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We Bought a $22,000 Abandoned House in Japan's Mountains
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We Bought a $22,000 Abandoned House in Japan’s Mountains



We Bought a $22,000 Abandoned House in Japan’s Mountains

Thinking about buying an abandoned house in Japan?

We’ve documented the entire process—from finding a property to buying it as foreigners—in our complete guide:
The Akiya Blueprint – Everything You Need to Know Before Buying & Renovating a Japanese Akiya

After nearly five months of paperwork, setbacks, and uncertainty, we finally got the keys to our abandoned Japanese farmhouse.

We bought this traditional home in the mountains of Japan for just US$22,000, but we’d only spent about 20 minutes inside before buying it.

We had no idea if the electricity worked.
We didn’t know if the water still ran.
We weren’t sure what had been left behind…

In this episode we:

• Move into the house for the first time
• Tour every room
• Discover what the previous owners left behind
• Begin the massive clean-up
• Explore our new village
• Share how we actually bought an abandoned house in Japan

This is Episode 1 of our biggest project yet as we restore this forgotten farmhouse into our dream mountain home.

If you’ve ever dreamed about buying a home in Japan, renovating an abandoned property, or simply love renovation adventures, subscribe and join us.

🏡 Looking for your own abandoned house in Japan?
We found ours through Akiya-Mart! Browse thousands of akiya listings across Japan using our link:
https://www.akiya-mart.com/?via=26a686
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00:00 We bought an abandoned house in Japan
00:48 Arriving for the first time
01:55 First look at the property
02:44 Amazon deliveries arrive
03:29 Does the electricity work?
05:00 Testing the water
05:51 How we bought this house
08:31 Full property tour
14:15 Exploring the huge shed
17:34 The cleanup begins
22:52 Meeting our neighbour
24:38 First night in the house
25:56 Exploring our new village
27:15 Cleaning continues
31:42 Getting the gas connected
36:41 Hardware store haul
38:20 New travel gear arrives
40:33 Cleaning the bathroom
44:16 Hidden treasures left behind
47:56 A surprise wasp nest
49:16 What’s next

#Japan #Akiya #HouseRenovation #AbandonedHouse #JapanVlog #LivingInJapan #DIY #TravelVlog

34 Comments

  2. @mis3621

    Well that was a surprise! Congratulations! Really looking forward to watching the transformation.

  3. @lisasilver3913

    Congratulations guys! I’ve been watching Jack’s Adventures, another Aussie that’s bought an abandoned house in Japan. He might give you some good tips on renovations.

  7. @GayleenMessgae

    Congratulations, a lot of work, but I’m sure you will handle it fine. It’s going to be great to follow you with your renovations. Now to talk with family for working holidays 🙂

  10. @thatretiredguy8907

    Wow, had to stop watching to comment. I hope you did your due diligence because I have been researching Akaya in Japan for 5 years and yet to find the right one.
    Number one, the plug and tape is heat trace to keep the pipe from freezing in the winter…that should tell you something!
    Japanese houses, especially Akaya's, don't have good insulation; every water pipe can or will freeze.
    I live in Arizona, we have centipedes that are crazy…but the centipedes in the boonies of Japan are much worse, please be careful of your child. If she gets bitten, it's a medical emergency. Walking around at night in bare feet is asking for trouble. Ask the locals about what spiders and centipedes to watch out for. I hate spiders, but I am very cautious of centipedes; they are bad juju.
    Now for language. Its hard enough in japan in the cities but in the country no one speaks english…I hope you took a crash course because you have to know Japanese. I have found that translation devices just don't do a good job. My spouse is Chinese and can somewhat read the characters, but understands zero…I am less than zero!
    Eventually, the locals will bring you a book of expectations! It's different in every village, but you are expected to take part in the village activities, and if you find anyone that speaks English, it's a crazy bonus…rarely happens.
    Trash, trash in Japan is crazy and is very difficult to comprehend for anyone that lives in a country with weekly trash pickup….In Japan, there are a multitude of days and types of trash and bags and boxes, etc…screw that up and you won't endeer yourself to the locals; trash is taken very seriously.

    I watch and connect to this guy's channel @shumatsuopost and his site called http://www.akiyahub.com/. Maybe a collab with him; he is a good guy and knows how to help expats navigate Japan. Watch his video on trash pickup; it's an eye-opener
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lE2Bsg-MQ8

    I gave up on the countryside because of the language barriers; I'm too old to fully learn it. Just like Chinese, the characters screw with my brain; I have no chance!
    I am focused on Miyazaki as it's the Hawaii of Japan. It's where they just had a bad earthquake, but mountains and ocean, no snow. Plus, a brand new home there is $200k; for an American in Arizona, that's crazy cheap, and for someone from California or Hawaii, it's stupid cheap, and that's why a lot of Californians are moving to Japan
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IL88ynKlvbY&t=1s

    Also, I am a builder; construction in Japan is not like anywhere else, and Akaya's especially were not built to any earthquake standards. You need to have someone inspect the house and make sure it sounds and has no termites; termites are bad in Japan. You can't easily demo and repair stuff, and then again there is the demo trash, not easy to get rid of!

    Been watching you guys for a long time; never would have guessed you were buying an Akaya in Japan…I wish you all the luck, and if anyone can pull it off, it's you two!

  15. @LifeWithCal

    The biggest congratulations to you guys! This is such an exciting chapter for you. So excited to watch the renovation! Well done guys!

  19. @Travelfun4ever

    This is going to be amazing for you both congratulations on your move the area looks amazing for ideas I’d look up if you haven’t already

    @ChaniJapan

    She would be a great help for you she Australian living in Japan speaks and teaches Japanese to

    She’s also has been renovating her place
    The hot water system advice might be useful and why and her new kitchen renovations

    Great video all the best 🎉

  25. @barryhh8217

    Good on ya. Such a suprise, so happy for you. A bit of work to do, but looks great. Looking forward for all your new videos with the house and in Japan and learning Japanese. Love the countryside, would be too cold in winter for me though. Thaw out the water pipes during winter.

  26. @MattsVietnamLife

    12:40 You always wash your body thoroughly before entering a bath, so that space is for a small stool to sit on and scrub before getting into the bath to soak. The water in the bath is shared, hence why it's important to get yourself squeaky clean first 😅

  34. @hollybennett9979

    Typically, you fill the bath and heat the water. You thoroughly wash outside of the bath tub and rinse with the tap on the wall using a bucket and usually sit on a small stool while scrubbing your body. Then you soak in the hot bath. Usually the entire family uses the same bath water. Hi Mandy! It's Holly!