The big question being... *Would YOU Live Here??* - Join the discussion below!! Let me know what you think ||||||||||||| CHECK THIS OUT BELOW!!! ||||||||||||| ----- **OFFICIALLY FOUND JAPAN'S WORST TINY APARTMENT:** ruclips.net/video/R4oQDnHlrR0/видео.html ----- *For anyone new: HUGE LOVE to the Comment Squad!! - I spend the first while of every new vid chatting in the comments, so always leave me something below!* Definitely was a bit tricky to get to... But had enough signal that Wifi woulnd't be an issue! For those who love tours, here's a whole playlist! ruclips.net/video/y-1Dwhh7dEc/видео.html
If the internet connection is good enough, and I had a fully online business (to eliminate the hindrance of location beyond needing a stable internet connection), then absolutely.
I can Live here maybe about a month during summer or autumn season with its current condition. Would bring a month's worth of food (canned food) and toiletry supplies. But I think if I'm able to renovate it and bring the necessary supplies up the mountain, it can be a permanent home given that I have a stable work from home job.
Surprisingly roomy little cabin. From first glance I thought it was a tiny shed but it's really nice and cozy insides. Hopefully someone is able to acquire it and keep it going.
@@doublesalopetoimcre as a primary home it would definitely have a very niche target audience. As a second home or something to rent out it would be a better fit.
@@Elmithian well there are ways to get reliable internet even that far in the woods. If that was viable and I was able to put actual heating and air conditioning into the house I could see having a cabin full time.
I don't think I could ever live somewhere like this permanently, but staying for a few months and just working on the house, enjoying the outdoors and maybe doing some writing and craft just quietly alone in that space sounds pretty amazing
@@Cha4k well there is some truth to that, it is just a possibility. Also I don't disagree that the process being difficult doesn't have positives, I was just unfamiliar with some aspects of the process.
I suffer severe depression and I’ve had this recurring thought that I need to live in Antarctica for a year. I’ve convinced myself I want to write about the experience, but deep down, I realize it’s a part of me that wants to hide in darkness. I’m terrified I might actually succeed in detaching myself. I see the same thing in many Japanese people in these videos. I instantly feel their loneliness, as unexplainable as it is, with so many people living so close together. There is a charm to these enclosed living spaces, but also a feeling that these are tombs.
I suffer severe depression too.people are gross.I don't know if Antarctica will help. Maybe some sun.maybe a place with sun and not idiot Americans. I would not recommend the drugs from doctors. They destroyed me.I only took for 7 months. I thought I would try to listen to people. I have been off for a long time and my dreams are still awake.I am aware that I am dreaming. 😅I think there is a better place for you. Not Antarctica.
Im autistic with agorophobia & anxiety & depression & ptsd that all makes me need to isolate myself,.. i know what you mean… its honestly probably better that im forced to keep interacting with people even though i really think isolation helps with my crippling burnout,..
Antarctica ironically is a terrible place to isolate. All the settlements are communal living spaces like being on a ship, and most of the people drawn there have "boom town" personality types.
8 million abandoned homes? That does seem excessive. I'm glad you explained the reason for so many akiyas and that there is a lot more involved with buying one. Thank you for showing us around the cabin. Enjoyed it as always
one thing to remember is that Japan is experiencing negative population growth, so as people grow older and pass away they may not have any family to pass the property on to, then combine that with how modern/urban Japan is, meaning a lot of the work that people are doing needs them to be closer to cities leading to many of Japans rural communities turning into ghost towns, it's kind of a sad state, seeing all these beautiful old properties abandoned and slowly rotting away just because there is no one to take care of them
@@denisehill1215 that's part of the problem, Japan's population is shrinking, then combine that with many of these houses being like this one, out in the small villages/towns while most of the work is in the cities and other urban areas and there's just not much reason for people to want them
I build custom homes for a living, so fixing one of these things up for myself would be easy and fun. I've wondered about these houses and how to get into them. I didn't even know where to start, but you've pointed me in the right direction! Thank you!
Its 7 months later, hows the house XD. Also, how does "im so amazing japan gave me a free home as long as i agreed to live in japan for a year" work with the ladies at the american bars?
This is quite huge for a "tiny home". That loft area really is most likely intended to be the bedroom but looks perfect for it! I could see this being really well decorated and making an absolutely beautiful home!
@@SarcasmicGlory It has about the same amount of space as my apartment, but while my place has small rooms, this one has a large open space, which I like (ok: I would want to kitche-stuff separate, so that cooking doesn't "stink up the place", because if you use for example garlic, the smell tends to stick around!
@@toidIllorTAmI Adding heating & cooing is pretty trivial. Being in the mountains I'd imagine it may not get particularly hot anyway. In many places here in NZ, traditionally people haven't used/needed ac in summer, though it's become more common as heat pumps have become very common - they'd still get used far more for heating though.
I did insurance repair work for almost a decade (fire, water, storm damage kind of stuff). You never open the fridges, lol. Just unplug them and leave either leave the doors propped open or wheel them away... All-in-all this property looks really nice for an Akiya. Thank you for showing this to us.
Exploring Japan and documenting all of the abandoned places is actually so overwhelming at times, but so beautiful as someone that has been doing this since I was 15. I don't even focus on the houses too much because there are just way too much of them. I focus on bigger properties such as Hotels and old Onsens, which I have found hundreds of abandoned hotels across Japan, some so massive you couldn't understand why they were abandoned.
Yeah, that's essentially my dream place. LOL if I can get a job where I could work remotely in Japan and live in one of these places then I think my life would feel complete. Haha
I find it very surprising that, adding up all the expenses, buying an akiya isn't much cheaper than buying a new house. I'd love to see akiya become more affordable and easier to acquire, since it would help reinvigorate rural communities and provide another incentive for foreigners to move to Japan.
Well, I'm not sure the takeaway is 'Just as expensive,' ...assuming the structure of that place is good, for instance, most of what it conspicuously needs or wants is stuff I have the skills to do pretty easily, so I'd mostly just be in it for materials. Which can be a thing but you get that regardless of what you're putting it in and that's ...pretty small when it comes to quantities. Most of the key issues seem to be is it's a log cabin not really set up for year-round living , so I'd want to be doing certain insulation and moisture control under that easily-accessible floor and the ground underneath, probably add a better-insulated roof and sheathing to preserve the interior woodwork depending how that's put together. And that deck should probably be better-sheltered: I'd probably change the roof to something more opaque and extend it a little further, then do a little landscaping out where the hill's subsided a little too high for the wood and make a nice little rain garden with included better drainage. (Actually probably pretty important for the longevity of the place but it'd probably be pretty fun and simple to do. )
@@ladyflimflam Good approach, in my opinion. They don't need to incentivize Westerners and have them all flocking to Japan eager to screw with its culture and fix anything they deem "problematic." Their declining birth and marriage rates would fix themselves if the Government there would get off its fat, old asses and do something about the toxic work culture that is literally killing their country one salary man at a time.
@@ladyflimflam Japan is completely right with that. Trying to tackle low fertility rates with importing masses of migrants who will change society, culture and tradition forever and make the country lose its identity is never the right way to go. Japan has btw still more than 125 million inhabitants, with almost 335 inhabitants per km². For comparison: France has 123 inhabitants per km², Germany 236 per km², China 138 per km² or the USA has 33 inhabitants per km². So you see, Japan is incredibly crowded. And even with their population going down in the decades to come, they are expected to still have 103 Million inhabitants by 2050, which would be 238 inhabitants per km². Even with losing 20 million people, they would have a higher population density than a lot of other first world countries. The economy and daily life will have to adjust to having fewer people available, but in fact, there is no "depopulation problem". A few million people less in Japan will give the country itself more air to breath. And eventually, the fertility rate will rise again on its own, because that`s how things work. The is absolutely no reason for mass immigration.
As someone who has grown up in rural areas I would absolutely love living is a house like that. Being out in the woods is something special. As a school teacher the school turned coffee shop is a place I plan to visit on my next trip to Japan. I would love to have a place like that.
Being 98% through the purchase process of buying a home in Japan, I obviously looked into Akiya and did a bunch of research on what it would take/how much it would cost to go that route. Being as it's meant to be a "vacation" home for me for a few years and then a place that I'd spend several months of the year at during my retirement, I was looking at some more urban ones or ones with better access to infrastructure. There are Akiya that have been repossessed (financially abandoned but maybe still inhabited!) or abandoned for various other reasons even in/closer to urban cores - but I quickly found out that it would require many other hoops and processes, like possible eviction of squatters or previous owners, disposal of thousands of pounds of collected trash, retrofitting or renovating the whole structure for code compliance, the cost of tearing down and the depreciation price on new construction, some property is illegal to rebuild upon due to zoning, the fact that as a foreign national not currently living in Japan - you cannot get a bank loan or mortgage, etc. I decided that the relatively straightforward process of just buying regular real estate was more appealing. haha I'll be in Japan in 3 weeks to do my first in-person viewing of my new house before I wire transfer the final payment!
I just saw your comment below "Anything in Japan will be harder and more paperwork than you can possibly imagine" and I can confirm. The Japanese bureaucracy LOVES actual, physical piles of paperwork. :)
Loved this akiya tour. The possibilities are mind blowing and the postman passing by was precious. Going to get my passport paperwork ready and focusing on the fall for travel to Japan. Thrilled for the scavenger hunt, what an exciting way to see more of Japan. I live in Oxford, Alabama. Thanks Norm for the amazing adventures. Onward and upward.😊❤
The dreamer in me sees all the possibilities. The realist sees my current educational and employment trajectory, as wonderful as it is, as a hindrance. I am so grateful for videos like this that keep the creative, dreamer side well fed. (It also reminds me of tramping through the woods of Western Washington as a child.) 😊 Take care!
Got home after two weeks in Japan last night, already missing it and wishing I could move there permanently. Hopefully these videos can continue to fill the Japan sized hole until I can go back again 😊
Hey same, except it was yesterday morning. I was there for 3 weeks. I love rural areas, but most of all what impressed me was the metro system in Tokyo. If I had an opportunity to move there I'd take it in a heartbeat.
I feel you. Japan for two and a half weeks. I was waiting for the train to take me to the plane at Haneda and eventually home. I just didn't want to go. I had to transfer at LAX and I just wanted to scream.
Love how you put Japanese social issues(lords of abandoned akiya), feelings of some nostalgia and your excitement of exploration into one video! Brought me back to my favorite memories of my relative’s old house which doesn’t exist anymore😊☺️✨
I really dig the layout of that cabin, a lot of open spaces and doesn't feel too claustrophobic outside of the entrance hallway and bathroom/upstairs access hallway, and what a view too
tiny cabins in the woods always have a soothing charm to them. And it is very interesting to learn about the process to buy a house in Japan, hope I can use this information in the future
Your content is always similar but different and that is just amazing. Most RUclipsrs in Japan do either the same as all others or show the wacky side of Japan. I love that you also cover the obscure but fascinating side
Easily one of my favorite youtubers. I work graveyard shift And there is plenty of downtime So I get to enjoy your camping videos Including All the other adventures throughout the city as well as these housing tours, definitely a 10/10 for content, stay amazing and keep up the great work 🙌
Man that is like my dream house, I would love to be able to take over a place like that. It would be so fun to work on and improve it over time, and the location is amazing! Please keep showing off awesome places like this, it's amazing!!
This couldn't have been posted at a more synchronistic time for me. I've only recently learned about the existence of akiya and have found myself incredibly drawn to it. I appreciate the information you've provided. It's giving me even more to think about than I have already been mulling over. Thank you!
Ugh we need this program in USA! My dream has always been to live in nature with my furbabies. I'd spend my days foraging, gardening, writing books and creating art!
Spoken like someone who has no idea how much it takes to go innawoods. Foraging? this aint age of empires. gardening maybe, but not as a hobby, serious work. writing books and art? Maybe if youre in range of a super market...... No, youll be spending literally all day every day hunting, splitting wood, and repairing broken things. Without lights or heat.....
Seems a lot of homes like this started showing up after the dams were built. I recall you talked about it in a previous vid that focused around abandoned villages in the mountains. People had to move to stay connected to supply lines, so they dropped everything and abandoned what little they had in their mountain homes. The school house story is still a pretty cool one.
I love the floor plan and layout of this place. Super cool log cabin feel too. My only issue is those dreaded death stairs and the way the home is raised and supported.
Can I just say, your production value has gone up so much over the last year! Not sure what you've been working on, but I've been watching your videos with my 2 year old son who can sit through a whole episode, and that's saying something! Thanks Norm!
Great insight into the little gotchas with the Akiya. The house was unexpectedly pleasant would make a great little getaway. Seeing the Japanese Postman driving by on his motorcycle just let you know you hadn't stepped off the world completely. Thanks for the video
I’m a pretty new viewer and I’m already loving waking up to new Tokyo Lens videos! It’s nice to be transported to a place like this tranquil cabin first thing in the morning. 🏡 Thanks for sharing all of your adventures and the insights you discover!
Stayed up for this one! I've been thinking about getting a place like this for years. Hard to reconcile with young kids though. Biggest issue all around is just the pain of Japanese bureaucracy. Visas, taxes, just everything feels like a nightmare to get anything done while outside the country.
Akiya are fascinating, I'd love to see more videos exploring them! I'm also a little surprised these aren't scooped up and renovated by the vacation rental/air BnB market
Oh my gosh, I love it! What a beautiful, cozy little cabin. Sooo cute! I'm obsessed with the log wall sections. 😍 Would totally get something like this, it's perfect.
As a resident of Oklahoma, I once lived in what was called the littlest house. It literally was the size of a two car garage. The shower was a square stall room for only one and when you were on the toilet, your feet were basically in that stall. 🤣 and I hated it.
Ooooh that's a good point, all those big windows into your house, alone in the woods, in the middle of the night....? Creeper magnet! Probably not a place for a woman to live alone I guess.
Japanese monsters cant climb stairs. Well, not even japanese people can climb those stairs, but hey, take a win where you get one. Monster proof bedroom. Please remember to clean up the monsters that die falling the stairs in the morning, they rot quicker than you think
I could completely live in a house like that and love it, especially with that view of the forest. Subscribed my only regret is not finding your channel sooner. Cheers
The hidden fees and strings do make it a hard sell even if it’s free. But that log cabin was actually in REALLY good shape! Curious what kind of house you were looking at before you gave it up.
What a cute little cabin, I love the layout and random placement of items like the phone? I would definitely live in something like this or build a tiny house on this design. Thanks again for a great video :)
It's really rather unique and quite beautiful. Id totally live there and make it my own. Especially since so many places in Japan are much much smaller. Love it
Norm, thank you for bringing us content like this. That home, although in need of some tlc, is gorgeous. I wish there was more things like that here in the States (or there might be, but it's not like it is normal public knowledge). I'm somewhere in between being a introvert/extrovert, but, honestly, I would love to be in a place like this just to have an escape from everything. The location and setting is so calming, serene. It can be dubbed the "Cabin of Clarity." Great stuff. Keep up the good work!
I just bought a home in the US and it wasn’t even a fraction as difficult as what you explained. It seems that depreciating housing worth and over taxing are doing a lot of harm to the housing industry in Japan.
@@mehoyminoy1326 Doubtful. They don’t even demolish or clean up the areas in most cases. Most are left to rot and decay, which makes the land mostly unusable until clean up occurs. Abandoned buildings are everywhere in Japan.
we have an opposite problem with a similar result lots of abandoned properties but because the ever increasing need to have property appreciate in value no one can afford to have a home. and that is a major problem. Investors and the ever indulgent need of the economy to always go up without regard to people is disastrous.
This place is amazing! I would totally live somewhere like this, although I know log cabin style houses are a lot of upkeep. That may have been apart of the reason the previous owners decided to let it go. So cool to learn stuff like akiya are even a thing!
You know, I actually wouldn’t mind living there! It’s an easy “fixer-upper” if you want to tweak it to your needs, and it’s obviously affordable 😂 Thanks again Norm for another interesting and relaxing video!
I don’t usually write comment, but I feel like I want to now. Three things… you are sooo cute, very informative and fun vlogger/RUclipsr/tour guider ❤🥰❤️ Thank you for you doing the things you love and sharing the experiences ✨
My first thought was...what would Okazaki-san have thought of this place! 😅 Thank you for introducing us to yet another aspect of Japan many wouldn't know about. It's such a treat to virtually go on these adventures with you.
mind boggling, 26 and no way for me to get a house in my country, and you start telling me there are enough houses empty for half the population of my country.
As a finn I got excited. Very nice base. I would fix that floor base first. I don't know about building laws in Japan but fire place with stone or brick wall would be nice as it stores the heat and keeps place warm. You would need your own patch of forest or buy firewood from somewhere.
You have quickly become one of my Top 5 house tour guides on YT. I can't believe you came down the steep stairs holding your camera. Keep up the great work :)
I would be more concerned about the house's foundation as well as any termite issues. With all the earthquakes in Japan, you have to look into a lot of details before accepting a free house or buying a used one. I really like the house you are showing. I live in Yokohama and want to move out in the country side.
As another tall guy (213 cm), I feel his pain at the end of the video. He's 100% right: Japan has a lot of stairs that are death traps for tall people. Found that out the hard way when I was stationed in Misawa.
As an introvert, cabin like this would be my dream if it was close to a small village/town. Imagine furnishing and decorating it like you want, it would be so cozy.
I would TOTALLY live there!!! I would just fix it up for me and my hubby!! I love the fact it's fairly isolated, but can still have things like internet and what not since it's not totally out in the boonies lol. Great little place and thanks for showing it to us!!
2:54 Wow! That's a really creative idea! We have something similar in Detroit but it's not nearly as good... you can buy a house for as low as $1500 but have to prove you can pay for repairs or tear down which can be very expensive
That bathroom mirror placement used to be quite common in NZ. My grandparents had their mirror to the side because the window was above the sink. The bathroom layout didn’t (and couldn’t) lend itself to a mirror above the sink. Seeing it in this house invoked a weird feeling of nostalgia for me.
It makes sense if you think about it. How many times have you strained your back trying to get a close look at something in the mirror? Or is that just me?
That little Sanyo Radio was my first foray into electronics repair. I had a grey version with wood accents, but other than that its the exact same one. The memories!
Man that house is wonderful, i would love living in a home like that! (My current place is only 450sq ft with no plumbing, so that looked like paradise to me)
I would love a place like this, this is an abseloute dream of mine, the deck and windows make it so cozy. the septic tank makes me queezy because of that one story of the dude climbing into one to creep on the lady in japan
You show so many interesting places! This is a cute cabin, even though the maintenance and updating would probably be insane pricing. I love the log walls. :D
This was so cool to see - my anxiety raised up soooooo much with those stairs and the bathroom made me claustrophobic LOL but it's so cute and quaint overall! That person you interviewed had me do a double take though. Momentarily thought that was RDJ lol
The wooden cabin seems a small average one from outside but it really amazed me with the spacious living room, bathroom, wc and an amazing view compare to those shown in another videos of yours. It's a very lovely home to live in unless it was located in a city because it's really gives me a creepy feeling to be in an abandoned place near mountains plus the handprints really sends a chill down my spine reminding me of the movie the grudge. Japanese prefer to move to another place once they feel a presence of paranormal experience, I bet this is the reason for millions of abandoned houses 😮
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The big question being... *Would YOU Live Here??* - Join the discussion below!! Let me know what you think
||||||||||||| CHECK THIS OUT BELOW!!! |||||||||||||
----- **OFFICIALLY FOUND JAPAN'S WORST TINY APARTMENT:** ruclips.net/video/R4oQDnHlrR0/видео.html -----
*For anyone new: HUGE LOVE to the Comment Squad!! - I spend the first while of every new vid chatting in the comments, so always leave me something below!*
Definitely was a bit tricky to get to... But had enough signal that Wifi woulnd't be an issue!
For those who love tours, here's a whole playlist! ruclips.net/video/y-1Dwhh7dEc/видео.html
old cabin on a forest, no thanks 😱
@@zelchews Complete opposite answer for me lmao.
If the internet connection is good enough, and I had a fully online business (to eliminate the hindrance of location beyond needing a stable internet connection), then absolutely.
I wouldn't, not with my anxiety
I can Live here maybe about a month during summer or autumn season with its current condition.
Would bring a month's worth of food (canned food) and toiletry supplies.
But I think if I'm able to renovate it and bring the necessary supplies up the mountain, it can be a permanent home given that I have a stable work from home job.
Surprisingly roomy little cabin. From first glance I thought it was a tiny shed but it's really nice and cozy insides. Hopefully someone is able to acquire it and keep it going.
depends how far it is from civilization. you still need to get food and go out sometimes, even if you work from home.
@@doublesalopetoimcre as a primary home it would definitely have a very niche target audience. As a second home or something to rent out it would be a better fit.
@@doublesalopetoimcre If there is no decent internet connection, this would be out for work-from-home approach as well.
In many cases at least.
@@Elmithian well there are ways to get reliable internet even that far in the woods. If that was viable and I was able to put actual heating and air conditioning into the house I could see having a cabin full time.
Sadako would keep people company there
I don't think I could ever live somewhere like this permanently, but staying for a few months and just working on the house, enjoying the outdoors and maybe doing some writing and craft just quietly alone in that space sounds pretty amazing
I’m crochet and punch needling there sounds amazing. So relaxing.
Right? It's a bit much for full time living but it'd be a wonderful little place to escape to.
Loved the idea of buying an abandoned home in Japan but now it seems it might be a little harder than I thought. Great video and great insight!
Anything in Japan will be harder and more paperwork than you can possibly imagine lol
but its usually worth it~
@@Cha4k well there is some truth to that, it is just a possibility. Also I don't disagree that the process being difficult doesn't have positives, I was just unfamiliar with some aspects of the process.
I suffer severe depression and I’ve had this recurring thought that I need to live in Antarctica for a year. I’ve convinced myself I want to write about the experience, but deep down, I realize it’s a part of me that wants to hide in darkness. I’m terrified I might actually succeed in detaching myself.
I see the same thing in many Japanese people in these videos. I instantly feel their loneliness, as unexplainable as it is, with so many people living so close together.
There is a charm to these enclosed living spaces, but also a feeling that these are tombs.
I suffer severe depression too.people are gross.I don't know if Antarctica will help.
Maybe some sun.maybe a place with sun and not idiot Americans.
I would not recommend the drugs from doctors. They destroyed me.I only took for 7 months.
I thought I would try to listen to people. I have been off for a long time and my dreams are still awake.I am aware that I am dreaming. 😅I think there is a better place for you. Not Antarctica.
The way you write is nice
Im autistic with agorophobia & anxiety & depression & ptsd that all makes me need to isolate myself,.. i know what you mean… its honestly probably better that im forced to keep interacting with people even though i really think isolation helps with my crippling burnout,..
Depression-the biggest thief
Antarctica ironically is a terrible place to isolate. All the settlements are communal living spaces like being on a ship, and most of the people drawn there have "boom town" personality types.
I’m 50 years old and live alone. This place would be perfect for me!!!!!!
8 million abandoned homes? That does seem excessive. I'm glad you explained the reason for so many akiyas and that there is a lot more involved with buying one. Thank you for showing us around the cabin. Enjoyed it as always
They say the percentage of abandoned houses in Japan that are actually available is around 10-20%.
one thing to remember is that Japan is experiencing negative population growth, so as people grow older and pass away they may not have any family to pass the property on to, then combine that with how modern/urban Japan is, meaning a lot of the work that people are doing needs them to be closer to cities leading to many of Japans rural communities turning into ghost towns, it's kind of a sad state, seeing all these beautiful old properties abandoned and slowly rotting away just because there is no one to take care of them
@@amythistxue1 as someone who can barely afford my tiny apt, I long for an opportunity like this.
@@amythistxue1 correct. And it is sad.
@@denisehill1215 that's part of the problem, Japan's population is shrinking, then combine that with many of these houses being like this one, out in the small villages/towns while most of the work is in the cities and other urban areas and there's just not much reason for people to want them
I build custom homes for a living, so fixing one of these things up for myself would be easy and fun. I've wondered about these houses and how to get into them. I didn't even know where to start, but you've pointed me in the right direction! Thank you!
No worries 😊
Thanks for watching~
How you clueless but build housing
Its 7 months later, hows the house XD. Also, how does "im so amazing japan gave me a free home as long as i agreed to live in japan for a year" work with the ladies at the american bars?
This is quite huge for a "tiny home". That loft area really is most likely intended to be the bedroom but looks perfect for it! I could see this being really well decorated and making an absolutely beautiful home!
It's bigger than my normal sized home 😆
@@SarcasmicGlory It has about the same amount of space as my apartment, but while my place has small rooms, this one has a large open space, which I like (ok: I would want to kitche-stuff separate, so that cooking doesn't "stink up the place", because if you use for example garlic, the smell tends to stick around!
No air, no heat. You're cold? Go for a jog, your hot? Open the windows and pray for wind.
@@toidIllorTAmI Adding heating & cooing is pretty trivial. Being in the mountains I'd imagine it may not get particularly hot anyway. In many places here in NZ, traditionally people haven't used/needed ac in summer, though it's become more common as heat pumps have become very common - they'd still get used far more for heating though.
I did insurance repair work for almost a decade (fire, water, storm damage kind of stuff). You never open the fridges, lol. Just unplug them and leave either leave the doors propped open or wheel them away... All-in-all this property looks really nice for an Akiya. Thank you for showing this to us.
Exploring Japan and documenting all of the abandoned places is actually so overwhelming at times, but so beautiful as someone that has been doing this since I was 15.
I don't even focus on the houses too much because there are just way too much of them. I focus on bigger properties such as Hotels and old Onsens, which I have found hundreds of abandoned hotels across Japan, some so massive you couldn't understand why they were abandoned.
Another tiny house video... As an introvert who wants to get away from all the drama that comes with dealing with people, this is my kinda place...
haha theyre perfect~
💯 agree i would never leave
Yeah, that's essentially my dream place. LOL if I can get a job where I could work remotely in Japan and live in one of these places then I think my life would feel complete. Haha
No insulation, winters as cold as New England. Sounds great.
You are not alone!.
You might be an INTJ/INFJ
we literally loath people…
I find it very surprising that, adding up all the expenses, buying an akiya isn't much cheaper than buying a new house. I'd love to see akiya become more affordable and easier to acquire, since it would help reinvigorate rural communities and provide another incentive for foreigners to move to Japan.
Japan isn’t exactly looking to incentivize foreigners to move there. That’s part of their depopulation problem.
Well, I'm not sure the takeaway is 'Just as expensive,' ...assuming the structure of that place is good, for instance, most of what it conspicuously needs or wants is stuff I have the skills to do pretty easily, so I'd mostly just be in it for materials. Which can be a thing but you get that regardless of what you're putting it in and that's ...pretty small when it comes to quantities.
Most of the key issues seem to be is it's a log cabin not really set up for year-round living , so I'd want to be doing certain insulation and moisture control under that easily-accessible floor and the ground underneath, probably add a better-insulated roof and sheathing to preserve the interior woodwork depending how that's put together. And that deck should probably be better-sheltered: I'd probably change the roof to something more opaque and extend it a little further, then do a little landscaping out where the hill's subsided a little too high for the wood and make a nice little rain garden with included better drainage. (Actually probably pretty important for the longevity of the place but it'd probably be pretty fun and simple to do. )
@@ladyflimflam Good approach, in my opinion. They don't need to incentivize Westerners and have them all flocking to Japan eager to screw with its culture and fix anything they deem "problematic." Their declining birth and marriage rates would fix themselves if the Government there would get off its fat, old asses and do something about the toxic work culture that is literally killing their country one salary man at a time.
@@ladyflimflam Much rather have a depopulation problem than an overpopulation one
@@ladyflimflam Japan is completely right with that. Trying to tackle low fertility rates with importing masses of migrants who will change society, culture and tradition forever and make the country lose its identity is never the right way to go.
Japan has btw still more than 125 million inhabitants, with almost 335 inhabitants per km². For comparison: France has 123 inhabitants per km², Germany 236 per km², China 138 per km² or the USA has 33 inhabitants per km².
So you see, Japan is incredibly crowded. And even with their population going down in the decades to come, they are expected to still have 103 Million inhabitants by 2050, which would be 238 inhabitants per km². Even with losing 20 million people, they would have a higher population density than a lot of other first world countries.
The economy and daily life will have to adjust to having fewer people available, but in fact, there is no "depopulation problem". A few million people less in Japan will give the country itself more air to breath. And eventually, the fertility rate will rise again on its own, because that`s how things work.
The is absolutely no reason for mass immigration.
As someone who has grown up in rural areas I would absolutely love living is a house like that. Being out in the woods is something special. As a school teacher the school turned coffee shop is a place I plan to visit on my next trip to Japan. I would love to have a place like that.
If you're an American teacher I feel for you.
I lived in Japan for 3 months and saw a whole abandoned village in Niihama, it was magnificent! I wish i could go back and live there again.
Are the houses in that village for sale?
Man.. I always wish I had my own property here in the US. Just finding a house like that for 40k would be a dream in itself.
Given that you have Tesla as your profile pic, you can get houses for even cheaper in Serbia
@@nathaliebazinga that is true
Look in ohio.. parts of Ohio are cheap as hell
@@katty3116 but the downside is Ohio
@@katty3116 inb4 average house in Ohio meme
Being 98% through the purchase process of buying a home in Japan, I obviously looked into Akiya and did a bunch of research on what it would take/how much it would cost to go that route. Being as it's meant to be a "vacation" home for me for a few years and then a place that I'd spend several months of the year at during my retirement, I was looking at some more urban ones or ones with better access to infrastructure. There are Akiya that have been repossessed (financially abandoned but maybe still inhabited!) or abandoned for various other reasons even in/closer to urban cores - but I quickly found out that it would require many other hoops and processes, like possible eviction of squatters or previous owners, disposal of thousands of pounds of collected trash, retrofitting or renovating the whole structure for code compliance, the cost of tearing down and the depreciation price on new construction, some property is illegal to rebuild upon due to zoning, the fact that as a foreign national not currently living in Japan - you cannot get a bank loan or mortgage, etc. I decided that the relatively straightforward process of just buying regular real estate was more appealing. haha
I'll be in Japan in 3 weeks to do my first in-person viewing of my new house before I wire transfer the final payment!
I just saw your comment below "Anything in Japan will be harder and more paperwork than you can possibly imagine" and I can confirm. The Japanese bureaucracy LOVES actual, physical piles of paperwork. :)
@@Tokyo-Slim 😆
@@Tokyo-Slim How else are they gonna make literal millions of useless office workers feel like they are doing something, other than shuffling paper..
Nice! I think the weird house tours are my favourite Tokyo Lens videos.
haha I enjoy them~
One minute in and this is already the nicest abandoned home I've seen on youtube!
Loved this akiya tour. The possibilities are mind blowing and the postman passing by was precious. Going to get my passport paperwork ready and focusing on the fall for travel to Japan. Thrilled for the scavenger hunt, what an exciting way to see more of Japan. I live in Oxford, Alabama. Thanks Norm for the amazing adventures. Onward and upward.😊❤
Thanks so much for the kind comment eh!
Love Alabama!
The dreamer in me sees all the possibilities. The realist sees my current educational and employment trajectory, as wonderful as it is, as a hindrance.
I am so grateful for videos like this that keep the creative, dreamer side well fed. (It also reminds me of tramping through the woods of Western Washington as a child.) 😊
Take care!
Got home after two weeks in Japan last night, already missing it and wishing I could move there permanently. Hopefully these videos can continue to fill the Japan sized hole until I can go back again 😊
hope you can get back soon!
Hey same, except it was yesterday morning. I was there for 3 weeks. I love rural areas, but most of all what impressed me was the metro system in Tokyo. If I had an opportunity to move there I'd take it in a heartbeat.
I feel you. Japan for two and a half weeks. I was waiting for the train to take me to the plane at Haneda and eventually home. I just didn't want to go. I had to transfer at LAX and I just wanted to scream.
I was in Japan in November and December last year. I miss it really much! I am thinking of moving there to study for while
Good luck all of you, but don't complain later😅
Love how you put Japanese social issues(lords of abandoned akiya), feelings of some nostalgia and your excitement of exploration into one video! Brought me back to my favorite memories of my relative’s old house which doesn’t exist anymore😊☺️✨
Having a tiny cabin somewhere is my dream. Maybe not 100% of the time but to get away on holidays or weekends it'd be amazing.
I really dig the layout of that cabin, a lot of open spaces and doesn't feel too claustrophobic outside of the entrance hallway and bathroom/upstairs access hallway, and what a view too
It would be amazing to renovate and reinvigorate houses like these. They feel like they have so many more stories to tell.
Yeah, seems like Japan would be an amazing place for those who flip houses.
tiny cabins in the woods always have a soothing charm to them. And it is very interesting to learn about the process to buy a house in Japan, hope I can use this information in the future
Your content is always similar but different and that is just amazing. Most RUclipsrs in Japan do either the same as all others or show the wacky side of Japan. I love that you also cover the obscure but fascinating side
Easily one of my favorite youtubers. I work graveyard shift And there is plenty of downtime So I get to enjoy your camping videos Including All the other adventures throughout the city as well as these housing tours, definitely a 10/10 for content, stay amazing and keep up the great work 🙌
Plz make more of these tiny house videos. I really enjoy watching them
Man that is like my dream house, I would love to be able to take over a place like that. It would be so fun to work on and improve it over time, and the location is amazing! Please keep showing off awesome places like this, it's amazing!!
The cabin appears to have so much potential as a little mountain getaway! I really enjoy these house tour videos, thank you!
This couldn't have been posted at a more synchronistic time for me. I've only recently learned about the existence of akiya and have found myself incredibly drawn to it. I appreciate the information you've provided. It's giving me even more to think about than I have already been mulling over. Thank you!
Same!
Ugh we need this program in USA! My dream has always been to live in nature with my furbabies. I'd spend my days foraging, gardening, writing books and creating art!
It needs revision, given all the money you'll spend on taxes and renovation.
lol no. the property has been seized by those with means and youll struggle to rent for life and be happy about it, slave
Spoken like someone who has no idea how much it takes to go innawoods. Foraging? this aint age of empires. gardening maybe, but not as a hobby, serious work. writing books and art? Maybe if youre in range of a super market...... No, youll be spending literally all day every day hunting, splitting wood, and repairing broken things. Without lights or heat.....
You could move to Jarbidge, Nevada. Peaceful place and could use some people
I highly doubt something like this would fly in uncle Sam’s dystopia
Seems a lot of homes like this started showing up after the dams were built. I recall you talked about it in a previous vid that focused around abandoned villages in the mountains. People had to move to stay connected to supply lines, so they dropped everything and abandoned what little they had in their mountain homes. The school house story is still a pretty cool one.
I love the floor plan and layout of this place. Super cool log cabin feel too. My only issue is those dreaded death stairs and the way the home is raised and supported.
Can I just say, your production value has gone up so much over the last year! Not sure what you've been working on, but I've been watching your videos with my 2 year old son who can sit through a whole episode, and that's saying something! Thanks Norm!
Great insight into the little gotchas with the Akiya. The house was unexpectedly pleasant would make a great little getaway. Seeing the Japanese Postman driving by on his motorcycle just let you know you hadn't stepped off the world completely. Thanks for the video
Thanks for interesting video 🙂
I’m a pretty new viewer and I’m already loving waking up to new Tokyo Lens videos! It’s nice to be transported to a place like this tranquil cabin first thing in the morning. 🏡 Thanks for sharing all of your adventures and the insights you discover!
Stayed up for this one!
I've been thinking about getting a place like this for years. Hard to reconcile with young kids though.
Biggest issue all around is just the pain of Japanese bureaucracy. Visas, taxes, just everything feels like a nightmare to get anything done while outside the country.
Akiya are fascinating, I'd love to see more videos exploring them! I'm also a little surprised these aren't scooped up and renovated by the vacation rental/air BnB market
I'm sure there people doing that
It's perfect for one or two people. I kind of love it. It's the home my youngest son has described wanting to live in.
Oh my gosh, I love it! What a beautiful, cozy little cabin. Sooo cute! I'm obsessed with the log wall sections. 😍 Would totally get something like this, it's perfect.
Love catching your videos so early into the day! Thanks for sharing this lovely little cabin in the woods! ❤
P.S. that was almost a nasty fall!!! 😅
lol WAS a nasty fall actually lol
still recovering haha
@@TokyoLens Oof! Sorry to hear that- Hopefully you’re not in pain for too long 🤕
Stay safe, friend!
As a resident of Oklahoma, I once lived in what was called the littlest house. It literally was the size of a two car garage. The shower was a square stall room for only one and when you were on the toilet, your feet were basically in that stall. 🤣 and I hated it.
This little cabin seems lovely to live in. Except that it would be quite creepy to live by yourself at night 😂. Anyways, Keep up the good work Norm!
Personally, I'd love to meet a Japanese ghost 👘
You get used to it very quickly. It's really not a problem unless you're a gregarious extrovert. You could always invite friends to stay with you...
Ooooh that's a good point, all those big windows into your house, alone in the woods, in the middle of the night....? Creeper magnet! Probably not a place for a woman to live alone I guess.
@@Yogachara - Presumably that's what the disconnected attic phone is for, it speaks to you via it! 😂
Japanese monsters cant climb stairs. Well, not even japanese people can climb those stairs, but hey, take a win where you get one. Monster proof bedroom. Please remember to clean up the monsters that die falling the stairs in the morning, they rot quicker than you think
I could completely live in a house like that and love it, especially with that view of the forest. Subscribed my only regret is not finding your channel sooner. Cheers
Thanks Norm! Always super entertaining stuff and real high quality content with tons of cool. Facts on Japan🇯🇵😊
The hidden fees and strings do make it a hard sell even if it’s free. But that log cabin was actually in REALLY good shape! Curious what kind of house you were looking at before you gave it up.
Always a pleasant start to the day when Tokyo Lens uploads fresh content!!🙏🖤✌️
Glad you enjoy it!
Thanks so much~
What a cute little cabin, I love the layout and random placement of items like the phone? I would definitely live in something like this or build a tiny house on this design. Thanks again for a great video :)
It's really rather unique and quite beautiful. Id totally live there and make it my own. Especially since so many places in Japan are much much smaller. Love it
Norm, thank you for bringing us content like this. That home, although in need of some tlc, is gorgeous. I wish there was more things like that here in the States (or there might be, but it's not like it is normal public knowledge). I'm somewhere in between being a introvert/extrovert, but, honestly, I would love to be in a place like this just to have an escape from everything. The location and setting is so calming, serene. It can be dubbed the "Cabin of Clarity." Great stuff. Keep up the good work!
My friend has stairs just like that and I have to say that going down them in socks is one of the scariest things I've done to date
I just bought a home in the US and it wasn’t even a fraction as difficult as what you explained. It seems that depreciating housing worth and over taxing are doing a lot of harm to the housing industry in Japan.
Probably on purpose to encourage city living to conserve the land. It is an island after all.
@@mehoyminoy1326 Doubtful. They don’t even demolish or clean up the areas in most cases. Most are left to rot and decay, which makes the land mostly unusable until clean up occurs. Abandoned buildings are everywhere in Japan.
@@The_E_Paladin interesting. That sucks for the citizens.
we have an opposite problem with a similar result lots of abandoned properties but because the ever increasing need to have property appreciate in value no one can afford to have a home.
and that is a major problem. Investors and the ever indulgent need of the economy to always go up without regard to people is disastrous.
The brand name of the fridge is Candy. 🤦🏻♂️
Simple life, nature, freedom, life on your terms, amazingly beautiful 😊
I love this little “log cobin.” 🤭 I always love the music you choose, too.
This place is amazing! I would totally live somewhere like this, although I know log cabin style houses are a lot of upkeep. That may have been apart of the reason the previous owners decided to let it go. So cool to learn stuff like akiya are even a thing!
I adore this so much. I wish they would do something like this in the United States.
They never would i government would just take the property before letting the poor get it for free lmao
You know, I actually wouldn’t mind living there! It’s an easy “fixer-upper” if you want to tweak it to your needs, and it’s obviously affordable 😂
Thanks again Norm for another interesting and relaxing video!
not they are not affordable 💀
@@hikarii53 huh
@@sleepy2906 it is said in the video, the expenses after getting the house itself cost a lot. the various taxes.
I don’t usually write comment, but I feel like I want to now. Three things… you are sooo cute, very informative and fun vlogger/RUclipsr/tour guider ❤🥰❤️
Thank you for you doing the things you love and sharing the experiences ✨
This little cabin looks really good. A nice holiday or weekend home. New fridge, some scandi-furnitures and you are good to go.
My first thought was...what would Okazaki-san have thought of this place! 😅 Thank you for introducing us to yet another aspect of Japan many wouldn't know about. It's such a treat to virtually go on these adventures with you.
It's so freaking cute, I would love to fix it up and move in! It's a shame they make these so hard to aquire.
mind boggling, 26 and no way for me to get a house in my country, and you start telling me there are enough houses empty for half the population of my country.
As a finn I got excited. Very nice base.
I would fix that floor base first. I don't know about building laws in Japan but fire place with stone or brick wall would be nice as it stores the heat and keeps place warm. You would need your own patch of forest or buy firewood from somewhere.
You have quickly become one of my Top 5 house tour guides on YT. I can't believe you came down the steep stairs holding your camera. Keep up the great work :)
I would be more concerned about the house's foundation as well as any termite issues. With all the earthquakes in Japan, you have to look into a lot of details before accepting a free house or buying a used one. I really like the house you are showing. I live in Yokohama and want to move out in the country side.
Not familiar with the termites Japan had, but even with simple subterranean termites will destroy that house in a few years
5 bucks says there is a haunted grudge kid living in that house.
5 bucks says your not very creative.
He's right but he has to have a twin @@torontoyes
Are you buying it for me? Lol
@@jessJBIRD1981 no thank you🤣
I’d have that grudge kid helping me fix that deck! After chores are done, we could discuss the haunting thing! That house is amazing.
Property tax is a misnomer and a terrible evil.
Piece-en-piece log construction makes my favorite type of log cabin.
I loved that lil mail guy on the bike just doin his thing. That seems like it'd be very quaint job, but maybe that's just me projecting
As another tall guy (213 cm), I feel his pain at the end of the video.
He's 100% right: Japan has a lot of stairs that are death traps for tall people.
Found that out the hard way when I was stationed in Misawa.
Good gravy! Even with all that space to use, the rooms are relatively tiny... especially the bathroom. Wow.
As an introvert, cabin like this would be my dream if it was close to a small village/town. Imagine furnishing and decorating it like you want, it would be so cozy.
I've been looking for a tiny cabin/house for a good min. Dude is exploring the dream.
That's a beautiful and cozy cabin! I'd like to spend my weekends there!
I would TOTALLY live there!!! I would just fix it up for me and my hubby!! I love the fact it's fairly isolated, but can still have things like internet and what not since it's not totally out in the boonies lol. Great little place and thanks for showing it to us!!
I always wanted a small house to avoid drama and stuff that pressure me constantly. But this video is very informative on what you said on this.
2:54 Wow! That's a really creative idea! We have something similar in Detroit but it's not nearly as good... you can buy a house for as low as $1500 but have to prove you can pay for repairs or tear down which can be very expensive
That bathroom mirror placement used to be quite common in NZ. My grandparents had their mirror to the side because the window was above the sink. The bathroom layout didn’t (and couldn’t) lend itself to a mirror above the sink.
Seeing it in this house invoked a weird feeling of nostalgia for me.
It makes sense if you think about it. How many times have you strained your back trying to get a close look at something in the mirror? Or is that just me?
Literally my dream home wood aesthetic and surroundings included. Except the septic.
the wood is so warm and comforting!
Love the bookshelf, I mean stairs!
That little Sanyo Radio was my first foray into electronics repair. I had a grey version with wood accents, but other than that its the exact same one. The memories!
Love the wood throughout❤”tippy toe stairs” and toilet not so much.
Man that house is wonderful, i would love living in a home like that! (My current place is only 450sq ft with no plumbing, so that looked like paradise to me)
This is awesome! Some cleaning and modern apliances and that`s it. Could you explain more about the taxes and costs maybe?
I would love a place like this, this is an abseloute dream of mine, the deck and windows make it so cozy. the septic tank makes me queezy because of that one story of the dude climbing into one to creep on the lady in japan
For me, I would build an upper deck in place of the deck roof, bet that would be a great view for chilling out with a tea.
This seems like a cool place ! A few renovations and it’ll be perfect to live in !!
Loved the log walls a little wood burning stove rustic curtains, and it would be near perfect .
You show so many interesting places! This is a cute cabin, even though the maintenance and updating would probably be insane pricing. I love the log walls. :D
This was so cool to see - my anxiety raised up soooooo much with those stairs and the bathroom made me claustrophobic LOL but it's so cute and quaint overall! That person you interviewed had me do a double take though. Momentarily thought that was RDJ lol
The wooden cabin seems a small average one from outside but it really amazed me with the spacious living room, bathroom, wc and an amazing view compare to those shown in another videos of yours. It's a very lovely home to live in unless it was located in a city because it's really gives me a creepy feeling to be in an abandoned place near mountains plus the handprints really sends a chill down my spine reminding me of the movie the grudge. Japanese prefer to move to another place once they feel a presence of paranormal experience, I bet this is the reason for millions of abandoned houses 😮
So beautiful home I wish to stay here for 1year to enjoy the seasons in Japan.
Japan seems like such a peaceful place for being on top of the ring of fire
I love the log cobbin too! Except that toilet situation that's not exceptional but it's great otherwise