Price per Tsubo: How Japan Quotes Property Prices

Price per tsubo is what one tsubo of a property costs. A tsubo is Japan's traditional unit of area, about 3.3058 m² or roughly 35.6 sq ft, and quoting a price per tsubo is how Japanese buyers, agents and builders compare properties of different sizes. It is the exact counterpart of a price per square foot.

The answer comes out in whatever currency you entered, per tsubo.

Example

Take the defaults: a total of 35,000,000 yen for 35 tsubo.

That is 1,000,000 yen per tsubo. To restate it per square metre, multiply by 0.3025: 1,000,000 × 0.3025 = 302,500 yen per m². Those 35 tsubo work out at about 115.7 m².

Notes

• The figure moves with its definition. For a house, is the numerator the base construction price, or the total with site work, fees and tax? Is the denominator the total floor area, or the larger construction floor area that counts balconies and stairwells? Advertised prices per tsubo look low because builders tend to take the smallest numerator over the largest denominator.
• Comparing builders on price per tsubo alone therefore tells you very little. Line up the definitions first, then compare.
• Land and buildings are priced separately. The price per tsubo of a plot is the land price divided by the site area in tsubo, and the building carries its own figure.
• Small houses always show a higher price per tsubo. A kitchen, a bathroom and an entrance cost much the same however large the house, and that fixed cost is spread over fewer tsubo. A high figure is not automatically poor value.