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real estate

Turning one of Japan’s “crappiest properties” into one-meter-sized restaurant hits crowdfund goal

Location, location, location!

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Abandoned Japanese houses transformed into stunning modern homes

Before-and-after photos of revamped vacant houses combine traditional beauty with modern style.

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Old teahouse home in the heart of Tokyo goes to auction

A hidden treasure opposite the Imperial Palace looks set to go under the hammer for a high price.

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Buying property in Japan? This mini tower house can be yours for less than $12,000

The pillar home comes with two levels and an indoor hot spring onsen.

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What to do if you want to lower your apartment rent or avoid paying key money in Japan

And even if the owner won’t budge on the rent, you can still negotiate for some concessions that could save you a ton of cash.

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Five of the worst areas to live in and around Tokyo

While they might look appealing to visitors, according to residents, these suburbs can be hell to live in.

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Open-air toilets, showers for every room among offering from crazy Tokyo apartment agency

“Pianos permitted” in apartment that’s just a hallway with a toilet.

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Japan’s largest housing website to offer LGBT support in finding tolerant landlords

It may not be the first, but it is easily the largest service of its kind.

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Buildings transform into giant robots in Japanese real estate company’s anime commercial【Video】

When was the last time you sat down to watch a YouTube video by a real estate company? We’re going to assume never, because who even knew that real estate companies had YouTube accounts?

Japan’s Mitsui Real Estate Residential, however, not only has a YouTube account, but their recently posted video is becoming wildly popular. The company managed to combine their housing expertise with the fail-safe giant robot genre to create a short animated series about apartment buildings that transform into giant robots!

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Is Japan itself dying of old age? Premium city real estate auctioned off for next to nothing

It’s no secret that Japan’s elderly population is on the rise while the younger population is on decline. Though everyone from the government to economists is trying to figure out what the ramifications of such a top-heavy population will be, Japan is already feeling some of the consequences.

No place is this more apparent than in Japan’s northern prefecture of Aomori. What was once a thriving area a few decades ago is now by all accounts a snowy ghost town.

The most recent event to highlight just how bad things have become is Aomori City practically give away prime real estate. Why has this happened and just how bad are things in Aomori? Read on to find out!

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Japanese realtors are reaching out to customers with the most nonsensical ads ever 【Pics】

Moving house in Japan is tough business. Even to find an apartment, you need to go through a real estate agent, and all the upfront fees you have to pay to move in can cost you five times or more what your monthly rent will be.

That’s why choosing a good agency who will work with you to get the best deal is important. But with so many agencies around, how can you choose? Some realtors may offer deals like 50% off their agency fees, but others are taking a more… creative approach to draw in customers, by adding silly, ridiculous, or just plain nonsensical catchphrases on their property ads.

Join us after the jump for such advertising gold as: “You can be a big daddy too” and “Decent of the fashion monster”.

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“Pink Pussy” up for sale in Hyogo Prefecture

While perusing Japanese restaurant website Tabelog recently, I came across a little cafe in Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture, called Pink Pussy. Quite what it was I don’t know, but something about the place really appealed to me so I hopped on a train over there. It was a bit of a journey but I’ve traveled farther to get some, and you can’t put a price on a good cup of coffee.

However, when I arrived I was shocked to find that Pink Pussy had been put up for sale.

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Moving to Tokyo? Real estate agent picks five best neighborhoods for single residents

Tokyo is a big place, both in terms of population and area, and if you’re moving here from anywhere else, you might be at a bit of a loss in terms of where to look for an apartment. Obviously, a large part of that decisions is up to personal preference, but we do happen to have some advice for areas to look at if this will be your first time living alone!

These five areas were selected by a local real estate agent, so you know they must be good, right?

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Tokyo boss arrested for allegedly assaulting employee with a stun gun for being late

We’ve all had bosses we didn’t like for one reason or another. Maybe their breath smelled as if they’d never even heard of a toothbrush or maybe they were too demanding. Or, heck, we bet some of you have had bosses who were just plain jerks. But no matter how much you might hate your boss, you’ll probably feel a bit better towards him or her after reading about this 28-year-old who was viciously assaulted by his boss after arriving late to work.

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Aerith from Final Fantasy VII’s home valued at nearly $2 million, “Nicest house in sector 5”

Movoto, one of America’s biggest real estate agents, doesn’t just list property, it also has a blog and, more importantly, a very good sense of humour. A few months ago, the site treated manga and anime fans to a tour of Naruto Uzumaki’s house (on the market for just $100,000), but this week they have something special for gamers – the house that used to belong to Aerith from Final Fantasy VII.

If you’re interested in buying the property, though, we hope you’re feeling flush. With 1,176 square feet of floor space and the honour of being “the nicest house in Sector 5”, Aerith’s house is listed for nearly US$2 million, or 37,726,080 Gil to be exact.

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Living with ghosts: The rising popularity of ‘death rooms’ in Japan

In Japan, places where people have died are considered bad luck, so unsurprisingly apartments where there has been a suicide, murder, or other death are rented at much cheaper prices than usual due to a lack of demand. However, real estate agencies are seeing a surge in people specifically seeking these kinds of ‘death rooms’. That may sound horribly morbid, but usually it’s not out of a desire to be close to death. Rather, for those who can put aside their culturally-ingrained reservations, it’s a way to  save money during tough times.

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Five uninhabited Japanese islands you can buy right now

While living in Tokyo, or any of Japan’s big cities, it’s hard not to want to get away from the crowds every once and a while. Of course the countryside offers a considerable amount of extra breathing room, but we know you’ve no doubt day dreamed of being alone on your own private island as you were sandwiched between two sweaty salarymen on the rush hour train. For those unable to tolerate the constant congregation of city-dwellers, this list is for you. Take a look at five uninhabited islands for sale right now in Japan and start to plan your life of solitude.

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Naruto’s fictional apartment valued at $100K

Real estate brokerage Movoto generally focuses their interests on, you know, real estate, but every now and again, they’ll also post their estimates on fictional properties. Most recently, they turned their interests to Naruto Uzumaki’s apartment in Hidden Leaf Village. Factoring in location, furnishings, size, and market, they came up with $100,000.

Here’s the listing they whipped up:

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Nara resident trying to build house stumbles upon forgotten ruins on five separate occasions

In 2010, Nara City in Nara Prefecture celebrated the 1,300th anniversary since becoming the imperial capital of Japan. During its relatively brief time as capital, the city flourished in culture so that even today the area is filled with ruins and relics of it rich distant past.

To have such a city overflowing with cultural heritage representing a romantic period in the history of Japan is both awesome and, well, a royal pain in the butt for anyone who wants to develop land there.

Just ask one poor guy, who tried to build a home to start his life in only to be shot down five times in a row after ruins were found on his land. Distraught and with nowhere else to turn he posted his woes on internet advice site MyNavi News Q & A for help. Here is his translated post.

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Apartment for rent in Tokyo: bath, toilet, ghost, and kitchen space all included

Japan really knows how to put the stigma into stigmatized properties (homes and rooms to rent where people have committed suicide or are murdered and the like). The fear of moving into such a place and becoming like the guy from The Shining is such that real estate agents find them nearly impossible to unload. Especially with websites mapping out exactly where they are, potential renters and buyers know just where to avoid.

Recently though, a listing appeared on Japanese real estate site SUUMO which attempted a whole new approach to offloading a stigmatized property, with the author trying to convince you, the potential renter, that it’s actually great to live in a place where someone violently died!

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