This week: Welcome to the first issue of Shogun Homes. Every Friday (though its not Friday today) we pick five homes for sale across Japan and tell you what living in each one might really be like, the good and the hard parts.
How to read each issue
The map shows where this week's homes are. Each icon shows the lifestyle a home suits, and its color shows how much work it needs: orange for a fixer-upper, yellow for middle, green for turnkey properties. Each bubble has a number corresponding to the order listed in the newsletter.
The ratings score every home from 1 to 5 on six things: activities, daily essentials, walkability, getting there, seasons and English accessibility. There's no overall score, because a skier and a retiree may weigh them differently.
The catch is in every write-up. Most affordable homes in Japan come with a downside!
We're not real estate agents and we don't take commissions, so we can tell you what the listing doesn't.
This week's map
This week leans toward Mt. Fuji: two homes in its shadow, plus a coastal log house in Chiba, a snow-country house in Nagano and a family home on the edge of Fukuoka.
Home 1: Hirano Ridge Retreat
This Week’s Area deep dive: Lake Yamanaka
A full display of Mt. Fuji from Lake Yamanaka.
Lake Yamanaka is the largest and highest of the Fuji Five Lakes, and the closest of them to Tokyo by road. For decades it has been where Tokyo families keep a weekend house: close enough for a Friday-night drive, high enough to escape the summer heat, and with Mt. Fuji looming over the water. [Approx lake altitude, 980 m (approx 3215 ft)]
Weekends by the lake, with Fuji over the trees
The life. This is a weekend house on the quiet Hirano side of Lake Yamanaka, the highest of the Fuji Five Lakes. Summer means paddling or cycling the lake loop before the day-trippers arrive, autumn brings the foliage, and in winter the lake is the place to see Fuji at its sharpest.
The house. ¥16.5M (about US$105,000) · 4LDK, 142 m² · 481 m² (approx. 1,528 sq ft · 5,177 sq ft) of land · built 1988, two floors, wooden · four Western-style rooms plus an 18-mat living-dining-kitchen · septic tank, mains water, propane. See the listing
The catch. You don't own the land. It's a leasehold under the old land lease law: the term is 10 years at ¥11,023 ($70)/ month, and there's a ¥126,984 (roughly $805) a year estate management fee on top. The fee to transfer the lease to you is still being confirmed. Short-term rentals aren't allowed in the estate, so it can't pay for itself on Airbnb. And at around 1,000 m up, winters are cold and the house is 38 years old.
Who it suits. Two families or a group of friends who want a Fuji-area base for weekends and holidays, and who are comfortable renting the land under it.
A year here
Spring comes late at this height. The cherry blossom arrives weeks after Tokyo's, and the lake turns busy again with paddlers and cyclists.
Summer is the reason most people buy. It's noticeably cooler than the city, and vibrant lake activities.
Autumn brings the leaves around the shore and clear mornings with Fuji capped in its first snow.
Winter is cold and quiet. Many houses in the villa estates sit empty, the lake can freeze at the edges, and this is when Fuji looks its sharpest. Around the winter solstice, people gather on the shore to watch the sun set into the summit, known as Diamond Fuji.
Yamanakako wake surfing in summer.
Getting there and around
Most owners drive: the expressway puts Tokyo within roughly two hours on a clear day, though weekend traffic in summer and autumn can stretch that. Highway buses run from Shinjuku. Without a car, life here is hard: this house is 18 km from Fujisan Station, and buses around the lake are infrequent.
Daily life
The lakeside village has supermarkets, convenience stores, restaurants and onsen, and Fujiyoshida, a bigger town 20 to 30 minutes away, covers hospitals and larger shops. In the villa estates, life is quiet: your neighbors are mostly other weekenders, and the estate office handles roads, water and snow on common areas.
What it really costs to run
For the Hirano Ridge house, the fixed costs from the listing add up to about ¥307,000 (about US$1,950) a year before anything else:
Cost | Per year |
|---|---|
Land rent (¥11,023 a month) | ¥132,276 |
Estate management fee | ¥126,984 |
Basic water charge (¥3,960 a month) | ¥47,520 |
Total | ¥306,780 |
On top of that come electricity, propane, insurance, fixed asset tax on the building, and the one-off ¥26,000 water name-change fee and lease transfer fee when you buy.
The honest downsides
Villa estates often run on leased land and have rules, like the ban on short-term rentals here. Read them before you fall in love.
An older wooden house at this height needs heating, insulation and checks for damp after a long empty winter.
Summer and autumn weekends bring traffic and crowds to the lake roads.
Our take
We live and work in the Fuji area in summer, and Lake Yamanaka is where we'd point someone who wants a weekend house within reach of Tokyo, with Fuji as a neighbor. It isn't a cheap place to own once the fees are counted, and it suits people who'll use it often rather than leave it empty.
Home 2: Amaya Coastal-Country Log House
A small log house with a big garden, near the Boso coast
The life. Minamiboso, at the southern tip of Chiba, has some of the mildest winters near Tokyo, with flower fields in early spring and surf beaches along the Pacific side. This house is in the old Maruyama district, a 2 km walk from Chitose Station on the Uchibo Line. The garden is big enough for a proper vegetable patch, and there's a wooden deck for long evenings outside.
The house. ¥14.8M (about US$94,000) · 1SLDK, 43.68 m² · 339 m² (470.17 sq ft · 3,648.96 sq ft) of land, freehold · log house built in 1995, single story, already renovated · a 16-mat living-dining-kitchen, one bedroom and a small storeroom · reheating bath, wooden deck, free parking. See the listing
The catch. It's small: 44 m² (473 sq ft)is one bedroom, so it's a couple's house, not a family's. The land is part of a registered buried cultural site, so any work that involves digging, such as an extension or a new septic tank, means notifying the city first, and possibly a test dig. The road in is only 2.5 m (8.3 ft) wide.
Who it suits. A couple who want a low-maintenance coastal base with a garden, and who don't need much space indoors.
Home 3: Nagano Snow-Country House
Ski all winter, a 15-minute walk from the shinkansen (bullet train)
The life. Iiyama, in northern Nagano, is deep snow country, with some of Japan's best powder in reach. Ski areas such as Madarao and Nozawa Onsen are a short drive away, and in summer the same mountains are for hiking and cycling. What makes this house unusual is the access: it's a 15-minute walk from Iiyama Station on the Hokuriku Shinkansen, so you can be back in Tokyo in under two hours without a car.
The house. ¥15.0M (about US$96,000) · 6LDK, 226 m² · 612 m² (2,432.64 sq ft · 6,587.51 sq ft) of land, freehold · built 1995, two floors plus a basement, timber and reinforced concrete · mains water and sewer · empty and ready to view. See the listing
The catch. Snow is the life and the work. Iiyama gets heavy snow every winter, so clearing the drive and keeping the roof safe is a regular job, or a cost if you pay someone. Short-term rentals aren't allowed, so it can't be run as a ski lodge. The listing doesn't say how the property meets the road. And six bedrooms are a lot to heat and look after if you're only there part of the year.
Who it suits. A skiing family, or friends sharing a winter base, who want space for gear and guests and easy train access from Tokyo.
Home 4: Mt. Fuji Gateway Residence
Fuji fills the window, and the town is on your doorstep
The life. Gotemba sits right at the foot of Mt. Fuji on the Shizuoka side, and this house has big Fuji views from inside and from the garden. It's a working town, not a resort, so supermarkets, schools and clinics are close, and Hakone and the Gotemba trail up Fuji are both nearby. Gotemba Station is a 19-minute walk, with highway buses and trains to Tokyo.
The house. ¥17.8M (about US$113,000) · 3LDK, 88.6 m² · 206 m² (953.68 sq ft · 2,217.37 sq ft) of land, freehold · built November 1981, two floors, wooden · parking for four cars, a wide balcony and a large garden · reheating bath, three-burner stove, propane, septic tank · empty and ready to view. See the listing
The catch. Age is the big one. The house was built right around June 1981, when Japan's stronger earthquake standard began. Whether it meets that standard depends on the date the building permit was issued, so ask before anything else and budget for a structural check. The land is also in an urbanization control zone, where rebuilding or extending can need city permission.
Who it suits. Someone who wants Fuji views with everyday convenience, and is ready to invest in an older house.
Home 5: Hakata-Edge Suburb House
A well-kept family home on the quiet edge of Fukuoka
The life. Fukuoka is one of Japan's easiest big cities to live in: compact, close to the sea, famous for its food, and with an airport only minutes from the city centre. This house is in Kamata, Higashi Ward, a quiet residential area on the city's eastern edge, so you get space and calm with the city within reach.
The house. ¥29.8M (about US$190,000) · 4LDK, 146 m² · 265 m² (1,571.53 sq ft · 2,852.44 sq ft) of land, freehold · built 1989 by Sekisui Heim, two floors · bathrooms and kitchen renovated, two toilets, double glazing, an engawa veranda and a garden · repair records and the original plans come with it. See the listing
The catch. It's the priciest home this week and the least "Japan dream": a solid suburban house rather than a view. The nearest station is a 26-minute walk, so you'll want a car, yet the listing says there's no parking. And like the Gotemba house, it's in an urbanization control zone, where rebuilding can need permission.
Who it suits. A family moving to Japan for good who want a city with a good airport, schools and services, in a house that has been looked after.
Want homes chosen just for you?
The newsletter is for inspiration. If you're serious about a home in Japan, our one-to-one consultation starts with a video call about how you want to live, then we send you 3 to 5 homes picked for you, written up like this issue. It's ¥30,000 (about US$190), separate from your subscription, and booking opens soon.
See you next Friday