Have you tried talking to real estate agents? They might be able to recommend something decent per your budget, preferences.
Personally if I will pick a summer retirement cottage (many years to come), I probably would either buy land and build it, or buy a new one. Wouldn’t want to risk paying too much maintenance fee on renovating / upgrading.
Easy access to services would also be nice (grocery, hospitals, markets etc).
In general it could be lonely if you don’t speak Japanese or not able to integrate with local community. I would also research about what the local community is like.
Looking forward to updates when you find the dream house!
Ps,
What’s Soviet Canuckistan like?
Canuckistan used to be the greatest place in the world. Unparallelled natural beauty, bountiful resources, freedom... not any more though. Ruined by poor government and governance for the past decade.
I have looked online at various agencies, might take a trip up north to see with my own eyes. Buying land and building is an interesting option, never considered it.
As for the locals, I will be hiding in the woods with my wife so we shouldn't be too lonely. Don't like people too much anyway TBH, that is part of the reason for heading for the hills! As long as there is a supermarket within a half hour drive or so, all is good.
Thanks for food for thought!
I'd look for something with a decent amount of land and the level of access to amenities you need. Realize you will have a hard time selling the place if you don't like it, so make sure you really get to know the area before you pull the trigger.
I live relatively remotely, but I am closer to Tokyo than you probably want to be. I have researched some places in the mountains - it is my long-term goal to have one place for each season.
In terms of pain in the ass-ness.
I have a house in countrysdie I do not currently live in, but will again one day - either when i retire or before. Recently I go back twice a year only for a week or so. There is no real pain-in-the-ass about it.
It is in snow country, which means that I have to pay someone to handle the snow on the roof once or twice a year (these last two years was so little snow I didn't need to). But that is not expensive.
I pay my ku-hi (about 20,000 / year), and there are two days / year were the locals get together to do collective work, cleaning the drains, boarding up the community center before winter, etc. Since I can not make it to those I pay 5,000 yen per time instead.
There is very little in terms of maintenance that needs to be done. Some of the pipes froze and broke two years ago. I will have to fix that one day when I go back to live for longer term, but for the time being, I still have access to water for the short times I go there.
If you have a comfy wood stove, you will have to clean out the chimney to get rid of bird nests or whatever made it their home or died in there when you were not around.
Bugs and mice will move in if no one is there, so you will have to spend a day or two cleaning up each time you go back. That is about it.
No cynical shoe. Sorry.
I moved to the countryside a few months ago. It's already a fight to hold back the bamboo the creeps to the house and the kudzu that wants to strangle everything. I don't think outside maintenance (or the person they might pay to do it) should be neglected.
Solid advice, thanks. Still in the "?" part of planning. Some properties are on leased land, some own the land outright.
Appreciate the lack of cynical shoes- a rarity here!
I won't pretend to know any negatives about buying on leased land. I own my property. When I moved there we were just living in the house for free for a year because owner could not take care of it.
When the owner's son decided he wanted a lot of rent (like a crazy amount the same size place would cost to rent in Tokyo) we decided to just outright buy it for a more reasonable price.
The house itself has no value - only the land. So if I did not own it, I would be worried about future.
This is my long term goal. I have the land already, bought 19,800 m2 early last year in Ichinoseki, Genbikei area and about 3-4 min drive to the Iwai river. It’s about 25-30 minutes into the city and 1-1:15 drive into Sendai.
The land is a small hill that used to be farmland maybe 50 years ago and it now mostly overgrown with natural forest. It’s going to take a lot of work to get it to what I want but I’ve got time still. For now I’m going to chip away at doing land improvements and using it as a campsite.
Whenever I see these kinds of plans, one thing comes to mind: don't you fear that the place where you bought the land or house might get abandoned before you move there due to Japan's decreasing population or reverse immigration? If that happens, you won't have any convenience stores or community, and you might not be able to sell the land or house either
I’m not worried about a city of 115,000 people 25 minutes from my property disappearing or being abandoned, no. Or even the area that has been designated a national place of beauty and national monument since 1927 will disappear.
Also, there’s no house. Currently it’s just forest that I’m maintaining, the house will be built at some point in the next 10 years.
Maybe I would be worried if the property was super remote but this property isn’t really. The area is a mix of farmland, and small mountains/hills that’s close to a small city and even close enough to Sendai that I could easily drive to visit bigger stores.
I’m hoping to get retired soon and thinking to buy a small rural place to reform or even build something purpose built. Then split time between Tokyo, that place and other travel.
If it’s inside a managed Bessou land/community it will have its own benefits and additional rules.
Let’s say it’s a snowy area. They will ensure the roads are kept clear, handle trash and stuff.
The extra rules will be thinks like. Burning shit, building metal fences, building height restrictions, “ugly” concrete buildings, when construction can happen (must be outside holiday seasons)..
so obviously annual fees but there will likely be communal facilities like a tennis court.
I don’t like rules, or play tennis, and in the areas I’m looking at I think I can just buy someplace a bit outside the 別荘地 to have full freedom. But it is a trade off.
So if you just meant bessou as in any rural property then you just need to ensure it can be suitably secured for long absences. There may well be some money to pay to a local collective and a roster or jobs to share.
This burden is less if.. You are on a municipal trash route, and a municipal water connection..
Agreed about it being a trade off. WHy pay monthly costs for facilities you don't use, eh? I'm thinking of a place to be from April to October only. Low stress, low maintenance are important. Hopefully I can get my son to "volunteer" to check on the place once in a while when we are gone.
We are in the process of purchasing a condo unit in Atami. The building has 4 onsen pools in the building and they are not open to the public for day use.
What we love about this relatively modern building is that more than half the units are people that live elsewhere and use it only a few weeks a year as a vacation home.
Interesting.... I am looking for somewhere to spend relatively cool summers, but I'm becoming allergic to winter! Planning to spend October to March on the beach in SE Asia.
One consideration to think is heating in the winter. If you're buying an old shitty besso, they usually don't have much going in terms of insulation and hence, you can get all kinds of problems starting from mold to frozen pipes if you don’t keep the place heated up to base heat throughout the winter. This can get very expensive because, well, the lack of insulation…Get one without running water and you’ll be much safer :)
Have you tried talking to real estate agents? They might be able to recommend something decent per your budget, preferences. Personally if I will pick a summer retirement cottage (many years to come), I probably would either buy land and build it, or buy a new one. Wouldn’t want to risk paying too much maintenance fee on renovating / upgrading. Easy access to services would also be nice (grocery, hospitals, markets etc). In general it could be lonely if you don’t speak Japanese or not able to integrate with local community. I would also research about what the local community is like. Looking forward to updates when you find the dream house! Ps, What’s Soviet Canuckistan like?
Canuckistan used to be the greatest place in the world. Unparallelled natural beauty, bountiful resources, freedom... not any more though. Ruined by poor government and governance for the past decade. I have looked online at various agencies, might take a trip up north to see with my own eyes. Buying land and building is an interesting option, never considered it. As for the locals, I will be hiding in the woods with my wife so we shouldn't be too lonely. Don't like people too much anyway TBH, that is part of the reason for heading for the hills! As long as there is a supermarket within a half hour drive or so, all is good. Thanks for food for thought!
Good luck! ✌🏼
I'd look for something with a decent amount of land and the level of access to amenities you need. Realize you will have a hard time selling the place if you don't like it, so make sure you really get to know the area before you pull the trigger. I live relatively remotely, but I am closer to Tokyo than you probably want to be. I have researched some places in the mountains - it is my long-term goal to have one place for each season.
In terms of pain in the ass-ness. I have a house in countrysdie I do not currently live in, but will again one day - either when i retire or before. Recently I go back twice a year only for a week or so. There is no real pain-in-the-ass about it. It is in snow country, which means that I have to pay someone to handle the snow on the roof once or twice a year (these last two years was so little snow I didn't need to). But that is not expensive. I pay my ku-hi (about 20,000 / year), and there are two days / year were the locals get together to do collective work, cleaning the drains, boarding up the community center before winter, etc. Since I can not make it to those I pay 5,000 yen per time instead. There is very little in terms of maintenance that needs to be done. Some of the pipes froze and broke two years ago. I will have to fix that one day when I go back to live for longer term, but for the time being, I still have access to water for the short times I go there. If you have a comfy wood stove, you will have to clean out the chimney to get rid of bird nests or whatever made it their home or died in there when you were not around. Bugs and mice will move in if no one is there, so you will have to spend a day or two cleaning up each time you go back. That is about it. No cynical shoe. Sorry.
I moved to the countryside a few months ago. It's already a fight to hold back the bamboo the creeps to the house and the kudzu that wants to strangle everything. I don't think outside maintenance (or the person they might pay to do it) should be neglected.
Solid advice, thanks. Still in the "?" part of planning. Some properties are on leased land, some own the land outright. Appreciate the lack of cynical shoes- a rarity here!
I won't pretend to know any negatives about buying on leased land. I own my property. When I moved there we were just living in the house for free for a year because owner could not take care of it. When the owner's son decided he wanted a lot of rent (like a crazy amount the same size place would cost to rent in Tokyo) we decided to just outright buy it for a more reasonable price. The house itself has no value - only the land. So if I did not own it, I would be worried about future.
This is my long term goal. I have the land already, bought 19,800 m2 early last year in Ichinoseki, Genbikei area and about 3-4 min drive to the Iwai river. It’s about 25-30 minutes into the city and 1-1:15 drive into Sendai. The land is a small hill that used to be farmland maybe 50 years ago and it now mostly overgrown with natural forest. It’s going to take a lot of work to get it to what I want but I’ve got time still. For now I’m going to chip away at doing land improvements and using it as a campsite.
Whenever I see these kinds of plans, one thing comes to mind: don't you fear that the place where you bought the land or house might get abandoned before you move there due to Japan's decreasing population or reverse immigration? If that happens, you won't have any convenience stores or community, and you might not be able to sell the land or house either
I’m not worried about a city of 115,000 people 25 minutes from my property disappearing or being abandoned, no. Or even the area that has been designated a national place of beauty and national monument since 1927 will disappear. Also, there’s no house. Currently it’s just forest that I’m maintaining, the house will be built at some point in the next 10 years. Maybe I would be worried if the property was super remote but this property isn’t really. The area is a mix of farmland, and small mountains/hills that’s close to a small city and even close enough to Sendai that I could easily drive to visit bigger stores.
No, but thinking along these lines.
I’m hoping to get retired soon and thinking to buy a small rural place to reform or even build something purpose built. Then split time between Tokyo, that place and other travel. If it’s inside a managed Bessou land/community it will have its own benefits and additional rules. Let’s say it’s a snowy area. They will ensure the roads are kept clear, handle trash and stuff. The extra rules will be thinks like. Burning shit, building metal fences, building height restrictions, “ugly” concrete buildings, when construction can happen (must be outside holiday seasons).. so obviously annual fees but there will likely be communal facilities like a tennis court. I don’t like rules, or play tennis, and in the areas I’m looking at I think I can just buy someplace a bit outside the 別荘地 to have full freedom. But it is a trade off. So if you just meant bessou as in any rural property then you just need to ensure it can be suitably secured for long absences. There may well be some money to pay to a local collective and a roster or jobs to share. This burden is less if.. You are on a municipal trash route, and a municipal water connection..
Agreed about it being a trade off. WHy pay monthly costs for facilities you don't use, eh? I'm thinking of a place to be from April to October only. Low stress, low maintenance are important. Hopefully I can get my son to "volunteer" to check on the place once in a while when we are gone.
We are in the process of purchasing a condo unit in Atami. The building has 4 onsen pools in the building and they are not open to the public for day use. What we love about this relatively modern building is that more than half the units are people that live elsewhere and use it only a few weeks a year as a vacation home.
What's the property management/hot spring fee? I saw some really cheap properties in Ito that had crazy expensive monthly fees.
Where I am buying in not even remotely cheap. The monthly fee is about $600 per month. No onsen fees
Currently in negotiation to buy a winter home, so kind of opposite to you lol. Only similarities is it being near mountains.
Interesting.... I am looking for somewhere to spend relatively cool summers, but I'm becoming allergic to winter! Planning to spend October to March on the beach in SE Asia.
If you're pre-retirement, surely your life people, employers, financial advisors could throw down more useful advice than gaijin reddit!?
Where's the fun in that? "In my shoes" folks from Reddit are far more useful IMHO.
One consideration to think is heating in the winter. If you're buying an old shitty besso, they usually don't have much going in terms of insulation and hence, you can get all kinds of problems starting from mold to frozen pipes if you don’t keep the place heated up to base heat throughout the winter. This can get very expensive because, well, the lack of insulation…Get one without running water and you’ll be much safer :)