Episode 11 · Sep 28, 2026 · 16 min

It's Spooky Season — Here's What Old Houses Japan Has Planned for October

Read in 1 min · Listen in 16 min

October at Old Houses Japan is different. This month every episode lives in the part of Japan's property world that doesn't make it into the listings — the cultural weight of old buildings, the things buyers find when they clear out a house that's been empty for decades, and the experiences that sit between what's explainable and what isn't. In this short kickoff episode David and Victoria lay out everything coming this month. Jiko bukken — Japan's stigmatised property law and why every foreign buyer needs to understand it before they make any decision. The personal ghost stories — including Victoria's night in Kyoto that she still can't explain. The household shrine episode and the thirty thousand yen found in the Old Houses Japan Nagasaki property that nobody has touched. What gets left behind inside abandoned Japanese houses and what each object reveals about how the vacancy happened. Japan's death geography — why a property near a temple graveyard in Japan is not what a Western buyer assumes it to be. Plus a real story from the Reddit Japan property community to set the mood for everything coming. And the ask — if you have had a creepy, unexplained, or historically significant experience in a traditional Japanese property as a buyer, renter, or visitor, we want to hear about it. The best submissions will be read on the podcast this month. 📧 Submit your story: hello@oldhousesjapan.com — subject line: My Japan Story 🌐 oldhousesjapan.com 📸 @oldhousesjapan 🎙️ oldhousesjapanpodcast.com