Nice to meet you, I’m Hanana (花菜).
I’m a Japanese national living in a city in Japan. I was born in the 1970s, and I live in Japan. My family consists of my husband, my child, and our dog.
We live in a major city in western Japan, but we travel to the countryside every weekend to tend our vegetable garden.
Currently, I’m in the midst of searching for the ideal plot of land or single-family home to realize a “dual-base lifestyle” that involves moving back and forth between urban life and a peaceful rural town in Japan. As a sort of practice run or simulation for the “real thing,” I spend my weekends at a rented farm in the countryside, working hard to grow delicious Japanese vegetables in my home garden within the limited time I have.
What You’ll Find on This Blog
• The Reality of Finding the Perfect Home (Live Updates): I’ll share the criteria for choosing a place that truly satisfies you—beyond just affordability—as well as the real-life process of searching for a property.
• “English Explanations” of Japan’s Real Estate and Land Systems: I’ll provide easy-to-understand explanations of Japan’s complex rules—such as urban planning and the Agricultural Land Law—that often trip up foreigners (and as a way to put my studies into practice!).
• Successful Home Gardening in Just the Weekend: Japanese gardening techniques born from trial and error at community gardens, designed to make the most of limited time and space.
I, too, am still studying and taking on new challenges as I work toward my ideal lifestyle. I hope this blog becomes a reliable “dictionary” and “guide” for people overseas who are interested in beautiful rural life in Japan and real estate.