaction Act, which now requires agents to disclose whether an inspection has been conducted and, if so, its results.
A professional inspection in Japan typically runs ¥50,000-100,000 for a standard residential property. The inspector checks the structure, foundation, roof, exterior walls, plumbing, electrical, and interior for defects, and delivers a written report — usually within a week.
Is it worth it?
On a property priced at ¥10 million or above, absolutely. The inspection cost is 1% of the purchase price or less, and it can save you from problems that would cost ten times that to fix.
On a ¥2 million akiya — the kind of price range this series focuses on — the calculation gets muddier. The inspection might cost ¥80,000 on a house you’re paying ¥2 million for. That’s 4% of the purchase price. If the inspection reveals a ¥500,000 roof problem, you’ve saved money. If the inspection reveals nothing beyond what you could see yourself — old but functional systems, cosmetic wear, the expected age of every component — you’ve spent ¥80,000 on a confirmation.
My take: if you have any doubt about structural integrity, get the inspection. If the house is obviously old but you’re comfortable with cosmetic renovation, you might skip the professional inspection and do a thorough self-check instead. The key word is thorough.
The Self-Inspection Checklist
Whether you hire a professional or not, you should walk through any property you’re considering with your eyes actively looking for specific things. Most people walk into a house and register a feeling — “it feels nice” or “it feels old.” Feelings don’t find cracked foundations. Here’s what to actually check.
Foundation
Walk the exterior perimeter first. Look at the base of the house where the structure meets the ground.
Cracks. Hairline cracks in concrete are normal and cosmetic. Cracks wider than 3mm, cracks that are offset (one side higher than the other), or cracks that radiate diagonally from corners indicate structural movement. In Hokkaido specifically, freeze-thaw cycles cause frost heaving — the ground expands when it freezes and contracts when it thaws, and over decades this can push foundations out of level or crack them.
Moisture. Look for water stains, efflorescence (white mineral deposits on concrete), or damp soil against the foundation wall. Japanese houses often have crawl spaces (床下, yukashita) — if you can access it, look underneath for standing water, moisture on the underside of floor joists, or mold.
Ventilation openings. Older Japanese foundations have ventilation ports around the perimeter to allow airflow through the crawl space. Check that they’re open and not blocked by debris, soil, or someone’s misguided attempt at insulation. Blocked vents trap moisture underneath the house.
Roof
You probably can’t get on the roof during a walkthrough, but you can see a lot from the ground.
The ridgeline. Stand back and look at the top of the roof in profile. A straight ridgeline means the roof structure is holding. A ridgeline that dips, bows, or sags means the support structure underneath has weakened — rafters cracking, ridge beam failing, or (in Hokkaido) years of snow load pushing things downward. A sagging ridgeline on a house in heavy-snow country is a red flag. The repair is structural, not cosmetic, and it gets expensive fast.
Surface condition. Japanese roofs come in several types: ceramic tile (瓦, kawara), galvanized steel or tin, slate, or asphalt shingle. Look for missing tiles, rust patches on metal, cracked or curling shingles. Any of these means water is getting in or will be soon. Roof replacement in Hokkaido runs ¥800,000-2,000,000 depending on material, size, and access.
Gutters and drainage. Hokkaido roofs deal with massive snow and ice loads. Gutters get torn off, bent, or blocked. Missing or damaged gutters mean water dumps directly against the foundation wall during snowmelt, which accelerates foundation damage. Check the whole gutter line from the ground.
Water Damage
This is the number one deal-breaker in akiya. More cheap Japanese houses are ruined by water than by any other single cause.
Ceiling stains. Look up in every room. Brown or yellow stains on ceilings mean water has come through from above — a roof leak, a pipe leak, condensation problem, or ice dam. A single stain from a one-time event that was fixed is different from multiple stains or active moisture. Ask about it. Touch the stain — if it’s wet or soft, the problem is current.
Wall stains. Same principle. Water tracks down walls from leaks above, or wicks up from moisture below. Look especially at exterior wall corners and around windows, where sealing failures let water in.
Floor condition. Walk every floor. Soft spots, warping, or springy areas under your feet mean moisture has compromised the subfloor or joists. In tatami rooms, lift a mat if possible — the boards underneath tell the real story. If they’re discolored or soft, water has been there.
Smell. Musty, damp, moldy smell — especially in closets (押入れ, oshiire) and unused rooms — means ongoing moisture. Your nose catches things your eyes might miss. A house that smells musty in summer has a moisture problem.
Plumbing
Run every faucet. Kitchen, bathroom, laundry area, outdoor spigots if they exist. Turn them on full and let them run for a minute. You’re checking for water pressure (low pressure might mean corroded pipes restricting flow), discoloration (brown or rust-colored water means pipe corrosion), and leaks (check under sinks while the water runs).
Flush every toilet. Check that they fill, flush, and drain properly. Old Japanese toilets are simple and reliable, but the supply lines and valves age.
Check the water heater. Most Japanese houses use a gas-fired instantaneous water heater (給湯器, kyutouki) mounted on an exterior wall. These have a design life of about 10 years. Look at the manufacture date sticker. A 15-year-old water heater works until it doesn’t, and replacement runs ¥150,000-300,000 installed.
Pipe material. If you can see exposed pipes — in the crawl space, in the bathroom, under the kitchen sink — note what they’re made of. Galvanized steel pipes (silver-gray, threaded connections) corrode from the inside over time. A house with original galvanized plumbing from the 1970s or 1980s is on borrowed time. Full re-piping: ¥300,000-800,000. Modern houses and renovated houses use polyethylene or PVC, which doesn’t corrode.
Electrical
The panel. Find the main electrical panel (分電盤, bundenban) — usually near the entrance or in a utility area. If it contains fuses instead of breakers, the wiring is old. Fuse panels themselves work fine, but they indicate an electrical system that predates modern standards. A house with a fuse panel probably has aluminum wiring or undersized copper wiring that can’t safely handle modern loads (air conditioning, electric heaters, multiple appliances).
Rewiring a house: ¥500,000-1,000,000, and it means opening walls.
Outlets. Check the number and placement of outlets in each room. Older Japanese houses have remarkably few — sometimes two per room. Adding outlets is minor compared to full rewiring, but it’s an indication of the system’s age and capacity.
Amperage. The panel should show the contracted amperage — usually 30A, 40A, or 60A for residential. A 30A service is tight for a house with modern appliances and any electric heating. Upgrading amperage is a call to the power company and an electrician — usually ¥30,000-80,000.
Termites (シロアリ)
Hokkaido is colder than most of Japan, and termites are less prevalent here than in the south. But they’re not absent. The Yamato termite (ヤマトシロアリ) ranges into southern Hokkaido.
Check the foundation perimeter for mud tubes — thin trails of packed earth running up the concrete. These are termite highways. Check any wood that contacts soil — porch posts, foundation sills, attached sheds. Probe with a screwdriver: if the tip sinks into wood that should be solid, something has been eating it.
Termite damage in Hokkaido is less likely than in Kyushu, but when it happens, the repair cost is the same: structural timber replacement at ¥500,000 and up, depending on extent.
Insulation
Open a closet on an exterior wall. Look at the ceiling of an unfinished space. Check behind any access panels.
What you’re likely to find in a house built before the 1990s: nothing. No insulation. Or a thin layer of fiberglass batting that’s settled, compressed, or gotten wet at some point and is now basically decorative.
Hokkaido is cold. Otaru in January averages -4°C with plenty of nights hitting -10°C or below. A house with no insulation is a house where you choose between heating bills that approach the mortgage payment or being cold for five months.
Adding insulation is one of the most cost-effective renovations you can make to a Hokkaido house. Blown-in wall insulation, attic insulation, floor insulation — the scope varies. Budget ¥500,000-1,500,000 for a meaningful upgrade, less if you’re doing some of it yourself. The payback in reduced heating costs is real and measurable.
The Cosmetic vs. Structural Distinction
This is the most important skill to develop during an inspection, and it’s the one most first-time buyers get wrong.
Cosmetic issues — cheap, fixable, ignorable:
– Worn tatami (replacement: ¥5,000-15,000 per mat, six mats per room typically)
– Stained or torn fusuma/shoji (re-papering: ¥3,000-5,000 per panel)
– Dated kitchen cabinets, countertops, fixtures
– Scuffed or discolored walls (repaint or re-wallpaper: ¥200,000-400,000 for a whole house)
– Old but functional bathroom (ugly is not broken)
– Overgrown yard (a weekend with tools)
– The genkan (entryway) tile that’s cracked or dated
Structural issues — expensive, uncertain, potentially deal-breaking:
– Foundation cracks with offset
– Sagging ridgeline or roof structure
– Rotted support beams or sill plates
– Active water intrusion with no identified source
– Compromised load-bearing walls (removed, cut into, or damaged)
– Electrical system that can’t be brought to safe standards without full replacement
A house full of cosmetic problems looks terrible and costs relatively little to fix. A house with one structural problem looks fine and might cost more to repair than you paid for it.
Learn to see past the tatami and look at the bones.
When to Walk Away
Some properties should stay on the listing. Here’s when to leave your deposit in your pocket:
Active structural failure. If the foundation is cracked and offset, if support beams are visibly rotted, if the roof structure is failing — the repair cost is unknown, the scope will expand once work begins, and “unknown expanding scope” on a structural problem is how a ¥2 million akiya becomes a ¥5 million project.
Evidence of fire damage. Charred wood, replaced framing sections that don’t match the original, the smell of old smoke. Fire damage compromises structural members in ways that may not be visible, and insurance history on a Japanese property is not always available or reliable.
No legal road access. Japanese building law requires that a property front on a road at least 4 meters wide, with a minimum 2-meter frontage (接道義務, setsudo gimu). If the property doesn’t meet this requirement, you cannot rebuild if the existing structure is demolished or destroyed. You can renovate, but you can’t tear down and start over. This is a permanent constraint that limits the property’s future value and your options.
Some akiya are cheap precisely because they fail the road-access test. The listing may or may not disclose this clearly. Ask directly, and verify at the city planning office (都市計画課) before committing.
Environmental contamination. Former gas stations, dry cleaners, factories, or anything suggesting chemical use on the site. Soil remediation in Japan is expensive and regulated. On a cheap akiya, the remediation cost alone could exceed the property value many times over.
The Last Piece
An inspection — professional or self-guided — is information. It tells you what you’re buying. It doesn’t tell you whether to buy.
Every cheap old house has something wrong with it. That’s why it’s cheap. The question isn’t whether problems exist but whether they’re problems you can handle at a price you can afford. A ¥300,000 plumbing replacement on a ¥2 million house is a cost. A cracked foundation on the same house is a gamble.
Know the difference before you sign.