Drum Roll,please.
So,this big news that I have been hinting about and that some of you have been waiting for along with us…………..
We are now land owners.
And that means we are going to be,in the near future,building us a HOUSE.Wooooooo!It hasn’t really sunk in as yet as the negotiations were rather long,boring and tedious.But on Monday evening,Kenichi and a family friend acting as a go-between(and no,not the computer man) shook or bowed,I suppose, on the deal.
Obviously we are delighted although also rather apprehensive about the mountain of paper work that needs to be waded through before the land is deemed fit for building use.It is agricultural land at the moment but it will not be a major problem to change the land rights,but just another lengthy process with some lovely red tape to cut of course.We are also a little sad that the land is not our “dream” plot;we would have loved to have bought somewhere over looking the sea in a quiet location but as we also wanted to stay in our neighbourhood for convenience to local schools,work ,shops etc and we wanted to have space.We had to be realistic and go for what we could.The land is adjacent to the main road leading into our town and opposite a residential home.Not a prime spot .But saying that,we will build away from the road and build a garage in between the road and the house and also plant a hedge and build a fence to give us privacy.The garden will be at the back and secluded,with a view to the nearby mountains once we do some serious pruning!We also may have a bit a sea view from the upstairs rooms and if so,a balcony for the master bedroom would be rather nice,don’t you think?And the residential home is a nice looking piece of architecture and has a bloody great clock on one of the towers so we don’t need to worry about time keeping anymore.And lastly,I say main road but really,a main road in the sticks isn’t much of a road at all…
The land is large for house building purposes by Japanese standards and for those of you who know the Japanese measurements,it is 400 tsubo.Normally in this neck of the woods,land for a house and an area to park the car(s) outside the door would be around 70 tsubo so you can do your calculations.I will write more about what we have planned,including loft space(not common over here),a garden with a lawn(ditto) and veranda/wood deck and a kitchenwith a proper over and dish washer.And all of this is really thanks to the people who sold us the land;Kenichi is a school friend of the son and basically we have bought the land for an extremely good price.
And finally, here are some rather poorly taken photos of the land;poorly taken as it is rather difficult to gauge the size of the plot.But it gives you some idea.And Mum,I bet you can picture exactly where it is now!
An overview from the road side.
Taken from where the house will stand(with garage near where my car is parked)
Kenichi and Emilie in "the garden"
Yay! That’s a great plot- and so easy to find.
Too damn right,and we’ll be that tiny little bit closer to you now;)
WOOHOO! You must be so excited! Don’t forget the guest room!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We will be having a tatami room which will make the perfect guest room as you will find out!
Banzai! Or whatever is appropriate in these situations… So pleased for you – bet you will be really excited over the coming months. Lovely clock tower… I kind of know where it is but not quite. How long do you think it will take to build it all? Then we’ll come! Hx
Hmmmm,good question!At the earliest,we could be building this time next year but i would think that spring of 2011 would be more like it.And that is at the earliest.Once the paper work is out of the way,the land has to be primed for building.So it won’t be a quick build like so many are around here…TG!
Congratulations. I’m thrilled for you!
xxxx
Thank you my lovely:)
Congratulations to the Tokitas! Glad to hear it all came together in the end, and that you can talk about it at last – it will be sooo good – what a project. You will be the next Sarah Beeney!! (Did you google her?! She’s amazing…)
xx
Of course I googled her!Have to know these things;)And you are right,this will be a big project-gulp-but hopefully we will get through it without too many “But I want a pink front door” type tantrums from Annie….
excellent!!!!
400 tsubo is amazing. lots in our neighborood are 55 tsubo.
congratulations!!!
We are lucky with the size.And before we build,it would make a great site for camping you know;)
Wow congratulations!!!! That`s so exciting and a great spot!!! You can hardly call the road a busy one even if it is the main route. And you`ll never not know the time!!! Well done!! Have fun sorting out all the details!!!Looking forward to visiting.Kxxx
Thank you!The noise is a bit of a worry but as you say,it isn’t that busy so we will get used to it!Just have to fence it off so that Millie can’t rush out at will…
Just back from Andalousia we discovered the good news . First that your computer is working again and then the surprise that very soon you will be owner of a house. We are so pleased for you, and a am sure, Mariannchen, once in your own home you will feel even more at home in Japan. Good luck for all the paper stuff. Seeingthe photos, i guess that Renate will start right away gardening, as soon as she arrives
Thank you! We are so happy to have the computer back and the land!And hope you enjoyed your holiday:)
Congratulations!! I had an inkling that it might be land, or a house, or something along those lines
We bought our place 10 years ago and I well remember the paperwork and the visits to the show homes.
See you soon!
Exciting times ahead. We’re on 134 tsubo (?) and you’ll see it next month – it’s long and narrow. I so wanted a wider site, but the view sold us on it within 3 minutes of being shown the site
Claire said you’re staying with them before coming over for the BBQ? Can’t wait to meet you IRL – funny, that’s the international code for Ireland, as well
I have heard amazing things about your house,garden and view and cannot wait to see for myself next month!Yes,we will stay a night at Claire’s the night before we come to you, and IRL…lol!!!See you in a few weeks time:)
What is the building that the land is facing? It’s huge! Looks like a nice place to build a house, congratulations
Thank you! The building opposite is a residential home and school for physically and mentally handcapped children and adults.We will get some noise from there(piped music during cleaning time,and staff announcements etc) but not excessive.They have the ocean view but the building will also protect us during typhoons!
I am so excited! Yes- I know exactly where the plot is and think it is absolutely wonderful that it is yours now.Maggie used to sniff around there! Lots of cats and crawly things? Happy times to come.
Get the chain-saw out- Oma will be busy soon!!!
Cats and crawly things?Not when we have visited.Maybe the children scare them away.DOn’t forget to pack your chain saw when you come!
OMG!! That’s why you were looking at houses at the weekend! 400 tsubo is huge!!! You will have to retire just to be able to look after the garden! Well done Kenichi for overcoming loan nerves!! We have 134 tsubo and we can’t keep up with the garden… ours was agricultural land too… no problem, just alot of signing on dotted lines! Can’t wait to see you in November!!
Hee! I wanted to tell you there and then but the grumpy house people were giving me evils;) And yes,the garden…..a BIG lawn is our answer.And Kenichi really wants a little lawn mower so that will be useful ne;)And really looking forward to seeing you all SOON!
You will .. okay.. have fun, the paper work is tedious, and it may take a year or two for the house to finally be DONE — I sat on our land for five years… and I think you have a fab, fab location. Location, location, location!!!!!! I think you’ve got that! If you go for a 3rd floor you can have that as your loft/retreat with a hopefully view of some seaside— and if you prune behind– you’ll have the valley view, I think you picked a PERFECT spot!
Your not in the city, but not in the country side either… NICE– okay, so now tell me about your house plans?
The paper work…blah!But great to know that others have done it and survived!In many ways it is a blessing(did I really say that??!) as it gives us time to plan the house and decide what we want without without a clock ticking away in the background.
A 3rd floor sounds great but I don’t know if the bank will agree;) But we may well have our sea view from the 2nd floor.We wont know until a few trees are pruned,the land primed for building etc.What a wait that will be!
House plans…yep,I will be starting to bore you all sometime soon;)
Marianne, congratulations!!! How exciting! I am so happy for you guys, and cant beleive that you managed to keep such an awesome secret quiet for so long!! The block looks amazing, and 500tsubo is HUGE!!! Looking forward to reading more about your house building plans!!
400 actually but hey,it is big enough as it is(although it doesn’t look 400 as some of the land is just trees!);).Thank you so much and I kept it pretty quiet as I didn’t want to jinx it all;during the past few years we have been disappointed with deals that didn’t work out so I thought it best to keep my mouth closed this time until it was certain.A rare thing for me but some people did know as I am not super-human,lol!
It looks amazing, and so big! YAY!
I know it has been a long time coming but now the real fun can start with the building and designing your very own place.
Congratulations!
Come visit(when things are more settled for you of course!).
It has been a long wait but well worth it but saying that,the long and boring bit is still to come.But yep,in the meantime we can have fun with the designing etc.
And what’s wrong with a pink front door….???!! (lol!)
You got me there.But still not having one;)
Ok, I am SOOOOOOOOO late with this, but congratulations!! I am so excited for you and your family. I can’t wait to hear more about the designs/plans for your house!
Renate just send ein e-mail telling us, that atsubo is 3,3 square meters. So you have really a big plot. It’s nearly as big as the bergerie. So many possibilities to do: have grass all over. Plant flowers and bushes, or plant potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, beans etc, that’s fun and good to spare money
It is very exciting.And great to know that is nearly as big as the bergerie…I had no idea but that makes it much easier to imagine!Now I just wish that the food ,drink and company would be as good as that we get at the Bergerie!