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💴 Price: 180,000,000 Yen (= $1,200,000 USD)

Perched on high ground above Itoshima's north coast, this three-story concrete villa with a full basement was built in 1999 around a single idea: the view. The 291 m² home sits on a 1,051 m² plot with no buildings in front, so the Genkai Sea fills nearly every window. The exterior is clean white concrete and charcoal panels, and the home opens onto a lawn terrace, a terraced garden and a rooftop deck. The seller has said they are open to price negotiation.

The home is clearly built for entertaining. It has a rooftop barrel sauna, an open-air bath on the lawn, a covered BBQ pavilion, a stone-clad bar and a fireplace. Underfloor heating keeps it comfortable in winter. A built-in garage and parking for four or more cars make it easy to host a crowd.

This is less a house than a private resort. It suits buyers who want a vacation home, a place to gather friends and family, or simply a home where the ocean is part of daily life.

The villa steps up the hillside in stacked concrete volumes, with floor-to-ceiling glass on every level facing the water. Sliding doors on the ground floor open straight onto the lawn terrace, so the indoor and outdoor spaces work as one.

The terrace is the heart of the property. A slate-lined open-air bath is set into the lawn and faces the open sea, with an outdoor dining table for ten beside it. At the far end, the covered BBQ pavilion has its own chimney and can be used even in the rain. Artificial turf was installed on the terrace, rooftop and garden in 2022.

The living room is framed by a single wall of glass that looks out between two green headlands to the horizon. It is furnished with mid-century modern classics.

From the entry, the eye goes straight to the sea. Exposed concrete ceilings, large-format tile floors and an open-tread staircase with walnut steps give the interior a gallery-like feel. Indirect lighting runs along the built-in storage.

The U-shaped kitchen is wrapped in brushed stainless steel and has a gas range and a large range hood. Whoever is cooking looks across the open living space to the windows. At night, under-counter lighting warms the whole space.

Behind the kitchen is a floor-to-ceiling backlit liquor display set against a stacked-stone wall, with deep drawer storage below. It is the kind of detail that makes this home feel like a boutique hotel.

The stone-clad bar counter seats four. Beside it is a glass-roofed sunroom that opens onto a private courtyard garden.

The bathroom may be the best room in the house. It has a sunken soaking tub, a TV inset into a stone feature wall and frameless glass. The windows run the full length of the room and look out over the coastline. A bathroom heater makes it usable year-round.

The layout is 2SLDK: two Western-style rooms of 10 and 6 mats, plus an 8-mat service room. The main bedroom has a ribbon window and space for a full media setup.

The rooftop holds a barrel sauna with a panoramic ocean view and loungers for cooling off between rounds.

This is the feature people will talk about. Down in the basement, a lit storefront sign leads into a pantry designed as a fully stocked Japanese convenience store. It has snack shelves, drink fridges, a magazine rack and a checkout counter. Kids love it, and guests never forget it.

Stone steps wind down a terraced slope planted with palms and cordylines. Below is a sunken courtyard with blue mosaic tile and a water wall.

After sunset, uplighting picks out the palms, and the lights of ships appear along the horizon.

The nearest Shinkansen access is Hakata Station, roughly 35–40 km away, or about a 50–60 minute drive via the urban expressway. From Hakata, the Nozomi runs straight through on the Sanyo and Tokaido Shinkansen and reaches Tokyo in about 5 hours, or you can fly from Fukuoka Airport and reach Tokyo in around 1.5 hours. For local rail, the JR Chikuhi Line from Chikuzen-Maebaru Station runs straight through to Hakata and Fukuoka Airport on the subway. The station is too far to walk from the house, though: about a 22-minute bus ride plus a 25-minute walk. Plan on having a car.

The land is in an Urbanization Control Area and is registered as wild land (原野). This can restrict rebuilding or expansion, so confirm what is permitted before you buy. The home is part of a gated estate with a caretaker and its own usage rules. Monthly costs are a ¥10,000 management fee and a ¥2,000 water base charge, plus a ¥20,000 annual repair reserve. The home is currently owner-occupied. Ask the agent which furnishings and fixtures are included in the sale, especially the furniture, the bar and the convenience store fit-out.

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