Akiya in Shimokitayama Village, Yoshino, Nara

Government duty on the signed sale contract.

A national tax you pay to put the house in your name. This tax is worked out from the town hall's valuation of the land and the building, not from the asking price. For the building they use an average value for a wooden house. Old houses are usually worth less than that average, so the real bill is often a little lower than the figure here. Houses built before 1982 only get the lower rate for people who live in them if they have an earthquake-safety certificate. Ask the agent whether this one does.

A prefectural tax you pay once, after you buy. It is often nothing at all: cheap houses fall under the tax-free limit. This tax is worked out from the town hall's valuation of the land and the building, not from the asking price. For the building they use an average value for a wooden house. Old houses are usually worth less than that average, so the real bill is often a little lower than the figure here. Houses built before 1982 only get the lower rate for people who live in them if they have an earthquake-safety certificate. Ask the agent whether this one does.

The seller has already paid this year's property tax, so you pay them back for the part of the year you own the house. The range is the date you complete: buy in January and you pay back most of the year, buy in December and almost none of it.

Bank fees to move the purchase funds on settlement day - typically an international wire.

Proves your identity for registration when you have no Japanese residence record.

A proxy attends the signing and registration in Japan on your behalf when you can't be there.

A local tax representative to receive property-tax notices when you have no address in Japan.

A professional survey of the building's condition before you commit - separate from the agent's own viewing.

Optional, but recommended for most foreign buyers unless you can handle all of the above on your own in Japanese. An agent arranges these steps, carries out checks, and can view properties on your behalf - though a viewing may cost extra depending on where the property is. The price varies with how comprehensive the service is, up to handling the entire purchase without you needing to travel to Japan.