In this video I give you my thoughts of living in rural Japan and what should you consider prior to buying an Akiya as a foreigner.
Please visit @bentonhomestead and follow their journey as foreigners living in rural Japan and renovating an Akiya.
I am a foreigner living and renovating a traditional Japanese house in rural Japan. We bought a Vacant Japanese house (Akiya). Please follow our Akiya house renovation and Japanese countryside living.
#traditionaljapanesehouse #akiya #ruraljapan #japanesevacanthouse #japan
13 Comments
Nice drive to work.👍 Moved from Germany to the US 13 years ago, now looking for a place in Japan. Gathering information for about a year. Videos like this help a lot.
Lots of good information. Thanks for sharing.
Hello from Mie Prefecture. Since I live in a “semi-rural” area (about 15 mins out of a small city) not all the issues you mentioned apply to my area — but most still do! (Lots of Kei-trucks on the road, for example. 😆 ). I just wanted to add one point that applies to most rural or semi-rural areas in Japan. As I’m sure you know well, when you live in a small community you really become a PART of that community. Which means taking your turn at all the rotating neighbourhood committee jobs, participating community weeding and maintenance work, etc. It can be a pain sometimes, but overall I think it actually adds to the quality of life here. For those used to the anonymity of city life though, I imagine it could be a bit overbearing.
Amazing how you are on the other side of the planet, yet it looks like you have the same kind of journey i had for 35 years , driving through the countryside enjoying the scenery
Lots of great advice & considerations to consider when selecting a location out in the countryside. Personally, I think your situation is ideal, as it's a beautiful rural setting but you're still close enough to larger urban areas without having to travel too far. I love following along on your drives as Japan is such a beautiful country. I did a lot of driving all over northern Tohoku during a recent visit this past spring & experienced some of the most beautiful scenery of my life. One tip I could offer for anyone considering driving in Japan is that a majority of the roads in Japan are only two lane (IE. one lane each direction), even some of the Expressways. Hence, if you are in a hurry, you're going to be frustrated driving in Japan as it is a much slower pace than in other countries with systems such as the US Turnpike System, German Autobahn, Italian Autostrada, etc. The speed limits are also much lower than in other countries.
What a beautiful area. Reminds me of the little villages around RAF Mildenhall, when I was stationed in the UK.
very interested in rural japan and your experience in it
Great video Lawrence. As for running red lights its one the national pastimes here no matter the situation.
This is all great advice! A nice video to watch and listen to while drinking a cup of coffee this morning. What a beautiful drive to work.
I've made the move to Oita and I'm set up in the mountains. I've been looking at Akiya's in the area and found some reasonable places – there are also nice subsidies to renovate Akiyas. I think I can find something in the 200-500man range & once I have a better understanding of costs, I'll get serious on picking up a quality property. I'm not sure I can afford a full renovation like you've done – yours is beautiful & inspirational.
Amazing drive to work……almost like driving Chicken Rd 😉
Hello from Australia. I just found your channel today, so I now have a lot of videos to catch up on. That is such a beautiful prefecture that you live in. I really enjoyed watching your mountain drive. The scenery was just breathtaking, especially with the fog drifting down the mountains. I'm hoping to someday live and work in Japan, so until then, I'm going to keep watching your videos. Your advice and information were very helpful and all made a lot of sense. Keep up the great work with your videos. They are very well done.
When you need house keeper I'm here