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Remains of Kanagawa Daiba fort unearthed at apartment construction site

Remains of the Kanagawa Daiba (battery or fort) were found at an apartment construction site in Kanagawa Ward, Yokohama. The fort was constructed during the time Yokohama opened its port in the mid 1800s. The fort and surrounding bay is now reclaimed land.

On July 26th a 17m long and 2.5m high stone wall which forms the eastern side of the fort was uncovered. Although one part of the wall appeared to have been repaired with concrete prior to the land reclamation, other parts of the wall that were commissioned by Count Katsu Kaishu remain untouched from when it was completed in 1860 during the Man’en era.

The site is located at a corner of Yokohama Cotton Harbor – a mixed-use residential/commercial area. Construction on a 6-storey apartment building had only just began at the 785sqm site when the discovery was made. Completion of the 30 unit apartment building is scheduled for January, 2012, but a local citizen’s group is demanding that the site be preserved.

Despite the many historical maps available to the public and signs posted in the parks around the area, the apartment developers said they were not aware of any ruins under the site. However, they are open to discussions about how best to continue with the site.

Grosvenor Place Kamizono-Cho reaches full occupancy

British property company, Grosvenor Group, announced that their first luxury residential development in Japan – Grosvenor Place Kamizono-Cho in Yoyogi Park – has reached 100% occupancy in July, 2011.

The residence is located at the edge of Yoyogi Park in Shibuya-ku. The building has 4 stories + 3 basement floors and has 45 units ranging in size from 154 ~ 363 sqm (1657 ~ 3905 sqft). The rent for the 3 to 5 bedroom apartments ranges between 1.3 ~ 3.6 million Yen/month and the average rent is 2 million Yen/month (25,600 USD/month).

Japan’s very first high-rise public housing condominium

Miyamasuzaka Building / Apartment

Current Average Rent: 3280 Yen/sqm/month
Current Average Price: 1,273,000 Yen/sqm

• Built in 1953 (58 years old)
• As seen in 2002 horror film “Dark Water”
• Apartments sold for between 600,000 ~ 1,000,000 Yen when brand new

About the building:

Built in 1953, this is Japan’s first high-rise public housing project where apartments were available for sale. Apartments were typically a lot smaller in those days and ranged from 39 ~ 43 sqm with 2 rooms and a kitchen/dining area. The price of an apartment in 1953 was between 600,000 ~ 1,000,000 Yen (7700 ~ 13,000 USD), or around 25,000 Yen/sqm. In 2011 the average price is now 1,273,000 Yen/sqm (51 times the original price).

The building was considered luxurious for its time, with many of the residents being bureaucrats, banking professionals or university professors. The residential apartments were 2DK-types (2 rooms plus a kitchen/dining space) and were fitted out with bathrooms and kitchen cupboards. As an added extravagance, the building had Elevator Girls who would work everyday from 8am to 6:30pm operating the two elevators. The elevators could still be operated normally outside of these hours.

Hokkaido to introduce reporting rules regarding the sale of land

Growing concern about foreign funds buying up large tracts of forest and land in Hokkaido has led to the Prefecture drafting legislation to protect water sources in these areas from future development.

By designating specific water resource conservation areas, whenever land is to be sold in one of these areas the seller will be obligated to give advance notification to the Prefecture. Hokkaido plans to have the draft legislation ready by December, 2011, and will submit the plan to the Hokkaido Prefecture Assembly by February, 2012.

The draft policy will target areas where any development could cause water resources or springs to dry up and water quality to deteriorate. The policy will prohibit the drawing of water from these areas. Within these areas, a landholder must notify the Prefecture prior to the sale of their land. The Prefecture will provide advice to the sellers and buyers in accordance with the policy guidelines and the opinions of the municipality in which the land is located, and seek an understanding between the parties regarding the land use.

Average secondhand apartment prices for June only increase in Osaka

Tokyo Kantei has announced the average sale prices for secondhand apartments across Japan for the month of June, 2011.

In the greater Tokyo area, the average price was 29,750,000 Yen (376,580 USD). This is a fall of 0.7% from the month before, and a fall of 3.5% from June of 2010. It is also the first time in 17 months that prices have fallen.

The data for areas within greater Tokyo are as follows:

- Tokyo City: 38,410,000 Yen (486,200 USD). Down 1.1% from the previous month and down 2.6% from the previous year.
- Chiba Prefecture: 18,820,000 Yen (238,200 USD). Down 2.4% from the previous month and down 2.4% from the previous year.
- Kanagawa Prefecture: 25,560,000 Yen (323,500 USD). Same level as previous month.
- Saitama Prefecture: 18,930,000 Yen (239,600 USD). Down 0.6% from the previous month but up 2.5% from the previous year.

For the Kinki area (Osaka, Kyoto and Nara), the average apartment price was 18,100,000 Yen (229,100 USD), and had fallen 0.3% from the previous month.

- Osaka: 18,740,000 Yen (237,200 USD). Up 0.4% from previous month.
- Hyogo Prefecture: 17,530,000 Yen (221,900 USD). Down 2.0% from previous month.

Residential construction projects up 37% in May

Tokyo City announced that the total number of housing starts in May, 2011, was 11,160 units, up 37.7% from a year prior. This is the second continuous month of increases. The increase was seen in new detached houses, condominiums and retail properties. Of particular note is construction of new condominiums which has picked up pace after the delays following the March 11 disaster.

A groundbreaking ceremony, called jichinsai, at a construction site in Japan.

The number of detached homes increased by 9.9% to 1581 units. New rental apartments and houses increased by 25.1% to 4436 units.

New homes and condominium apartments increased by 70.3%. This includes construction of new condominiums which increased 2.1 fold, and new houses which increased by 19.9%.

Large scale projects, however, were down by 26.8% in Tokyo’s central 3 wards (Chiyoda, Chuo and Minato), but increased by 74% across Tokyo’s 23 wards. The Real Estate Economic Institute said that signs of recovery are set to continue, but any recovery will be slow in the bayside areas where there is concern over the risks of liquefaction.

Source:
“震災で延期のマンション次々と　５月の都内住宅着工37％増 ” The Nikkei Shimbun, July 8, 2011.

“Crescent House” vacation home for sale in Hakone

Price: 200,000,000 Yen (2.53 million USD)

This 2-bedroom architect-designed house is located in the besso (vacation home) neighborhood of Minami Hakone Dialand. The neighborhood includes a swimming pool, tennis courts, parks, a restaurant, medical clinic and a supermarket. Read more about Minami Hakone Dialand here.

The house was designed by multiple award-winning Shigeru Ban Architects. The entire living area of 183 sqm (1970 sqft) is located on the 2nd floor which maximizes the panoramic views over Suruga Bay and Mt. Fuji. The wooden sash windows open up to let in refreshing breezes and create uninterrupted views.