Short answer: Yamanashi is a popular search because it is close to Tokyo, but the prefecture does not run one English akiya portal. The listings are spread across municipal akiya banks, the Hatomark Site run by the real estate association, and the Kaiteki Seikatsu site backed by the prefecture and local partners, and all of them are in Japanese. The thing English-language articles rarely mention is that some Yamanashi akiya banks are explicitly not for holiday homes: Hokuto City, for example, asks applicants to live in the city year-round and excludes seasonal use. For hazards, Yamanashi's distinctive checks are the revised Mt. Fuji hazard maps and heavy-snow design values, which were put under a spotlight by the record snowfall of February 2014.
The prefecture's life-and-housing page. Yamanashi's relocation and dual-residence media site, Y-charge, handles housing by pointing to two sites rather than one prefectural database. The first is the Hatomark Site Yamanashi, which the page describes as a way to search rental properties and akiya by area or rail line. The second is Kaiteki Seikatsu Ouentai (甲斐適生活応援隊), a property site which says it supports dual-residence and relocation. Its search covers new and used houses, condominiums and land, for sale or rent, filterable by seven zones within the prefecture and by price, and some listings are marked as registered with municipal akiya banks. There are no fees mentioned for browsing, and the site is Japanese-only.
Consultation windows. The prefecture's Yamanashi Living Support Center (やまなし暮らし支援センター) runs the relocation consultation, with its information at yamanashi-kankou.jp/yamanashikurashi. It is useful for choosing a municipality; it is not a substitute for the town's own akiya bank rules.
Municipal akiya banks. These are where the conditions live. Hokuto City, which attracts many Tokyo buyers, is a good illustration, so the rest of this section uses it. Other municipalities set their own rules, so look for each town's page.
Nationwide, At Home and LIFULL HOME'S each run a national akiya bank commissioned by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. At Home's pages are organised per prefecture at akiya-athome.jp, and a Yamanashi search there is a quick way to see which towns have registered stock. The background is in our guide to akiya bank conditions for foreigners.
| Japanese | Meaning and use |
|---|---|
| 山梨県 空き家バンク | Prefecture plus akiya bank: finds the town pages and the Hatomark and Kaiteki Seikatsu sites. |
| 北杜市 空き家バンク / 甲州市 空き家バンク | Replace the town. The town page lists the conditions and subsidies the portals leave out. |
| 売買 / 賃貸 | For sale / for rent. Many rural houses are rental-only, which can be a sensible first step. |
| 別荘 / 別荘地 | Villa / villa estate. Ask whether a house in a villa estate comes with management fees and who handles the sale. |
| 管理費 / 水道加入金 | Management fee / water connection fee. Ask what is included. |
Translating a page with the browser works for conditions text but mangles place names, so paste the Japanese town name into your notes. Our kanji red-flag guide explains the labels that translation tends to soften, and the question list is ready to paste into an email.
The Hokuto akiya bank page sets the pattern. Applicants must join the administrative district (the neighbourhood association) and take part in community events, and must live in the city year-round or stay regularly throughout the year. The page states that the system excludes holiday homes or seasonal use. The city works with a cooperation council of real estate agents to collect and introduce properties, and it does not intermediate in the transaction itself. If you want a weekend house, that is a significant filter: the cheap listing may not be available to you for that purpose.
The same city offers an akiya bank renovation subsidy (空き家バンク活用促進リフォーム補助金). From April 2025 the page says the buyer's or renter's renovation grant can be applied for together with the owner's furniture-disposal subsidy up to a combined ¥1,000,000. The conditions are worth reading before you plan a budget around it: work must be done by a company or individual with a base of business in Hokuto, you should consult the office before starting any work, and the subsidy is cancelled and repayment is required if you leave or demolish the property within five years of the project's completion year. The page does not mention nationality, which is not the same as saying foreign residents are covered; ask.
The prefectural page (移住施策) says that for fiscal 2026 every municipality except Showa Town and Tanba Village takes part. The requirements follow the national scheme (Cabinet Office): a cumulative five years in Tokyo's 23 wards (or living in the wider Tokyo area while commuting to the 23 wards) in the previous ten years, a qualifying job such as one listed on the prefecture's matching site, and an intention to stay for five years. The base amounts the Cabinet Office describes are up to ¥1,000,000 for a household and ¥600,000 for a single person, plus up to ¥1,000,000 per child under 18. The prefecture's page says applications go to the municipality, that you should consult the town before moving, and that budgets may run out without notice. It says nothing about foreign nationals. For a buyer coming from overseas, the origin requirement alone probably rules it out; for a long-term resident of Tokyo it is worth a conversation.
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Single report $49 · Compare 3 $99 Free 12-point checklistThe Fuji hazard maps were revised in March 2021 by the Mt. Fuji Volcanic Disaster Prevention Council, replacing the 2004 version, and the prefecture publishes them at pref.yamanashi.jp/kazan/hazardmap.html. The maps cover lava flows, pyroclastic flows and surges, snowmelt lahars (with hazard degree, arrival time and flow depth), large volcanic projectiles, ashfall and post-ashfall debris flows. Two formats are offered: "drill maps" built from specific scenarios and "possibility maps" showing where a phenomenon could reach. There is also a map of the estimated crater range. Shizuoka Prefecture publishes the same set from its side (Shizuoka page). If you are looking at a house on the slopes of Mt. Fuji, look the address up on the maps. These are long-return-period events, so the maps are best used to understand evacuation routes and ashfall exposure rather than as a reason to avoid the region.
The Japan Meteorological Agency's Kofu office recorded maximum snow depths of 114 cm at Kofu and 143 cm at Kawaguchiko on 15 February 2014, both the highest for those stations (JMA column on the February 2014 snow). Roads and rail were disrupted across the prefecture. Yamanashi is not usually described as a snow region, which is exactly why the event is useful: houses designed for light snow, and long-empty akiya with weakened roofs, are the vulnerable stock. The prefecture's page on design snow depth (垂直積雪量) lists values set by the governor per area; for example Fuji-Kawaguchiko is listed at 80 cm and Hokuto at 65–85 cm depending on the former municipal district. Note that the reference table cited on the page dates from 1998 (Heisei 10), and a design value is a statistical standard rather than the maximum possible, so a record event can exceed it. For an old akiya, ask whether the roof has been inspected and who clears snow when the house is empty.
As in any mountain prefecture, check the flood and landslide layers on the national map for the exact address; our hazard map guide shows how. Houses on slopes also raise the retaining wall question (retaining wall guide).
Not necessarily. Hokuto City's akiya bank page says applicants must join the neighbourhood association and live in the city year-round or stay regularly through the year, and that holiday-home or seasonal use is excluded. Other towns have their own rules, so ask each akiya bank office in writing.
The sites reviewed for this guide, including the Kaiteki Seikatsu property listings, are in Japanese only. Search with browser translation and the Japanese terms 空き家バンク, 売買 and 賃貸, and confirm details with the agent or the municipality.
The revised Fuji hazard maps of March 2021 cover lava flows, pyroclastic flows, snowmelt lahars, large volcanic projectiles, ashfall and post-ashfall debris flows, with an estimated crater range map. Whether a particular address is affected has to be read from the maps, which the prefecture publishes as PDFs.
The Hokuto City page describes the subsidy for people registered with its akiya bank and does not mention nationality. It is capped at ¥1,000,000 when combined with the owner's furniture-disposal subsidy, requires work by a local contractor and can be reclaimed if you leave or demolish within five years. Confirm eligibility with the city before applying.
In February 2014 the Japan Meteorological Agency recorded maximum snow depths of 114 cm at Kofu and 143 cm at Kawaguchiko, both the highest on record for those stations. Design snow depths in the building rules are set by the governor per area, so check the figure for the specific municipality.
Have a specific listing in mind? Get the official zoning, hazard and transaction data for that exact lot — plus the questions to send the agent — in one report.
Get a $49 risk report Free 12-point checklistThis guide is general information based on public sources cited above. It is not legal, tax, or real-estate brokerage advice. Confirm every item for a specific property with the agent, the municipality, and licensed professionals.