What happens when someone halfway across the world decides to buy a home in Japan? Some are doing just that—creating new relationships with place, whether as part-time residents, guesthouse owners, or creative investors. We’ve had the chance to support a few of them. This series shares their stories.
Key facts:
Location: Uno Port, Okayama
Purchase price: 14,000,000 Yen
Estimated Monthly Income: 1,140,000 yen (at half capacity)
Current status: Accepting bookings on SadouInn.com
Nostal Homes supported: Purchase process, Airbnb (ryokan) permit
Type of house: 2-story, 3-bedroom machiya Machiya (町家) are traditional Japanese wooden townhouses, typically found in cities throughout Japan. They served as both residences and places of business, with merchants and craftsmen often living and working in the same building.
Two filmmakers and artists who fell in love with Naoshima on their first visit to the Seto Inland Sea. It took a year-long search to get hold of their 3-bedroom Machiya in Uno Port, which is currently hosting visitors. You can book at SadouInn.com.
The initial pull was towards the art islands (Naoshima, Teshima etc) in Japan—these islands are home to museums and surreal art installations and serve as a magnet for creative types. But when it came to investing, finding and renovating property on a tiny island without personal connections was almost impossible. Moving to Japan already felt complex enough, so they decided to pivot to Uno Port, for the cross-section of many things they wanted: the convenience and practicality of being on the mainland, close proximity to the art islands for access to the flow of tourists, and a post-industrial charm that had its own appeal.
It has been quite the roller coaster of a journey to purchase a house from another country. It is essential to have Japanese support (Ryo!) to navigate the process and trouble-shoot.
Ryo has helped with everything from online viewings while the couple was in the US, to arranging permits and navigating the language barrier. He has been essential for working around the many hurdles that present themselves during the process.
We learned that most of the information online is missing key (extremely important) facts that foreigners need to know. So even if you are researching, there is a lot of misleading information out there. It's impossible to do perfect due diligence.
After much independent online searching and comparing in the area, eventually, they landed on a Machiya from the 60s that had been empty for seven years. It was originally owned by a master of tea ceremony, and her unique tea school is built onto the main house. It had some charming features, a large garden and an ideal layout for a guesthouse, with a lovely blend of Japanese and Western-style spaces. After making enquiries about the property before it was delisted and then listed again, Melanie & Cristian immediately engaged Ryo to move fast and help them secure it before it got snapped up by someone else.
After a long, cold winter of renovation work, they have now opened their ryokan with 2 large suites and one small private room (a maximum capacity of 9 guests at a time). Melanie and Cristian are coming and going from the property for now as they establish their residency for Japan.
Since opening in early April, they have already hosted many guests and garnered 100% 5 star reviews!
After getting the ryokan up and running steadily, Stage 2 of the business plan is to find times of year to host an artist in residence, which would involve exhibitions/demonstrations/classes offered to the local community. There is also the goal to offer monthly workshops/gatherings at the Sadou Inn for the community to be involved in and for guests to join in too.
Stage 3 is to host international workshops, bringing teachers and students from all over the world to immerse themselves in artistic courses and find inspiration from excursions to the art islands. The Sadou Inn is a venue to showcase pieces by local and international artists and will eventually create a space to sell high quality art as souvenirs.
The transition of life from the US to Japan is another challenge.
Although this year will be messy and expensive as we transition our lives over to Japan, we anticipate things will smooth out by next year—hopefully.
While the process brings a degree of stress, it also feels full of potential as they shape their new lives in Japan.