Hi everyone,
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Seeing the vernacular architecture of a Japanese home (minka) with its kirizuma roofs, tatami mats, shoji, fusuma, engawa, genkan, etc., but rather poorly insulated, I’m wondering given that these elements are particular to this country, what made some of you decide to invest in and purchase a modern pre-fabricated home instead?
6 comments
I live in a “traditional” one but it’s not that old (20 years). If you can find that then I would recommend it. My house is very well built with the finest materials, winter (Niigata) is not a problem and we use Aircon to heat the rooms and it doesn’t cost much to heat or cool the rooms.
I searched for a house like this one for a long time but I’m sure there are other similar houses out there.
11LDK 350m2
[Here some pics](https://ibb.co/album/HNdvg1)
> a modern pre-fabricated home
Off-topic, but most modern homes, at least in my area of Tokyo, are not prefabs. Unless you’re using a different definition of prefabricated homes than used in North America.
There is no “investing” in a home in Japan because there is no real value appreciation. Look at buying as a way to not pay someone else rent and have a place when you retire, knowing that if you do sell down the road you’ll be lucky to break even but probably won’t.
Up here in Sapporo the winters can be pretty bleak, but new houses offer great insulation and therefore running costs. We went for a new one with this as a large consideration.
If you want “Japanese” features in your home, literally every home builder offers them. You don’t need to buy an old house to get a genkan, tatami rooms, and shoji.
Buy what appeals to you. An important thing is to make sure that the land it’s on is included in the purchase.