Buy a home in Kyoto, or anywhere in Japan
Machiya, houses and investment homes, brokered end to end by a licensed team based in Kyoto.
Kyoto machiya and houses for sale
A machiya is a wooden townhouse built to the old Kyoto street pattern. The homes on this page are the ones we are selling or brokering now, in the wards of Kyoto City. Each home shows its transaction type (取引態様), so you can see whether moogo owns it or is acting between you and the owner.
When nothing here fits, tell us the ward, the kind of house and the budget. We search the market and report what is actually in it, including the houses we would pass on ourselves. Our office is in Kyoto, and the license lets us broker a purchase anywhere in Japan.
What a licensed broker does
081株式会社 holds the brokerage license 宅地建物取引業免許 京都府知事（1）第15131号. It was granted for the first time on April 23, 2026 and runs to April 23, 2031.
The figure in parentheses counts how many times the license has been granted, not rank or size. A Japanese brokerage license runs five years, and the figure rises by one at each renewal. Ours reads (1) because 2026 was the first grant, while we have run homes in Kyoto since 2019.
Holding the license means we run the transaction, not only the introduction. Before any contract is signed, a licensed transaction specialist (宅地建物取引士) gives you the written explanation of the property’s legal condition, the 重要事項説明. That document is in Japanese, and we go through it with you in English or Chinese.
We then draft the contract, instruct the judicial scrivener (司法書士) who registers the title, and coordinate settlement with your bank. Japanese law asks every licensed broker to secure its own deals, by deposit with the Legal Affairs Bureau or through an approved guarantee association. We joined 全国宅地建物取引業保証協会, and our broker notice is published on the company page.
Buying from outside Japan
There is no nationality or residency condition on owning property or land in Japan. You do not need a visa, a Japanese address, or Japanese to buy. What decides a purchase is the property and its zoning.
Other parts are harder than they look from abroad. Financing for non-residents is limited, the paperwork is all in Japanese, and a purchase gives you no visa or residency. We put that in front of you before you commit.
Most of a purchase can be done remotely: viewing by video and negotiating by email. The 重要事項説明 itself has to be delivered either face to face or as an IT重説, a live two-way video session with the licensed specialist, with the document sent to you beforehand. Which identity documents the title registration needs from a buyer living abroad depends on your country, and the judicial scrivener confirms that for your case.
The price is sent by international transfer. We set the settlement date with your bank timing in mind, because a transfer from abroad can take longer than a domestic one. You get the amount, the account and the deadline in writing.
What a purchase costs
The price is not the whole cost. A purchase also carries the registration costs, including the judicial scrivener’s fee, the acquisition tax, the stamp duty on the contract, and the fixed asset tax billed every year you own the house. Whether a brokerage commission (仲介手数料) arises, and which side pays it, follows the transaction type shown on that home. The law caps the amount.
Each of these depends on the property, so we quote them for the specific house rather than as a range. You get the figures in writing before you commit, in English, Chinese or Japanese. We publish no price list here, because a number that fits one machiya is wrong for the next.
Running the home after you buy
A home you have bought can stand empty, house you, or take guests. In Kyoto and Nara we run licensed short stays and furnished monthly rentals. The team that brokered the purchase can also run the house afterwards.
Management is 25% of room revenue on each booking, with no fixed monthly fee. Cleaning and linen are billed per use. The 25% is taken on the listed room rate before platform fees, and the cleaning fee a guest pays is outside that base.
Not every building can hold a lodging license, and zoning decides more than a renovation budget does. We say no to houses that cannot be licensed, rather than take them on and find out later. What a home will earn is not something we forecast.
Questions about buying
Do you broker outside Kyoto?
Yes. We are based in Kyoto and broker purchases and sales anywhere in Japan. Renting, staying and day-to-day management are Kyoto and Nara only.
Only a few homes are listed here. Is that everything you can show me?
No. The homes shown are the ones we are selling or brokering right now. Tell us the city, the kind of house and the budget, and we search the market and come back with what is in it, including the houses we would pass on ourselves.
Which parts of the purchase need me to be in Japan?
Fewer than most people expect. Viewing and negotiation run by video and email. The 重要事項説明 has to be face to face or an IT重説, a live two-way video session with the licensed specialist, and we send you the document beforehand. Which documents the title registration needs from a buyer living abroad depends on your country, and the judicial scrivener confirms that for your case.
How do I send the money from overseas?
By international transfer, on a settlement date we set with your bank timing in mind. We give you the amount, the account and the deadline in writing. A transfer from abroad can take longer than a domestic one, so we start that conversation early.
What does the transaction type on a home mean?
It is 取引態様, the disclosure a Japanese broker publishes with a home. Broker (媒介) means the owner holds the home and we act between you and them. Seller (売主) means moogo owns the home and sells it to you directly. How a brokerage commission is handled follows from that line.
Can moogo run the home after I buy it?
In Kyoto and Nara, yes. We run licensed short stays and furnished monthly rentals, at 25% of room revenue per booking with no fixed monthly fee. Whether a specific building can hold a lodging license is a separate question, and we answer it before you buy.