A few years ago there was news story on a Japanese TV network reporting that Australians were buying up new ski resort apartments in Niseko, Hokkaido. The appeal was that Niseko was close to Sapporo International Airport, so Australians living in the southern hemisphere or Asia could enjoy the 'finest ski powder' they were ever likely to find. You'd have to be a keen skier with some money as I believe you needed $300,000 to buy these places. They were upmarket places designed with taller foreigners in mind. Niseko is no doubt good snow, but here is the irony. The Japan Winter Olympics were held in Nagano - not Niseko - and Nagano has a much closer international airport, and is just 1.5 hours by shinkansen from Tokyo. Tonight I did a 5min random search and I came up with this property. A bit of a dump looking at it from the outside, but it looks ok inside.
More importantly the reserve price on this property at tender is just Y1.4mil ($US16,ooo). Ok its not built on the ski resort, but then maybe you would prefer to be closer to Nagano so you can go out at nights. This place is 24km from Nagano. Maybe you also like summer sports such as canoeing, cycling or hiking. Well this place lies on a river. They price includes 117m2 two storey house and a car space sitting on 280m2 of land. Well with that kind of price disparity I think I would prefer to hit my head on low doorways and invest in a car rather than spend $300K on a resort-style apartment.So what could such a place be used for? I dont think its suited for renting, and its remote from any town, so no business applications. But how about $US16,000 for a holiday house, particularly since as a tourist you can pick up a Japan Rail Pass to avoid the high cost of getting there and travelling around. Would you want to come back year after year? Something to think about.
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Andrew Sheldon www.sheldonthinks.com
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