Second Homes Near Tokyo: Karuizawa, Kamakura and Atami

Guide

Karuizawa, Kamakura and Atami are each about 45 to 70 minutes from Tokyo Station by train on official travel guidance, but they make very different second homes: Karuizawa is a highland resort that is cool in summer and freezing in winter, Kamakura is a historic seaside city ringed by hills and strict landscape rules, and Atami is a hot-spring town built on steep slopes above Sagami Bay. If you are looking at property for sale in Karuizawa, Kamakura or Atami, start from when you will actually use the house and who will look after it while you are away, then check the hazards and building rules for the exact plot. This guide is written as of August 11, 2026; it does not cover prices, tax, financing or visas.

How the three towns compare

Getting there. The town of Karuizawa puts the Shinkansen ride from Tokyo Station at about 70 minutes.^[1] Kamakura Station is about 55 minutes from Tokyo Station on the JR Yokosuka Line, according to Japan's national tourism organization.^[2] Atami City gives about 45 minutes from Tokyo Station on the Kodama service of the Tokaido Shinkansen, and about 50 minutes by Shinkansen in another of its documents.^[3] All of these are guide times on the train, and the actual time depends on the service you take. Add the trip from the station to the house, which in all three places may mean a taxi or a car.

How the year looks. Karuizawa grew up as a summer resort, so weigh its climate (see below) when you decide when you would use the house. Kamakura and Atami both draw large numbers of visitors (figures below), so think about whether the weekends and holidays when you would want to be there are also likely to be busy.

**Who each town may suit, in our view.**^[4] Karuizawa, if you will come mainly in summer and can hand over the winter care of the house. Kamakura, if you will come often through the year and are prepared to work within its building rules. Atami, if you want hot springs and a short ride from Tokyo, and are comfortable with steep streets or would rather have a managed condominium.

Karuizawa property: cool summers, frozen pipes

Karuizawa spreads across the south-eastern slope of Mount Asama, between about 900 and 1,000 metres above sea level.^[5] The town traces its life as a summer resort to 1886, when the missionary Alexander Croft Shaw visited, and he built a villa there in 1888.^[6]

Second homes are part of how the town works. Karuizawa had 21,634 registered residents in April 2024, but with more than 16,000 villas the town estimates that just under 30,000 people are there at any one time, and that in the spring and summer seasons the population rises to several times the number of residents.^[7] If you come at the height of the season, plan for busier roads and trains.

On the Japan Meteorological Agency's 1991–2020 normals, Karuizawa's average August temperature is 20.8°C against 26.9°C in central Tokyo, and its average January temperature is −3.3°C against 5.4°C in Tokyo. Snowfall over a normal year adds up to about 141 cm.^[8]

For an owner who is away for months, both the snow and the cold need a plan: the snow for the access road and the roof, the cold for the water pipes. The town's waterworks advises insulating pipes and draining the water when it will not be used for several days, and points owners who cannot do this themselves to the town's approved plumbing contractors.^[9] Arrange who will drain and refill the system before your first winter, not after a burst pipe.

Two more things belong on your list in Karuizawa:

Local building rules. The town has had its own nature-conservation guidelines since 1972. They set rules on matters such as dividing land, how much of a plot can be built on, and the height and colour of buildings. The town consulted the public on a revision in spring 2025 and brought part of the revised guidelines into force in August 2025, and its page on the guidelines, updated in April 2026, carried a notice that they are being amended.^[10] Ask your agent which rules apply to the plot today and what they allow before you plan to extend or rebuild.
Mount Asama. Asama is an active volcano watched around the clock by the Japan Meteorological Agency. On May 22, 2026, the agency lowered its volcanic alert level from 2 to 1, which officially means "be aware that this is an active volcano", and on the Karuizawa side the town still keeps the area within 4 km of the crater closed as a restricted zone, apart from two designated hiking trails. The town publishes volcanic hazard maps for Asama, including maps for ash fall and for mudflows caused by melting snow.^[11] Alert levels can change: check the current level, and where the house sits on those maps.

Kamakura property: sea, hills and landscape rules

Kamakura is where Minamoto no Yoritomo set up Japan's first government run by the warrior class.^[12] The old centre of Kamakura is ringed by hills on three sides and opens onto the sea to the south.^[13] It has about 169,000 residents (a city estimate for December 1, 2025, which will be revised after the 2025 census)^[14] and also draws visitors in large numbers: the city counted about 15.94 million tourist visits in 2024, a count of visits rather than of people.^[15] If you plan to use the house mainly at holiday weekends, expect those to be among the busiest days.

The city has a dense set of rules on what can be built and changed. The whole city is covered by a landscape plan, and building work above a certain size has to be notified. Around Kamakura and Kita-Kamakura stations, a landscape district sets maximum heights and rules on colours, and building work there, including exterior repairs and colour changes, needs the mayor's certification. About 55.5% of the city is a scenic zone where certain works need the mayor's permission, and parts of the city are historic-landscape preservation areas under the national law on ancient capitals, where specified works must be notified or, in special preservation districts, need the prefectural governor's permission.^[16] What this means for a particular house, from repainting to rebuilding, is a question for your agent and the city before you buy.

The sea and the hills each bring a hazard:

Tsunami. In the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, tsunami waves reached Kamakura repeatedly; their height is put at 5–6 metres, though some records say 9 metres. The city publishes a tsunami hazard map showing expected flooding areas, depths and evacuation sites.^[17]
Landslides. Under the national landslide disaster law, Kanagawa Prefecture has designated 65 debris-flow warning areas and 409 steep-slope collapse warning areas in Kamakura (as of May 29, 2026). The city's landslide hazard map, last revised in January 2022, is drawn from the prefecture's designations.^[18]

Atami property: hot springs on a steep shore

Atami is the gateway to the Izu Peninsula, and its station is also served by the JR Ito Line.^[3] The city grew up on slopes that fall towards Sagami Bay. There is little flat land, and the built-up area climbs in steps from the shore up the hillside, and the city itself notes that the many slopes make getting around harder and limit building.^[19] Before you fall for a sea view, walk the route from the station and the nearest shops to the door.

Atami City runs its own hot-spring supply. Inside the city's supply area, homes and holiday homes, not only hotels and inns, may be connected to it, subject to the city's approval and the installation of supply equipment. To be supplied you have to live in or own a building in the area, apply to the city, and pay a joining fee that varies with use, type and bath size; the water is then charged by meter.^[20] Whether a particular home is already connected, whether new connections are being accepted, and on what terms, are things to confirm in writing.

Atami is also a busy resort, with about 3.07 million overnight stays in fiscal 2024, counted from the city's hot-spring bathing tax.^[21] That is a different measure from Kamakura's count of visits, so the two figures cannot be compared directly.

On July 3, 2021, a debris flow struck the Izusan district of the city. The city's reconstruction plan records 28 deaths (27 direct deaths and 1 disaster-related death) and, as of March 22, 2024, damage to 136 buildings, affecting 142 households.^[22] The national government cites the disaster as background to a nationwide overhaul of the law on land filling and earthworks, which took effect on May 26, 2023.^[23] The city publishes hazard maps for tsunamis, storms and landslides, and its tsunami flood zones were designated as tsunami hazard warning areas in March 2023.^[24]

Looking after the house while you are away

If the house will stand empty for long periods, settle these points before you buy, not after:

A local contact with keys. Someone who can check the house after typhoons, heavy rain or snow, and let in a plumber or a builder.
Frost, damp and leaks. In Karuizawa, who drains and refills the water and when. In all three towns, how the house will be aired, kept dry and checked for leaks while it is closed.
Estate or building management. In a managed villa estate or a condominium, what the management fee covers (roads, water, snow clearing, patrols, the building itself), how much is held for repairs, and what the rules say about use.
The garden and the trees. Who cuts back trees and growth before they reach a neighbour's land or the road.
Bills and post. How utility bills, estate or community charges and letters will reach you abroad.

Risks to weigh before you buy

Natural hazards. A volcano in Karuizawa, tsunami and landslides in Kamakura, landslides and tsunami in Atami. Japan's national hazard map portal lets you enter an address and see the flood, landslide, storm-surge and tsunami risks mapped for that point.^[25] A place left blank on the map can still be hit by a disaster, so check each town's own maps as well; for Karuizawa, those include the Mount Asama maps.
Rules that limit change. Karuizawa's guidelines and Kamakura's landscape and preservation areas can shape what you may build, extend or alter. In Atami, ask which landscape-plan rules apply, and remember that steep plots bring their own limits.
Resale. Do not assume how quickly a second home will sell. Ask about recent sales of similar homes in the same area and how long they took.
Running costs while empty. Find out which costs continue whether or not you visit, such as management fees and basic charges, and which depend on use.
Currency. If you earn in another currency, a move in the yen changes what the purchase and the running costs are worth to you, in either direction.

Questions to settle before you make an offer

Karuizawa: Is the plot inside a managed villa estate, and what does the estate charge and provide? How are the water and the access road dealt with in winter? Which version of the town's nature-conservation guidelines applies?
Kamakura: Which landscape, scenic or historic-preservation areas cover the plot, and what would they require for the work you have in mind? Can a car reach the house? Is the plot inside a tsunami or landslide warning area?
Atami: Is the home connected to a hot-spring supply, who supplies it, what are the fees and conditions, and do they pass to a new owner? How stable are the slope and any retaining walls around the plot, and is there fill on or above it? In a condominium, what do the rules say about the hot-spring bath and about renting the unit out?
If you want to rent the home out: What do the building or estate rules allow, and what rules apply to short-stay lodging at that address? Ask your agent and the town before you count on any rental income.

When the answer changes

You will mostly come in winter. Weigh Karuizawa's cold and the work of keeping an empty house safe from frost.
You want little upkeep while you are away. A managed condominium, in whichever town, may suit you better than a house with a garden.
You will not keep a car. Check how far the house is from the station on foot, and how steep the walk is.
You may commute to Tokyo. Check the timetable, the last train and the cost of the trip you would make most often, not only the fastest journey.
You plan to rent it out. Confirm the building or estate rules and the rules on short-stay lodging first; they can rule out the plan before price does.
The address is in a mapped hazard area. Decide whether you accept that risk before you look further; if you do, it should shape which house, which floor and which insurance you consider.

Where to look next

Each prefecture guide gives the wider picture around one of these towns: Nagano for Karuizawa, Kanagawa for Kamakura and Shizuoka for Atami. When you search our listings, take the questions above with you, and ask them about every house that makes your shortlist.