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Buying a home in Japan sounds like a fantasy until you meet the people who actually make it happen.
YukiHomes Presents is a show about Japan... its houses, its regions, and what it really takes for a foreigner to own a piece of it. From the snow country of Hokkaido and Nagano to the cities, coasts, and small towns in between, it's a look at the country through the eyes of the people who help others put down a stake in it.
Every episode goes deep on one thing. Sometimes that's property: what an akiya is and why old Japanese houses sell for the price of a used car, how a foreigner actually buys and renovates a home, which regions are worth it and which are hype. Sometimes it's everything around the houses: the food, the seasons, the onsen towns and ski hills, the design and craft, the culture, and the parts of doing this that are harder than anyone admits.
Hosted by Nick and Derek, co-founders of YukiHomes, and Grant (YukiHomes PR & Media Lead). Along the way you'll meet the builders, guides, shop owners, and buyers who know this country better than any guidebook.
No top-10 travel lists. Just honest conversations about Japan, and what it takes to own a piece of it.
New episodes every other week.
www.yukihomes.com
www.nipponhomes.com
riversie mp4
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[00:00:00]
In Japan, everyone funnels, 'cause they're small resorts, to the same bottom lift. Yeah. So you never really lose your boys, which is honestly nice.
What's going on, team? We're back with the Yuki Homes Presents podcast. One more week, one more episode. Grant has been slacking so bad, but we've got him- ... and we're gonna film an episode right now for the first time in a week. Yeah, Derek's here, too. He was a little dumb last time we talked, so hopefully he's smarter this time.
Are these intros just gonna be- I'm on, I'm on blues, yeah ... are we just gonna talk sh- are we just gonna talk shit on each other every single time we- That's, that's the goal ... do the introduction? Yeah, it's a good intro. Yeah, that's the goal. Yeah, I, Grant kind of hurt my feelings last time, so I'm kind of ripping into him.
Well, that was because you expe- You're on his back ... expe- Yeah, dude. No, I was- Grant's all over my back. I'm, my knees are breaking, buckling. I only said what I said the last time because of you sending me and Derek the text like, "Do you think we could get a bag from [00:01:00] them?" Yeah, I mean, that was- Okay, whatever.
That was a special text. Yeah, Grant also rescheduled this podcast five minutes before we were supposed to do it, so maybe I'm a little pissed off. Anyway, we're gonna talk about- Better than being pissed on That's enough out of you. Anyway, we're gonna talk about different resorts in Japan, what we like, what we dislike about them, skiing in Japan versus skiing in other parts of the world, even some property stuff like are there ski and ski out houses?
If so, where? Um, and then we can talk a little bit about, like, Icon and Epic Investments and where they're going and where maybe we see the next coming, so. And guys, if you're loving the pod like I know you are, make sure you leave a five star review, maybe a comment. That would be great, guys. Thank you Dang, a comment?
That's a lot to ask. Maybe a comment. All right, so tell me where's, where... To start it off, tell me your favorite- The history of skiing in Japan? Is that where you wanna start? No. Tell me your favorite- Oh, you wanna start with our favorite ski resorts ... favorite spots. Yeah, because who wants- You don't wanna save that for the end?
Who wants to li- like, tune in and just start a history lesson? Let's [00:02:00] save it for the end. I think save the resorts for the end, yeah. Right, Nick? Yeah, I think so. I mean, we can talk some more about that. All right. Let's, we're gonna, we're gonna com- Do you need my approval? We're gonna completely ignore everything Grant's saying.
Yeah. We're gonna go into history. Yeah, Grant, ask questions. Okay. We'll answer with something non, non-relevant. Yeah. So quick history. It's interesting, 'cause it's just different than the US. So ski resorts in Japan were built for a domestic audience, people who drive to the resort and go home the same day.
So there is not a lot of ski-in, ski-out places in Japan. Like, the Japanese government made a statement last year that Japan has a lot of ski areas, not ski resorts. You know, we have Park City, Vail, these massive resorts. Japan has a lot of little ski hills, which is cool. It makes it definitely feel a little different, but it does affect where you're gonna buy houses.
So if you're gonna buy a house near a ski resort at this point in history, you have to be rich if you want a ski-in, ski-out place, 'cause those were the first to blow up. Niseko, Hakuba, Myoko, Furano. If you're like us, buying an affordable house with your boys, you're probably gonna buy in a central [00:03:00] town that has a bunch of commuter resorts nearby.
A lot of times they're pretty densely packed together. Like, we have seven we could drive to, but they're anywhere from 10 minutes to 30 minutes away. So that is the main difference, I would say. I kinda like that, though, personally. Like, I'd rather have variety than, like, wake up every morning and ski the same resort.
That's just my opinion. Yeah. I, I agree. I do like it more. I also think it's cool because you, like, if, once you're off the mountain, you know, you're, like, in a town rather than, like, stuck on this little- Manufactured ... little ski town. Yeah. Disneyland. You know what I mean? Like- $30 cheeseburger ... yeah. Exactly.
Yeah. No, for sure. It's like, everything there is ridiculous. I think another thing that's cool is, like, when, the first time I went to Japan, a huge difference that you don't really think about is when you go to Park City, like, we do big trips, we used to, to Park City, to Breckenridge, all these places. You lose your boys on the mountain every single trip, and they'll be on the other side of the mountain.
In Japan, everyone funnels, 'cause they're small resorts, to the same bottom lift. Yeah. So you [00:04:00] never really lose your boys, which is honestly nice. Tarek's obsessed with him and his boys. I mean, I like riding with my boys. No, I get it, and I mean, you can be safer, too, for sure, except- Yeah ... unless you're with TJ, then he just kinda puts everyone in danger.
Yeah. He doesn't care about his health. He's got a death wish. All right. How much better is the snow in Japan? All right. So the icon resorts that they're- The current Ikon resorts in Japan really are just Niseko United and Lotte Arai. Um, but 2025 through '26, Ikon pass holders are getting way more than Epic pass holders, and I think they just added Shiga Kogen, which we went to, what, like four years ago.
Yeah. So it's kind of sad to see that one blow up because it's like, I think 12 interconnected, like, small resorts, but if you start on one, you can get to all of them. Mm-hmm. And when I say resort, I just mean, like, different named ski hill, because some of them only have one to three lifts. Myoko Suginohara, right?
That's another one. Yeah. It's in Niigata. Um, [00:05:00] Mount Tein is Hoshino Resorts. They're like a, a group in, in Japan. I'm not sure if Ikon, like, owns the rights to all Hoshino Resorts, but I think just Mount Tein. Furano is another one. Appi, A-P-P-I, in Iwate. Mm-hmm. Nakoma Mountain in Fukushima, which is kind of an interesting one, and then Zao Onsen, I think is the last one.
Mm-hmm. How cool is that? So it's nine total, right? They're spread across the whole country. Nine total now. Okay. Yeah, it was two in 2024. It's nine now, which is pretty, like, massive investment, I would say. Um, I mean, I don't know how much they spent, obviously, but... And no, they're all over the place. Like, there's some in Hokkaido, there's some on mainland Japan.
They're not, like, all bundled in one area, and I think, I'm sure there's, like, blackout dates and whatever, so this is not an Ikon ad. Obviously, check your pass. I think... Have you heard of, like, the snow monsters? Like, the rime-covered trees? Yeah, yeah. I've seen pictures ... and Yama-gata, yeah. I've never been there.
So that's one of those mountains Zao, Zao [00:06:00] Onsen is, like, famous for. I mean, to me, it doesn't even really make sense. Like, if they're having... If they have all these resorts that are all over the country, and you go to a town like Otaru that has seven different resorts in, you know, an hour's drive, like, is the Icon Pass really pulling people to Japan?
Like, 'cause- I don't think so right now ... it doesn't really- I don't know. I think it is. I think a lot of people are like, "We're, we're going to Japan, we're gonna go to Laterri." Like, that mountain was packed, and a lot of Icon Passes. Yeah, but it's a sick mountain. Like, you had an Icon Pass that year. Yeah. I think Dom did.
I think a lot of people did, and it was, like, 40 minutes out of the way, so I don't know if we would've gone there had not none of you guys- Yeah ... had the pass. True. I wouldn't say it's, like, driving people to Japan, but it does seem like... And, you know, I'm kind of like this, if, and Grant, I know you're like this.
If you have, like, a pass, and you can get in- ... and you can get into 10 different places, you're gonna wanna use it. What are you trying to say? For sure. You call, you calling Grant cheap? Yeah. I'm honestly [00:07:00] worse. I'm worse about it than Grant, but I definitely have those thoughts. But- I have those- Yeah, I mean-
type credit card things No, but you, you know my point? It's like, it's like- No, I get what you're saying ... all these mountains are so cheap to go to, and it's like- Yeah ... it, if you're gonna go somewhere, and you, you're like, you probably don't wanna ski the same resort three days in a row. You can go to all these different resorts, 'cause it's, you know, they're smaller mountains, so.
It's not for people like you, though. Like, it's, these are for people that are a little bit worried about going to a foreign country. They wanna make sure they're gonna be able to be comfortable- Mm-hmm ... safe. Like, I really think you're overlooking how little that you care about your health, because a lot of people are scared, and like, you know, we talk to people every day.
But no, I mean, people are just cautious, I really think is what it is, and when they know that, like, Icon or Epic is running or is a part of a mountain, like, it's, it's definitely a credibility thing. Makes people feel safer, yeah. Makes people feel safe, yeah. I guess my take on it, again, what, you're right. I think I'm thinking specifically for me.
I stopped buying passes when we started- Right ... going to Japan regularly because, like [00:08:00] Grant said, most of the resorts that have the pass are the ones that are blown up, and Japan has so many resorts. Japan, square footage or square miles, is the same size as Montana, but has the same amount of ski resorts as the entire US.
So there's so many resorts, and the Icons, naturally, are gonna be the busy ones. So I kinda wanna go away from those. And like Grant said, it's super affordable. A lift ticket at most of these resorts is, I don't know, 35 bucks for the day. I mean, at this point, we don't even go to resorts that much anymore, but.
I feel like we ski resorts when people are visiting, which is, like, the perfect amount. Yeah. Which is nice. True. And then, I mean, we've been talking about Icon. We definitely aren't sponsored at all. We could talk about Epic, because they just recently got into the game of Japan. Um, they're a- all over Hakuba Valley, right?
I think there's, like, nine- Yeah ... or 10 resorts. Most of them are small resorts, but they kind of are all in that region around Nagano. Mm-hmm. And then Resort Su is like their Hokkaido mountain. So they, they're spread out too. Like to [00:09:00] me it would almost make sense for these big companies to come in and buy seven resorts that are, you know, within an hour of each other and be like, "Yeah, come hit every single resort, stay at our hotel.
Like bounce around for two weeks and ski this mountain two days, this mountain two days." Like, bye-bye. Yeah. That's probably why you don't own a big mountain resort. I mean, you have a point, Grant, 'cause I- No, maybe. I don't know ... I read a stat, 40% of resorts in Japan operate at a loss, so I mean, I'm sure some of them are looking for people to buy.
I think the biggest problem off the top of my head would be that so many of the resorts do kind of suck. Like- Okay ... y- we know that. Like there's so- some of them are so small that- Beginner ... it wouldn't e- yeah. Like in Otaru there's seven resorts, but we really only ride three of them, you know? Yeah. Gotcha.
That's fair. 'Cause the other ones are cool, but they're, they're tiny. Mm-hmm. Yeah, like even some of them are just like one hill straight up and down, so there isn't even any backcountry around. Yeah. It's kind of like you're either on the lift and on the resort, or you're just in the town, which is cool in some [00:10:00] aspects, but it doesn't really feel like you're out there.
You know, like when you're out in Blue Sky Basin outside of Vail or something and you're like, "Damn, they have grills out here. Like this is crazy." Yeah. Kiroro kind of feels like that, especially that hike we did- Yeah ... Grant. Definitely. That feels like- There's tons of access ... I mean, I, I thought, like, that mountain was overall, like it felt like I was skiing, you know, a s- a smaller resort in America, but, like, it was, you know, obviously beautiful mountains around you.
It wasn't... Like the nature was different. But as far as like walking into the, the base and like getting on lifts, like it, it seemed pretty standard. For sure. It not- No, and it's like- Yeah ... one mountain in a mountain range. Yeah. Where like some of these are just like a hill in the middle- Yeah ... of town. And Kiroro is one of the ones that is sort of have that, sort of has that big resort feel.
I think what it can say, we have a friend who works for Niseko United Marketing, and he said that Icon was in discussions with Kiroro to take- Yeah ... put them on the pass, but it fell through. Kiroro was trying to fight it, I think. I mean- Yeah, they're [00:11:00] on the- This is all hearsay ... Indy pass, Kiroro. But- Mm-hmm
apparently Ken's like, "We're gonna scoop them up in two years." That's what he said. I don't know how true that is. Or Icon will. But yeah, Icon will. Now, I've never been to Niseko or Hakuba or all these big resorts. Is it, are they comparable to big resorts in the United States? Like s- you know, that Those places in Utah Like, by size-wise?
Colorado. No, I mean like- Size-wise, no ... I mean more of like, you know, you walk in or you, you know, you park and then it's like you have this little ski village, and then you- Rentals ... yeah, rentals. You go up to the lift, and there's- Yeah ... the gondola taking you to the top. Like, is it, does it have that feel?
They're mo- they're the most, they're the most comparable. Mm-hmm. Okay. But it's still not on the scale of Park City, like, or Vail or these monster mega resorts. Yeah. Not even close to Vail or anything like that. But I mean, Kiroro has, like, a luxury ski and ski out experience. Mm-hmm. It's, what's the company that runs the lodge down there?
Club Med. Yeah, Club Med. So that's pretty well known, [00:12:00] like, luxury resort. I think HAKONE is the same. Hakuba 47 is another one. Mm-hmm. You can stay in, like, hotels on the mountain, basically ski in, ski out. There is some ski in, ski out homes, like, around the Niseko area. I'm, I mean, honestly, I don't know too many.
Derek does most of the home searching, so you know of any? Yeah, it's more, it's still more of, like, apartments that are really- Right ... ski in, ski out, right up, like, where you could walk out of your door and go onto a lift. The town is, I guess, technically walkable, like Hirafu and Niseko Village. Hirafu really.
Mm-hmm. But there's still wa- like, you're walking. It's more, like, comparable to Park City. Hirafu, the, the actual village of Park City, I would say it's more comparable to. Yeah, I mean, they just really didn't build these resorts with the same, you know, idea as American style resorts at all. Let's just estimate money.
They need Grant the consultant in there. Yeah, Grant takeover. Have you seen any terrain parks? Or like, I, I didn't think that Kiroro had anything like that when we [00:13:00] went. Maybe we just didn't search or, like, go all over the map. They have one, but I mean, we don't... Yeah. I like to hit jumps. Just flying through the air.
Dude, you were- Wiping the moguls ... you were almost dying, dude. I don't think you were gonna send it off jumps. I'll send it off jumps Are you coming back this winter? No, I mean, Nise-, Niseko, Niseko has one Want to. Yeah? Like a pretty serious one. Seems like you may be busy, buddy, with your cybersecurity job.
Might be. No more fun for Grant, dude. The fun is ending January 1st. Real life starts, baby. That's not true. That's not true. He's taking it seriously. I know. He's getting- That's his problem ... he's getting offended. Still gonna have fun, guys. Dude, we have fun. All right, what el- what else you got? D- yeah, like- Do, what about- Let's talk about-
places to buy, what about places to buy that are maybe that, like you're saying, walkable, ski-in, ski-out? Or is it there's not really places like that without a car that are affordable? Yeah. Affordable, no, not really. I mean, Nozawa, Miyoko, Furano, Niseko, Hakuba, those are the places that [00:14:00] have those villages that you could buy a house in and walk technically to the lifts.
Yeah. But I mean, they're all expensive. Right. Every one of them. And then, like, government pending, there's that hotel in Iyama, maybe some new construction. Yeah. A lot of outside investment, but those are all gonna be new builds. We've actually had a couple- But that's still, like, a central town, you know? No, exactly.
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, we've had a couple companies reach out to us that are doing new builds. None have been true ski-in, ski-out. But yeah, I don't know, it's just not really built like that. I, I like it. It keeps, keeps it kind of traditional, but obviously that's what a lot of people are looking for when they say they wanna buy a ski home, you know?
That makes sense. Yeah. I think the, the setup in Japan is better. You know, if you go there and you do it, I think it's more enjoyable to be in a real town that isn't like a, we said before, just like a Disneyland ski resort. Again, though, it's com- it's comfortability. Like, if you're talking specifically about tourism- Mm-hmm
people don't wanna drive on the other side of the road. Like, that's- True ... a worry for so many of our clients, or [00:15:00] even just people DM'ing us like, "Dang, what do you guys do for a car? Like, I don't think I could drive on that side of the road." You gotta think, like, there's 50-year-old people that have never driven a car that wasn't like a US car on a US highway.
So, you know, we grew up in an, in a time where we can travel, and we've both done that in a bunch of different countries, and obviously we're super lucky, but I think stuff like that scares people, so if they can't pay the little bit extra, go to a resort, get straight to skiing, like I don't know, that, that's a turn-off.
Oh, you're right. That's for sure true. Solomia freaks out every time I'm like, "You're gonna have to drive." When they went to Spain, Solomia and Maia were nervous to drive in Spain. It's the same side of the road. She's like, "How am I gonna know where the signs are?" I'm like, "Every sign in Europe is English, and it says, 'Just stop.'
Like, you're good." My, my is fluent in Spanish and- All right ... that's true. Still having a problem. Gettin'- gettin' you back on the rails. So comfortability, like you fly into Tokyo, what resort would you recommend for people that are like, "All right, we wanna spend some time in Tokyo, and we don't wanna get on [00:16:00] another plane.
Like, we, you know, like to just hop on a train, go somewhere probably like an hour or two away." Where are you going? Yeah, I mean, we like Ginza, right? 'Cause it's just quick shot straight from the airport. Mm-hmm. Derek, you've been to Tokyo probably three times more than I have, so take over. Yeah, I mean, we just always stay in- No, I'm talking skiing
Shimbashi. Oh, skiing? Well- Like skiing ... if you're gonna stay in Tokyo, stay in Shimbashi. I like Shimbashi. It's nice. Dude, your questions are impossible to understand. But in terms of skiing has that comfortability, so you don't have to get on a plane to go somewhere else to ski. All right, great. I really didn't wanna have to do this.
Yeah. But yeah, I guess skiing. So I would, I would say Hakuba is a pretty standard place people go to who want that, you know, comfortability- Mm-hmm ... direct access, access from Tokyo. Good shape. A lot of English speaking. It's also one of the steepest, like, zones in Japan. The Japanese Alps there are super steep.
So if that's what you're looking for, it is a great place. It is gonna be crowded. It's not gonna feel like Japan anymore. But I- if you want it to feel [00:17:00] more like Japan and still have accessibility, where me and Nick went on our first trip to Japan, Shiga Kogen, was pretty sick. Mm-hmm. Like, I would recommend people to go there.
Again, that just got added to the Icon Pass too, though. Yeah. Since we've been there. When we went there, I don't think there was a single foreigner skiing. Sh- like, it was- Yeah ... everyone was Japanese. Yeah, it was really cool. And there's, like, two restaurants. You know, we were actually in a hotel that was ski in, ski out, which was pretty cool.
Yeah. 'Cause most of where people stay is, like, in the small village, and then you kinda take, like, a windy road up to Shiga Kogen, and there's not a ton of options. Like, it's that hotel, maybe one or two other places, and then make sure you're on when the restaurants open and close because we got screwed and had to eat, like, you know, 7-11 food a couple times.
Yeah, and they got the on- all these hotels have the onsens in 'em- Mm-hmm ... which is pretty sick. They're super old school. I would definitely recommend that place. It's big. By Japanese standards, the elevation's high, so the snow quality's super good. It snowed four feet the day we pulled up. Mm-hmm. It was [00:18:00] blower.
It was honestly sick. It was a sick intro- Yeah ... to skiing in Japan. Yeah, I was even gonna say it too, we got lucky because that part, that region of Japan, like, it can go a week without snowing in the winter. Hokkaido is definitely more frequent. Like, typically, if you wanna make sure you're gonna get a powder day.
But you can get dumped on down there, which we just timed it so perfectly. Like, we got there, it wasn't too bad to get there, dumped. We had two insane days, but then again, we were there for four more, and I don't think it snowed again, right? Yeah, mm-hmm. Yeah. And actually got warm, and then we went to Myoko, and it was kinda icy.
Oh, right. Yeah, you made me open the window of our hotel, and I thought, uh, monkeys were gonna climb in- A monkey came in ... and get me. I mean, when you walked in the hotel, there were signs everywhere that said, "Don't open the windows. Monkeys can come in." I know. And they got aggressive. I was the closest one to the window.
I mean, it was so hot in there, dude. I was dying. I was ready to pool guard all night. So yeah, I would say Shiga, I mean, Myoko is sick, especially if you like- [00:19:00] Yeah ... backcountry. Mm-hmm. A lot of lift access backcountry, super accessible. Lotte Ari, like Nick said, I mean, that's one of my f-favorite resorts in Japan.
Steep on-piste terrain, a lot of backcountry off the mountain. Mm-hmm. Kind of like off the beaten path. That one actually does feel a little bit like American- Western ... style resort, yeah. Yeah, for sure. It's luxury. Yeah. I mean, it was closed for seven years or something 'cause people kept dying in avalanches, and then they hired a Canadian team to come over and manage the resort, 'cause I guess Japan didn't have much, like, avalanche mitigation experience.
Mm-hmm. So it's- I mean, I think that's part of keeping things natural, like they- Yeah ... they do wanna do that. But on a resort where people can lose their life, might be- Yeah ... a little bit important to start throwing some dynamite. But I think flying to Hokkaido is the move, personally. If you're going for one trip, you have way- Yeah
better odds of getting good snow, consistent snow, and everything th-else, the experience, in I, I think, is better. You have Sapporo nearby. The food's really, really good. The whole s- [00:20:00] experience all around, I prefer Hokkaido, personally. Yeah. I mean, I like the temperature, too. It's very consistent. Like- Yeah
like Derek said, it can kind of get warm, and it can also get cold down, like, Nagano, Central Japan. Hokkaido, the max elevation is what? Like, 4,500 feet or, like- Yeah ... it's not very high up. So again, that's cool for me, living at sea level. Like, I don't have to train extra hard or take the three to four days with a headache and elevation sickness, and that happens to me every time I go to Colorado.
Like, for two days, I'm just kind of, like, beat, headache. If I drink two beers, I'm drunk. Yeah. I guess that's normal. Yeah. But- It's kind of nice. I need 16 to feel anything. And they got Sapporo Classic up in Hokkaido. Yeah. Yep. All right, go ahead. I think another interesting thing we should talk about is, right, we're all trying to buy homes, most of these listeners.
So what do you think, Nick? If you had to bet all your money on one place to increase in value, where would you, where would you [00:21:00] pick? I mean, it's clearly Otaru for me. We've already had... I've got a lot of money invested there, and I like the town a lot. I think something that I didn't really realize till later, like that town used to be called like the Wall Street of Hokkaido, right?
Mm-hmm. It was 200,000-plus people. So the infrastructure's already there to hold double, maybe even more the pop- than the population that's currently there. I don't want these small businesses to die. I mean, we've even seen it look a little bit busier here and there when we went both in the fall and... Or sorry, in the spring and in the winter.
So I don't know. That's my guess, and we definitely have a bunch of clients interested there as well. I feel like I'm trying to pick like- Why would you say Otaru? What are some factors that lead you to choose Otaru? I mean, like I said, I think the infrastructure that's already there is insane. Mm-hmm. I also think it's cool to be able to see the ocean from our house, and you're right next to the water, like in a ton of these places.
There's cool little beach towns. I don't know. I feel like you're [00:22:00] fishing for an answer that I'm not giving you, but I really do just think... I guess I didn't think about the Shinkansen that's going there. Yeah, that's what I was, I was fishing for that, baby. Yeah, yeah. Well, I mean the, the Shinkansen's supposed to be going to a couple different places.
Yeah. But I was, so I was looking for like very specific to Otaru places because I think Asahikawa is another one that has a lot of potential. I even think it might rise more slowly, but there's probably more like local people there. So that could be almost like a safety net buffer kind of thing. I also think this is an interesting one, but Iyama and the town down there, anything around there They're looking at a new governor.
I think elections are in like October- Mayor. Sorry, mayor, whatever. I think elections are in like October, and they're very pro foreign investment, very pro, you know, new building. That was what I was talking about that hotel later or earlier. So yeah, I mean, I think a lot of it has to do with who comes into government, who has the power, because there's some very, [00:23:00] very opposing views and opinions on how Japan can, I guess, succeed, for lack of better terms, into the future.
I mean, there's a lot of really scary projections for the next 30 to 50 years, and if there's not some kind of change, it's not looking very good. So- Mm-hmm ... I think following p- the politics is probably more important in Japanese real estate than people really give it credit for. Yeah, for sure. I would pick those two towns too, honestly, Yama, Otaru.
They just have good, like, they, the structure is there if you're thinking about what makes a ski town blow up. Good resorts, a lot of good resorts, and then all the extra stuff like the nature, the history of Yama, the food in Otaru, the access to Otaru, the consistency of the snow. Like it has all those metrics.
So, you know. And it, like, I was reading this s- this, uh, recently I was doing a report on Otaru and the commercial district in Otaru was actually the second fastest rising land prices in Hokkaido after Furano. So it wasn't [00:24:00] residential land, but it was commercial. It grew 19% on the main street, um, in Otaru, which is- Hm
that's a great number. Ton of tourism there. Ton of- Yeah ... local tourism there too, though. Yeah, absolutely. I think, I think the ability to buy farmland or to turn farmland into something else that's useful for a community, like That could be a huge differentiator for some of these local municipalities to start doing.
Mm-hmm. I mean, you know, we're not the mayor, and I think we are a- also oblivious to a lot of things politically going on, but we do our research, and we try to know as much as we can. Yeah. I guess this is a good time to shout out, too. We do have, like, investment guides on specific towns. So you know, obviously we're not financial advisors, but we have a lot of opinion and thought that goes into those.
They're, like, 25 to 30 pages long, so it's definitely a deep dive. But check them out on our website if you wanna, like, you know, read through all these stats that we're talking about. For sure. Yeah, that was a lot of great information. I guess let's- Let's wrap that shit up. Yeah, no. Let's, let's end the r- let's end the pod with Nick.
What's your favorite resort, and where would you like to go that you haven't been? All right. [00:25:00] My favorite ski resort, and I think it's probably just because I know the backcountry the best right now, is Kiroro. Like, without a doubt. Mm-hmm. And where would I like to go? I honestly wanna look at and just check out some of the, like, shittier resorts in southern Japan.
Like, there's some near Fukuoka that just seem fun to go to. Yeah. And y- you could do... Like, it's always kind of, like, this thing that people do in California, where you snowboard or surf in the morning, snowboard at night. Like, ah, yeah, radical. But- ... it's, it's, like, almost easier to do that in Japan, and it's kind of fun, you know?
You could snowboard, surf, skate, whatever. Get awesome food, ramen, sushi. And I've just never been to Fukuoka, so I think I also just wanna go check that town out. That sounds like a g- Nice city ... a good day of delivered health. Yeah. That's what I call delivered health. My health would be fully delivered at that point.
How about you, Derek? I guess my favorite resort might be Lotte Arai. Like, just on piste resort. And then I guess where I would wanna go is, I want to just, [00:26:00] next winter, to do, like, a, not a specific resort, but go to Kurosaki in Aomori and spend, like, a few days there, 'cause it looks like a really cool town. A bunch of resorts around.
Apparently some good backcountry, and, like, a sick castle that's covered in snow, like, all winter. So- That's like- ... that's more just, like, an area ... that's like northern- Mainland ... but, like, right under Hokkaido, right? Yeah. Yeah. North, yeah. Okay. Exactly. Yeah. It's apparently just, like- You were telling me they have a lot of castles
off the beat- off the beaten path, yeah. Me and Nick, when we, when we went to Kyoto, I was so hung. Like, ruthlessly hungover, and Solomia wanted to see, like, four castles. Nick and Maya came with us. They looked at one, and they're like, "All right, we're done." And Solomia's like, "We gotta see more." And we went and spent the whole day looking at castles, and I was so hungover.
All I wanted to do was lay down. Yeah. I walked into your hotel room, and you were throwing up naked at, like, 8:00 in the morning. Yeah, I was beat. All right, Nick. Why don't you sign us off? All right. I signed us on, and I'll sign us off. Have a good one. Rate, view, subscribe on fucking whatever the hell, and then I'll talk to you [00:27:00] guys later.
Peace. Bye, guys.