Buy A Fixer Upper House For $500.

[BullGear]

Rural Japanese homes are selling for $500 or less

Japan is riddled with millions of vacant homes, called akiya, that local governments hope will sell for next to nothing.

www.foxbusiness.com

 

[Adam B]

Sounds like all of Detroit to me

 

[Frank Warren]

Probably much safer neighborhood

 

[BullGear]

I wonder if radiation is going to be a problem???

 

[TxWelder35]

I believe the issue in Japan is that houses depreciate over time to the point of being worth nothing within 20-30 years. Houses are demolished then rebuilt.

 

[chevy_man]

I believe the issue in Japan is that houses depreciate over time to the point of being worth nothing within 20-30 years. Houses are demolished then rebuilt.

It's more the move into the cities. They love pilling on top of each other.

 

[6.5SH]

There are some "urban exploration" videos and picture collections of some of these. Many are like time capsules with possessions left behind.

ETA:
Several links of pics:

Photos from Japanese pop-singer's abandoned house

Urban explorers in Japan infiltrated the ruins of faded pop-singer Shouji Masakatsu's old home, and photographed the haunting abandoned gear and environs. An old enka singer's house haikyo (Thanks, Mike!)…

boingboing.net

A blog that discusses the legal "gotchas" behind buying one of these:

Akiya: What You Should Know About Japan’s Abandoned Houses

Discover the pros and cons of buying an akiya (abandoned house) in Japan. Learn about costs, renovations and restrictions.

blog.gaijinpot.com

 

[TurboTrout]

I like Japan and could probably pull it off with work, god only knows how much construction supplies go for overthere.

How’s Japan feel about guns, aviation, skydiving, etc? Only so many weird robot shows one can go to, and as fun as their bar scene is...

Food is awesome though, people are pretty cool too, nice culture