Countryside Living

[KenElwood]

Hello to all,

Welcome to this thread.

Any of you potters ever attempted to buy, or have actually bought countryside land here in Japan? My wife and I are in the process of looking for land with an existing house on it. Preferebly lower elevation foothill land. But we are having difficulty finding countryside realtors. Any advice?

We currently live in Nagoya and want to buy some land only a stones throw away. But not close enough where it`ll cost us an arm and`a leg to buy. Eastern Aichi Prefecture (HigashiMikawa) in the foothills somewhere should be good. With all the young people from that area already migrated and settled into Nagoya, the old folks and their farms are all that remain.

Check out this video for an idea of the kind of land and lifestyle we are looking for.

http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/ro...the_slow.html#

[sosa]

I can't vouch for them, having never used this service, but this site might be of some help:

http://www.furusato-net.co.jp/index.html

[KenElwood]

Sosa, Thanks a lot for the link!

[sosa]

No problem. Let me know how things work out, my wife and I are thinking about buying a place in the country someday.

[KenElwood]

I found this realtor? or independently run outfit online a few weeks back. My wife and I contacted them..I mean THE GUY.. on a property in a small hamlet we were interested in seeing. The guy faxed us a map and said `the door isn`t locked, go have a look.`

So last Friday my wife and I got up really early in the morning and headed up to the hills. After 3 hours of driving we finally found the house in an old off the main road Hamlet, perched up in the corner of some old and very narrow elevated rice fields.

The going rate for the house and land WAS 100man yen, but after viewing the house and the land we considered talking the price down with THE GUY. My wife and i`ve been to Mexico on more than one occasion (we used to live in Cali) so bargaining comes pretty much natural for us now. Anyway, back on topic, just a couple of days ago we were successful in talking the price down to 80man yen.

This old structure (home) + 100 tsubo of land (almost a 1/2 acre) (1 tsubo = 1 full bed 6 foot x 6 foot) at 80 man yen. about 6,975 US dollars.

The house is old and in need of some tender lovin` care, but my oh my, all that land for such a cheap price!!

No, it`s not an old land fill and, no, it`s not located next to some toxic mine. I`m guessing it`s cheap just because these kinds of places are in a position of: be bought and be farmed or be reclaimed by the land.

Or maybe it`s haunted??...well, if you believe in ghosts that is.

There are listings of countryside homes and land from many areas of Japan, but the most being of Aichi, Mie, Gifu, and Shizuoka prefectures.

http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~ut7h-Kwgc/asahi/index.htm



Take a look at the old cookers inside the house. Looks like grandma has been using the kitchen as a storage shed.

And the house in all her glory.

[sosa]

Hey that is a pretty good deal, have you decided to purchase?

Would you be looking to renovate or build a new place from scratch?

We aren't sure what we'd like to do. We live in Canada, but my wife is Japanese and I lived there for five years. We were thinking it would be nice to get a country home in Japan, but we weren't sure if it would be better to buy an old place and renovate or just buy some land and build something new. Definitely we are leaning towards buying an old place because we love the aesthetic appeal, but are wary of the pitfalls of trying to maintain/ renovate such a place, which I've heard can be quite costly.

[homesweethome]

There are plenty of overpriced pieces of junk for sale on those sites listed by psudo real estate agents. Why pay millions of yen for something that is'nt worth one tenth of what they are asking for it? One alternative would be to buy a distressed property at court tendered auction. There are lots of these to be had. The Norinsuisansho (ministy of agriculture) also auctions distressed properties and agricultural land. The tax office does also for unpaid taxes. These often go unsold because nobody puts in a bid for them. If you are the only bidder you could pick one up very cheaply. I have done this several times. You have to be a registered farmer to buy those, but after a farmer buys some land and changes the zoning, the farmer can sell it to anybody, he just has to apply to change the zoning. Another possibility is distressing a property yourself that you want to get hold of. There are lots of alternative possibilities.

[sosa]

Yeah, but about half the bloody places listed on that site are going for less than 5 million yen. Why go through the trouble of trying to purchase whatever court-auctioned stuff is available just on the off chance you'll save a few yen. Hardly seems worth it when you are talking about property that is selling so cheaply.

[Time22]

looks like thist thread's turned out to be more interesting than expected.

thanks for the information, guys

i asked my man once, quite long time ago, truly indeed what's exactly he wants to do with his/our lives, his dream...and he came out with one word : Farmer.

i had no problem with that. we love nature and village lifestyle more than the metropolitan one.

guess i'll try to bring up this subject back tonight when he's home. thanks to this thread.

cheers

[homesweethome]

Yeah, but about half the bloody places listed on that site are going for less than 5 million yen. Why go through the trouble of trying to purchase whatever court-auctioned stuff is available just on the off chance you'll save a few yen. Hardly seems worth it when you are talking about property that is selling so cheaply.

Save a few yen! 5 mil is just pocket change to you huh?

Well maybe it is, but most of the things listed on those sites are piles of junk waiting to fall down. Somebody just doesn't want to go to the trouble and expense of having it torn down, and some sucker may come along and pay 5 million for it.

I own a few of these which I would GLADLY sell for 5 million, any takers?

[Time22]

Save a few yen! 5 mil is just pocket change to you huh?

Well maybe it is, but most of the things listed on those sites are piles of junk waiting to fall down. Somebody just doesn't want to go to the trouble and expense of having it torn down, and some sucker may come along and pay 5 million for it.

I own a few of these which I would GLADLY sell for 5 million, any takers?

5 million ???!!!!?
oops..wrong thread

[homesweethome]

Growing rice is fine, but on small plots, difficult to make a living at unless you grow a LOT of it, but to do this you have to have some mechanized labor saving devices to do it. At least a tractor and harvestor unless you coop with others or hire it done. Grow rice for sure but also grow everything else, fruits, veggies, including some chickens and maybe a goat or two. Forget the Nokyo, they are crooks and will just bleed you. Form a group of people in the city who want to buy healthy organic fresh produce from a gaijin farmer. Get the local paper to pick it up and get some free publicity. People will call YOU to come sell your stuff to them.

Write a book telling the Japanese how they are missing out on the good life and destroying their own beautiful country. go on the television circuit. Become a rich and famous farmer!

[Time22]

Growing rice is fine, but on small plots, difficult to make a living at unless you grow a LOT of it, but to do this you have to have some mechanized labor saving devices to do it. At least a tractor and harvestor unless you coop with others or hire it done. Grow rice for sure but also grow everything else, fruits, veggies, including some chickens and maybe a goat or two. Forget the Nokyo, they are crooks and will just bleed you. Form a group of people in the city who want to buy healthy organic fresh produce from a gaijin farmer. Get the local paper to pick it up and get some free publicity. People will call YOU to come sell your stuff to them.

Write a book telling the Japanese how they are missing out on the good life and destroying their own beautiful country. go on the television circuit. Become a rich and famous farmer!

er...celebrity farmer ? haha...

btw
h said that there's some kind of loans from japan government specially for someone who wants to start a farm...? not sure bout the details...h might know more, but well...he's not here now, so just want to get more info to catch up w him later for more developing discussions.

thanks in advance

[homesweethome]

5 million ???!!!!?
oops..wrong thread

I would say 50 man yen UNLESS it has a LOT of land with it. I mean in the 2 or 3 hectare range. Of course it depends what it is. A 150 year old tradtional Japanese farmhouse built to last like they used to build them with the huge oak beams is worth a lot more than any over priced piece of junk they build these days and call houses. Cold in the winter though unless Kyushu or temperate climates location like ocean side of Shikoku. Those old thatched roofs are expensive to build and maintain though.

[Time22]

Yes there are all sorts of incentives and programs to try to get people to take up the sport of farming. Free land, free housing, low interest (or no interest) loans, grants, give aways, the village I live in will give you money to build a fence to keep out the wild boars! help in finding submissive, fertile, Chinese farmwife, brides! no kidding! That's what the pamphlet says!

Maybe I better let somebody else show off their knowledge about that though.

cool!!

i mean those kind of 'free...free..low..' stuff..

but geez....unfair
why have to be 'chinese farmwife'..? can't fit in any of those..*sobs*

thanks for the infos!

[steeny]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[KenElwood]

Hey that is a pretty good deal, have you decided to purchase?

Would you be looking to renovate or build a new place from scratch?

Hi Sosa,

No no!! My wife and I have just embarked on our searching adventure, so to buy prematurely would just take the fun out of finding the perfect place to live here in the Japanese countryside.

Building a new house is not an option for us (money reasons), but even if it were, we wouldn`t build. We`re looking for an old place that needs minimal renovation work.

We are considering all options available to us for purchasing a home and land: HSH-san`s duly mentioned distressed property channel(check out Homesweethome`s thread here http://www.gaijinpot.com/bb/showthread.php?t=11061 ), real real estate agents, the ministy of agriculture, and even psudo real estate agents. The thing we like about dealing with psudo real estate agents is the fact that we can bargain with them or in some cases barter. (Disclaimer: So far we`ve only been in contact with one <1> of these psudo real estate agent guys.) It seems these guys will take whatever they can get. They are sitting one pieces of land and houses they may never sell, and they know it.

Hey Time 22,
What`d your man say? Does he still wanna be a farmer?

By the way, in preperation for our farm we`ve gone ahead and purchased our first Kei truck (軽トラック). We found one for 9 man yen!!! It rides rough, but at least it has power steering. I`ll include my pics below. It`s Blue!!

[Time22]

Hey Time 22,
What`d your man say? Does he still wanna be a farmer?

By the way, in preperation for our farm we`ve gone ahead and purchased our first Kei truck (軽トラック). We found one for 9 man yen!!! It rides rough, but at least it has power steering. I`ll include a pic below. It`s Blue!!

thanks to your thread and the posters here, we're looking at the links and try to find more informations of course will let you know if we can get some interesting infos also.

and your bluebaby there....kakkoi!!

[KenElwood]

Yeah, please post your findings!! I`ll do the same. Thanks in advance

Me too! Me too!! I wanna be a farmer too, and if enough rice is left over every year, i`ll either sell locally or in some private gaijin rice growing sector. If that exists? aha... And for self sufficiency we`ll grow veggies too, have a few chickens, and at least one goat.

Before making the move to the countryside though, i`m gunna study up on farming in any way that I can. I`m currently reading this blog http://ameblo.jp/jin-45/theme-10000593349.html , and I`m thinkin` about going to a (how to grow rice) school like this one in Miyagi Prefecture http://www.pref.miyagi.jp/issgsin/nn/taueH17.htm
I`m even considering crashing some old rice farm on the outskirts of Nagoya and ask for the owner to teach me everything he/she knows about growing rice. I wanna be their slave every weekend for 1 whole growing season. Sound impossible? According to my wife`s family there are plenty of old folk in need of gaijin slave workers. I may sound nuts, but hey, you tell me a better way to learn the tricks of the trade and i`ll go that route.



In the mean time...imagine living under this sky..

[sosa]

Hi Ken,

Yup, sure gotta shop around! I hope you guys end up with a great place!

The truck is looking good! Wouldn't be life in the country without one of those!

Good luck with the farming too. Sounds like hard work, but I imagine it would be very rewarding (er...not financially but in a spiritual sense).

We are thinking more along the lines of having a second home in Japan. Of course, we don't have a first home now, but a few years from now it'll be nice to have a place in the Japanese countryside to get away from things.

[KenElwood]

It`ll surely be mentally and spiritually rewarding. Hey, good luck with finding your house in the Japanese countryside too!

[銕不死身]

It`ll surely be mentally and spiritually rewarding. Hey, good luck with finding your house in the Japanese countryside too!

I assume you guys also know about www.homes.co.jp ???

It seems very comprehensive.

Ken,

I am sure if you handle the approach properly, someone would love to have you help with the rice. I used to do it in Gifu. Gotta love playing in the mud. And the machinery.

Manly men doing manly things in manly ways with other manly men and their women.

One thing to do might be to contact the village hall about it. The agriculture section sdhould be able to help, and it gets the word out, and you'll end up on TV.

Them Nagoya Gaijins are crazy.

[homesweethome]

Yeah, please post your findings!! I`ll do the same. Thanks in advance

Me too! Me too!! I wanna be a farmer too, and if enough rice is left over every year, i`ll either sell locally or in some private gaijin rice growing sector. If that exists? aha... And for self sufficiency we`ll grow veggies too, have a few chickens, and at least one goat.

Before making the move to the countryside though, i`m gunna study up on farming in any way that I can.

The Nokyo here tries to match elderly farmers needing extra help in the busy season with people available to work part time and seasonally. High school kids, retirees, etc. You may want to inquire with them in the area you are interested in. Also a good way to get your foot in the door, hear about places for sale, lands for rent, etc. The pay even really isn't all that bad.

[KenElwood]

I assume you guys also know about www.homes.co.jp ???
It seems very comprehensive.Them Nagoya Gaijins are crazy.

Hey Mr. 銕不死身, thanks for the link!! Much appreciated. And here I was thinkin` that you didn`t like me cause i`m gunna name my kid Noah. beh!!

Homesweethome, thanks for the info on the Nokyo. I`m gunna go ahead and get into contact with them.

[銕不死身]

Hey Mr. 銕不死身, thanks for the link!! Much appreciated. And here I was thinkin` that you didn`t like me cause i`m gunna name my kid Noah. beh!!
Homesweethome, thanks for the info on the Nokyo. I`m gunna go ahead and get into contact with them.

I was just trying to save the poor girl from a lifetime of bad biblical jokes.

I have found that homes.co website to be one of the more comprehensive ones around.

Ganbare Hyakusho!

[KenElwood]

I was just trying to save the poor girl from a lifetime of bad biblical jokes.

In Japan?.........

[KenElwood]

Just you wait my friend, just you wait.

The Japanese are ripe for receiving the Light and the Way of the One True Lord, Ali G.

Err, I mean Jesus.

Also, don't forget about that urban pestilence, the JoHos and the Moronmons.

You could start a human Cargo Cult with that name, young man.

Care to reconsider???

In Japan? ahaha.....

[銕不死身]

In Japan? ahaha.....

Point taken.

You enjoy yourself out there among them heathens, ya hear!?

[KenElwood]

ahaha...san kyu.

Anyway, as we continue visiting houses and land, we`ll be back here to report on the pot; Prices, pics, specs, random info, etc.

[homesweethome]

Masanobu Fukuoka

One Straw Revolution, The Way To Grow Rice

"The power of Nature is great, because the natural structure is solid, three dimensional, not horizontal or two dimensional. Some of my mountain peach trees have kiwis climbing on them, and above the kiwi vines, there is a kind of melon. So three kinds of fruit exist together at different heights. I get one or two kilograms of fruit from one square meter of ground. This is a good sustainable yield. Natural production is greater than man-made production, because the structure is solid.

Humans are destroying the power of Nature. We have only one fourth of the growing power of Nature left. We are not increasing fertility or production, but rather trying to prevent production from failing by using fertilizers. The world is digging itself into a bottomless pit with modern agriculture. The simple hearth of the small farm is the true center of our universe. Scientific thought is leading you away from a healthy life. Even the practice of conventional organic agriculture is a dangerous digression. It cannot be sustained if you have to rob part of the earth to feed another."

"Most farmers begin by asking, what if I do this or what if I do that, but only dissipate themselves that way. My approach just the opposite, seek the pleasant, natural way of farming. In order to make the work easier, not harder, I ask, how about not doing this or how about not doing that? By actual practice I finally reached conclusion there is no need to plow, no need to apply artificial fertilizer, no need to use pesticides at all. Most of the work of farming is created by tampering with nature, which causes negative side effects. Very few agricultural practices are even necessary, just scattering seed, spreading straw on the soil and harvesting."

"Nature left alone is in perfect balance."

Kurogane in a future life?

[KenElwood]

Masanobu Fukuoka is my new hero. Homesweethome, you wouldn`t happen to be selling Fukuoka san`s book would you? I guess I could buy it off Amazon.com or something, but being that you`re in Japan and all, I thought maybe............

[Jesus]

Interesting. Is the process to become a registered farmer complex? Do you need to initially own land to become a registered farmer?

Thanks.

[KenElwood]

Here`s some Japanese farm related articles I found online. All very interesting.


In Japan, a rural village on extinction's edge

On a hill overlooking a field of overgrown bushes, surrounded by the sounds of a running stream and a bush warbler, Miyasaka pointed below with his right index finger. "I never imagined it would come to this," he said. "I mean, those all used to be rice fields.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/04/25/news/japan.php

But wait..... read this.

Back to the Farm.

All across Japan, would-be retirees are taking up their hoes. Faced with the prospect of ending their first careers—the country's nearly 8 million baby boomers will begin to retire at 60 next year—many are pondering the idea of making a second career, or at least a lifelong hobby, out of farming.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11178537/site/newsweek/

A little on Japanese Agriculture economics.

Modern Japanese Agriculture in Light of Kunio Yanagida's Vision for Agricultural Administration Reform.

To date, a total of 2.3 million hectares of Japan's farmland - which by far exceeds the 1.94 million hectares of land that had been transferred to the ownership of tenant farmers under the postwar farmland reforms - has been converted to other uses or ruined, while Japan's self-sufficiency ratio in food supply has dropped to 40%.

http://www.rieti.go.jp/en/columns/a01_0135.html

[homesweethome]

Masanobu Fukuoka is my new hero. Homesweethome, you wouldn`t happen to be selling Fukuoka san`s book would you? I guess I could buy it off Amazon.com or something, but being that you`re in Japan and all, I thought maybe............

Sorry, it's permanently archived in the magazine rack in my bathroom.


But then this fellow by the name of Bill Mollison, got a hold of Fukuoka's books and some other things and came up with Permanent Agriculture or

PERMACULTURE

Over ten years ago my wife and I moved to the country. One of our many reasons for leaving the city was to finally pursue the dream of self-reliance: to create a permaculture homestead that would trim our resource use and let us tap in more fully to nature’s abundance. And in the back of my mind was the quietly nibbling worry that someday the overconsumption party would end—the oil would run out, and things might get ugly. I wanted to be settled where we could be less dependent on the fossil fuel umbilicus when the cord finally snapped.

There's lots written on that which you can check out if you like. I find Fukuoka's techniques difficult to copy as other people do too but Permaculture seems to be more practical and applicable. I went to a Permiculture workshop some years ago, 8 days of some useful stuff, and a lot of New Age mumbo jumbo (sweat pits, communal orgies, lots of drugs, you name it) but I am not bad mouthing Permaculture itself. I have quite a few of the books on the subject and they are very useful

[KenElwood]

Sorry, it's permanently archived in the magazine rack in my bathroom.

Ahaha.. sounds like the best place to keep good reading material.

I understand Bill Mollison when he says,

Over ten years ago my wife and I moved to the country. One of our many reasons for leaving the city was to finally pursue the dream of self-reliance: to create a permaculture homestead that would trim our resource use and let us tap in more fully to nature’s abundance. And in the back of my mind was the quietly nibbling worry that someday the overconsumption party would end—the oil would run out, and things might get ugly. I wanted to be settled where we could be less dependent on the fossil fuel umbilicus when the cord finally snapped.

I often have these dreams of the end of cheap energy, the decline of industrial agriculture, currency collapse, economic "depression," wars, famines, disease epidemics, infrastructure failures, and extreme unpredictable weather.

But since this thread was created for sharing information on farming and countryside living here in Japan, i`m gunna steer clear of talking about our (my wife and I`s) reasons for wanting to get out of urbana and get back to the countryside.

[homesweethome]

Ahaha.. sounds like the best place to keep good reading material.

I understand Bill Mollison when he says,



I often have these dreams of the end of cheap energy, the decline of industrial agriculture, currency collapse, economic "depression," wars, famines, disease epidemics, infrastructure failures, and extreme unpredictable weather.

But since this thread was created for sharing information on farming and countryside living here in Japan, i`m gunna steer clear of talking about our (my wife and I`s) reasons for wanting to get out of urbana and get back to the countryside.

Actually Bill M didn't say that, Toby Hemenway did, but I just picked it at random from that link.

Why not share your reasons for wanting to move to the country? You have already shared some and others while even though they may not agree with your or my reasons for doing anything, would probably be interested in knowing why a person would choose to give up life in the exciting, convenient city to grow rice and raise chickens!!

What kind of a BOZO would do that!!!!!!!!!!!?

What's the price of gas today by the way?

[homesweethome]

Interesting. Is the process to become a registered farmer complex? Do you need to initially own land to become a registered farmer?

Thanks.

No you don't need to own, just CONTROL it, which means rent it, at least 3 aru. Then show that a significant amount of your income comes from farming, and show that you intend to continue to do it. Apply at the local Nogyou Innkai for details. They may look at you like you are crazy or fall all over themselves to help you Become a Registered Farmer.

[steeny]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[homesweethome]

How would one go about showing a significant amount of income comes from farming when one just controls it? If I rent 3 aru (I think you said 5 before) and can't find anyone to charge for working it, what options would I have (other than working it myself)?

You are right it is 5 Aru, my mistake.



Oh Heaven Forbid!!!Actually working it yourself? Unthinkable!

You might actually SWEAT.

[KenElwood]

Why not share your reasons for wanting to move to the country? You have already shared some and others while even though they may not agree with your or my reasons for doing anything, would probably be interested in knowing why a person would choose to give up life in the exciting, convenient city to grow rice and raise chickens!!

What kind of a BOZO would do that!!!!!!!!!!!?

What's the price of gas today by the way?

Homesweethome,

Naa.. I`m gunna hold off on explainin` why we wanna move to the country... I`ll save that for another time.

Good news though, we just got back from the hills this evening and I got some really good pics today of the hamlet and homestead that (my wife and I) are interested in.