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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nKL has seen a growing number of Japanese expats for many years now, and I\u2019d always heard the main reason was the low cost of living.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But once I was there, I realized KL is no exception to the global trend\u2014eating at foreigner-oriented spots or Japanese restaurants can actually be more<\/em> expensive than in Japan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These days, it\u2019s hard to think of many countries that are still significantly cheaper than Japan. Maybe Vietnam\u2026 and that\u2019s about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even places like Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia in Eastern Europe, or Guatemala and Mexico in Central America\u2014which were way<\/em> cheaper than Japan 10 years ago\u2014are now at the same level or even more expensive. Travel to these countries might get harder in the coming years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking of Malaysia, about 10 years ago when I was living in Tokyo, I attended a seminar on Malaysian real estate investment. At that time, foreign buyers could only purchase properties priced at RM 500,000 or above (about 17.5 million yen at today\u2019s exchange rate). But from 2014, the minimum price was doubled to RM 1 million (with some exceptions depending on the state). Properties with building permits granted before the rule change were exempt, which is why the seminar was targeting Japanese investors trying to buy before the deadline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is something many people in Japan may not know, but in many countries\u2014including China, Indonesia, and Malaysia\u2014foreigners either can\u2019t buy real estate at all or must meet strict requirements to do so. Japan has no such restrictions, making it an open market for everyone. For years, places like Hokkaido and Osaka have seen a surge in foreign purchases (mostly investments), leading to price hikes and a flood of short-term rental properties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Living abroad makes you appreciate how attractive Japan is as an investment destination. Overall, land and property prices in Japan are still very affordable compared to much of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I was in Ubud, Bali, I met a German woman who asked me about traditional Japanese houses. She was interested in Japanese culture and Zen, and said she was planning to visit Kyoto in September. When you\u2019re overseas, you often get to experience niche aspects of Japanese culture through other people\u2019s eyes\u2014things you might not notice yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Right now, I\u2019m back in Bali, staying in the trendy Canggu area. This neighborhood has exploded in popularity in recent years, full of cafes and restaurants (mostly catering to foreigners). I\u2019d never even heard of it a few years ago, which shows just how fast Southeast Asia develops. Even when I thought Bali had already reached peak foreigner population years ago, it\u2019s still growing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unfortunately, my allergic conjunctivitis has flared up badly, so everyday I\u2019m battling itchy, painful eyes. But I\u2019ll be in Bali for another month, so I\u2019ll keep enjoying my time here and doing some \u201con-the-ground research.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oh, and I also visited Batu Caves, Malaysia\u2019s famous Hindu sacred site!<\/p>\n\n\n\n A few days ago, I was in Kuala Lumpur (KL), the capital of Malaysia! It was actually my first time visiting KL, and my first trip back to Malaysia in about 15 years since going to Kota Kinabalu. Originally, KL wasn\u2019t even on my travel plans. But in Bali, you can only stay for a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_locale":"en_US","_original_post":"https:\/\/lacasadeikuchijima.site\/?p=791","footnotes":"","wp-seo-meta-description":"","wp-seo-meta-robots":[]},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-blog","en-US","c-entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lacasadeikuchijima.site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lacasadeikuchijima.site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lacasadeikuchijima.site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lacasadeikuchijima.site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lacasadeikuchijima.site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=793"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lacasadeikuchijima.site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":794,"href":"https:\/\/lacasadeikuchijima.site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793\/revisions\/794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lacasadeikuchijima.site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lacasadeikuchijima.site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lacasadeikuchijima.site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/retro-fudosan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_5525-820x1024.jpeg\")
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