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ONE HANAZONO VILLAS will contain just 13 homes, but each is planned at approximately 700 to 1,000 square meters. The project will barely change Niseko’s residential supply. Its significance lies instead in what is being built at the very top of the market. Site exterior CG rendering courtesy of the developer. Pacific Century Premium Developments (PCPD) and Hyatt announced the project in September as Japan’s first Park Hyatt-branded villa development. Designed by Kengo Kuma wi

Tokyo’s condominium rental market is showing a widening geographic divide. Contracted rents in the Tokyo 23 wards rose again in the second quarter of 2026, while Tokyo non-23 wards moved in the opposite direction. Photo by Frank Okay on Unsplash The condominium rent index for the Tokyo 23 wards reached 136.09, up 1.26 points from the previous quarter. Tokyo non-23 wards fell 1.13 points to 120.83, according to the index produced by AtHome and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Research In

The Bank of Japan’s latest rate increase is beginning to influence how some homebuyers think about timing. In this Japanese news report released September 23rd, families at a housing exhibition in Funabashi explain why they are considering buying sooner, while housing and mortgage specialists discuss what higher rates could mean for borrowing costs, property demand and inflation. What the video does and doesn't say The report shows that some buyers are accelerating decisions

A mature landscape is easy to see. The decades of work beneath it are not. At Peony Garden Tokyo in Tsukuba, Director Koichi Seki has spent 37 years working with the land. His experience suggests that the plants, trees and scenery visible above ground tell only part of the story. When the garden opened, it was a more artificially divided peony garden. Over decades of planting, tree growth, pruning, replanting and soil management, it gradually evolved into a landscape where pe

Kugenuma, a residential neighborhood in Fujisawa near the Shonan coast southwest of Tokyo, has topped Recruit’s 2026 ranking of Greater Tokyo station areas where existing residents most want to continue living, beating a top 10 otherwise dominated by Tokyo’s 23 wards. Nearby Enoshima at sunset .Photo by natsuki on Unsplash The ranking is published by SUUMO, Recruit’s major Japanese residential property portal. Kugenuma, served by the Enoshima Electric Railway, scored 87.86 ou