The Japanese ski resort of Niseko is well-known for its soft, fluffy snow, attracting a record number of tourists. But the influx of international visitors has led to a housing crisis, that is infuriating many locals.
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00:00The powdery snow in Japan is so famous it even has a name, Japau.
00:08And there's no better example than the ski resort of Niseko.
00:12The powdery snow here is always the best.
00:14Once you get here too and you have the experience of it, you kind of want to come back every year.
00:19Australians are credited for ushering in the era of international tourism
00:24and it hasn't slowed down with a record 730,000 foreign visitors in the most recent financial year,
00:31far outnumbering Japanese.
00:33But there's been a downside as wealthy foreigners snap up available property.
00:39A lot of people say they really want something done to solve the housing difficulties.
00:44They really want to live in this town, but it's hard for them to do so.
00:49Since 2017, residential land values in the town have almost tripled.
00:54A property that used to be priced at 5 or 7 million yen is now priced at 14 or 15 million yen, or even 20 million yen.
01:03Lack of affordable real estate is the number one issue for locals.
01:07Some, like Natsuki Sato, have had no choice but to walk away from their housing dream.
01:13It feels unfair. It was a place where we could have built a house or bought land.
01:18But it's become too expensive.
01:20With limited options to push down housing prices,
01:23officials are instead offering locals relief elsewhere,
01:26like discounts at restaurants and ski passes.
01:30We can't stop prices from going up,
01:32so we changed our perspective on how we can maintain local livelihoods.
01:36The high number of visitors isn't unique to Nisiko,
01:39with record numbers of tourists flocking to Japan.
01:44But what worries authorities is that these visitors are concentrating in just a few key areas,
01:50like Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, putting a strain on resources.
01:56So there's now a real effort to try and encourage people to visit some of Japan's lesser known places.
02:02So there's a question in Japan.
02:04I don't know.
02:06I don't know.
02:08I don't know.
02:10I don't know.
02:12I don't know.
02:14I don't know.
02:16I don't know.