Dec 04
0

Umeda’s large-scale project “La Tour”

By | Life Style, Maid Service, Real Estate

“La Tour”:  https://www.sumitomo-latour.jp/osakaumeda/

The brand “La Tour” is owned by Sumitomo Realty & Development, mainly in the Tokyo metropolitan area, and is planned for expatriates from the architectural design stage. “La Tour” is a full-fledged foreigner’s house that knows the lifestyle of expatriates very well. There are other properties in Tokyo designed for foreigners, but “La Tour” is the number one in Japan.

There are many buildings of “La Tour” in Tokyo, but never in Osaka. 99% of the number of expatriates living in Japan is concentrated in Tokyo, and the market for expatriates in Osaka is so small that foreign housing designed well by major real estate developers wasn’t in Osaka.

In Osaka, expatriates are supposed to live in luxury homes for the wealthy Japanese. The floor plan that Japanese people like and the floor plan that foreigners like are fundamentally different, so no matter how high-class a house for Japanese people is, it was not enough for foreigners unless it was built for foreigners from the planning stage.

For example, Japanese people do not have a lifestyle of frequently inviting visitors to their homes. However, foreigners often have guests staying at home. Therefore, foreigners want more than one bathroom. Foreigners also want two or more toilets. In Japanese houses, the bathroom, the toilet and the wash basin are clearly separated, but Japanese don’t really want more than one.

Also, Japanese people, even wealthy people, do not want such a large housing space. There is not much habit of hiring maids or housekeepers to clean the room. However, foreigners feel that the Japanese housing space is small. “La Tour” prepares more than 300㎡ of residential space for foreign customers.

Also, Japanese people do not ask for services like a hotel concierge from a house, but for foreigners who are not very familiar with the situation in Japan, it is very helpful and happy to have a concierge service at the front of the house. It is very convenient for foreigners to have staff in their homes to support their lives in Japan.

Since the foreign rental market in Osaka is extremely small, it seems that most of the “La Tour” in Osaka are supposed to be Japanese renters. However, Sumitomo Realty & Development’s “La Tour” brand will no longer be “La Tour” unless there are at least some expatriates occupying it.

It is expected that talented and talented foreigners will move in this property and create a high-quality “full-scale foreign housing” in Osaka. For foreigners, this is Osaka’s first big news.

Related article: https://www.dios.co.jp/archives/3337

Dec 03
0

Hard and soft aspects of rental housing

By | Real Estate

When choosing real estate, you need to look at both the visible and the invisible. “Visible things” are hardware aspects such as buildings. “Invisible things” are human services that you can receive after you move into the property.

For rental apartments, this is a management service provided by the real estate company and the owner. Some properties provide quick response when equipment breaks down, but some properties are slow to respond to customer complaints and take weeks. Waiting for a long time is very painful. It is very comfortable to live in if the real estate company responds promptly.

Also, if the real estate company is a large company, it may be safe, but no personal relationships will be created. The systematic manual service is not so impressive. The person in charge will change in a few years. There are no long-term relationships. Rather, smaller real estate companies have more human warmth. Also, smaller companies may actually be more flexible and respond faster to customers than larger companies. I think a community-based real estate company that “sees the face” is good.

If you spend too much money on the hardware side such as the size of the building and less money on the software side of the service, it seems that the “visible thing” has succeeded, but you are dissatisfied with the “invisible thing”. Will occur. Rather, I think that the satisfaction level will be overwhelmingly higher if you spend money on software instead of spending money on hardware. There is nothing better than human service.

Nov 30
0

Key points for choosing a house in Osaka

By | Real Estate

Even if Japanese people choose a Japanese house, they often have trouble because it is their own important house. Of course, foreigners who are new to Japan often have more troubles.

(Public transport)

First of all, it should be noted that public transportation differs depending on the city planning of the country. Japan is a country of trains. The cities and lands of Japan are designed around trains. Compared to Western countries, the railway network is very well developed. Compared to Europe, the number of passengers on trains is four times that. Also, Japanese trains have the most accurate time in the world. Because the time is accurate, even if you change trains, you can change trains accurately in a short time. Japanese people don’t use cars for commuting because they can’t read the time accurately.

You can easily go anywhere in Japan by train. Therefore, if you are near the station, there is no problem even if you have a house far from your place of employment or commercial facility. However, during commuting hours, the number of passengers on the railroad is large and it is crowded. The Japanese are accustomed to the lifestyle of riding a crowded train.

(Age of the house)

Secondly, the newness of a house is based on the age of the building, but the “newness of the interior” is important. Even a new building will get dirty in a few years without interior work. On the other hand, even in an old building, if the interior work is done, it will be a beautiful and comfortable living space.

Also, during the 1980s and 1990s, there was a real estate bubble in Japan. There was a time when real estate prices were the highest in the world. Luxury condominiums built during this period have very high grade buildings. Even a small item such as a doorknob is completely different in price. Buildings built after 2000 no longer use such high-end building materials.

　

(Insulation, soundproofing)

Third, the most important point of a good house is “insulation”. Japan has hot summers and cold winters. Even with air conditioning, the comfort of a house is completely different between a building with high insulation and a building with low insulation.

Next to “insulation”, “soundproofing” is also an important point.

(Building management service)

Finally, I would like to emphasize that the most important point in rental properties is the state of property management. There are owners and real estate management companies that care about the details of buildings and rooms. Even if the property is new, it is not comfortable if it is poorly managed. On the other hand, even if the property is old, it is very comfortable if the property is properly repaired and cleaned by the owner or real estate management company.

Nov 15
3

Autumn leaves of Eikando in Kyoto

By | Sightseeing

November in Japan is the season for autumn leaves. The leaves of the maple tree are colored. It turns yellow at first, then gradually turns red, and finally turns bright red.

In Japanese, there is the word Akibare. On a clear autumn day, the sky is blue and makes you feel refreshed. “Aki” means autumn. “bare” means a clear sky. A sunny autumn day is suitable for the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. This day was also Akibare’s day. The sky was a beautiful blue color.

The bright red autumn leaves shine in the blue sky. The color contrast is very beautiful.

Eikan-do in Kyoto is the most popular tourist destination in Japan for the autumn colors. The design of the Zen Japanese-style garden further enhances the beauty of the autumn leaves.

Please enjoy the best autumn leaves in Japan.