We broker Japanese property to the English-speaking world — sale or rental, marketed in English by bilingual agents.
Owners & managers: submit the basics and a bilingual agent follows up. (Demo — submissions are not sent anywhere yet.)
· Your listing presented in English, with the area's real MLIT market data alongside it
· Reach foreign residents and overseas buyers actively searching Japan
· Bilingual agents handle inquiries, viewings and paperwork
· Transparent market context: every listing page shows actual local transaction records — no inflated promises
1. Send the form — an agent contacts you within 2 business days (demo)
2. Agree terms; we photograph and write your English listing
3. Inquiries, viewings and negotiation handled bilingually through to contract
Practical, plain-English explanations of how Japanese real estate actually works.
There are no nationality restrictions on owning property in Japan. You can buy land and buildings outright with full freehold title, even as a non-resident. The practical hurdle is financing, not ownership.
Most Japanese banks require permanent residency (PR) or a Japanese spouse for a standard mortgage. Without PR, options are: a larger down payment (20–50%) with certain banks, lenders in your home country, or cash. Rates in 2025–26 remain low by global standards (variable ~0.4–0.9%, fixed ~1.5–2.5%).
Budget roughly 6–9% on top of the purchase price: brokerage fee (3% + ¥60,000 + tax), registration & judicial scrivener, stamp duty, property acquisition tax (~3–4% of assessed value, often reduced), and loan fees (~2.2% if financed). Annual fixed-asset tax is ~1.4% of the assessed (not market) value.
You do not need to live in Japan — or ever have visited — to own property here. Non-resident foreigners hold full freehold title. Purchases are routinely completed remotely through a power of attorney given to a bilingual agent and a judicial scrivener (司法書士), who handles title registration.
A notarized affidavit in place of Japan's residence certificate, a way to remit funds (large transfers are reported under FX rules — normal and legal), and since 2024 a domestic point of contact registered with the title for non-resident owners — your agent or scrivener typically serves this role.
Appoint a property manager (typically ~5% of rent). Rental income of non-residents is taxable in Japan — corporate tenants must withhold 20.42% at source, and you file an annual return; most treaty countries then credit the Japanese tax. Get individual tax advice.
| Cost | Typical | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed-asset tax (固定資産税) | 1.4% of assessed value / yr | Assessed value is well below market price |
| City planning tax | up to 0.3% / yr | Urban areas |
| Condo management fee | ¥10–25K / mo | Building administration |
| Repair reserve (修繕積立金) | ¥8–20K / mo | Rises with building age — check the fund's balance |
| Property management (if let) | ~5% of rent | Tenant handling, remittances |
| Insurance | ¥10–30K / yr | Fire; earthquake optional (~50% of fire premium) |
Capital gains are taxed at ~39.6% if held ≤5 years, ~20.3% if held longer (national + local, as of 2025) — the five-year line matters. Non-residents selling face a 10.21% withholding on the sale price in many cases, reconciled at filing. Brokerage fee on sale is the same 3% + ¥60,000 + tax.
Foreigners can rent in Japan without permanent residency, but the process differs from most countries. Expect tenant screening (income roughly 3× the monthly rent, an employer letter, and a Japanese-speaking emergency contact help a lot), upfront costs of 4–6 months' rent, and mostly unfurnished apartments — often without light fixtures or a stove.
1K = one room + kitchenette · 1LDK = one bedroom + living/dining/kitchen · 2LDK = two bedrooms + LDK, and so on. Sizes are in m² (1 tsubo ≈ 3.3 m²). “7F / 10F” means the unit is on the 7th floor of a 10-storey building. Walking times are measured at 80 m/min.
Inquire → viewing (in person or video) → application & screening (2–7 days) → guarantor company approval → contract signing (hanko or signature) → pay move-in invoice → key handover. Most contracts run 2 years with a renewal fee (~1 month) common in Kanto.
| Fee | Typical | Refundable? | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deposit (敷金 shikikin) | 0–2 mo | Yes, minus cleaning/damage | Security deposit held by the landlord |
| Key money (礼金 reikin) | 0–2 mo | No | A customary “thank-you” payment to the landlord |
| Agency fee (仲介手数料) | 0.5–1 mo | No | Paid to the brokerage |
| Guarantor fee (保証料) | 50–100% of 1 mo | No | Guarantor-company premium (see guide below) |
| Lock exchange | ¥15–25K | No | New key cylinder |
| Fire insurance | ¥15–20K / 2 yrs | No | Mandatory household insurance |
“Zero-zero” (no deposit, no key money) listings exist — often newer chains or areas with high vacancy. This site's No key money filter finds them.
Traditionally a Japanese relative co-signed your lease. Today most landlords instead require a guarantor company (保証会社), which insures the landlord against unpaid rent — and this applies to Japanese tenants too, so it is not discrimination against foreigners.
Cost: typically 50–100% of one month's rent upfront, plus ~¥10,000/year or 1%–30% at each renewal. Screening looks at income, visa status and payment history. A stable job and a Japanese phone number materially improve approval odds. If one company rejects you, agents routinely retry with another — rejection is not final.
Official land prices (MLIT surveys 2025) and real anonymized transaction records for 1,738 municipalities.
How to read this site: Actual transactions real MLIT deal records · Market medians · MLIT reference medians from real data · Sample placeholder listings (replaced at live launch)
Sources: MLIT Official Land Price Publication & Prefectural Land Price Survey 2025; MLIT real-estate transaction database (latest fully-published quarters). Figures are municipality medians; “top site” is the highest-rising surveyed site.
Payment calculator plus what actually matters for foreign buyers.
With permanent residency: yes, on the same terms as citizens. Without PR, standard banks usually decline, but realistic routes exist:
| Route | Typical requirement | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Megabank / regional bank | PR (or Japanese spouse) | Best rates, variable from ~0.4% |
| Flat 35 (fixed) | PR required | Government-backed 35-yr fixed |
| Foreigner-friendly banks | No PR; long-term visa + 20–50% down | A handful of banks; higher rates |
| Home-country / international lender | Varies | Often for investment purchases |
| Cash | — | No restriction on foreign buyers |
| Item | Typical amount |
|---|---|
| Brokerage fee | 3% + ¥60,000 + 10% tax |
| Registration + judicial scrivener | ¥300–600K |
| Stamp duty | ¥10–60K |
| Property acquisition tax | ~3–4% of assessed value (reductions common) |
| Loan arrangement fee | ~2.2% of loan (if financed) |
General information, not financial advice. Rules and rates change — confirm with a licensed professional before committing.
Straight answers about this site and Japanese real estate basics.
No — every listing is clearly labeled Sample listing (placeholder inventory). They exist to demonstrate the product and will be replaced by live inventory. What IS real: all market statistics, land prices, and the “Recent transactions” records, which come from Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT).
Three official MLIT sources: the Official Land Price Publication (地価公示 2025), the Prefectural Land Price Survey (都道府県地価調査 2025) — together ~47,000 surveyed sites — and the real-estate transaction database (anonymized deal records, latest fully-published four quarters). See Data sources in the footer for licenses.
Year-on-year change in official land prices: the median across each municipality's surveyed sites, plus the single highest-rising site ("top site"). Zoom in to see all 1,737 municipalities with survey data; the Activity toggle switches to transaction-count trends.
Because that is what official data shows — land values outside major metros and resort areas are flat or declining in much of Japan. The map does not dramatize.
Yes, with no nationality or visa restrictions on ownership. Financing is the practical constraint — see the Buying guide and Mortgage page.
Yes — non-residents own freehold with full title, and remote purchases via power of attorney are routine. See the “Buying from overseas” guide.
A customary non-refundable payment to the landlord, typically 0–2 months' rent, separate from the refundable deposit (shikikin). See the Key money guide for a full fee table.
Nearly all leases require either a Japanese guarantor or (far more commonly now) a guarantor company costing ~50–100% of one month's rent. Listings tagged “Guarantor company OK” accept the latter.
Room count + L(iving) D(ining) K(itchen). A 1K is a single room with kitchenette; a 2LDK has two bedrooms plus an open living/dining/kitchen.
No. YADONEST is a brokerage demo: we present Japanese properties to English-speaking buyers and tenants. Listing pages show an asking price positioned against the area's ACTUAL transaction medians (blue "Market medians" badge) — market context, not an appraisal.
No personal data. The site has no accounts and no forms that send data anywhere; saved homes live only in your browser. We count page views with cookieless Cloudflare Web Analytics, which does not track individual visitors.
Land-price surveys: 2025 editions (published Mar/Sep 2025). Transactions: the latest four fully-published quarters, labeled on every figure (e.g. “4 qtrs to 2025 Q3”).
It is an independent demo product study — see About in the footer. It is not affiliated with any existing marketplace.
A demo product study: Japan's property market, in English, on real government data.
What this is. YADONEST explores what a modern, US-style real-estate marketplace would look like for Japan's foreign residents: full-map search, market heat maps, transparent move-in costs, and honest data — all in English.
What is real. Every market statistic on this site — land prices, trends, transaction counts and the deal records shown on listing pages — is computed from official MLIT open data covering all 47 prefectures and 1,738 municipalities.
What is not. Listings, agents are clearly-labeled samples. No transactions can be made here, and nothing on this site is investment advice.
Name. “Yado” (宿) is Japanese for dwelling or inn; a nest is where you settle. YADONEST — find your nest in Japan.
Last updated: July 2026
1. Demo service. YADONEST is a demonstration website. Listings and agents are fictional samples; no real-estate services are offered or brokered here yet.
2. No advice. Content (including market statistics and guides) is general information, not legal, tax, investment or brokerage advice. Verify everything with licensed professionals before acting.
3. Data. Market statistics are derived from MLIT open data under their respective terms (see Data sources). We strive for accuracy but provide the site “as is”, without warranty.
4. Acceptable use. Do not scrape at disruptive rates, misrepresent this demo as a live marketplace, or use its sample content to deceive.
5. Trademarks. BuyScope™ is a placeholder name of this demo. All other marks belong to their owners; no affiliation is implied.
Short version: we collect nothing.
This site is a single static page. It has no accounts, no cookies, and no forms that transmit data. “Saved homes” are stored only in your browser's local storage and never leave your device.
Analytics. We use Cloudflare Web Analytics to count page views. It is cookieless, does not fingerprint or track individual visitors, and collects no personal information — aggregate counts only. Hosting (Netlify) and map-tile providers (Esri) may log standard technical requests (IP, user agent) per their own privacy policies.
Everything factual on this site traces to these open datasets.
| Data | Source | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Official Land Price Publication 2025 (地価公示, KSJ L01) | MLIT Japan | Land-price levels & trends |
| Prefectural Land Price Survey 2025 (都道府県地価調査, KSJ L02) | MLIT Japan | Municipal coverage beyond L01 |
| Real-estate transaction database (不動産取引価格情報) | MLIT 不動産情報ライブラリ | Transaction counts, condo ¥/m², deal records |
| Administrative boundaries (KSJ N03, 2025) | MLIT Japan | Municipal heat-map polygons |
| Town/district location reference (位置参照情報) | MLIT Japan | District-accurate listing coordinates |
| Roads, rail & rivers | © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) | Offline vector map detail |
| Map engine | Leaflet 1.9.4 (BSD-2-Clause) | Interactive map |
| Map tiles (online) | Esri World Street Map / Imagery | Base map on the live site |
Aggregations (medians, YoY, “top site”) are computed by us from the raw records; processing scripts retain source attribution. Data reflects the latest published editions at build time.