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You don't need
a $5,000 fixer to buy a house in Japan.
You need the flow.
A bilingual fixer to walk you through buying a house in Japan runs $3,000 to $5,000. The transaction itself is seven steps, in order. I wrote them down. Learn the flow with The Akiya Guide before you pay someone to hold your hand through it.
The Flagship
The Akiya Guide
The complete walkthrough for foreigners buying a house in Japan, for buyers who've stopped asking whether to buy a house in Japan and started asking how. It takes you from reading a Japanese property listing to settling the purchase, written so you can act on it, not just nod along.
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Understand the whole process of buying property in Japan as a foreigner before you contact your first agent.
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Estimate your total cost, renovation, taxes, and fees, not just the listing price.
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Know where to find property listings instead of scrolling random sites.
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Run the legal and tax checks against free official Japanese government sources, so you know what you're signing.
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Tell a bargain from a money pit before you make an offer on a house.
358 pages, 29 chapters, 30+ worksheets. Instant download, yours to keep. Sourced to Japanese government primaries, updated for 2026.
$199
One-time. Yours to keep. Instant download.
THE REAL MATH
What a $5,000 fixer actually bills you for
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Consultation and search support: $1500
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One guided viewing day: $700+
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Due diligence per property: $1,000
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Translation and signing support: $1,000
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Members-only listing access: $5 to $30 a month
Optional services, stacked
about $4300, before closing costs
The Akiya Guide
$199
once. real costs vs. upsells, named
THE REAL MATH
Seven steps. That's the whole thing.
Nobody's hiding a secret ninth step. This is the order the guide walks you through — the same order a $5,000 fixer would, minus the invoice.
01
Search the right listings
Municipal akiya banks and nationwide portals, not random forum links.
02
Make a non-binding offer
The kaitsuke shomeisho puts a price in writing. No obligation on either side yet.
03
Negotiate, inspect, and get the disclosure
Price negotiation, a structural and boundary check, then the mandatory juuyou jikou setsumei meeting — all before you sign anything.
04
Sign the sales contract
The baibai keiyaku, the deposit, and what each clause is actually protecting.
05
Prepare for settlement
Wiring funds, granting power of attorney if you're remote, confirming figures with your scrivener.
06
Close and register
Settlement day: balance transferred, ownership registered, keys handed over.
07
File the paperwork
FEFTA Form 22 within 20 days, registration tax, and acquisition tax.
NO OVERPROMISING
What you still pay for
A licensed agent is required at the sale — that's the law, and it isn't going away. The guide doesn't replace that. It changes whether you're nodding along or asking the right question at the right moment.
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Brokerage commission, capped by law: 3% + ¥60,000 + tax on typical prices, more on cheap houses where the fixed floor applies
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Judicial scrivener (shiho-shoshi) fee to register the transfer
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Registration and property acquisition tax
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All in, closing costs usually run 6–8% of the price — higher on cheap akiya, where fixed fees bite harder
The Akiya Guide
One-time. Yours to keep. Instant download.
$199
WHO BUILT THIS
Hi, I'm Miso. I trained as a real estate agent in California and now live in Kyushu. I read the rules and do the homework instead of hoping it works out — that's what this guide is. It lays out the process in order, so you already know what you're looking at when you sit down with an agent.