One of the appeals of having a house in Japan is the low cost of maintaining it. I paid just Y2.8mil for a house 1 hour from Tokyo, and 7kms (i.e. a bicycle ride) from a major station. The house is by no means a great house. Its traditional in style, 5br, it has a standard amount of land, its 18yo, but its close to Tokyo and it was very cheap. The other appealing aspect it had for a holiday house is that it costs me only $300 a year in local govt taxes. I pay no other charges. Japan is so safe I do not even both insuring it.
Compare that with say NZ...which is by no means an expensive place to buy property, and the cost of a basic house 1 hour from the city would be $150,000 minimum, and I would be lugged with land taxes of around $NZ1,000 ($US750). I would need to ensure it, I'd need to mow the lawns, I'd need to have someone watch it. None of this is necessary in Japan.
I bought my house below land value because of its location and 'apparent' condition. It was a place I could store stuff, work from when I visit Japan in Spring/Summer. I get the benefits of being a tourist - namely the Japan Rail Pass - but I also have a place I can work from for 3 months, before I skip over to Korea/HK/the Philippines with a discount airline, or a base from which to travel around by rail pass. Importantly, there is a great deal to see in Japan, and I never get sick of the place. The railway is so efficient, I can shoot up to northern Honshu on a shinkansen, then explore the regional areas on the local trains, and be back in my house to sleep. I don't even have to rent a room. Hokkaido is a bit far to do this.....and of course I sleep out if going into more remote areas.
Contrary to popular belief...Japan is not simply an industrial wasteland. I think you could argue that it is architecturally homogeneous, but it is culturally interesting...that's an understatement...and it has some of the most beautiful natural landscapes anywhere. It has appealing village and city cultural elements....which will fascinate all. I have seen the most ardent 'redneck', truckie, KKK-lifetime member-types transformed by a visit to Japan. They really did not expect it to be as it is. They are accustomed to those silly, giggling girls that travel to their home country. There is more to Japan. I think its an opportunity more than anything else to observe a different perspective or display of differing human values...regardless of how sick or distorted those values might be.
Nope...I am not a fan of Japanese values. But then, neither are a great many Japanese...though they don't have the intellectual skills to understand why....well, except for 0.00011% of the population....who never developed a personal identity, i.e. egoism. There are the exceptions. I have met Japanese people who are more American than Americans.
