Mapping Japanese Land Values

A new interactive map visualizes how Japanese land values have fluctuated over the last 30 years. Every year Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism publish details on the value of land at around 26,000 different locations. The 3D Map of Land Values in Japan: 1989 - 2019 map allows you to see how the cost of land has fallen and risen across Japan each decade since 1989.

On the map land values are visualized by both color and height. Each hexagon on the map has a radius of 2000 meters. When two or more locations from the ministry's report fall within one hexagon area then the color and height of the hexagon reflect the average price of all locations. You can compare the 2019 land values with previous decades by selecting a year from the drop-down menu. On these comparison views the hexagons are colored to show how the 2019 land values compare with the selected year. Blue indicates that values have fallen and red indicates land values have risen since the chosen year.

Commercial areas in Tokyo make up all of the twenty most expensive locations in Japan. The next most expensive area is in the business district in Osaka. Despite the still relatively high cost of land in Japan compared to twenty or thirty years ago the cost of land has actually fallen in most areas. However this year's land value survey reveals that on average residential land values in Japan have risen for the first time in 27 years.