Engawa

A platform that works for your municipality.

More buyers see your listings. The right buyers claim the subsidies you've already budgeted. You stay in control.

What we offer

Free to take part

No fees, no minimum contract, no exclusivity. You share the listings, we bring the overseas audience.

Help buyers use your grants

We show your grant details on each listing and help buyers understand the paperwork, so more of the grants you have budgeted are actually claimed.

Clearer, plainer listings

We take your listing and add official government records, in plain English, so overseas buyers can understand each home. For homes around Kansai and Hokuriku, our partner can arrange a visit and photos on request.

Reach buyers overseas

Your listings are shown through one clear, English-and-Japanese site that anyone in the world can view, instead of pages buried deep in a municipal website.

What doesn't change

You decide which homes are listed.

You set the conditions, such as who can buy and how the home must be used. We show them clearly.

You can take any listing down at any time, no questions asked.

The data is yours. You can export it at any time, and you are never tied to us.

A long-term option, on your timeline

We are just starting out. Over time, some towns may decide to use us as their main place to publish empty-home listings, instead of running a separate website. That choice would always be yours, on your timeline. We never ask for exclusivity.

How buyers find us

Steven shares Japan life and empty homes on YouTube, and Tomasz has a following from years of building in public. We also reach people overseas with ties to Japan who are already looking for an empty home, and we work to earn press coverage as we grow.

The people behind Engawa

Tomasz Lisiecki
Founder · builds the data platform

20 years in software, 10 years as a founder. Based in London, and bought his own empty home in Kagoshima.

Joanna Miesikowska
Co-founder · interior designer and renovation lead

Interior designer with 10 years at IKEA, London based. Helps you picture what a home could become and think through a renovation.

Steven · Koryoya
Japan partner · buying help and local visits

Licensed Japan real estate professional and our partner on the ground. Helps with buying, and can arrange visits and photos on request, mainly around Kansai and Hokuriku. Also shares Japan life and empty homes on YouTube.

Request a conversation

Tell us your town and what you'd like to discuss. No commitment. No pitch unless you ask for one.