Real Estate

Is Hirafu still a good place to invest?

During Niseko's stunning growth of the last ~25 years, no area has changed more significantly than Hirafu, the resort's main hub. Virtually unrecognisable from the sleepy onsen town of yesteryear, the Hirafu of today more closely resembles a small and wealthy city - luxury retailers dotted between densely packed condo buildings. So, is it still a buy? The answer as always is, it depends. The case...

Kutchan’s new station design has been decided

Exciting news from Kutchan Council this week, the design for the brand new Shinkansen station has been confirmed! After opening up the choice of 3 designs to a public vote through January, Plan A was the overwhelmingly popular choice among the nearly 2,000 votes cast. A mammoth construction project, the new station and surrounding area will be completely revamped to accommodate the new Shinkansen...

Is Leasehold Ownership a Good Idea in Japan?

While the most common form of land and property ownership in Japan is 'freehold' (所有権 shoyuken) it is also possible to negotiate a 'leasehold' (借地権 shakuchiken) agreement. The main difference between 'freehold' and 'leasehold' is that, under a leasehold agreement, the owner of the land under which the property is build can be different to the owner of the property. An example of this can...

How Hard is it to Buy Land or Property as a Foreigner in Japan?

Niseko and the surrounding region of Hokkaido Japan has experienced the full beam of the international development spotlight in recent years. While nationwide land prices have fallen for the first time in six years (-0.5%), Kutchan and Niseko lead Japan overall in terms of the rate of increase which has seen prices rise by 25% in the last year alone (2020-2021). As small and larger scale developments...

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