We’re inheriting a patch of farmland gramps (not a farmer) bought sometime in the 80s. It hasn’t been cultivated since then so it needs a lot of work. We’d eventually like to build a small house and turn it into a small hobby farm / garden or country BnB, but wouldn’t be ready to put money or time into it for a few years. It’s not too far from where we currently live, and near-ish a popular tourist destination.
The neighboring farm owner asked if we’d be interested in renting out our lot to them to farm in the meantime. They seem like nice people, but having never been a landlord in Japan, we don’t know what to look out for or what would be fair.
I’ve read that Japanese farmland rent is very low or basically nothing – is that true? We might be willing to pass on rent if they were willing to clear/maintain the land, is it worthwhile for our neighbors to do it if they only get 3-5 years on the lease? Since we know very little about farming professionally, can we ask them to show us the ropes on growing local crops for a season so we can maintain it after, or is that unreasonable?
Any tips on options for building an affordable house on rural land, or anything big we’re not thinking of, would be appreciated too. Thanks in advance!
10 comments
If you rent it out to them, maybe they can do the cultivation of the soil as a byproduct. Sounds like a good deal, you are not doing anything with it at the moment. Adjust your lease length according to your plans. I would build a house out of two large shipping containers. Should be cheap, and more sturdy than whatever you had in mind.
>_We’d eventually like to build a small house and turn it into a small hobby farm / garden or country BnB_
First you gotta confirm what kind of land it is. If it’s farmland, you’ll have to convert a portion of it to 宅地 before you can build a house on it. Tax on farmland is peanuts, but the land the house will be on will have it’s tax raised considerably. So you need to workout how much land you really want for the house. There is also another type of land that is quite rare (and I forget what it’s called), but it’s basically zone-free. I have a relative that has this kind of land, and I think it has something to do with it being so damn old and under the same family it was just never zoned(?).
What a municipality considers ‘farming’ varies from municipality to municipality. Some areas are super strict and want you to prove that you are properly farming it. Some areas are more chill and will only kick up a stink if you are clearly using the farmland for something unrelated (no building houses, skateparks or soccer fields… or else!).
Does your gramps have any friends or (the almighty inaka power card) 同級生 in the yakuba? Having a friendly connection can help you jump through all the bureaucratic hoops much faster.
Rent the land out for free to the farmers. You’ll get loads of free veggies and stuff… Making good relations with farmers might help you network the agricultural boards in the future.
You won’t be able to turn Designated farm land into a BnB.
To even build residential property on it you need to follow a rigorous process of converting it to residential land. I don’t know the full details but links like this seem to outline it: https://ap.fftc.org.tw/article/521
Essentially, designated farm land is protected, and pretty much all you can don with it is…. Farm it.
Get it rezoned, start now, if not you can’t legally build anything other than IIRC a shed for storing farm implements in (or greenhouses – neither of which is what you want).
But the problem there is the tax benefit of having it zoned farm land would possibly outweigh the benefits of starting early in getting ready for your plans (it’s difficult but not impossible to get fallow land rezoned unless it’s rice fields in which case may god have mercy on your soul I’ve never heard of anyone getting a rice field rezoned.
I heard that with farmland where I live, the farmers have to pay a flat fee for watering the land, whether or not they use it or not. Not super sure, but the other farmers were complaining about that as a barrier for young people coming in. (Currently live on a farm.)
So I think your farmer neighbors may be trying to sneak around that payment method by farming land that isn’t actually designated farm land.
To change farmland to residential YOU or whoever the legal owner of the land MUST be. a CERTIFIED farmer. So if your spouse has inherited the land the spouse may become a certified farmer automatically with minor approval from the local agriculture board, or the spouse may have to apply for it. First find out the zoning, it may already be residential, or part of it is. If not, after one of you becomes a certified farmer from the Ag. Board, by showing them your detailed plans for the ag land and residential land , then you can proceed. Finding the zoning should not be harder than calling the town hall and making an appt. to see the maps. explain your situation first. Good luck. Oh and get a written contract with the neighbors who want to ‘borrow’ your land.
As long as the land is being farmed you dont need to pay much taxes on it I think, and you are also eligible for farming subsidies.
Where I live I see a lot of empty land with tiny ”Farms” that basically go unattended most of the year round. I think they do it to avoid taxes and to claim those subsidies.
Worth looking into.
I have a friend who bought some land for cheap, but which HAD to be used for farmland and maintained in order to be used for farming. They built their house, but keep goats, chickens, grow some crops. They are inspected by government officials to make sure this is maintained. Some laws about Japanese self-sufficiency, or the need for future self-sufficiency mean farmland is highly regulated. Might need to lawyer up if you want to build a house there.
This may be a place to make inquiries as well:
[https://www.japansimplelife.com/](https://www.japansimplelife.com/)
Having them use and tend the land for free and then help you learn the ropes when you move in is a great idea and could lead to a long lasting friendship.
Rural farmers are pretty friendly and egalitarian, and the arrangement is unlikely to lead to problems as long as you remain laid back and communicate well.
Source: moved to a rural farm area 90 minutes outside Tokyo in 2008 and quickly made a lot of friends among the older local farmers.