Where do foreigners want to buy homes in Tokyo? March 2020 Station Ranking

March 31, 2020

In this post, we share the Top 5 most popular stations for people searching for properties for sale on realestate.co.jp in March 2020. The ranking below is based on an analysis of property listings in the Tokyo 23 Wards that people viewed and inquired about. For the 2019 annual ranking, please see this post: Where do foreigners want to buy homes in Tokyo?

Let’s take a look at this month’s ranking.

#1 Shibuya

Our featured property for sale in Shibuya this week is a spacious 25th-floor 3LDK in the landmark Aoyama Park Tower, a luxury high-rise condominium building located between Shibuya and Omotesando. Minutes from Shibuya’s shopping area. The listing agent is Sumitomo Real Estate Sales.

In the 2019 ranking of most popular places for foreigners buying a home in Tokyo, Shibuya ranked fifth. This month, the iconic entertainment and shopping district came in number one.

Why Shibuya?

Shibuya is everything to everyone. Every little neighborhood around the station has its own vibe. It runs the gamut from low-cost single-room studios to luxurious seven-bedroom manors. Street food to Michelin-starred gourmet dining. Back alley smoking areas to young, fashionable vape cafes. Mass market department stores to one-of-a-kind designer boutiques. It’s every aspect of Tokyo life distilled into one location.

This is not to mention that the station area is in the midst of a transformation from an entertainment district to a business and skyscraper district.

Learn more: Shibuya Area Guide

Shibuya Scramble Square

The Shibuya Scramble Square building (a 47-story skyscraper that opened in November 2019) is the first step in a project that will change the whole look of the neighborhood surrounding Shibuya station. The project encompasses a large area, divided into four districts:

Shibuya Station
Shibuya Station South
Shibuya Sakuragaoka
Shibuya Dogenzaka

Each area is slated to have one or more skyscrapers, but the project will focus on the renewal of Shibuya station itself.

The developers’ vision for Shibuya is to make it a futuristic city, a mixture of New York’s Times Square and Silicon Valley. Central to this vision is to turn Shibuya into a business district.

See current For Sale listings: Shibuya Apartments

#2 Omotesando

Apartment for Sale in Omotesando — Our featured property for sale in Omotesando this week is a spacious 10th-floor 1LDK in a 12-story condominium building, just 11-min walk from Omotesando Station on the Ginza line and 14-min walk from Hiroo Station. Foreigner-friendly area near iconic shopping district. The listing agent is RE/MAX.

Why Omotesando?

Neighborhood Highlights

Omotesando is a trendy, upscale neighborhood very close to the sprawling urban center of Shibuya.
Well-known as a fashion capital of Tokyo, particularly for name-brand and luxury brands.
Omotesando Hills is a very modern shopping complex which is home to a wide variety of apparel and fashion brands.
Ura-Harajuku (narrow streets that exist between Harajuku and Omotesando) are hip, less traveled streets that offer a different side of urban style.
Plenty of cafes and restaurants in the area to choose from when meeting with friends.
Very attractive neighborhood for those looking for a stylish neighborhood close to English-friendly shops and services and near the headquarters of many global companies.

Learn more: Omotesando Area Guide

See current For Sale listings: Omotesando apartments

#3 Oimachi

JR Oimachi Station building. Image: Wikimedia Commons

Why Oimachi?

If you don’t live in Tokyo or haven’t spend a lot of time visiting the city, you may never have heard of this interchange station, which is well known to locals as an afterwork watering hole. Oimachi is a station and neighborhood located just one stop south of its famous cousin, Shinagawa.

It is served by three major train lines: the JR Keihin-Tohoku, Tokyu Oimachi, and the Tokyo Waterfront Area Rapid Transit (TWR), popularly called the Rinkai line.

For respect to real estate, two key phrases come to mind when we look at Oimachi : proximity to Shinagawa and convenience.

Proximity to Shinagawa

As we discuss in this article (Shinagawa to be Tokyo’s gateway to the world), Shinagawa is in the midst of major redevelopment projects designed to make it into Japan’s newest global gateway. Property prices in the area are reflecting this expectation. Property values at nearby stations, including Oimachi, are also seeing a bounce.

The Shinagawa-Tamachi area has been designated as a Special Zone for Asian Headquarters by the government, which is offering tax incentives, de-regulation, and administrative and financial support to foreign companies which set up operations there. Shinagawa will also be the terminal station in the maglev train line that will connect will ultimately connect Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka. Currently, it takes about 100 minutes on the shinkansen (bullet train) to go between Tokyo and Nagoya. The new maglev train will cut that to 40 minutes. JR Central aims to begin commercial service between Tokyo and Nagoya in 2027, with the Nagoya-Osaka section to be completed by 2045.

A new station, Takanawa Gateway Station, the newest station on the Yamanote line in 49-years, also just opened this month. The station also serves the JR Keihin-Tohoku line.

Convenience and access

Oimachi offers excellent access to major stations in the JR East network and to Haneda Airport in about 30-minutes. Buyers are becoming more aware of airport access as a factor in livability and re-sale value, as Tokyo opens up more and more to international travelers in the coming years.

See current For Sale listings: Oimachi apartments

#4 Kachidoki

Kachidoki is a station and neighborhood located on Tsukishima, a man-made island in Tokyo Bay.

The Tokyo Bay Area spans the waterfront portions of Tokyo’s Chuo, Shinagawa, Minato, and Koto Wards. Primarily built on reclaimed land, these neighborhoods are well-known for the clean, upscale living environment that also provides a beautiful view of Tokyo and Tokyo Bay. The redevelopment projects in these areas have added many luxury apartment complexes to the landscape, which has attracted young families to the area. This combination of new developments and young families gives certain neighborhoods a young, modern feel.

Buyer interest in the Tokyo Bay area surged in the run-up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, originally scheduled to take place this July, as government and developers poured money into the redevelopment of the waterfront area. Apartments in the Athletes Village area also being refurbished for sale to the public, after the end of the Games. With the decision to postpone the Games to July 2021, buyers will have to wait to move into the Harumi Flag development, but the overall desirability and livability of the Tokyo Bay area has not changed.

See current For Sale listings: Kachidoki apartments

#5 Five-Way Tie

There was a five-way tie this month for the fifth most popular station for foreign buyers searching and inquiring on properties in the Tokyo metro area.