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Japan's Cheap Homes
episode • Dateline • news and current affairs • 27m
episode • Dateline • news and current affairs • 27m
When Jaya Thursfield faced the question of where to put down roots for his young family, he was torn between his home country, Australia, and Japan, the home country of his wife Chihiro.
“We decided to come to Japan mainly because the house prices in Melbourne were way beyond our budget,” the 47-year-old told SBS Dateline.
“I'd heard about ‘akiya’, so we decided to move to my wife's hometown and find a cheaper place to live.”
Akiya are unwanted homes, mostly in the Japanese countryside, that have been abandoned as a side effect of Japan’s severe population decline and a trend toward urban living. Ninety per cent of Japan’s 125 million residents live in cities.
Since buying the house, Thursfield has spent $250,000 on renovations and has documented the process on his now viral YouTube page. Source: Supplied
Akiya make up approximately 14 per cent of the country’s housing stock and unless action is taken, it’s forecast they could exceed 30 per cent of all houses in Japan by 2033.
In an effort to combat the problem, these vacant houses are listed in government-run ‘akiya banks’ and can be snatched up for a bargain.
Thursfield found his akiya in Ibaraki prefecture, about an hour’s drive north-east of Tokyo, via a newspaper advertisement. He bought it for $30,000, a fraction of the median Australian house price of about $890,000. House prices in Australia to rise further in 2023.
Dealing with an abandoned house
The old farmhouse that Thursfield bought is 250 square metres, has three bedrooms, one bathroom and one guestroom, and sits on a generous 1,800 square metre block of land.
Obscured by tall grass, the house had stood empty for years, but Thursfield instantly admired its elegantly sloping roof, synonymous with Japanese temples, and its wrap-around verandah or ‘engawa’, which could be compared to those on Queenslander-style homes in Australia.
“When we first managed to get a sneak peek of the house and got through the overgrown vegetation to the front of the house, it was just huge. The roof was massive, the size of the house was massive. I was blown away,” he said.
“It was definitely a little eerie coming in and seeing a house that was literally abandoned.
“It was full of other people's stuff. You still had pictures of the previous owner's grandparents on the walls. There were still old noodle bowls in the sink. The kitchen was an absolute disaster, and there were still things in the fridge."
Inside the Thursfields' renovated akiya. Credit: SBS Dateline
“In general, Japanese are not so interested in buying an akiya and moving into one, they would typically buy one and then knock it down and build a new house,” he said.
“I think foreigners are a little bit more open to buying akiya because it's quite common to buy a second hand home in many other countries.”
Thursfield says his mother-in-law and wife, Chihiro, had their doubts about taking on the house.
“I was not interested in that market; I always liked a new house,” Chihiro said.
“I really appreciate him. Without him, I would never have thought about it. I never liked the countryside. If we lived in the city, we would never have such a big house.”
Since buying the house, the Thursfields have spent $250,000 on renovations, which the first-time renovator has documented on his now viral YouTube page. For Thursfield, every dollar spent was worth it.
“Above all, the thing that I really wanted out of a house was a big backyard. Having grown up with one, I just wanted the same thing for my kids,” he said.
“I do feel like I've managed to get the Australian dream here in Japan – and that’s getting harder and harder in Australia now.”
I do feel like I've managed to get the Australian dream here in Japan.Jaya Thursfield
How do foreigners buy an akiya in Japan?
Japan’s growing glut of empty houses is a problem the government has pledged to address, with rural depopulation a concern for Japan’s villages and contributing to the increasing prevalence of ‘ghost towns'.
Earlier this year, Japan’s government began offering families who relocate from Tokyo to the countryside 1 million yen - about $10,000 - per child.
Some local governments are also offering subsidies to partially cover renovation or demolition costs.
An akiya for sale in Kujūkuri Beach in Chiba Prefecture. Credit: SBS Dateline
“Mentally and visually, it hurts the community. We see that and we want to do something about it.”
Allen and fellow American Matt Ketchum run a Tokyo-based company, Akiya and Inaka (Inaka means countryside in Japanese).
They believe the predominant method of selling vacant houses through akiya banks is not user-friendly enough to meet the needs of a modern, international market.
“If you can't speak Japanese and you don't have someone assisting you through the process, you're going to encounter immediate problems,” Allen said.
As longtime residents of Japan and fluent in Japanese, Allen and Ketchum saw a business opportunity in matching cheap homes with international clients. They scour the countryside for akiya bargains to list on their website. Prices vary, but currently, their cheapest akiya, a cabin in Nagano prefecture, is listed at $9,500.
Long-time residents of Japan, Parker Allen and Matt Ketchum run a Tokyo-based company, Akiya and Inaka, that helps foreigners buy abandoned homes. Credit: SBS Dateline
Allen is adamant that you get what you pay for.
“At the end of the day, you have to ask yourself: Do you want a cheap house that's going to cost you tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars to fix up? Or do you want this [a house for $380,000], which is ready to roll, you can move in tomorrow?”
Australian buyers of akiya in Japan
Dara Robinson, 32, is originally from Brisbane and has lived in Japan since 2014. She initially made the move to teach English and now works as a tourism consultant.
She’s renting an apartment in Tokyo with her husband, Alexander, daughter Arcadia, five, and son Eddy, one, but the couple have been looking for a sea change for their young family.
“We live very centrally in Tokyo and it's really convenient but it's not very relaxing in the sense that I miss the sound of the wildlife and the nature,” Robinson said.
“I'd like a home to raise my children, so that's crazy, the prices [for akiya] here.
“I don't think I could ever own a house in Australia - I mean, my friends are paying 600 or $700,000 for a one-bedroom apartment, let alone a house.”
Australian Dara Robinson and her young family are looking to buy an akiya close to the sea and nature. Source: Supplied
“The mortgage rates in Japan are also really low, so even if we did get a mortgage, it's not very burdensome to pay it back,” she said.
“The repayments [are] less than the rent that we're paying in Tokyo now, and with the rise of remote working, it's perfect.”
While Robinson and Thursfield want to give their children a childhood like their own, the depreciating nature of houses in Japan means they most likely won’t leave them a large inheritance.
“Most Japanese people wouldn't expect to inherit property worth considerable value,” Thursfield said.
“I don’t know whether [my kids] would choose to live in this house after they inherit it in the future. Maybe it becomes an akiya.”
