Buying land in Japan. Just how much is too much?

[@RealRuralJapan]

Early next year i plan to expand my rural Japan cafe to include rescuing stray cats in my area to turn it into a unique Cat Cafe. Any help is very much appreciated. www.buymeacoffee.com/realruraljapan

[@cniquet01]

Just a thought, there's a Canadian youtuber- Sharmeleon, fiance to Chris Abroad. Her and her friend have opened cat themed air bnb, I wonder if they'd help you get the word out and promote your cat cafe- they are obsessed with cats- Sharla has 2 that cameo on her vids sometimes(Maro and Tuna)just thought it'd be great gaijin crosspromotion for a good cause

[@RealRuralJapan]

@@cniquet01 That would be cool I'm not a sub and first time i have heard of the channel so might be difficult.

[@GregK235]

Makes sense. Get just what you need, can afford, and can maintain.

[@cniquet01]

Hey mate, loving your videos so far, they've been great! Hoping tp relocate to Japan myself in the next 2 or 3 years, definitely plan to come up and support your cafe

[@RealRuralJapan]

Cheers for the kind words and good luck with it!

[@bluryeye1]

Your property is beautiful. Enjoy

[@paulboden7850]

My Echo weed wacker is my favorite tool. Noisy, but boy, is it efficient. Looks good, Steve!

[@RealRuralJapan]

Echo make great blowers i had one for many years.

[@FunkyKiwi7]

Your videos are very Good. Filled with commonsense and cutting corners. Thanks for sharing.

[@cccc87659]

should include link to patreon in all video descriptions

[@valdius85]

Exactly the thing my friends did. They don’t have much land around their house and already were offered the land from their neighbours to farm.

[@RealRuralJapan]

Even when you tell many this they still want to own. But foreigners are going to do what they want to do i have found when it comes to this it is almost like wasting your breath sometimes. Then they end up with too much and realize it too late. Can't say i haven't played my part at least.

[@alvegutt42]

just from my observation, it seems like livestock on small personal properties are uncommon, while here in eastern europe its somewhat common to have just one dairy cow as an example. why doesnt rural japan seem to have that as well?

[@RealRuralJapan]

Land is generally flatter and better for dairy cows in Eastern Europe. The consumption of dairy is much lower here and many Japanese don't like the smells. Plus, milking a cow twice a day is burdensome and also ties you down as you can't go on holiday. Also fence maintenance and all the other chores. Having one cow is good for large families but most households now are very small.

[@porco66]

Could you share some experiences about living in Japan? Specifically related to the medical field.

[@RealRuralJapan]

I have only been to the doctor twice both for stepping on nails and the service was excellent. Other than i know very little about the medical field.

[@dannybitz5015]

Love that Japanese maple tree. It’s a shame the weather where I live is to cold for them. I’d love to have one in my yard.

[@RealRuralJapan]

Yeah, they are awesome!

[@cocolenchojapan]

Great points! I have 3/4 acre and it can become overwhelming. I am working on making it easier to maintain but as you said once, work a rock and it will grow in Japan.

[@RealRuralJapan]

Your place is looking good and also from a maintenance standpoint. Imagine having to level all the divots and sloped areas at my place to be able to mow without bottoming out the mower. Just got to keep doing what i am doing with the weed whacker.

[@cocolenchojapan]

@@RealRuralJapan it’s getting there. Been working on making it more accessible in certain areas.

[@jonmarshall1502]

I guess lawn mowers aren’t really a thing in Japan?

[@RealRuralJapan]

Lawns are a western thing or even an English speaking country thing really. Rich aristocrats on large estates in England had lawns first and everyone else had veggie gardens because of necessity. It became fashionable to be like them at some stage as a sign of moving up in the world and has stuck.

[@jonmarshall1502]

@@RealRuralJapan video made a lot of sense, lots of people get over excited by having land without realising the work involved. I know from experience with my own place back home, just mowing is time consuming, hence I got a ride on mower to save time. Just enough land for growing some veggies is enough in my opinion.

[@piotr277]

I thought it was the opposite in Japan, since the value of homes falls with their age and in turn the land alone holds true value over time since it appreciates, which is why people buy old homes, tear them down and put new ones up in their place.

[@RealRuralJapan]

How can land hold its value when the population is decreasing, and most people are over 50? I hear this all the time by lazy You Tubers repeating something they have read. It may be true it holds its value in some parts of Japan but there are areas they can't give it away.

[@piotr277]

@@RealRuralJapan Yeah, maybe out in the country in some areas that are loosing population etc. Around cities though you can see empty plots for sale at a higher price than older houses in the same area. And there are many cases where the home gets removed and two or more new ones put in its place because the land is divided into multiple lots afterwards. Also, they are carving up new neighborhoods in areas that used to be green spaces, terracing hillsides etc.

[@RealRuralJapan]

I worked here demolishing Akiyas for a demolition company part time here in Nagano. I also worked roofing new houses on these new subdivided blocks you are referring to. I know where in Nagano City it makes sense to do this and where does not. It is a very intricate business and the people who talk about this on You Tube have no idea what they are talking about and are just house shills. A lot of times it costs more to demolish the house than the land is worth. This is my experience actually working in the industry.

[@zacharycorriea3721]

Aspiring Akiya buyer here! Great video. Aside from any backlash from neighbors, are there laws that require you to maintain plots of farmland?

[@RealRuralJapan]

The law is what your neighbors think here if you want a peaceful and good life.

[@zacharycorriea3721]

@@RealRuralJapan 😆

[@tossam2788]

Enjoyed the vid. Just wondering if you don't maintain the land well, besides the bad visual and other personal inconvenient, would it be punishable by law? If so, how serious it is and how would they enforce it? And how's that different from Akiya where some owner kind of leave the house to rot. ps. New sub here, good luck with the channel.

[@RealRuralJapan]

Grass has a maximum height it can grow before it falls back down under its own weight so i haven't heard of anyone getting in that sort of trouble. The thing is you have an obligation to your neighbors in Japan and obligation carries a lot of weight.

[@ausmartin1]

The mystery of Japanese not using mowers or riding mowers on flat grass land 🤔 is always a big question 🤔

[@RealRuralJapan]

Some have them like my neighbor who owns an apple orchard. Mowers make land look manicured and this is the look westerners like. Us westerners will go to great lengths to not even a single weed on our lawns but land that has more diversity of weeds is better for nature and the bees etc.

[@fuxzor]

my top tier idea is to buy a goat. it will do all this work for you and you will never be bored again.

[@RealRuralJapan]

Good for land clearing horrible if you farm and like some ornamental garden as well.

[@fuxzor]

@@RealRuralJapan Do you give out the address to your cafe? i cant see it anywhere. although I wont be able to come to Japan any time soon I like to go on google earth and zip around on street view.

[@RealRuralJapan]

Tamano ie cafe wakahohoshina

[@RealRuralJapan]

www.google.co.jp/maps/place/%E3%81%9F%E3%81%BE%E3%81%AE%E5%AE%B6Tamano_ie/@36.5807934,138.2565739,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x601d91114e9a5eb9:0x1f7bd84d19685780!8m2!3d36.5807934!4d138.2591542!16s%2Fg%2F11h_tltprv?entry=ttu

[@joonyer77]

@@RealRuralJapan Getting hungry reading the reviews. The food looks delicious!