I Got Scammed on a Land Deal in Japan

A Real-Life "Tokyo Swindlers" Ordeal

The view that started this all. Lake Biwa. Photo by author.

“This is perfect.”

I stood looking out at an empty plot of land on a hill. The cool breeze from Lake Biwa hit my face. The song of birds filled my ears. Much better than the screeching of tires and the bustle of the city.

The land was cheap. It had a clear view of the lake. And it could be mine in two weeks.

Or so I was told.

“Trust me, I’ll get this done quickly for you,” said Akira. The real estate agent did not fit the Japanese stereotype of the buttoned-up and diligent worker. His hair was flaming red. Skin tanned even in winter. Gold rings on most of his fingers and a gold chain hanging above his V-neck shirt.

He looked more like a Japanese host (someone women pay to flirt with them) than a legit land dealer. But he was nice and I bought into him.

My wife and I had been scouring the mountains of Shiga for months looking for the best place to build a house. I grew up in Lake Tahoe, California, so being able to see the lake from my deck was a necessity.

Two other properties got snatched up within the two days I spent considering them. So, I wanted to jump on the next opportunity immediately.

Two months later my wife and I are sitting in the house maker’s office, waiting for Akira to show up.

The instant coffee has gone cold.

He’s late.

Present is the guy who sold us the house and a lawyer (let’s call him Onishi) to act as mediator. Everyone is ready to sign off on the land and get to work on the house.

Akira shows up. His plastic smile is somewhat downcast today.

“I’m so sorry but I’m having trouble communicating with the owner of the land. Give me three more months and I’ll get him to sign off on the land and we can build your house!”

Onishi, a sour-faced man but one who plays by the rules, looks down his nose at Akira. “Can you promise us?”

Akira smiles wide. “Yes.”

Three months pass and we all meet again.

Onishi pushes Akira for an answer this time.

He responds, “Okay, so…I can’t find the owner.”

Me, “What do you mean ‘can’t find him’?”

“Well, he’s a Korean national and nobody knows where he is now; he might be in Korea.”

Everyone’s jaw drops. The lawyer’s face goes red. My heart wants to explode out of my chest and strangle Akira.

He smiles again, “Don’t worry, just give me three more months.”

For some reason, maybe because it was my dream plot, or maybe I just didn’t want to go through the hell of finding another one, I say yes.

Three months later.

“Okay, good news. I found the Korean guy! But there’s a slight problem. He has dementia and we can’t legally get home to sign off on the land unless he’s totally lucid.”

I’m beyond anger at this point. I’m falling into a vortex of despair. My dreams of a forever home are dissipating.

At this Akira smiles, one last time. “Give me three more months.”

Before he leaves the room, I say, “Okay, since we have a contract. But if you can’t come through by then, we will have to break it.”

He says nothing and leaves the meeting. Later he texts me saying I can’t back out of the deal. I also put in a $10,000 deposit on it.

Thankfully Onishi comes to my aid. We meet, an hour before Akira is supposed to show up and tell us if he was successful or not. We don’t even need a loophole, Akira can’t hold us to the deal if he can’t, in good faith, deliver on the deal.

Akira never shows up for the meeting. Instead, he texts an apology and wires my deposit back to me.

I’m so happy my heart has decided to rejoin my ribcage. But, we wasted an entire year on this process. We ended up getting a better plot of land, for a MUCH higher price, but I love it. Would have been nice to have moved in a year earlier but at least everything worked out.

I still don’t know if it was truly a scam or if it was just massive incompetence. Did Akira really think he could keep us on, hanging by a thread, indefinitely? I imagined him doing the same thing to others, never actually selling the land and submitting the paperwork, just collecting deposits left and right.

I owe my escape, and my present life, to a red-faced lawyer named Onishi.