Resale of Niseko’s Urban Area: Are Foreigners the Savior of Vacant Homes?

I hear that some local owners are reluctant to sell or rent their stores or rental properties to foreigners, but it is a fact that foreigners own the land in front of the station and that many foreigners live and work in Kutchan Town.

We should consider them as stakeholders and come up with policies to induce them to participate in the redevelopment project. Unless we create a win-win situation for both parties, the area in front of the station will become a ghost town.

The resort area is a “colony” and the shopping district in front of the station will be a town for its employees…

Even as redevelopment of the area in front of the station remains at a standstill, construction work on the new Shinkansen station is moving forward. Last October, the Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency presented three draft designs for Kutchan Station, and the town of Kutchan conducted a questionnaire survey of local residents. Based on the results of the survey, the town of Kutchan will narrow it down to one proposal by the end of June.

The town has set up a committee to promote the development of the station, and they are currently discussing what urban facilities and peripheral functions should be integrated with the Shinkansen station building.

The proposed urban facilities include a tourist information center on the first floor and an observation deck on the second floor with a view of Mt. When I was a councilor, this urban facility would cost about 700 million yen. That has risen to 1.3 billion yen this fiscal year. When I learned that the cost would double, I said to myself, ‘People should be able to see Mt. Yotei from the station windows or by walking around the town. We don’t need an observatory,'” said an increasing number of people. Kutchan has not been able to do so.

According to the Hokkaido Kensetsu Shimbun, in 2010, a town development study group made up of private companies compiled a rough draft of a redevelopment plan to build a 15-story complex on the north and south sides of the new station, and reported it to the town. The northern wing of the complex was to include commercial facilities, offices, a library, a spa facility, and a hotel, while the southern wing was to include stores and condominiums.

I was also shown the proposed complex, and I felt it was a constructive proposal. I think it is a very constructive proposal. I think it is very good in terms of improving the living environment and increasing the convenience of daily life.

The town, however, did not seem to show much interest in the proposal from the private sector.

A Japanese YouTube video streamer who travels around the world came to Niseko and said, ‘Niseko is becoming a colony,’ and the video has been viewed more than 150,000 times. It’s absolutely true, the resort area is like a colony for countries all over the world, and the city center is now a bedroom community for people who work in the resort area.”

In recent years, foreign interest in vacant houses in Japan has been increasing. However, the situation with vacant houses in Kutchan Town is certainly very different from the rest of Japan.

Naohisa Takiguchi is the president of Boom Co. He runs Boom Sports, a snowboard and ski store, and NTD, a real estate company.

Yoshihito Tan aka, President of Niseko Resort Service Co. After graduating from Kutchan High School, he became a freestyle skier (mogul) and competed in the Europe Cup and All-Japan competitions. Returned to Kutchan in 2003 and established the company in 2007. He has been engaged in ski rental, car rental, real estate leasing, and other businesses. He served three terms as a member of the Kutchan Town Council from 2011 to 2011.