The Old Houses Japan Podcast

The True Cost of Owning an Old House in Japan — What Nobody Tells You Before You Buy

The purchase price is not the number. In episode four, host David and co-founder Victoria make that very clear — and they do it with a game. True or False to start. Guess the Number throughout. Victoria keeps score and has opinions about David's answers. The information is serious. The delivery is not. They cover the full cost picture of owning a traditional property in Japan — from acquisition through renovation through the annual costs most buyers never think about until they're already in it. Including Reagan's kitchen and bathroom renovation in Chiba, currently underway near the beach. The Nagasaki property David and Victoria just visited — what they found when they opened the wall panels, what was underneath, and what happens next month when the tear-down renovation begins. And why the konbini utility bill payment system is either completely brilliant or completely insane depending on who you ask. Plus: why some municipalities will cover up to fifty percent of your renovation costs — and why most buyers never find out that money exists. And Monohaus Japan — the property management company built specifically for foreign owners of traditional rural properties, for when you own the building but can't always be there. David scores eight and three quarter out of eleven. Victoria has thoughts about that. Links:🎙️ Podcast: oldhousesjapanpodcast.com🌐 Property platform: oldhousesjapan.com🏠 Property management: monohausjapan.com📋 Grants database: oldhousesjapan.com/grants📸 Instagram: instagram.com/oldhousesjapan📧 Get in touch: hello@oldhousesjapan.com [hello@oldhousesjapan.com]

Why I Became a Real Estate Agent in Japan

David was offered the chance to become a real estate agent in Japan twice. He said no both times. Then he spent two months back in the States, stepped away from the day-to-day, and came back with a different answer. In this episode Victoria turns the tables — she's asking the questions. David explains why he finally said yes, why he chose eXp Realty, and how real estate licensing in Japan actually works for agents (spoiler: no exam required). More importantly, what this changes for every client who comes to Old Houses Japan looking for property. Including the thing he'll say plainly: some agents in Japan will tell you to pick one area and only look there — not because it's the right strategy for you, but because they don't want to travel. And why that is completely unacceptable. Plus a phase-by-phase walk through the buying process as David now runs it — property tour, offer, the acceptance period, and what the key handover actually feels like after everything it took to get there. This is the episode about what OHJ is really built to do. And why the license makes it faster. Links:🎙️ Podcast: oldhousesjapanpodcast.com🌐 Property platform: oldhousesjapan.com📋 Grants database: oldhousesjapan.com/grants📸 Instagram: instagram.com/oldhousesjapan📧 Work with David: david@oldhousesjapan.com [hello@oldhousesjapan.com]

Akiya Banks Explained: The Hidden Front Door to Japan's Vacant Homes

Everyone talks about Japan's nine million empty homes. Nobody explains how you actually find them. In episode two of Old Houses Japan, host David and co-founder Victoria go behind the scenes of akiya banks — the government-run property registries that are the entry point to this world for most foreign buyers. What they are, who runs them, why they only capture an estimated five to fifteen percent of Japan's truly vacant homes, and what actually happens between finding a listing and buying a property. Including the story of a client who found a hundred and fifty year old farmhouse on the Iizuna Akiya Bank in Nagano — hit every wall a foreign buyer can hit — and still got there. The visa barrier. The declined offer. The family who needed to know more than just the price before they'd sell. Plus: why David and Victoria's favourite akiya bank in northern Kyoto has listings you won't find anywhere else. The information that doesn't exist in any listing but that David brings home from every property tour. If you've ever opened a Japanese property listing, run it through Google Translate, and wondered what comes next — this episode is the answer. Mentioned in this episode:National Akiya Bank portal: akiya.mlit.go.jpIizuna Akiya Bank: 飯綱町空き家バンクFukuchiyama Akiya Bank: 福知山市空き家バンク 🎙️ Podcast: oldhousesjapanpodcast.com🌐 Property platform: oldhousesjapan.com📋 Grants database: oldhousesjapan.com/grants📸 Instagram: instagram.com/oldhousesjapan📧 Get in touch: hello@oldhousesjapan.com [hello@oldhousesjapan.com]

Old Houses Japan Podcast — Trailer

Japan has nine million empty homes. Most of them are hidden in plain sight — on rural hillsides, at the edge of rice fields, in villages that emptied out a generation ago. Some of them are extraordinary. Century-old farmhouses with hand-cut timber frames, clay tile roofs, and engawa verandas that wrap the whole south side. And a lot of them cost less than a secondhand car. Old Houses Japan is the show that tells you what's actually possible — the buying process, the renovation realities, the government grants most foreigners have never heard of, and the people already doing it. Hosted by David and Victoria, who built the platform because the information didn't exist in English and they were tired of hitting that wall. New episodes every Tuesday. Follow now so you don't miss episode one. 🎙️ Podcast site: oldhousesjapanpodcast.com 🌐 Explore properties: oldhousesjapan.com 📋 Grants database: oldhousesjapan.com/grants 📸 Instagram: instagram.com/oldhousesjapan 📧 Get in touch: contact@oldhousesjapan.com

9 Million Empty Homes: The Opportunity Hidden in Plain Sight

Japan has nine million vacant homes. One in every seven properties in the country is sitting empty — and most of the people who should know about this have never heard of it. In the first proper episode of Old Houses Japan, host David and co-founder Victoria break down the akiya situation from the ground up. Not just the number — but what's behind it, what's inside it, and what it actually looks and feels like to stand on a street in rural Mie or Wakayama where half the houses have gone dark. They cover the three forces that created nine million empty homes — post-war urbanisation, Japan's new-build ideology, and an inheritance law backlog that left properties registered to people who died thirty years ago. The 2024 law change that's already moving the market. The difference between an akiya and a kominka. A prefecture-by-prefecture look at where the real opportunity is right now — including the house David and Victoria drive past every time they go to their own renovation in the Fukano Rice Terraces, that just appeared on an akiya bank for the first time. Plus the first two recurring segments of the season: The Numbers Don't Lie — where Victoria reframes the 13.8% vacancy rate as something no other country has. This is the episode that explains why the window is real. And why it's moving.