Tokyo Real Estate News & Information

Buying Land and Building a House on it - Costs of Buying Land + Building a House on it and Housing Loan

If you want to buy land and build a house on it, you will first need to pay for the land, and it is common to pay the construction cost of the house in multiple installments from the contract to its completion and delivery. Usually, housing loans are secured by a completed building and cannot be us…

Options for Newly built Houses

If you want to live in a newly built house, you have the choice between a custom-built house that you build yourself from scratch or a ready-built house with a fixed plan and price. In addition to degrees of freedom in the design, there are major differences between custom-built and ready-built hou…

Buying Land and Building a House on it - Selection of Construction Company and Construction Costs

Once you have decided on the area in which you want to live, the image of your home, and your approximate budget, you can start choosing a company to ask for construction of your house. Some companies may assist you in finding land, or may introduce you to their own “Land lot subject to constructio…

A Simple Guide to Home Insurance in Japan

Living in Japan as a foreigner, you may face challenges due to culture shock, language barriers and just plain cross-cultural misunderstanding. But beyond these obvious daily experiences, foreign residents may also have to overcome hurdles in times of stress or disaster. When you own or rent a prop…

Renting a Spacious House in Tokyo

For those who are looking for a spacious rental residence in Tokyo, we will guide you on renting a house here.When people coming to Japan from overseas look for a house, one of their concerns may be that houses in Japan are smaller than those in Western countries. While there are many spacious apar…

Restoration and cleaning fee when moving out of rental housing in Japan

How much of the deposit will be refunded when vacating a rental apartment? The Lease contracts used when renting housing have a clause defining the restoration requirements for a property when moving out. Most contracts will state that “the lessee shall restore the leased property to it's original…

English-Speaking Real Estate Agents in Japan

Finding the right real estate agent can make all the difference when navigating the Japanese property market. Whether you're looking to rent, buy, or manage a property, working with a local agent who speaks your language is crucial. In major cities like Tokyo and Yokohama, English-speaking real est…

Guide to Japanese apartment layout terms

When renting a property in Japan, floor plans often use English or English abbreviations in their descriptions due to limited space, so you may not know what these would mean. We here, would like to explain the meaning of descriptions in floor plans as well as the difference between Japan and Euro-…

Units Used to Describe the Size of Real Estate in Japan

In Japan, there are a number of units that describe area, such as 坪 (tsubo)・平米 (Heibei)・㎡ (Square meter)・畳 (Jo)・帖 (Jo)・歩 (Bu)・畝 (Se)・反 (Tan)・町 (Cho). In this article, we will explain the units that are widely used in the real estate industry, which you may see on advertisement drawings when you ar…

Azabudai Hills Residence: Tokyo's Modern Urban Village

"Azabudai Hills" redevelopment project, which opened on November 24, 2023, has transformed a central Tokyo neighborhood into a "Modern Urban Village," blending luxury living, international amenities, and lush green spaces with world-leading urban functions, including offices, commercial spaces, an…