Having adequate health coverage is an important consideration for anyone going overseas to work, study or travel. Discussions on this topic typically focus on health insurance options, and having financial security in the case of experiencing an accident or health emergency abroad.

However, for those people with pre-existing conditions, allergies or those already on medication a more urgent consideration in the case of accident or emergency is the security of knowing that the doctor or emergency services treating you are aware of your medical history, especially in circumstances where you may not be able to inform them yourself.

This is where a little preparation could potentially save your life, and there are a number of ways to ensure that you are protected, at little or no cost to your wallet. Here is a list of five simple but effective steps that you can take:

1. Make sure that you have filled out the emergency contact details section of your passport, and make sure that the person nominated as your emergency contact has the details of your travel plans, health insurance provider, and any pre-existing conditions, allergies or medication that you are taking.

2. Embassies and consulates can often provide some assistance in case of emergency. Check their websites to find out what kind of services they can provide, and keep a list of their contact details on your person with your other important documents, such as your passport and insurance details.

3. If you are being treated for a condition, bring a letter from your doctor describing the treatment and any medications that you are taking, and keep this on your person at all times. The brand names of medications vary from country to country, so make sure that the letter lists the most generic description.

4. For greater security and protection, register your medical details with an online personal health records service, such as www.my-medi-info.com . These services allow doctors and emergency services throughout the world to access any personal medical records that you would like to share, in a similar way to medical record information sharing within your home country. They are secure, generally inexpensive and easy to set up. The service gives users the options of a My Medi Info card that enable medical personnel to identify and trace all your details quickly, and ensure that your family and children can too.

5. Always confirm with your insurance provider what the extent of your coverage is, particularly as it relates to any conditions that you are undergoing treatment for.

Of course, everyone hopes that they can enjoy their overseas experience without being concerned with the stresses of having to undergo serious or emergency treatment in a foreign country. By following these simple steps, you can minimize the risks should the unthinkable happen, and it may just save your life.

The benefit to buying an already built house vs. a vacant block of land is that you can move straight into a house and avoid paying “double-rent” – rent for your current home as well as mortgage payments for land while waiting for your new home to be built, which may take 6~12 months.

Typical wooden Japanese homes are built to last 30 years, but recent construction methods and pricier options mean houses can be built to last much longer. Concrete construction can last 50~60 years and there are now 100-year concrete products available.

Popular Ex-Pat Locations in Tokyo
Popular residential areas with a large selection of homes include Setagaya-ku, Ota-ku (the Denenchofu area in particular) and along the Toyoko train line in Meguro-ku. The central areas such as Minato and Shibuya-ku also have some very high-grade neighborhoods such as Shoto and Hiroo/Azabu, but due to high land prices you will find houses are much more expensive or much smaller.

Denenchofu (Ota-ku)
11 minutes by train from Shibuya or 30~40 minutes by car. The Denenchofu area was planned by Viscount Shibusawa who was inspired by Sir Ebenezer Howard and modeled the area after Letchworth Garden City in England. Blocks of land are usually larger and streets are wider.

Famous Denenchofu residents include high-profile celebrities, politicians, former pro-baseball players, Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishihara, former Prime Minister Hatoyama, President and founder of Doutor Coffee and the President of the Imperial Hotel. One music producer spent 4 billion Yen (48 million USD) building his home in this neighborhood. The average price of land is 690,000 Yen/sqm.

Shoto/Kamiyamacho (Shibuya-ku)
This is a small and highly regarded residential enclave just behind Shibuya’s main shopping district. It is arguably the most expensive residential area in Tokyo and has some very large and private homes.

It is home to some very high-profile and wealthy individuals including the president of Rakuten, former Prime Minister Taro Aso whose house is estimated to be worth 6.2 billion Yen (75.6 million USD). The official residence of the Governor of Tokyo is also in Shoto 1 Chome. It is currently for sale for 3.2 billion Yen (39 million USD). There are several Embassies in this neighborhood as well as the Shoto Museum of Art. There is a small park in Shoto called Nabeshima Park which has a small number of houses overlooking the pond and gardens. The average land price is 1,240,000 Yen/sqm but land surrounding Nabeshima Park is closer to 3,000,000 Yen/sqm.

 Hiroo/Azabu: (Shibuya-ku and Minato-ku)

This is a very popular residential area for expatriates.

It has a many international schools, foreign supermarkets, cafes, restaurants, parks and Embassies. It includes the area around Hiroo Station, and the Minamiazabu, Motoazabu, Nishiazabu addresses. The average land price is 1,250,000 Yen/sqm.

Shirokane / Takanawa: (Minato-ku)

This area is still in Minato-ku and just to the south of Hiroo and Azabu, but is a less expensive location.

There are many affordable as well as upscale homes in this area. The Grand Prince Hotel, Meiji Gakuin University, Nature Study Park and “Platinum Dori” – a well known street-lined avenue with restaurants, shops and apartments. The average land price is 950,000 Yen/sqm.

Pricing

When looking at the price of a house and land in central Tokyo, the approximately value of a new or near-new house will be approximately 30% and the land value will be the remaining 70%. In outer suburbs and regional area this figure is reversed due to cheaper land prices.

If the house is old and dilapidated, the property may be priced at land value only. The expectation is that a buyer will tear down the house and build a new one.

A wooden house costs on average 200,000 Yen/sqm to build, while reinforced-concrete houses cost around 300,000 Yen/sqm.

Average residential land prices for 2011 in Minato-ku are 1,170,000 Yen/sqm, in Shibuya-ku 1,060,000 Yen/sqm, in Meguro-ku 790,000 Yen/sqm, Setagaya-ku 630,000 Yen/sqm, and Ota-ku 615,000 Yen/sqm.

The MLIT publishes annual land price information for selected locations in Tokyo and across Japan.

The points that will add to the price of a house are:
- South-facing street frontage: The South side of a property receives the most sunlight all day long. As a house will usually have houses very close on 3 sides, the street-side is the only side that can get the most light. Having this side of the house facing south will provide brighter living areas.
- Being located on a wide street. The best width is 5~6 meters. Any wider and the street may have too much traffic. Any narrower and large vehicles may have difficulty entering the street (it may also be a one-way road).
- Having wider street frontage will add to the value of the land. A house on a block of land with a narrow street frontage, or a ‘flag’ shaped block, can sometimes be less desirable and less valuable.
- A house on a corner allotment.

Buying new
You can buy a brand new house direct from a developer. This type of sale typically does not incur any brokerage fees, which on a house of 50 million Yen would result in a saving of 1.5 million Yen.

Developers may also provide a 10 year warranty. Even if you purchase a near-new house on the secondary market, the warranty will transfer over to the new owner.

Buying an older house
You can save on some of the initial depreciation that occurs with a brand new home by buying an older house. A house over 30 years old is considered to be almost at the end of its useful life, so it would be sold at almost land value. Some of these older houses have been well maintained by their owners, and others have not, so there is a huge variety. Of course, not all old houses are inhabitable. Building inspections are not usually carried out by buyers, but there are companies who can conduct an investigation at the buyers expense.

House renovation (or reform) companies specialize in updating old houses and making them livable again. Mitsui Home Remodeling advertise a full home renovation based on a 100sqm house  for 8.61 million Yen (105,000 USD), but other companies advertise basic packages starting from 5.75 million Yen (70,000 USD).

The cost of building a new home is sometimes the same as renovating an old house, so many choose to tear down the house and start anew.

Some very old houses that are just being sold for the land underneath may be sold with no warranty against defects. This is called kashitanpo-sekinin which and means the buyer has no recourse against the seller should the house have termites, water leaks and so on. In normal sales, the warranty against defects would be 3 months after closing for a house purchased from a private individual, and longer if the seller was a corporate entity.

-Courtesy of Real Estate Japan (realestate.co.jp). The author, Zoe Ward,
is the publisher of Japan Property Central and has extensive experience in the Tokyo real estate market, working for some of the advertising agents on Real Estate Japan.

One element of our Executive Value Proposition has to do with how well we know ourselves in terms of inner-motivated skills and strengths. And we must know how to market these throughout our networks and directly to potential employers. This helps us:

• Transition more smoothly from employer to employer and adapt to changes in the market.
• Change jobs internally or adapt to new responsibilities because we can align the new tasks with our unique portfolio of strengths.
• Know when to pursue new training or education. We will pinpoint what we NEED to know and what we WANT to know. We gain clarity on the areas we want to develop and direction we want to go.
• Develop our full potential by building on our strengths, as opposed to focusing only on improving weaknesses (which merely raises our level of mediocrity).
• Avoid being locked into a job title or even a field of work. Our strengths can be leveraged across a variety of settings and fields of work. That is, they are “transferable.”

When we have clearly defined our Dependable Strengths (innate talents, skills, and capabilities that we are are good at, that we enjoy using, and that bring us a sense of pride), we become free to use, develop, or combine them in different ways to accommodate change.

Then the word “change” no longer means unknown or apprehension. Instead it comes to mean adaptation, flexibility, and opportunity. In this way, we are more empowered take charge of our lives.

Now THAT is true job security.

Courtesy of Peter Hill: “The Career Doctor”

DreamLoft’s architect – commissioned design subtly blends Japanese and Western elements. Carpeted almost completely throughout, the house has 14 rooms, three bathrooms and a laundry room. The original owner was a photographer, so there is also a darkroom. Every room has built-in air conditioning/heating units, and can also be warmed by the Scandinavian fireplace in the living room. Both the kitchen and rotenburo (hot spring bath) have heated floors. A courtyard garden, open to the sky, forms the centerpiece of the house. Large glass windows and doors bring in sunlight to illuminate the central living areas of the house.

The house commands spectacular views of Yamanashi’s Kofu Valley. Kofu is known as “the mountain city” because it is surrounded by Mount Fuji to the south, the Yatsugatake mountain ranges and Mount Kinpu to the north, and the Southern Alps to the west.

Building Description
A civilized escape from civilization. A comfortable and stylish mountain aerie where you can settle back and dream awhile. The perfect place to come home to after playing a round, hitting the slopes, sampling some wine, or any of dozens of other pleasures you can pursue in the neighborhood.

That’s DreamLoft – a countryside getaway that combines Japanese and Western design elements and commands spectacular views of Yamanashi’s Kofu Valley and the Southern Alps. The original owners spent two million dollars designing and constructing DreamLoft, and they did things right. Vacation living simply doesn’t get any better than this in Japan.

See DreamLoft’s website at www.DreamLoft.jp