Designer house in Oyamacho, Shibuya-ku

Price: No longer on the market

Designed by architect Hiroo Nanjo of atelier NANJO. The architect spent 20 years working in Brazil with other architects include Oscar Niemeyer. The Oyamacho House was his first project after returning to Japan in the 1980s. The house was built by one of Japan's major construction companies, Tokyu Corporation.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Kawaguchi Apartments (1964)

Size range: 36.80 ~ 146.85 sqm

This apartment building was built in 1964 by Japanese novelist, playwright and movie producer, Matsutaro Kawaguchi, and one of his quotes is displayed in the building lobby. It was considered one of the most luxurious apartment buildings in Japan for its time and was featured in GQ Japan magazine in 2001 in an article on desirable places to live. In its early years, the residents included many prominent people from the theater and literary world. It is located in the Kasuga 2 Chome area in Bunkyo-ku which was originally a very high-class residential neighborhood.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Living in a love hotel

Rent: 58,000 ~ 81,000 Yen/month

Tokyo-based property company, Landmarks Co., Ltd, have redeveloped a former love hotel in Sumida-ku into a rental apartment building. The studio apartments now have mini kitchens, bathrooms and, with the help of several designers, are finished in various modern and eclectic styles. The rooftop terrace was converted into a BBQ deck for residents (a rare thing to have in Tokyo apartments). The apartments have high-speed internet access, air-conditioning and there is also a washer/dryer room.Read more

by Zoe Ward

July Market Data

  • Average new apartment price down 3.7% in Tokyo
  • No. of high-rise apartments fall 69.5%
  • Office vacancy rates down in both Tokyo and Osaka

NEW APARTMENT SUPPLY DOWN:

Brand new apartments listed for sale in the Tokyo area in July fell 1.3% compared to a year earlier to 4073 units. This is the second month of decline. This is due in part to apartment showrooms opening for shorter hours to conserve power, less activity by developers and a general constraint in supply as material shortages and restrained buying cause developers to delay sales activity.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Tokyo's population growth areas

While the overall population of Japan is declining with rural areas suffering the most, the population in urban areas is growing as people move to larger cities to find work. In Tokyo City, the population increased in 2011 by 52,549 people to a total of 12,662,461 residents. While Tokyo's population is continuing to grow, the rate of growth is, however, slowing. For potential investors in Japanese property, obviously it is important to stick to areas that are growing and avoid the areas in decline.

Tokyo's Koto-ku and Minato-ku saw the largest increase in population over the past year, while other areas in Tokyo such as Kita-ku and Nakano-ku saw a net decrease in population.Read more

by Zoe Ward

100 billion Yen redevelopment project for Toyosu area

Mitsui Fudosan will be embarking on a large-scale redevelopment of Koto-ku's Toyosu area from next year. The 100 billion Yen (1.3 billion USD) project on one of Tokyo Bay's reclaimed islands will cover a 47,400 sqm site. The project will include two high-rise office buildings (31 and 22 stories) as well as retail facilities. Due to the nature of the site, measures will be taken to strengthen the ground against liquefaction and the building will be built using "seishin" (vibration-control) construction. Completion is scheduled for 2016 and Mitsui Fudosan will be contributing 90 billion Yen in capital.Read more

by Zoe Ward

Hokkaido announces new construction plans for their Tokyo Office

Hokkaido Prefecture's aging office building in Tokyo's Nagatacho 2 Chome area is going to be demolished to make way for their new mixed-use development. The new building will include a restaurant specializing in Hokkaido-farmed produce and will also house representative offices of Hokkaido companies.

Construction is scheduled to begin in June, 2012, and is expected to open in September, 2013. The new 7-storey building will have a total floorspace of 6700 sqm (72,092 sqft) and the land, which is owned by Hokkaido Prefecture, will be leased to the developers under a 70-year fixed term leasehold agreement.Read more

by Zoe Ward