An akiya can cost less than a used car. The real work is everything around it — moving money, staying insured, getting online, talking to the town hall. Here are the tools we'd actually use, with the trade-offs that matter.
Banks quote a "free" transfer and then bury a 3–5% markup in the exchange rate — on a ¥3,000,000 house that's tens of thousands of yen gone before you've paid a single fee. Specialist services use the real mid-market rate and charge a small, visible amount instead.
Mid-market exchange rate, low upfront fee, and a multi-currency account you can hold yen in. The default for sending a deposit or paying a contractor from overseas.
Open a Wise account →Before you're enrolled in Japan's national health insurance, even a few weeks' gap is a real risk. Nomad-style insurance covers you month-to-month across countries while you go back and forth scouting and signing.
Subscription travel-medical cover billed monthly, built for people living between countries. Easy to start and stop as your move comes together.
See SafetyWing plans →You'll want maps, translation, and a working phone from the airport — especially heading into the countryside to view a property. An eSIM activates before you fly: no SIM-swap, no rental counter.
Japan data eSIM you install in minutes. Cheaper than airport rentals and works the second you switch it on.
Browse Japan eSIMs →Akiya banks, contracts, and local agents all run in Japanese. Even survival-level Japanese changes how a rural town treats a foreign buyer. A handful of lessons with a tutor goes a long way.
One-on-one Japanese lessons by the hour. Practical and cheap — focus on real-estate and daily-life phrases before your trip.
Find a Japanese tutor →How this page is funded. Some links above are affiliate links — if you sign up through them we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. We only list services we'd use ourselves, and it never changes which listings we feature. Akiya Letter is an information service and is not affiliated with any municipality or estate agent.