People Twitter

• It's in bumfuck nowhere
• I don't speak Japanese
• Building it up to a modern living standard will be expensive
• I'd have to move to Japan

Unsorted list of reasons why not from the top of my head

Sure, it looks cheap. It's cheap for a reason. Buying abandoned property in a remote place is often the most expensive way to find out why.

There are way more complexities than meet the eye here.

Not the least of which: just buying property doesn't give you a way to extend a visa beyond the normal tourist period (usually 90 days per 6-month period). Japan ultimately is still an isolationist country, and it shows the most in its immigration policies.

Because Japan can be extremely xenophobic.

As others in this thread have said, buying a property in Japan doesn't extend your Visa or grant you residence in the country. This would be a waste of time if you didn't already have that lined up. However, there are countries that do. Some have what's called the Golden Visa program, or Investor/Real Estate Visa program (there are other names, but if you're doing a search, this should turn up decent results). Here's a list of some countries that do this, and the minimum amount you need to spend.

Portugal - Golden Visa Investment - €500,000 ($540k USD) or €350,000 ($380k USD) for lower population areas, or properties that need to be renovated Residency benefits - Residency permit for 5 years, with the opportunity to apply for permanent residency after that

Spain - Golden Visa Investment - €500,000 ($540k USD) Residency benefits - Residency permit for 1 year, renewable as long as you own the property, and you can apply for permanent residency after 5 years

Greece - Golden Visa Investment - €250,000 ($270k USD) Residency benefits - Residency permit for 5 years, renewable as long as you own the property, and you can apply for permanent residency after 7 years

Thailand - Thailand Elite Visa Investment - THB 1,000,000 (about $30k USD) for a 5 year Visa Residency benefits - Renewable every 5 years with no residency requirement

Ecuador - Investor Visa Investment - $42,500 in real estate Residency benefits - Grants you permanent residency

Malaysia - Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) Investment - RM 1 million (about $240k USD) in real estate Residency benefits - Grants you a 10 year renewable Visa

Philippines - Special Resident Retiree Visa Investment - $50k in real estate Residency benefits - Grants you permanent residency

When I was looking into bailing on the US, I made a Libre Office spreadsheet with like 70 countries and all this info plus a bunch of other personal requirements for what I was looking for, so some of it may be outdated. Hell, some of it may be straight up incorrect, so feel free to double check it.

The catch is that rural Japan is a a shithole rife with xenophobia, privacy violations, bullying, and problematic neighbors. And that's for ethnically Japanese people, so it's be way worse if you were actually a foreigner.

There's a reason why people in Japan try so hard to move away from rural areas into cities.

https://youtu.be/fjK1BkpOa8w

I actually looked into that property once; there was no way it was going to happen for a number of reasons. I ended up buying a house in much better condition in another area.

I really need to do a video about the topic or something. There are many, many landmines with stuff like this. For a very TL;DR and assuming every single other thing is perfect: owning a home does not give you the right to spend any extra time in Japan nor grant a visa; you are on the hook for taxes, fees, septic maintenance (though the above property may have been a pit toilet; I don't remember), and other bills which will have to be paid from a Japanese bank account. There are also certain neighborhood association obligations, property maintenance, fire control, etc.

I'm sure you could find a cheap condemned shit hole in your nearest rural area too. That doesn't mean that it's a good deal.

It's so cheap because the current owner doesn't want to spend the money on demolishing the structure before selling vacant land. And if it is still available it is because no developer has looked at it and thought that they could make money on the flip.

1. ghosts

2. Chances of being isekaied are much higher immediately after moving to Japan.

Because they won’t sell it to a foreigner. It’s not exactly legal but they won’t sell anyway.

Unless you lawyer up beforehand.

You’d die when the next big earthquake or landslide hits that home. Or when Sadako crawls out of your TV

Good luck with the yokai

That place is either haunted or home to some nature spirits. Either way thwy'll fuck you up.

I wonder if there are soot sprites in the attic. Is there a giant camphor tree nearby?

Because buying and not using land is morally wrong.

The Japanese government and culture hates foreigner. Unless you or your parents have Japanese citizenship, you're going to have a hard time.

Because these houses are located in remote, rural areas. They have been abandoned because people are moving closer to the cities or the owners are old/dying and they can't continue maintaining them. The money you save from the initial purchase will all come out of the expenses to renovate and maintain the house because a lot of them are run-down.

Of course if you're the type who wants to live in the middle of nowhere, and you have the money and skills to renovate, this can be for you.

Will I meet the Totoro?

I wish I had that kind of money.