i bought a 2DK in setagaya near the 小田急 line a few years ago. the key thing people miss is the 固定資産税 (property tax) valuation - it can jump after a sale if the city reassesses. mine went up like 15% the year after i bought. also, some older buildings have this weird rule where you can't do short-term rentals (like airbnb) in the 管理規約, so check that if u planned to offset costs. for a holiday home, i'd actually look at 大田区 near the 京急線 - cheaper per square meter and still 20 mins to shinjuku, plus closer to haneda if ur flying in

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honestly the agent might not tell u this but getting a loan as a foreigner for an older place is a pain unless u pay cash. even with good rates, some banks just wont touch buildings from the 80s. if u do go cash, check the 耐震診断 report yourself, dont just trust what they say.

also, the monthly 管理費 and 修繕積立金 can be surprisingly high for older buildings, like 20,000-30,000 yen a month for a small place. that adds up fast if its just a holiday home u use a few weeks a year. i'd look at places in 世田谷 or 杉並 if u want quieter streets and better value than central wards.

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honestly the biggest shock for me was the 固定資産税 bill. it's not huge but it's annual and if you're not living here full time it's easy to forget about. also some buildings charge a separate 修繕積立金 that goes up every few years without warning.

another thing i'd check is the 用途地域 zoning on the land. some old apartments are in 準工業地域 or 商業地域 which means the area can change a lot. a quiet street today could have a 24/7 convenience store or a pachinko parlor next door next year.

if you're set on an old place, look for ones that already had a 大規模修繕工事 done recently. that's the big external repair where they redo the waterproofing and paint the whole building. if it's coming up in 5 years you might get hit with a lump sum payment of a few million yen.

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if u have a costco membership the kirkland thick cut is the move, 4 packs of 500g for around 2500 yen and it crisps up proper in a cold pan. for smaller runs, precce in azabudai hills & the basement at isetan shinjuku both carry imported US & danish brands in the chilled case, just read the label for "thick cut" or "smoked" and not "loin". also worth knowing japanese bacon is often wet-cured so pat it dry before frying or it steams instead of crisping

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kaldi coffee farm is hit or miss but their smoked bacon from denmark shows up pretty regular, the 200g pack runs about 600 yen. what actually works better for me is asking the butcher counter at peacock or life to slice the block bacon thick, like 5mm, they do it for free and it crisps way better than the pre-packed stuff. also fwiw cheap bacon crisps faster, the fatty supermarket kind at 300 yen a pack works fine if u cook it from cold in a dry pan and pour off the fat as it renders.

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tbh the gyomu super store brand bacon is surprisingly decent for crisping up, its not thick cut but if you cook it low and slow it gets pretty crunchy. the key is the dry cure vs wet cure thing, wet cure steams. also check hanamasa if you have one nearby, they sell big packs of american style bacon thats actually smoked and firm.

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