Buying to rent in Japan (visa question)

I have recently come into some money and I am interested in buying property in Japan for myself and to rent out to make an income.
I read in the "obtaining property in Japan section" that i could end up having problems with being able to stay in japan despite owning real estate in japan.
Is there not a visa for this sort of thing? The investor visa is not viable due to the fact that i wouldn't be making enough to be able to afford to employ the necessary people to satisfy the requirements.
I am trying to come up with a plan to make this work for me and have the following problems that i am unable to find a solution to
1/ If I just go in and out on a tourist visa how is it possible to deal with money matters such as having a bank account for the letting agent to pay the rent in to? Also, I'm presuming that this renting of property is NOT considered as working in Japan and would be ok on a tourist VISA.
2/ Similar to (1). If I was to work in Japan as an English teacher or other kind of job, would it be ok to do the rental thing at the same time or is this violating the terms of the VISA?

Have you spoken to a local Japanese consulate about it? When I signed up for a bank account, I was required to show my alien registration card, which you can't get on a tourist visa, but I don't remember what other options were possible. You may be able to open a bank account with a foreign, international bank without living there, but I'm not familiar enough with Japanese banks.

I'd be interested in any answers on this topic, too.

I managed to get an account with Citibank. The problem is that all the accounts are based in the UK even the Japanese yen account I opened which means the rent would need to be paid by wire transfer which I would have to cop the bill for as no one is going to agree to pay it so I'd have to charge extra rent if I wanted to cover it.
As you mentioned above you need the alien registration card to get an account with a bank in japan. However if i were able to get a citibank account in japan then it would be hassle free to get my money back to the uk where it can earn interest. My current plan is to join a japanese language school and work part time... I will be able to open a bank account, earn a reasonable amount (enough to cover living expenses) and research the buying to rent thing properly.
The Japanese embassy was not very helpful so I will try talking to real estate agents once I arrive in Japan