the story
We came to Fukuoka in 2020 for the first time and have been back 10++ times (who’s counting?). It’s our favorite spot in all of Japan! And each time we’d visit, we wanted to stay longer… buy meats and shabu, cook in a kitchen, join a walking club, be part of a neighborhood – but mostly, we wanted a space to gather. A place to spread out our konbini grabs and share with each other.
Key words? Spread out.
Instead, we were constantly relegated to a basement bench at a department store and kept talking about a “gathering house”. Atsumaru, if you will!
So we started watching videos and talking to more people about investing in a place in Fukuoka. Was it possible? How was it possible? Can? CAN?! OMG – the answer? CAN.
We put our hands in and said, “WHAT THE FUKUOKA?!” And just like that… the journey began.
but there was one problem… or a few.
We know you’re wondering, cause we sure were… “HOW CAN??!” You don’t speak Japanese, you’ve only stayed at hotels in Japan and you live in Hawaii. How did you pull this off?
Three things we absolutely needed to make this happen:
An English-speaking realtor
We don’t speak Japanese so having someone who can be your liaison between the seller, judicial scrivener and many other Japanese-speaking people you’ll meet along the way is clutch. I warn you, English-speaking realtors are rare finds!
ChatGPT
We used ChatGPT to translate everything. It was perfect for legal checks, logistic checks and of course sanity checks. Pay for the monthly subscription so you never max out. Time is everything when working with different time zones.
The funds.
Buying a place in Japan isn’t like the US. No Japan bank (that we know of) will issue a loan to a non-resident so you’ll need to have enough liquid funds to wire money (we used Wise – it’s a must!) at closing. Get this in order before you start looking. Since there’s no “escrow” with a cash purchase, the window to wire money to the seller is slim. There are steep penalties if you miss payment deadlines during closing and wire transfers take a little longer than what you see in the movies!
with these three things, we started the hunt.
Before landing on The Atsumaru House, we had a number of contenders and a deal that fell through.
But… this place?
IT IS PERFECT.
Here are our five non-negotiables that we were on the hunt for when buying a place in Fukuoka.
1) 10 mins max to a station
No car, no problem… thanks to Japan’s ultra-reliable transit system. But let’s be real, anything over 10 minutes turns into a “should we call a taxi?” situation.
2) Next to a konbini
We weren’t picky! 7-11, Family Mart, Lawson… but it had to be within a few blocks cause late-night egg sando fixes, quick coffee runs, those magical blended smoothies and Coolish at our fingertips are essential in our new Japan era.
3) Airport line access
This place? She’s on the main airport subway line and get this… one stop away from the airport! This means we can hop on one subway from the Fukuoka airport and be home in ten minutes flat. No transfers = no stress when you’re lugging jam packed suitcases around.
4) 3 rooms minimum
In Japan terms, we got a 4LDK (4 rooms plus a living, dining and kitchen space). Three rooms was ideal for me for 1) sleeping 2) guests/Apple fitness room 3) work space and 4) a room to just exist dramatically. Rooms are measured by tatami mats and are tinier than American sized rooms. Wait until you hear my hunt for a King size bed story! (Hint: I couldn’t find any in Fukuoka)
5) Already renovated
We’re in our low-stress era. No tools, no timelines, no “we’ll fix it later.” I wanted a home, not a long term project. My goal was to unpack, stage and Eden-fy quick so I could explore, eat and enjoy. Price was higher, but stress? None.
once we landed on “the one”, things moved fast.
Here’s a timeline of August 2025-January 2026.
AUG 2025
After hourssssss perusing online sites looking at “akiya” (or abandoned) homes, we booked a trip to Fukuoka.
Forget the train station shopping and gyoza crawls, our realtor hit the ground hard and we toured homes and apartments for a week straight. Also to note, it’s August and smoldering hot. No ACs in each vacant home means profuse sweating. Bring a fan or cooling wipes for real!
SEPT 2025
Our realtor does a virtual tour of the apartment we purchased since it popped up online after our August trip. We LOVED it and made an offer sight unseen. Since we saw actual homes in August, we understood the makeup of Japanese homes (another topic for later!).
OCT 2025
Booked another trip to Fukuoka this time to record, meet the judicial scrivener and GET KEYS!! We got keys on a Monday then flew home on Wednesday. That’s two days to start building the foundation…. Can we do it??! Oh yes, yes we can.
In those two days we:
1) Got the big appliances from Yamada – washer/dryer, refrigerator and ACs. Plus scheduled delivery and installation.2) Spent a day at IKEA getting bed frames, mattresses, dining table, chairs, sofa, side tables, shelving and mirrors.
3) Had IKEA deliver and install!
4) Went to Nitori to get lights, a mirror, kitchen nook and chairs. Scheduled delivery.
5) Cainz – a store we stumbled upon next to Ikea that had curtains and light fixtures.
6) Put up curtains and installed lights.
It was an intense two days. We had to rely on our realtor for a Japanese number to schedule the deliveries, swap my mind from inches to centimeters, learn how to properly dispose cardboard and lug a LOT of Eden totes back and forth to the apartment. But we did it!!
By Oct 15, this is how our apartment looked. And we haven’t been back since (Black Friday was this year).
and so, a new journey has begun!
I can’t believe we e-signed papers, wired money and leaned on ChatGPT like it was our only lifeline. WTFukuoka are we doing? We don’t know, but we’re so excited to figure things out. Follow along as we explore our new life next to Hakata Station.
