For property owners
The business of short-term rentals, from the operating side
What running our own apartments has taught us, written so it is useful to an owner making a decision. These are not sales documents: where hiring us would be the wrong call, we say so.
What property management costs in Japan, and what you keep
Comparing headline percentages is not comparing. Here are the four fee models used in Japan, and what each one leaves in your pocket when revenue moves.
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Getting a hotel-business permit in Japan, step by step
Three buildings, three municipalities, three permits. The order nobody puts in the brochure, what it actually cost us, and how to spot a property that will never qualify.
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Switching management companies without pausing your bookings
The fear that keeps owners in bad contracts is losing bookings and reviews. Whether it is justified comes down to one thing: whose name the listing account is in. How to check, and the handover order that never takes you off sale.
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Turning an empty Japanese house into a licensed rental
The question is not whether an empty house can become a rental, but whether it is worth it. What the first thirty minutes of checking decides, real cost ranges, and the cases where the answer is no.
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Permit or notification: which framework should an owner choose?
This choice is not about which paperwork is lighter; it is investment design. What the 180-night cap does to the numbers, which properties suit which framework, and the practical sequencing move most articles miss.
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The monthly P/L of a vacation rental, line by line
'The revenue is there but nothing is left' almost always traces to the same few lines. The monthly P/L line by line, with typical ratios and the four classic leaks.
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Tokyo's 23 wards: why there is no such thing as 'Tokyo rules'
The most dangerous assumption in Tokyo is that 'Tokyo rules' exist. Each ward layers its own limits on the national framework. The overlay patterns, the permit route around them, and the checking order that works in any ward.
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Starting a vacation rental in Sapporo: the operator's view
Sapporo is a different business from Tokyo: thinner competition, better price-to-rate ratios, deep seasonal swings, and a winter that runs on snow shovels. What to know before starting, from someone who operates there.
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Owning a short-term rental in Japan when you live somewhere else
Japan lets you own property with no residency requirement at all. Running a licensed rental in it from abroad is where the real questions start: who holds the licence, who answers the phone at 2am, and how the money reaches you.
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