Apartment hunting in Osaka for a family of four: Which home did we choose?
Jodie and I owned our first home for nearly 20 years, but in 2024, we sold our house in the USA. We told our kids, though, that we would be looking for new “home bases.” Buying a home in Japan became our first priority, but what did we want, and why did we want to buy an apartment in Japan in the first place?
Video: Viewing condos in Osaka for a family
Our home hunt centered on the Osaka area, west of Tokyo and more or less centrally located on the Japanese main island of Honshu. Watch the video below to join me and Jodie as we view condos:
What did we want our Japanese home to have?
We can’t live in Japan all the time, but our family loves visiting Japan as much as possible. Here are some of the things we were hoping to find:
- Purchase price: under US$50,000
- Proximity to train stations and bus stops
- Walkable living that didn’t require a car
- Single-level living
- No landscaping or lawn care required
- Safe neighborhood
Funnily enough, having a home actually motivates us to travel. Since we aren’t in Japan all the time, we still have to go other places, whether in our home country of the USA, or other parts of the world.
A wee home of our own is both motivation to travel, and a cozy space that’s ours.
Will we find it?
Check out our Japan home-buying journey videos to find out:
Full series: Watch these videos to follow our Japan real estate journey
$33K vs $55K Osaka Apartments — Which Would You Buy?
$33,000 JAPAN APARTMENT: What did it get us?
Japan real estate FAQ: You Asked, We Answered: The Truth About Buying Property in Japan
