Given Japan’s problem with depopulation, is this better than just renovating a free house? For context, in many prefectures there are houses that are either free or cost $15,000 or less.
Van Life in Japan
111–120 of 231 posts
Re: Van Life in Japan
#112Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have a hard time imagining it to be cheaper to live in this truck than most things. And the kid… I can’t imagine this is good for the kid. Obviously the point of the van is that you can move around a lot! Aside: vagrancy is illegal in Japan, so if you’re sticking to the law you probably need to rent somewhere (or use your parents) and have a registered address.
- vagrancy is illegal in Japan Is that why you don't see any homeless in Japan? They just arrest them for vagrancy and house them in jail?
There are lots of homeless in Japan, and people do see them.
Anyone living near Tokyo who has money, clothes, shoes, gas cans, batteries, shelter material, work opportunities etc they wish to pass on - please reply here or email i.am.grozzle at gmail, please. Or ask staff at Lavanderia cafe in Shinjuku ni-chome.
Re: Van Life in Japan
#113Given Japan’s problem with depopulation, is this better than just renovating a free house? For context, in many prefectures there are houses that are either free or cost $15,000 or less.
Nobody renovates houses in Japan. You're supposed to destroy it and build anew. For 15k you're buying the lot and the right to spend a lot more than that.
Re: Van Life in Japan
#114Given Japan’s problem with depopulation, is this better than just renovating a free house? For context, in many prefectures there are houses that are either free or cost $15,000 or less.
The crucial difference is that vans are mobile: most of the people I know living in vans travel constantly, and that kind of nomadic life is part of the appeal.
Re: Van Life in Japan
#115Given Japan’s problem with depopulation, is this better than just renovating a free house? For context, in many prefectures there are houses that are either free or cost $15,000 or less.
Depends on your goals. If you want to travel to and explorer new places on a regular basis, a van can make more sense since you aren't tired to a specific location and can go anywhere driveable at a moments notice. There are certainly tradeoffs to having that ability but for some people, it's obviously worth it.
Re: Van Life in Japan
#116Given Japan’s problem with depopulation, is this better than just renovating a free house? For context, in many prefectures there are houses that are either free or cost $15,000 or less.
Nobody renovates houses in Japan. You're supposed to destroy it and build anew. For 15k you're buying the lot and the right to spend a lot more than that.
Well there's at least one person who has: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwRjO3kHxU4
He mentions renovation companies as well as builders who will undertake renovations. He has many more videos detailing the process. However, being a youtuber does open up possibilities that aren't common.
Re: Van Life in Japan
#117Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not OP, but I traveled through Japan with a few friends before the pandemic and none of us speak Japanese. It's true that almost no one there speaks english. However, everyone we've encountered (especially the people working in the service industry) was super friendly and tried their best to be helpful. The public transport system is thought out and labeled very well, even in english + it plays well with Google Maps,…
I found it kind of boring/isolating though. Did you? It's unbelievably easy to move through their society, eat well, etc etc. But not truly interacting with anybody for weeks at a time besides tourists is kind of annoying.
Discussing where in the world to travel, someone told me roughly: When I can manage conversations, my travel is about people. When not, it's about places. As I prefer people to places, that's my first filter.
Re: Van Life in Japan
#118Every damn time I hear about van life, including the main image in the article........ "I live in a VAN DOWN BY THE RIVER!"
Re: Van Life in Japan
#119Given Japan’s problem with depopulation, is this better than just renovating a free house? For context, in many prefectures there are houses that are either free or cost $15,000 or less.
Nobody renovates houses in Japan. You're supposed to destroy it and build anew. For 15k you're buying the lot and the right to spend a lot more than that.
this is changing.
Re: Van Life in Japan
#120We've lived in a sailboat in Japan for a while and wrote a little provisioning guide that might also be of interest for van folks in Japan. http://100r.co/site/provisioning_in_japan.html
I remember I stumbled onto your website through people's neocities links, and just spent hours reading about sailing, UXN, Japan, and your travels in general. Fantastic and high-quality material. I wish there were more collectives and groups like this that keep the maker/hacker culture alive.