I think that housing works differently in Japan. Houses aren't a meteorically-appreciating asset, and the zoning laws are permissive enough to allow for tons of high-density, relatively low-cost housing within easy reach of tons of decent jobs.
It's pretty great IMO. Before I married her, my wife was living 10 minutes from Shinjuku (one of the mega high-density areas you see a lot of tourist photos from), and it cost her about $1000/month for a studio apartment. 15-20 minutes farther out and you could get a nice 2 bedroom apartment for $1300ish/month. Meanwhile, I was paying something like $1600/month for a small, old, beat-up apartment in a bad neighborhood 45 minutes away from downtown Seattle (and now that same crap apartment is $3000/month just a few years later, while the apartments in Japan are roughly the same price..)
I wish all the jerks living in Silicon Valley and Seattle would just vote for unlimited high-density housing and supporting mass transit. It's never going to happen, though, since in the USA your house is both your retirement fund and your ticket to a better lifestyle. I can't even imagine how we'd get out of this mess we're in..
It's pretty great IMO. Before I married her, my wife was living 10 minutes from Shinjuku (one of the mega high-density areas you see a lot of tourist photos from), and it cost her about $1000/month for a studio apartment. 15-20 minutes farther out and you could get a nice 2 bedroom apartment for $1300ish/month. Meanwhile, I was paying something like $1600/month for a small, old, beat-up apartment in a bad neighborhood 45 minutes away from downtown Seattle (and now that same crap apartment is $3000/month just a few years later, while the apartments in Japan are roughly the same price..)
I wish all the jerks living in Silicon Valley and Seattle would just vote for unlimited high-density housing and supporting mass transit. It's never going to happen, though, since in the USA your house is both your retirement fund and your ticket to a better lifestyle. I can't even imagine how we'd get out of this mess we're in..