Hokkaido Cities in demand is not only Sapporo that is the center of economy in Hokkaido.
Sapporo City / Chitose City / Asahikawa City
Kita 18 Jyo Sta | Kita 12 Jyo Sta | Gakuenmae Sta | Kita 13 Jyo Higashi Sta | Nishi 11 Chome Sta | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1R | 32,000JPY | 38,500JPY | 31,700JPY | 33,900JPY | 36,700JPY |
1K | 38,700JPY | 43,100JPY | 35,200JPY | 39,600JPY | 39,000JPY |
1DK | 39,500JPY | 45,100JPY | 39,300JPY | 43,600JPY | 44,200JPY |
1LDK | 51,400JPY | 58,700JPY | 48,100JPY | 52,600JPY | 58,300JPY |
2LDK | 8,200JPY | 7,600JPY | 6,200JPY | 0,200JPY | 3,500JPY |
There is an underground shopping center located in the center of Sapporo City that starts from Sapporo Station, through Odori Park, and ends in the Susukino area. This underground shopping center combined with the above ground shopping areas around Sapporo Station and Odori Park make this a prime place for residents to gather. Shoppers in this area do not have to worry about sudden rain or snow, and is the center of the Central Hokkaido Economic Zone that contains 3.4 million people.
Also, the city has a very good subway system with three main lines (Tozai,Nanboku, and Toho) which provide convenient access to all stations in the city so having a property with a parking lot is not necessary.
The image that since a lot of snow falls in Sapporo the expenses are very expensive is not necessarily true. Depending on the property, any snow clearing expenses may actually be less than one expects, and ignoring this area solely based on the notion that Sapporo = High Expenses is wasting many possible good investments.
Depending on the snow and the size of the property’s land, snow clearing expenses can vary so it is important to consider each property. During snowfall, the most important area to clear is the parking lot. If the property’s land is large and can hold many cars, the cost to clear the whole area will be quite high. For properties with only a few parking spaces or no parking lot at all may not even incur any clearing fees, so it is important to consider all of these factors when inspecting properties.
Also, as many people may know, the Sapporo Snow Festival takes place in the city every February, and attracts visitors from all over the country and from abroad.
Hokkaido is also home to the largest concentration of food manufacturing companies in the vegetable, seafood, and dairy markets. The concentration of all of these companies in the prefecture means there is a large demand for worker housing.
In recent years, many companies have begun creating call centers or outsourcing some business process to the area north of Sapporo Station, and this will be an area that is expected to grow in the future.
Sapporo City has the largest economy in the whole prefecture so it is safe to say that the rental demand in the area is sufficient and will not be decreasing anytime soon.
1K | 36,500JPY |
1LDK | 57,100JPY |
2LDK | 56,600JPY |
“The Air Gateway to Hokkaido,”Shin-Chitose Airport services the Tokyo (Hanaeda) to Sapporo (Shin-Chitose) flight which stands as the world’s busiest domestic flight with annual passenger numbers over 17.5 million.
Both the Japanese Defense Force’s 7th Division and Air Self Defense Force’s 2nd division have bases in Chitose City with a total of about 9,100 active service members in total. By including retired and active members together, about 26% of Chitose City’s population has some relation to these Defense Forces.
Also, there are 10 major industrial companies and over 250 other companies based in the city with a large number of them being related to the aviation industry. This provides a high rental demand for single and family tenants alike.
1K | 36,500JPY |
1LDK | 57,100JPY |
2LDK | 56,600JPY |
Asahikawa City has the 3rd largest population in northern Japan, behind Sapporo City and Sendai City, and is also a very popular tourist destination. While the population has been on the decline in recent years, there are still a large number of big name shopping centers and the new “Feeeal Asahikawa” shopping center was recently finished near Asahikawa Station.
The addition of these new businesses has begun helpingthe city revive its economy. The rental demand here is also high thanksto Asahikawa University and the nearby Japanese Defense Force base.