Japan is currently welcoming record numbers of tourists, with more than 40 million expected again in 2026. The northern island of Hokkaido is famous for its “Japow” snow, winter festival, and delicious seafood, and it is a perennial draw for international and domestic tourists, especially during the winter months.

However, Japan is struggling to accommodate the influx of foreign tourists. The hospitality industry is on the front lines of this extraordinary interest in Japan. Unfortunately, there are few local innkeepers and travel experts who are familiar with, capable of, or comfortable dealing with foreign visitors. This has prompted a backlash among the local population, who complain of overtourism due to overcrowding in popular destinations like Kyoto (see here for more information). Thus, it takes a special kind of host to address such concerns while providing world-renowned Japanese hospitality.

Today’s guest on the Real Gaijin AMA podcast is a Japanese native with a global perspective who assists foreign visitors in Japan. She is an expert in cross-cultural relations and enjoys showing her international guests her home base of Sapporo. Having experienced life in a foreign place herself, she strives to provide her clients with a personalized service that makes them feel right at home.

Who is she?

Meet Lisa, the founder of “Lisa in Sapporo,” a travel concierge service in Hokkaido. Lisa is a talented woman who works as an interpreter and local guide for visitors to her home base of Sapporo. She supplements her travel guide activities with her role as the host of a wonderful new Airbnb, called minpaku (民泊) in Japanese. Her apartment is located in a residential area with quick and easy subway access to the heart of Sapporo.

In her spare time, Lisa publishes her own Substack, Unlocking Japan, which provides a wealth of information about the country.

Lisa has always been passionate about learning about other cultures. At 30 years old, she seized the opportunity to move to Rwanda with her five-year-old son as a single mother. Africa opened up a whole new world for this young, bilingual mom. As a result, she returned to Japan and relocated to Sapporo with a new global perspective. As you can imagine, she is an intriguing host who knows how to best meet her guests’ needs.

In Sapporo, she runs a local travel concierge service called “Lisa in Sapporo.” It is an invaluable resource for any visitor who wants an authentic experience and to see Hokkaido’s largest city from a local’s perspective. Her service offering includes guided tours and travel advice.

The property

Just in time for the busy winter season in Sapporo, Lisa partnered with a regional property management company with a large network of short-term rentals on Japan’s northernmost main island, Hokkaido to launch her Airbnb.

Thanks to Lisa’s hospitality — omotenashi (おもてなし) in Japanese — and the high-grade amenities of this cozy apartment in a quiet residential area of the city, guests will feel right at home in Sapporo. Make a reservation simply by sending Lisa a DM via Substack or via WhatsApp. This will allow you to communicate directly with the host, providing more flexibility. For example, you could ask for permission to check out later than the normal time of 10 a.m.

Follow this link to see the property for yourself: https://lisa-in-sapporo.my.canva.site/lisa-in-sapporo

It is a 52-square-meter (560-square-foot) “2LDK” apartment with one bathroom. It is located on the ground floor of an eight-unit, multi-story wooden apartment building that is approximately 40 years old. Lisa’s apartment can accommodate up to seven guests (4 beds and 3 futons). Technically, the regulations stipulate that each guest must have at least 3.3 square meters (35.5 square feet), but Lisa wants her guests to be comfortable. She mostly rents to families with two or three generations visiting together, and there is just enough space for everyone by Japanese standards. Usually, the apartment is occupied by 4 or 5 people. While costs vary depending on the season, the typical fee is 20,000 yen (approximately $129 USD per night), with a minimum stay of two nights.

The property is in a great location, only a four-minute walk from the closest subway station. It’s five stops north of Sapporo Station and other parts of downtown Sapporo, such as the main shopping area, Odori, and the famous Susukino nightlife district. Moreover, the closest convenience store is only one minute away on foot, and there are many good restaurants near the property, including some that serve Sapporo’s famous ramen, soup curry, and Genghis Khan barbecue. It is also only a three-minute drive to an expressway entrance for easy access to neighboring Otaru and some of Hokkaido’s most famous ski resorts.

The website also has information about Lisa’s guided walking tours, which include a visit to the famous Sapporo Beer Brewery and Beer Garden.

On the agenda

First, to set the stage, we explored Lisa’s personal and professional journey abroad. This includes her time in Rwanda, where she visited the actual “Hotel Rwanda,” also known as the Hôtel des Mille Collines. We discussed her decision to return to Japan and her motivation for starting the “Lisa in Sapporo” travel concierge service in Hokkaido.

Next, we took a deep dive into her decision to expand by partnering with an Airbnb property management company. We had a very candid discussion of the following:

* Startup phase (finding and preparing the property)

* Decision to work with a property management company (trade-offs, fee structure, communications protocol, etc.).

* Daily operations (including guest relations and the unexpectedly challenging process of finding cleaning and linen providers)

* Financial reality (revenue, costs, and scaling)

* Being a good neighbor (navigating challenges with neighbors and local sentiment about short-term rentals, especially given some high-profile instances of trouble with such properties, mainly in Tokyo and Osaka)

If you’re considering doing something similar, today’s discussion may have provided the inspiration you need to take the next step. If you’re already an Airbnb host in Japan, today was a great opportunity to share ideas, as some of our listeners mentioned during the live session.

Key takeaways

Lisa volunteered all sorts of practical lessons she had learned the hard way, and we could have continued the discussion for hours. Some highlights include the following:

* Sourcing a property: In popular areas such as Sapporo, there are many restrictions on whether a property can be rented out short-term and, if so, how many days per year it can be rented out (e.g., 180 days for “simple lodging” versus year-round like a hotel). Most homeowners associations in condominiums prohibit landlords from renting out units as minpaku (民泊), or Airbnb. Competition for rental properties is fierce, and available rentals, particularly those zoned for year-round use, are snapped up within the first few hours of being listed. While not all landlords are interested in tenants who rent out their units on Airbnb, most tend to charge a significant premium for such properties. For example, the other tenants in the multi-unit apartment building where Lisa’s Airbnb is located pay about 50,000 to 60,000 yen (approximately $325 to $390) per month for rent, whereas Lisa pays 80,000 yen ($520).

* Option to manage the property on your own: If you are an aspiring Airbnb host looking to maximize your profit margin, it would be best to rent out a portion of your own home. This could include one or more apartments in a multi-unit complex where you live. This way, you can legally avoid using a property management service.

* If you have a large budget: Ideally, if you have the luxury of building your own facility from the ground up, which would naturally require a relatively high initial investment, then it would be best to include more than one bathroom in each apartment.

* Financials: Lisa in Sapporo is just barely on track to break even and recoup her initial investment within three years, although she received more than thirty bookings almost immediately after listing the property last autumn. Currently, during the high season in Hokkaido (December to February), she averages monthly sales of about 500,000 yen (approximately $3,250). Although the monthly rent is relatively low, after paying a 20% commission to her property management company and an additional 15% to online booking services, as well as covering routine expenses for cleaning, linens, garbage collection, utilities, and snow removal from the property’s parking space, not much operating profit remains at the end of the month.

* Catch 22: In popular areas like Sapporo, where there is a lot of competition from other Airbnb properties, there tend to be relatively few service providers. Additionally, ancillary support businesses tend to contract almost exclusively with well-established property management companies. Thus, if you try to save money by avoiding a property management company, it may be difficult to find support services that can meet your scheduling requirements, such as the five-hour period between check-out and check-in in between guests. In a pinch, you may have to clean the property and wash the linens yourself.

* Premium for garbage collection: When using a property management service, garbage disposal is classified as “business waste,” a premium service beyond routine garbage collection. Guests are instructed to leave all waste inside the apartment, and the cleaning company is responsible for throwing out the garbage. However, special collection bags are required, and they cost more than regular waste disposal bags. Small expenses like this tend to add up and put further pressure on profit margins.

* Extra expenses in the dead of winter: Lisa learned the hard way that she must keep the heat on 24/7 during the winter months to prevent the water pipes from freezing. Additionally, after a huge snowstorm—of which there have been several this year—if your property doesn’t have a “snow melting pit,” called a yusetsuko (融雪槽) in Japanese, you must pay extra for snow removal from the apartment’s parking space(s). If you plan to run an Airbnb from your home in Hokkaido, keep the logistics of snow removal in mind, too. For example, you will probably need extra space to dump excess snow.

* Must budget for unforeseen, one-time upgrades especially at the beginning: While this was essentially a growing pain that was easily resolved, Lisa had a group of guests who used so many electrical heaters and appliances simultaneously that they tripped the circuit breaker. Consequently, she had to pay to upgrade the electrical system to handle the added capacity.

* Watch out when you set the minimum length of stay: Initially, the online travel agencies (OTAs) allowed only a one-night minimum stay. However, this resulted in cleaning expenses of almost 10,000 yen ($65) per group, making it prohibitively expensive. Lisa subsequently changed her policy to require a minimum stay of at least two nights. Live and learn!

* Limited direct communication with guests (hidden indirect costs): While Airbnb and other OTAs are great for attracting new business — especially when a property management service is also involved — it can sometimes be difficult for hosts to communicate directly with their guests. Hosts like Lisa who work with a property management company may also face restrictions when responding to guest ratings and comments.

* Trying to maintain good relations with neighbors and avoiding “minpaku trouble”: Tenants in multi-unit apartment complexes tend to react skeptically when Airbnb rentals are permitted. The main concerns are rent increases, noise, garbage disposal, and security. Lisa has mitigated the potential problem of loud noises by renting the ground floor unit. Hosts who plan to operate their property on a year-round basis are required to install a camera security system next to the apartment door. The occupant of the apartment next to Lisa’s reacted negatively when the camera was installed, believing that they would also be under surveillance. It took a lot of patience and humility to placate this neighbor.

* Trial by fire: Although Lisa and her property management company use bilingual manuals to encourage guests to respect their neighbors, most guests don’t consult the manuals. Lisa learned the hard way, after her very first ever guest parked in the wrong space, that clear signage is generally the best approach. It’s also not uncommon for guests who don’t read the manual to take matters into their own hands. Lisa shared an instance when a guest threw their garbage in the wrong communal bin, despite the stated rule to leave all waste in the apartment at check-out. Needless to say, Lisa’s landlord has her number on speed dial!

Timeline

Substack does not yet have the functionality to allow you to use a link to jump to a specific section like YouTube’s “chapters.” Please refer to the times listed below to navigate through our hour-long conversation. Thank you for your understanding.

Key contacts

* Lisa in Sapporo Main Site (with information about the property): https://lisa-in-sapporo.my.canva.site/lisa-in-sapporo

* Contact Lisa in Sapporo by DM via Substack or via WhatsApp

* Sapporo Beer History Tour & Local Life Walk (book via Airbnb): https://www.airbnb.com.mt/experiences/6769398

* Unlocking Japan Substack:

#LisaInSapporo #JapanTravel #Hokkaido #Sapporo #JapaneseHospitality #Omotenashi #AirbnbJapan #Minpaku #TourismBusiness #SmallBusinessJapan #Airbnb日本 #民泊 #日本旅行 #北海道旅行 #札幌旅行ガイド #札幌グルメ #RealGaijin #リアル外人

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