--- title: "I'm a 31-year-old Canadian who bought an $11,000 house in rural Japan. Here's why I don't see it as an investment" url: https://newscentral.site/i-m-a-31-year-old-canadian-who-bought-an-11-000-house-in-rural-japan/ language: en publisher: "News Central Site" section: "Business" published: 2026-10-18T11:56:01.000Z updated: 2026-10-18T12:49:21.800Z id: c66652f4-cd22-4a5c-ad74-3d7d7530ca09 source: "Business Insider https://www.businessinsider.com/buy-cheap-house-rural-japan-wont-make-money-short-term-rentals-2026-10" attribution: "Link to https://newscentral.site/i-m-a-31-year-old-canadian-who-bought-an-11-000-house-in-rural-japan/ and name News Central Site when you quote or summarize this story." --- # I'm a 31-year-old Canadian who bought an $11,000 house in rural Japan. Here's why I don't see it as an investment A Canadian freelance camera operator has bought a small house in rural Japan and is currently renovating it. A 31-year-old Canadian has made an unusual purchase - an $11,000 house in rural Japan. Andrew Koller, a freelance camera operator based in Edmonton, Canada, bought the home in March and is currently renovating it. Koller's decision to buy a house in Japan wasn't driven by financial considerations but rather by his desire to immerse himself in Japanese culture. With more time on his hands during the pandemic, he began learning Japanese with a private tutor in 2020. This sparked a passion for the language and culture that led him to plan his first trip to Japan in 2023. That trip was transformative for Koller, who fell deeply in love with Japan's unique way of life. However, he wanted more than just a surface-level experience - he wanted to connect with the community on a deeper level. He saw buying a house as a way to achieve this goal and get involved with the local community by renovating an old property. Koller chose a rural location in Yamagata, Japan, rather than a major tourist city, hoping that living there would allow him to experience Japanese life more authentically. He plans to use his home as a vacation residence, but for now, he's focused on finishing the renovations and settling into his new surroundings. As I continued to explore rural Japan on YouTube and Instagram, I noticed that the algorithms were suggesting similar content to me - people who had also ventured into this beautiful country. This sparked an idea in me, something that I had been considering for a while but never acted upon. With my DIY background and penchant for tinkering in my workshop, I felt confident in taking on a new project. My experience with real estate has taught me that purchasing a second property, especially as a rental, can be incredibly challenging in Canada's competitive market. The housing prices have skyrocketed, particularly in Alberta where I'm from. However, having already acquired a primary residence and a rental property near the university area with my partner, we were in a unique position to explore other opportunities. I've always been drawn to real estate as a young person, and this project was an opportunity for me to turn one of those "whimsical ideas" into reality. I wanted to prove to myself that I could follow through on something that seemed exciting but had previously remained just a notion. By taking the plunge and purchasing the $11,000 house in rural Japan, I aimed to test my resolve and see if I was truly capable of seeing it through. As I navigated this new venture, I found myself drawn to the unique aspects of buying property in Japan - an experience that's quite different from what we're used to in Canada. The process, the culture, and the people all presented a fresh set of challenges and opportunities for me to learn and grow as a buyer. My Canadian home has significantly appreciated in value over the past decade, rising from around $500,000 CAD to just under $600,000 CAD. This contrasts with my Japanese property, which I purchased for a total of $18,000 CAD - a fraction of what my primary residence is worth. The affordability of skiing in Japan was a major draw for me, as it allows me to explore the country's slopes without breaking the bank. In fact, when comparing costs, I've found that flying to Japan and skiing there can be more cost-effective than visiting popular mountain towns in Alberta, such as Banff or Jasper. I'm planning to spend extended periods of time in Japan, with a goal of visiting at least a few times a year. The region's proximity to a major ski resort is also a big advantage for me, given my passion for snowboarding. The renovation process has been a labor of love for me, and I've managed to get 98% of the work done so far. I've tried to maintain the traditional aspects of the house, preserving the Tatami rooms and respecting the existing structure, even though it's not an ancient or historical building. As a Westerner in rural Japan, I wanted to adapt to their way of life rather than imposing my own values on the property, which is why I opted for a more subtle approach with the renovations. The actual costs have exceeded the purchase price, coming in at around $18,000 CAD, but most of that has been self-done work. The decision to purchase the Japanese property was not motivated by investment expectations. The owner acknowledges that the house is unlikely to appreciate in value over time, unlike real estate in larger cities such as Tokyo. In fact, outside of major metropolitan areas like Tokyo, Japan's real estate market tends to decline in value over time. This reality has led the owner to view their property more as a recreational asset rather than a financial one, with maintenance costs being the primary concern. --- Source: [Business Insider](https://www.businessinsider.com/buy-cheap-house-rural-japan-wont-make-money-short-term-rentals-2026-10) Published by News Central Site: https://newscentral.site/i-m-a-31-year-old-canadian-who-bought-an-11-000-house-in-rural-japan/