Your're right that markets value these things rather appropriately but one dynamic that I've witnessed in Berlin and that's probably the same everywhere is how myopic locals are to long scale developments. I've had dinners in Berlin when I just got here where the people who already were there all were super convinced that "Berlin has no income base and therefore rents will never increase dramatically here". Locals believe that things will be the way they've always been (or they like to believe that).
There may be a data driven Akiya play here by checking (against population, transit, economy and other sources) which of these areas stand a chance of making it through the downturn and which ones should be abandoned/rewilded entirely.
Anyway, I've felt the tug of this as I've very briefly felt it when seeing the abandoned Piedmontese villages while hiking through (imagine the winters up there…) or the $1 Italian palazzo renovations on TikTok. Maybe some day.
You are totally right, I also noticed the stark increase in „Akiya“ related YouTube videos. Almost all such properties are pre-1980 and are in very bad shape, when they are torn down: all that is left is a mountain of rotten wood and a metal bath tub, kind of sad.
But as a long term resident and big fan of Yokohama I take a bit offense at 😉😢„….. cramped house in drab suburb of Yokohama“.
Kanazawa-ku, e. g., the one with the largest growing number of Akiya is the southernmost ward, not a suburb and quite beautiful and green, maybe the most undervalued Ward of Yokohama (no I don’t live there 😊), and I believe the many Akiya there are not mostly single houses, but empty apartments, many of them in the „Kanazawa Seaside town“ area that was a development of the 80s (on reclaimed land I think) with amazingly varied apartment buildings, that still seem to be in good shape (from the outside) buried electricity cables, a lot of greenery and all the infrastructure needed for daily life. The only drawback being that there is only one train line. Unfortunately, the first generation is now dying and it seems - maybe thanks to the obsession with either new (cheaply built but expensive) houses or new mansions - that this type of building does not attract the younger generation, in spite of the bad economy.
Other parts of Yokohama you listed are also quite nice, but not all are, there are definitely drab locations too, like everywhere in Japan including Tokyo. Also, the four cities you mentioned are not exactly suburbs of Yokohama, but quite large cities in their own rights. Chigasaki especially has now (since Corona) become quite fashionable and expensive, due to its location.
Fair complaint 😄 I personally like those areas too, the “drab and cramped” mostly refers to some of the specific houses I saw in the akiya vlogger videos (perhaps featured because their low prices make the content more surprising). Mainly I find it interesting how on social media all context is stripped away, and thus a feeling of “I just had an amazing time visiting shibuya and nakameguro and now want to move to Tokyo” can get translated into desire for a bargain house, even though the viewers may have no basis for understanding what life in these vacant houses would be like.
Re the NHK table you are right, I spared the details for simplicity’s sake. Thanks for reading!
After renting an akiya in a mountainous, rural part of Kyushu for a year while building a new home on the nearby coast, I agree that while it was kind of cool to experience life in the backwoods for a limited time, it's definitely not for everyone. Just keeping the surrounding forest and other wildlife - both above and below ground - from encroaching on the property was a big challenge. As with anything, you get what you pay for. You also raise the important issue of the "declining community." This is definitely an important factor to consider if you are in the market for an akiya. Like us, I would definitely recommend renting before buying.
Yeah, coming from dry Colorado the humidity/vitality of nature is something I did not fully appreciate until working on my current house. Keeping a place in good condition is quite a challenge, especially if you're not living there full time.
All that is solid melts into meme? Honto ni arigato for a nuanced article about far more than Japan. On Shikoku saw so many abandoned homes where feral vines were also growing *inside* the home, very apocalyptic yet humbling too. Misinformed gaijin swooping in to a perceived real estate boom.... ugh. Everywhere is everywhere.... everything is nowhere.... but rural Japan is still (and moving) rural Japan. Be well.
🤦♂️
Your're right that markets value these things rather appropriately but one dynamic that I've witnessed in Berlin and that's probably the same everywhere is how myopic locals are to long scale developments. I've had dinners in Berlin when I just got here where the people who already were there all were super convinced that "Berlin has no income base and therefore rents will never increase dramatically here". Locals believe that things will be the way they've always been (or they like to believe that).
There may be a data driven Akiya play here by checking (against population, transit, economy and other sources) which of these areas stand a chance of making it through the downturn and which ones should be abandoned/rewilded entirely.
Anyway, I've felt the tug of this as I've very briefly felt it when seeing the abandoned Piedmontese villages while hiking through (imagine the winters up there…) or the $1 Italian palazzo renovations on TikTok. Maybe some day.
You are totally right, I also noticed the stark increase in „Akiya“ related YouTube videos. Almost all such properties are pre-1980 and are in very bad shape, when they are torn down: all that is left is a mountain of rotten wood and a metal bath tub, kind of sad.
But as a long term resident and big fan of Yokohama I take a bit offense at 😉😢„….. cramped house in drab suburb of Yokohama“.
Kanazawa-ku, e. g., the one with the largest growing number of Akiya is the southernmost ward, not a suburb and quite beautiful and green, maybe the most undervalued Ward of Yokohama (no I don’t live there 😊), and I believe the many Akiya there are not mostly single houses, but empty apartments, many of them in the „Kanazawa Seaside town“ area that was a development of the 80s (on reclaimed land I think) with amazingly varied apartment buildings, that still seem to be in good shape (from the outside) buried electricity cables, a lot of greenery and all the infrastructure needed for daily life. The only drawback being that there is only one train line. Unfortunately, the first generation is now dying and it seems - maybe thanks to the obsession with either new (cheaply built but expensive) houses or new mansions - that this type of building does not attract the younger generation, in spite of the bad economy.
Other parts of Yokohama you listed are also quite nice, but not all are, there are definitely drab locations too, like everywhere in Japan including Tokyo. Also, the four cities you mentioned are not exactly suburbs of Yokohama, but quite large cities in their own rights. Chigasaki especially has now (since Corona) become quite fashionable and expensive, due to its location.
Fair complaint 😄 I personally like those areas too, the “drab and cramped” mostly refers to some of the specific houses I saw in the akiya vlogger videos (perhaps featured because their low prices make the content more surprising). Mainly I find it interesting how on social media all context is stripped away, and thus a feeling of “I just had an amazing time visiting shibuya and nakameguro and now want to move to Tokyo” can get translated into desire for a bargain house, even though the viewers may have no basis for understanding what life in these vacant houses would be like.
Re the NHK table you are right, I spared the details for simplicity’s sake. Thanks for reading!
After renting an akiya in a mountainous, rural part of Kyushu for a year while building a new home on the nearby coast, I agree that while it was kind of cool to experience life in the backwoods for a limited time, it's definitely not for everyone. Just keeping the surrounding forest and other wildlife - both above and below ground - from encroaching on the property was a big challenge. As with anything, you get what you pay for. You also raise the important issue of the "declining community." This is definitely an important factor to consider if you are in the market for an akiya. Like us, I would definitely recommend renting before buying.
Yeah, coming from dry Colorado the humidity/vitality of nature is something I did not fully appreciate until working on my current house. Keeping a place in good condition is quite a challenge, especially if you're not living there full time.
Wait. I don’t have a superpower that allows me to find value, and to do literally everything else, better than the Japanese???
I know shocking right
All that is solid melts into meme? Honto ni arigato for a nuanced article about far more than Japan. On Shikoku saw so many abandoned homes where feral vines were also growing *inside* the home, very apocalyptic yet humbling too. Misinformed gaijin swooping in to a perceived real estate boom.... ugh. Everywhere is everywhere.... everything is nowhere.... but rural Japan is still (and moving) rural Japan. Be well.
All is solid that melts into meme, excellent! Thanks for reading.