Tucked away in Japan’s countryside, millions of abandoned homes – known as akiya – sit empty, waiting for a second life. With ...

Akiya & Inaka’s listings include a 2,195-square-foot home built in 1983 in the suburb ... the thatched-roof aerie is about 300 years old. Inside, it’s a shadowy space of polished wood ...

There, he and his family settled into an akiya — an abandoned home — in the countryside. "The akiya at the beginning of the move looked a little bit like a haunted house," Uchiyama ...

The number of these “akiya” (vacant) houses has reached 9 million nationwide, or 13.8 percent of the total number of homes in Japan, a government survey released on April 30 showed.

An akiya bank is a database maintained by the ... I was chased by one inside the house, so that was really scary — even though it makes a funny story now," Deborah said. The language barrier ...

which was started this fiscal year to encourage sales of “akiya” abandoned homes by setting their price at 100 yen. The municipality has been asking residents to register information on vacant ...