Epic akiya: six-storey castle in Hokkaido

These days, not a week goes without the media mentioning the increasing number of abandoned buildings in Japan. Century 21 offers a unique "akiya": a six-storey "Japanese castle" in Akabira, Hokkaido, with 1571 square metres of building space, 5045 square metres of land, and a parking lot for about 40 cars.

Price: 10,000,000 JPY
Repair (est): 8,000,000 JPY
Annual property tax: 1,200,000 JPY

A six-storey castle in Hokkaido is for sale. Great views of the surrounding farmland and the proletariats. Super Central Location. Convenient access to shopping and restaurants. Quick driving distance to the ski resort of Furano. Minutes walk from Lawson convenience store. Epic investment for a boutique hotel or Instagram Magical Castle Location Cafe. Century21 can assist with the management, installation of moat and renovation of this once in a lifetime property. Don't wait. Century21 Japan only has one castle. It's very far away. It takes about a half a day to get there if we travel by my dragonfly. No, it's not in Spain. We flew drones overhead recently and replacing the roof tiles and fixing the damaged parapets is estimated to cost 8,000,000 yen. The current property tax is 1,200,000 yen per year. Unless you are a Shogun, you will need to run a business here to help pay the taxes. Invite your friends to come over and watch the TV special Shogun from your own castle. Act Fast.

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fol·ly
/ˈfälē/
noun

2. a costly ornamental building with no practical purpose, especially a tower or mock-Gothic ruin built in a large garden or park.

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I love it. The location...not so much. But it adds to the whole absurdity of it. A 1990s castle in the middle of absolutely nowhere, that has horrible, brutal weather for probably 6+ months of the year, on a road that nobody ever passes by, even when the weather is stellar, which it probably is for maybe a couple of months, its way out there.

A great symbol of Japan's optimism of the last years of its bubble economy. A castle in the middle of nowhere, probably funded partially through taxpayer money, built with a poorly thought-out plan to attract busloads of (domestic) tourists, entice them to buy something from the gift shop and take a staged group photo in parking lot. If that isn't a great crystallization of Japan's economic excess in 1990, I don't know what is.

And now the only hope for this castle is that some foreign buyer with more money than sense will buy it, repair it, and make something of it. But what other hope is there? And frankly, maybe some foreigner can make something of it. B&B in a castle overlooking nothing - it's possible, and a bit intriguing. Rental kimono shop on the ground floor, high speed internet access, proper food service, shuttle to/from the Lawson's or to the downtown Akibira (pop. 10,000). Maybe someone can earn enough to pay off the maintenance, tax, and operating costs, plus enough to survive. I don't for a minute believe the real estate agent's estimate of JPY 8M for repairs, but looking at this from the US, a price of maybe US$200,000 (all inclusive of repairs) for almost 17,000 square feet...its ridiculously cheap.

Looks like it was built for the purpose of selling dolls.

It's not much money at all. All it needs is some eccentric to want to buy it and live there, like that guy who lives in an abandoned school in Shikoku or wherever. Somebody who wants to live mostly off the grid and doesn't care about profit.

First thing I would do is install an elevator , LOL.

Grandpa Frank said:

First thing I would do is install an elevator , LOL.

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Don't worry it already has an elevator.

Now if I could only talk my wife into spending her 401K , LOL.

Grandpa Frank said:

Now if I could only talk my wife into spending her 401K , LOL.

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You already live in a snowy cold place so at least that part wouldn't be so bad.

Yea even 200,000 US dollar equivalent is a lot cheaper than houses out here but the location and not sure how comfortable it is to live in. Maybe turn it into a hotel for foreign Shogun fans (I don't have Hulu so have not seen the new one, I was very influenced by the original TV miniseries). I agree though due to the location it would be hard to get enough people out there to make a profit, a samurai ski hotel? Compared to the value the property tax is high based on what I am used to.