This was originally going to be a semi trip-report with SQ Suites each way and a new ski destination for me, but my phone died (immersed by kids) within days of my return so I never quite made it.
The ski forum had asked for more details on my apartment purchase so i figured I’d resurrect this and then answer questions here.
I’ve been interested in Japan, and ski property there on and off for years, since my first trip there in late 2008. I’ve been for the snow there every year since except for 2021 and 2022. Back in the start Niseko property was dirt cheap and I really should have bought, despite not even having graduated. But if wishes were horses…
So every few trips the bug bites again and I start to look at property at the end of the trip and when I get home. My brother normally accompanies me and he was arguably more keen than I was.
There are (were?) no real foreign ownership rules in Japan, at least nothing that encumbers a straightforward house or apartment purchase. Many properties are also extremely cheap due to a combination of rural depopulation, an aging population and a dislike of second hand/older homes (homes typically aren’t built to last, either). The exception to this is ski areas on the map of foreigners, where prices are sky high and still climbing (Niseko, Hakuba, Myoko, Rusutsu, Furano etc.)
So we’ve been looking at ski properties for ages, trying to figure out what would be useful and why we’d bother when accommodation is cheap and we are backcountry skiers and split boards so we don’t really need resorts. I guess that’s the biggest reason we didn’t buy- flexibility was key and having a place in, say, central Hokkaido was limiting when you might want to tour Honshu regularly. Returns would be pretty low too, due to either local competition in the bigger areas, or no appeal in the more rural places.
Enter kids. The Covid years brought me 2 rugrats; and so changed the type of snow holiday I would be likely to have in the next decade. Suddenly ease of access to a small resort might be quite ideal, and a place that is set up, with bedrooms and creature comforts might make the trip a lot easier, especially if we had to lug less gear over each time. Also a town named Yuzawa hit my radar. I’d never been there, and had never heard of it, but being 70 minutes on the Shinkansen from Tokyo with 12 or more various sized ski resorts nearby made it a very convenient place to consider.
The ski forum had asked for more details on my apartment purchase so i figured I’d resurrect this and then answer questions here.
I’ve been interested in Japan, and ski property there on and off for years, since my first trip there in late 2008. I’ve been for the snow there every year since except for 2021 and 2022. Back in the start Niseko property was dirt cheap and I really should have bought, despite not even having graduated. But if wishes were horses…
So every few trips the bug bites again and I start to look at property at the end of the trip and when I get home. My brother normally accompanies me and he was arguably more keen than I was.
There are (were?) no real foreign ownership rules in Japan, at least nothing that encumbers a straightforward house or apartment purchase. Many properties are also extremely cheap due to a combination of rural depopulation, an aging population and a dislike of second hand/older homes (homes typically aren’t built to last, either). The exception to this is ski areas on the map of foreigners, where prices are sky high and still climbing (Niseko, Hakuba, Myoko, Rusutsu, Furano etc.)
So we’ve been looking at ski properties for ages, trying to figure out what would be useful and why we’d bother when accommodation is cheap and we are backcountry skiers and split boards so we don’t really need resorts. I guess that’s the biggest reason we didn’t buy- flexibility was key and having a place in, say, central Hokkaido was limiting when you might want to tour Honshu regularly. Returns would be pretty low too, due to either local competition in the bigger areas, or no appeal in the more rural places.
Enter kids. The Covid years brought me 2 rugrats; and so changed the type of snow holiday I would be likely to have in the next decade. Suddenly ease of access to a small resort might be quite ideal, and a place that is set up, with bedrooms and creature comforts might make the trip a lot easier, especially if we had to lug less gear over each time. Also a town named Yuzawa hit my radar. I’d never been there, and had never heard of it, but being 70 minutes on the Shinkansen from Tokyo with 12 or more various sized ski resorts nearby made it a very convenient place to consider.
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