Akiya Update| Purchase Costs & Renovations

Have you seen my Real Japan Living Video on day to day life? https://youtu.be/KE_HnXRU2HA

In under a year you have: 1) Moved overseas to Japan (after planning and saving up for 2 years in Australia); 2) Managed to find an employer and a job and organized a work visa; 3) Found a rental apartment; 4) Bought a car; 5) Purchased an Akiya for USD 13k, and: 6) renovated/remodeled the home substantially, converted a garage space and patio putting in labor and hiring a handyman for bathroom and pipe refitting after dealing with the Council - all by yourself as a lady in her late 40s. -- And you have done all this quietly with dignity. I guarantee most Youtubers in Japan would have been creating drama and whining for AT LEAST 5-10 episodes for EACH of the points mentioned above. You have done in under 1 year what it takes most people at least 5 years to do (if at all). What you've achieved is EXTRAORDINARY! I wish you the very best going forward.

Lovely to see a moving-to-Japan story that isn't either a 22-year-old on parents' money, or a retired person with loads of money anyway.

I am Japanese. Wakayama like many other parts of Japan has declining population problems. Thank you for moving in and helping local economy !

26k for a beautiful home in the best country on planet Earth, just blows my mind. Thought akiya in general and renovation costs would be MUCH more than that.

$40k in Sydney would get you a garden shed for about 6 months :) Incredible how affordable some areas in Japan are.

Milly is living her best life 😊 Your house is lovely.

Very few people at late 40s have the courage to start their life from scratch in a totally different country. Very inspirational to me! congrats on all your accomplishments in Japan. Hope you have a wonderful life there!

I lived in Japan (Tokyo and Nara) for 20 years before returning to the U.S. Seeing you tackle challenges brings back many memories. You have made great choices in your house and location. I look forward to your videos. You have such a pleasant delivery style in your speech and positive attitude. Thank you and best wishes!

There’s nothing more satisfying than just walking around your new house and seeing your achievements, and just enjoying 😊 Well done you!!

It looks such a good neighborhood😊 I can imagine how much they are happy and relieved to see someone very decent like you moving in. I would be😊

My sister just bought a house here in the UK and she had to pay £200,000/$385,000AUD for a house that's not much bigger than yours in an area thats not very nice, and with neighbours who aren't great. Crazy how much cheaper things are in Japan while also being higher quality. I'm learning Japanese right now and building my business so I can hopefully move there in the next few years. Your video showed me that my goal isnt as unrealistic as I had worried, and your other video about your monthly expenses surprised me with how little money it takes to live a fairly comfortable life over there in a place that's so safe and friendly.

Great transformation. There is something very therapeutic in taking something old and banged-up and bringing it back to life. Well done!

Having a closed (lockable) garage inside the main house is such a luxury in urban areas of Japan. That was great thinking ! Did the local building authorities give you any grief or was separate permitting required to change the former beauty salon into a garage ? (IE: did they require any structural changes to accommodate the big garage door ? ) Despite the limited choices one has when getting one of those Toto bath inserts, I think they’re totally worth it. Easy to clean, plenty of shower space and the tubs are usually deep enough to soak your shoulders. Sure, it would have been nice to pick custom tiles or a fancy tub, but just think how easy those are for maintenance!

Oh Chani, your house looks amazing 😍. I absolutely love it and I understand why you are so happy here. I'm so glad that you managed to get the water situation sorted. That can be a nightmare in any house 🏠. I love the cat wall 🧱 😻 and the new bathroom. The kitchen has really scrubbed up well. You have really made this house into a beautiful home 🏡 ❤ 🫶

I'm speechless. You can't buy even a studio apartment anywhere in the U.S for this. Barely a single year of rent with 25k AUD! I'm soon to be 30 and have been looking for an avenue of escape and you just made the impossible look easy. This is the real dream. Debt free in a magical land. Wow.

Thank you so much for sharing your videos. I'm in my 40s and I love seeing someone make their dream come true while they're older instead of in their 20s and showing the realistic view that isn't all rainbows and flowers. I was surprised at the cost for everything when the house was finished. I was not that expensive compared to where I live. I was great to see the transformation.

Chani - Great story telling (you must be a very good English teacher), great video editing, and btw superb work with the house. Wish you a great journey in Japan, and a lot of success with this channel. 🙂

Best aspect of this channel is your upfront with costs and fees, I know it’s relative to your individual situation and can be significantly different in other areas.

Wow! Remarkable achievements for that price.