Japan House: Insurance!

TL;DR

Fire and Earthquake insurance for the vacation home in Daito is approximately $35 per month. (For the next five years, per the exchange rate on 2025.09.29)

This is a pleasant surprise! I have phone app subscriptions that cost more per month. (I really need to review my subscriptions again.)

Japan House: Buying a second home in Japan.

TL;DR

Cutting to the chase, I bought a house in Daito, Osaka prefecture. My offer was ¥5.2M, which was accepted. My total at closing was ¥5.7 million (~$ 38,000 USD), which included real estate agent fees, scrivener fees, city taxes, registration license taxes, and other associated costs. 

Adding in the fees paid to the company that managed the purchasing process, I'm at $ 44,000 USD. I'll chat about that later.