Want to buy a cheap house in rural Japan? This millennial farmer offers his advice

When Lee Xian Jie archetypal stepped ft successful the accepted farmhouse located successful Ryujin-mura, a colony successful Japan's Wakayama prefecture, it was "quite rundown" — with floors truthful rickety they shook beneath him with each measurement helium took. 

After all, the main operation of the abandoned location was 300 years old, Lee said. But erstwhile helium took a person look astir the home, helium could archer it was "properly built." 

"The pillars are each Sakura wood, which is an highly dense and hard wood," helium told CNBC Make It. "It's besides a thatch building, which is precise uncommon successful Japan present … So it's a gathering with large humanities value." 

The property, which antecedently housed 4 generations, is 1 of Japan's millions of vacant houses known arsenic akiya, Japanese for "empty house." 

But dissimilar galore akiya that are for sale, this was for rent due to the fact that it's connected "good land," and determination are 2 household graves successful the area, Lee explained. He was, however, fixed support by its landlord to reconstruct the premises. 

"My involvement has ever been successful history. I wanted to spot what it was similar for radical backmost past to unrecorded without chemic fertilizers that we usage close now. How did radical physique homes with conscionable wood and joinery?" 

Covid-19 fast-tracked Lee's dreams of surviving successful agrarian Japan. He started his ain circuit institution successful Kyoto six years ago, but moved to the colony during the pandemic erstwhile determination was nary work. 

He rapidly fell successful emotion with Ryujin-mura and decided to rent the farmhouse, on with different akiya, which is present a co-working abstraction for integer nomads. 

The 33-year-old runs a farm-to-table cafe astatine the farmhouse 3 days a week, utilizing ingredients helium harvests from the farm, which helium besides uses for free.   

But that's not all. He besides bought different 100-year-old gathering adjacent door, which helium is converting into a guesthouse.

While akiya often person inexpensive terms tags, determination are a fewer things to see earlier moving to Japan to acquisition one, said Lee. 

"This is specifically for Japan: If you can't talk the language, you can't get on with your neighbors … connection is precise difficult," helium added. 

"People hide that clip invested successful the connection is simply a batch of clip they tin usage elsewhere. It takes anyone astatine slightest a bare minimum of 4 years to beryllium fluent successful Japanese, 7 to 8 years to beryllium truly fluent." 

Farm beingness is often romanticized arsenic quiescent oregon peaceful compared to the city, but Lee says "no husbandman present has a dilatory life."

"The farmers are the busiest radical present —  the lone quality is that you don't person to beryllium successful beforehand of a desk," added Lee, who has astir 16-hour agelong days astatine the farm. 

There are besides "social expectations" specified arsenic maintaining the writer astir your land, which requires much clip and vigor than 1 would imagine. 

"I can't accent however overmuch writer cutting goes connected due to the fact that Japan has a batch of rainfall and plants turn precise well. If you don't support it, it'll look precise messy and your weeds volition impact the neighbors' crops."  

"Life is dilatory if you wage to enactment connected the workplace arsenic a guest. For my guests, it'll beryllium a dilatory beingness due to the fact that they'd person to bash nary of the chores," helium added with a laugh. 

While it's a batch of hard work, it's each worthy it for Lee — who finds the astir fulfillment from knowing what goes into the nutrient helium serves astatine his cafe. 

"The astir fulfilling portion of the acquisition is that erstwhile I service beverage now, it's my ain beverage that I made. When I service atom successful this cafe, I cognize that I person utilized nary pesticides," helium said. 

"I've made galore section friends present … it's the quality connections I person present that are genuinely priceless." 

Living successful agrarian Japan is nary uncertainty cheaper compared to the city. Lee said that helium pays "well under" $750 for the main farmhouse and co-working space, which beryllium connected a spot measuring a full of astir 100,000 sq. ft.

"I did my mathematics and realized that if I renovated a spot nicely, I volition beryllium paying the aforesaid magnitude I would person if I lived successful Kyoto for 5 years," said Lee. 

However, helium warned that renovation costs mightiness beryllium hefty, depending connected the information of the akiya. The floors of the main farmhouse for example, were weakened by the humidity and termites. 

"I thought I could regenerate the level [through] DIY but past I fell done the floor," Lee recalled. "Then I conscionable hired the carpenter who lives astir 10 minutes away." 

For the guesthouse, which sits connected a abstracted parcel of onshore measuring 190,000 sq. ft., helium spent astir $97,000 with 2 friends to acquisition and renovate, with the bulk of that going toward renovations.

Another $37,000 was spent to crook the main location into a surviving abstraction for himself and a functional cafe. 

Lee had to impact himself successful the demolishing enactment — partly due to the fact that of a shortage of manpower successful the village. 

"But it besides means you tin chopped your costs a little, if you're consenting to get your hands dirty," helium shared. "A batch of enactment went to the electrical work, pipes … Getting a due flushing toilet, earlier that it was a spread successful the ground."

Having spent 5 figures connected each the enactment connected the property, whether helium tin recoup those costs is simply a interest due to the fact that "there's a batch little work" to beryllium recovered successful agrarian Japan. 

"If you privation to bash agriculture, you person to beryllium an adept successful agriculture, different you volition fail. There are less jobs present besides of immoderate sort," helium explained. 

"Living costs are little successful agrarian Japan, but truthful is the income." 

But the 33-year-old said helium was "never worried," arsenic his acquisition arsenic a circuit usher since 2017 gave him a keen knowing astir the activities that would pull visitors.

"There are going to beryllium beverage workshops organized present for immoderate Europeans aboriginal this October. And that was sold retired wrong an hour." 

"There has been involvement successful this. This twelvemonth we've had a fewer groups travel successful to acquisition that with maine here," Lee said. 

While the guesthouse volition lone unfastened officially successful June, he's already been getting immoderate bookings. At afloat capacity, helium expects to marque astir $7,500 a period from the cafe, co-working space, tours and guesthouse. 

"There's a batch of involvement successful this country specifically due to the fact that we are 2 hours from the nearest airdrome … There are besides a batch of taste and humanities things to spot present — plus the quality of course," Lee added. 

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Correction: This nonfiction has been corrected to accurately bespeak the onshore size