Not free, but I ran a search for nearby used homes and this is the cheapest one that came up: https://www.rakusumu.com/sale/detail/00088-200291 https://www.rak

Not free, but I ran a search for nearby used homes and this is the cheapest one that came up: https://www.rakusumu.com/sale/detail/00088-200291 https://www.rakusumu.com/sale/detail/00088-200291 That's about $7000 USD, and while I am sure there are many issues, it looks livable at least. It's also a decent enough location, close to the beach, shopping, a train station, schools, etc. It's not for me, but for someone looking to eliminate rent/mortgage payments from their life it could be an option. Or if you're willing to step up considerably you could do something like this: https://www.rakusumu.com/sale/detail/00007-200159 https://www.rakusumu.com/sale/detail/00007-200159 That's about $95k USD... and with no down payment and a 35 year fixed loan at 2.05% [1], your mortgage payments would be about $320/mo. Much cheaper than I suspect many HN readers pay in rent and you would own a fairly large and newly renovated house. Note however that to get a loan as a foreigner in Japan you would probably need to be a permanent resident. Also... I cringe a bit to think of how cold that house must be in winter. Anyway - my point is not to disagree with you because I think you're right about probably not wanting to live in any house you can get for free. Rather just to point out that if anyone is really interested in moving to Japan, there are lots of affordable housing options to be found at number of different price points. [1] https://www.shinseibank.com/english/housing/loan_kinri.pdf https://www.shinseibank.com/english/housing/loan_kinri.pdf