All Posts By

fukai

01/09/2020
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Delicious coffee that seek to to maximize comfort

By | Life in Japan

We provide the Nespresso coffee maker for foreign expats’ customers. We are considering night and day how we can maximize comfort life in our apartments.

One of those inventions of ours is Nespresso coffee.

Nespresso : Home page in English

Istagram:  Photos of Life with Nespresso

Roasted coffee should be stored in the refrigerator. The coffee retains its flavor longer. However the length of time roasted coffee can be stored without deteriorating is only about two weeks.  But Nespresso capsulated coffee can be stored for one year without deteriorating. Also the coffee is very delicious.


Nespresso has another machine to whip up milk. To beat and whip milk we can enjoy much more good-tasting coffee.

 
(Nespresso shop at Umeda Hankyu Photo by Fukai)

I found Nespresso coffee in the executive rooms of the Ritz Carlton Osaka. The carefully selected coffee by the Ritz Carlton is Nespresso.


(Photo: The Ritz Carlton by Fukai)

The breakfast in Paris is a three-piece set by (1) Coffee, (2) Croissant, (3) Orange juice. Businesspersons in Paris seemed to get vital power by the simple breakfast.

Please enjoy delicious coffee in Japan, too.

31/08/2020
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Forests in Japan

By | Japan Culture

(The  Land of Golden Ears of Rice/ Japan  photo by Fukai)

Mountainous area account for 70 percent of Japan. Urban areas like Tokyo or Osaka are mere fractions. Much of this country is still covered by a forest now.

There are few treeless mountains in Japan. Everywhere in Europe there are treeless bald mountains, and on top of that every European tree is very poor. On the other hand everywhere in Japan there are a lot of huge trees.

There are huge trees on the mountains and there are rivers from the mountains. In the lower part of rivers there are an abundant crop of rice field.

In Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples there is a giant tree without exception. Please visit Koyasan in Wakayama prefecture.
Koyasan: http://www.koyasan.or.jp/en/

If you visit Koyasan, I think  you could find the most wonderful thing in Japan. The forest is the object of worship for Japanese. So Japanese feel fearful of the forest.


(Photo: a pilgrimage walk to Koyasan by Fukai)

(Photo: Koyasan by Fukai)

Rainforests are being destroyed at an increasingly fast pace. In 2050 all 100% tropical rain forests over the world will be exterminated.

I walked all 1400 km where Priest Kobo Daishi walked 1,000 years ago. It was  the pleasurable time of my life.

On the one hand Japan pursued rapid industrialization, but on the other Japan has a historical culture that people protect forests.

Please actually experience and enjoy Japanese beautiful culture in Japan.

29/08/2020
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Realtors shall explain about the risk of Flood damage

By | 未分類

Japanese government decided to make the explanation of a risk of flood damage compulsory from this August 2020. Realtors shall analyse the risk and report it for customers.

In fact these past years abnormal weather increases all over the word.

In 2018 there was a large scale rainfall in west Japan. The above photo (Kyodo) is Okayama prefecture then. The heavy rain caused the river to overflow its banks. Its damage was not only one day. The houses flooded below the floor continued over one month.

I feel there were a lot of rainfall recent years in Osaka, too.

According to a UN report the frequency of abnormal weather is increasing with the years. It is very likely that heavy precipitation events will continue to become more frequent.


(Photo by weather news) West Japan torrential rain in 2018
(purple) above waist
(red) above knee
(yellow) above ankle
(blue) a big rain puddle

(Photo: Yomiuri)

In case an individual house may be flooded above the floor. So a property had better be located on elevated ground. Otherwise a house is build on a ground raised by a stone wall like the house below.

  
In case an apartment when the elevator is flooded and stopped, the upper units of a high rise building will be cut off.

(Photo: Osaka city government’s flood hazard map)

I think Japanese government made the right decision.

After this house hunters should think about the risk of flood damage and realtors shall analyse and report for clients.

27/08/2020
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Dojimagawa Urbanlife ～top-tire apartment in Osaka City

By | 未分類

This apartment is the top-tire apartment in Osaka City. The building was built in 1992 and the price was over 8 hundred yen (8 million US dollars) at that time. The building is 14 story, not so big building., however, every part of this apartment is designed by special specifications.

Address: 3-1-48, Fukushima, Fukushima-ku, Osaka City
Map: https://goo.gl/maps/cQfrg8iFLtGruyfD7

Plan: 5 bedrooms + 3 bathrooms + 4 toilets
Area: 347.20㎡
Station ：10 minutes walk from JR Fukushima station
Structure：Ferro-concrete & Steel frame 14 story (13th floor)
Completion ：1992
Rent：1,260,000yen
Reikin: 2 months rent
Shikikin: 3 months rent

There are 3 bathrooms and 4 separated toilets. These are enough to accommodate guests.

There are 2 dining rooms. One is for an official dinning with guests and another dinning room can be used for a family.  The big dinning room is connected to the spacious living room which is perfect for reception with a great many people.

(Small dinning room for a family)

The spacious living room and the master bedroom are facing to the Dojima river. It is very quiet and nice night view.

The view from a living room is Royal Hotel and International convention building.  There is a promenade for walking or jogging along the river. It is close to good quality food supermarkets.

The coronavirus makes people leave high rise tower apartments because of a crowded elevator. Dojimagwa Urbanlife is a smaller scale of building, and so  people can stay without anxiety.

“Nakanoshima” has a tradition of Osaka.  There were many leading men in the Japanese history. If you live here for a while, you will be sure to feel the graceful nature of the locality.

22/08/2020
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Conflicts of interests ～exclusively for foreign expats

By | Japan Culture

One of a real estate agent services is a property management.

(A) A property management is that a real estate agent  receives a commission from a building owner and manage the owner’s apartment or house. The real estate agent maintains the building and must attract tenant customers. That is, a property management is a service for owners.

(B) On the other hand a real estate agent receives a request from foreign expats and search for the most suitable apartment or house for the foreign expats. In this case the real estate agent must stand on the foreign expats’ side. That is, searching for an apartment or house is a service for foreign expats.

These two services (A)(B) are mutually exclusive.

“Conflict of interests” is a popular legal term in the United States.
However Japanese do not understand clearly the legal concept of this word “Conflict of interests”

When a creditor and a debtor contend at law, a lawyer for a creditor work for the creditor and a lawyer for a debtor work for the debtor. There are two different lawyers in charge for different interests. If a lawyer for a creditor is the same person as a lawyer for a debtor, there is no doubt that it is illegal because of “Conflict of interests”.

Therefore foreign expats should not trust a real estate agent who receives a commission from owners.

 

 

20/08/2020
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The Period of a Contract～Tenants can cancel anytime in Japan

By | 未分類

The period is set in a lease contract.
Most foreigners believe that the lease contract cannot be cancelled during the period which is sent by the term of a contract. That is, most foreigners think they must pay the monthly rent until the expiry of their contract.

In general Japanese lease contact for residences set the lease term as two years. However in fact tenants can cancel a lease contract anytime even during the execution of a contract. Tenants must notify the cancellation to the owner one month in advance. Then tenants can terminate their payment of the monthly rent anytime.

Nevertheless a real estate agent in Kobe who is dealing with foreign expats explain to its foreign customers that Japanese lease contract cannot be cancelled during the period of the lease contract. Since foreign expats are hard to find out Japanese laws, foreign customers believe that they must keep their lease contract until the end of the lease.

It is crooked means that the real estate agent makes foreign tenants not to leave their property, but there still are foul play by Japanese real estate agent for many years.

Any Japanese lawyer or realtor easily understands this legal sense. So please be careful with an underhanded real estate agent and ask someone with experience in real estate business.

19/08/2020
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Corporate Contract or Individual Contract

By | 未分類

Written by Masahiro Fukai , US CPA/ Realtor

Corporate lease contract can reduce tax of both a company and its employees. If a company wants to retain good staff, the company should consider a cooperate lease contract as company housing for staffs.

In case of a cooperate lease contract the following taxes can be reduced.

(For employees)
(1) Withholding tax (Gensenchoshuzei)
Withholding tax is a national tax which is deducted from monthly salary. Since a company pays the monthly rent to the owner, his salary would be decreased. So the withholding tax is reduced.

(2) Local income tax (Juminzei)
Local income tax is also an item which is deducted from monthly salary. In the same way as the above withholding tax, local income tax is also reduced.

(3) Contribution to social insurance (Shakaihokenryou)
The main contributions to social insurance in Japan are ①Health insurance tax (Kenko Hokenryou), ②Employee pension premium（Koseinenkin hokenryou).

(For companies)
(4) Corporate Tax
Since companies pay monthly rent for employees, the expense of income statement will increase. So the corporate tax decreases.

On the other hand in case a company provides housing allowance to employees, the total amount of salary increases. Therefore the above (1) (2) (3) increase.

Corporate lease contract demands nothing. The only one thing is the firm’s accounting workload. However it is not so hard work. Whether or not a company can deal with a corporate lease contract and reduce taxes is essentially a matter of practice.

By adopting a corporate lease contract the firms can enhance the satisfaction level of their employees and so they would always lure high quality people.

29/07/2020
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Ashiya Royal Homes #501 （323.76㎡）

By | 未分類

Ashiya Royal Homes is very special apartment as the Japanese real estate property.

Ashiya Royal Homes is designed exclusively for foreign executive expats from the early planning stage. There are two full bathrooms and one separate shower room. So the total number of baths is three. Toilets are also three which can guarantee the guest’s privacy.

The 103 square meters living room is enough space to hold formal receptions in this apartment.

The reason why I recommend Ashiya Royala Homes is the apartment caretaker. I think the most important point for rental apartments is the management services. Especially in case of foreigners there are many difficult life because of languages. If the apartment has kind management service, the property would enhance the satisfaction levels.

Mr. Suzuki, the manager of Ashiya Royal Homes, is a talented person rich in experience for building management. He speaks English well, however he study hard German, Chinese, etc when foreign customers are living in his apartment. Mr. Suzuki has a deep desire to be of service.

Ashiya Royal Homes was established on the land of Mr. Nakauchi, the founder of Japan’s top supermarket in 1991 exclusively for foreigners to reside in Japan.

Ashiya Royal Homes is 5 minutes walk from JR Ashiya station. It is only 13 minutes from JR Ashiya station to Osaka station.

“Ashiya” is the top upper-class residential area in Japan. So people’s standard of living is very high. You could understand this meaning if you do in Ashiya. Also there are many very good restaurants and cafe in this area.

“Ashiya” is close to natural mountain of Rokko and on the other hand very good to access of Osaka City for business, too.

In recent years there are worldwide repeated natural disaster. Japan is a country subject to earthquake and Tsunami. The coastal artificial island like Rokko Island is very vulnerable to disaster.

 

Floor plan, the natural environment, living people’s level, convenience to business, safety for disaster. All factors considered, Ashiya Royal Homes is recommended apartment.

Name: Ashiya Royal Homes

Room : 501

Address: 20-10, Ohara-cho, Ashiya City

Floor plan: 5 bedrooms with 2 full baths, 1 shower, and 3 toilets.

Monthly rent: 990,000JPY

Deposit (refundable): 1,980,000 JPY

Deposit(non-refundable): 1,980,000JPY

Area: 333.76 ㎡

Construction: 1991

Parking space : available 22,000JPY

06/05/2020
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The masure to counter the Coronavirus in Osaka for foreign residents

By | Life in Japan

↓Click here
All individual information detail data who are carriers of Coronavirus  in Osaka Prefecture as of May 5.

The above Excel file is all individual information data of all carriers of the Coronavirus in Osaka Prefecture as of May 4 2020.

The total number of carriers is 1,679 persons in Osaka Prefecture now. The above picture is the graphic form which is translated by the results of Excel file.

This is not the secondhand information through mass media, but Osaka Prefecture government investigated the figure and presented for Osaka Prefecture residents.

According to the above Excel file, most dead persons are over 80 years old. The most part of carriers is a light wound.

The Osaka Government’s policy will be different from Japan Government’s policy because  they are different political parties. So those governments will request residents to restrain business and life differently after this. Japan Government says it is until May 31. Osaka Government says until May 15. I think Osaka Government presented more quantitative analysis than Japan Government.

The Japan Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare hints 8 points.

10 8 points from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare←Click here

Translation

  1. Partition a room into two parts 
  2. People who have something wrong with his or her body should not take care of carriers. 
  3. Wear a mask 
  4. Wash hands well 
  5. Ventilate a room frequently 
  6. Disinfect parts where hands touch like a door nob, a toilet, a washstand
  7. Wash laundry of  linens and cloths
  8. Shut a garbage tightly and dispose quickly  

The following files are measures to counter the Coronavirus published by Japan Government. Please click on the blue letters.

  1. How to prevent from Coronavirus (Thai language)
  2. Measure to counter Coronavirus (English)
  3. How to wash hands (English)

The following contact 06-6647-0641 is Osaka Government crisis center for Coronavirus

The following contact is Suita City Government crisis center for Coronavirus. Please click the links. 

↓Click here
(Thai Language / Translation)
(Japanese)

For Refenrece: My blog about Humidity

The coronavirus is weak by “Humidity” at 50%

When you go to hospital in Japan, this form may be convenient. Please click the following URL for Thai customers.

↓Click here
Thai Language to go to hospital in Japan

I would like you to make better use of house cleaning robot.

  1. Please dispose dusts from the dust box
  2. Please set to charge battery

The following file is the contacts of the Public Health Center in Osaka for Coronavirus

↓Click here
Osaka Health Consulting Center for Coronavirus

05/05/2020
0

Japanese Lease Contract

By | 未分類

Japanese real estate lease contract is designed for a tenant to be very stronger than an building owner.  Tenants’ legal rights are protected.  This Japanese tenants’ rights are all the more noticeable by contrast with other countries.

Once a tenant makes a lease contract with an owner and move in the property, the owner cannot cancel the lease contract.

To turn a tenant out of the property, an owner must prepare the legal “justifiable reason” why the owner can cancel the lease contract. The “justifiable reason” must meet the qualification prescribed by Japanese tenancy law. However it is extremely difficult to meet the requirements for an owner.

For that reason an owner is concerned about the lease contract and so about 6 months deposit money would be necessary to keep balance between a tenant and an owner.

On the other hand most tenants cannot let money lie idle for many years like the lots of deposit.

Therefore recently “a guarantor company Hosho-Gaisya” is popular with most lease contract in Japan.

Japan is a nation which is under the rule of law as well as other advanced nations.

Even foreign tenant, its right is protected properly by Japanese tenancy law.

If you are a tenant side to make a lease contract in Japan, you are rest assured.