Living in Kobe as a foreigner.

Kobe sits between the sea and the mountains, and it has welcomed foreign residents for well over a century — you feel that openness the moment you arrive. It is greener and more relaxed than central Osaka while staying an easy commute away. Aura Homes helps you find a foreigner-friendly home here and handles the Japanese-language side from our Osaka office.

Renting in Kobe tends to feel calmer than Osaka — you trade a little central buzz for hillside greenery, sea views, and quieter streets, often at comparable rent. We find homes on foreigner-welcoming terms across the city, from a bright apartment near Sannomiya for a professional to a larger family place out in Okamoto, and we arrange the guarantor and screening so a landlord's hesitation about paperwork never becomes your problem. For buyers, Kobe offers everything from hillside houses with a view of the bay to well-kept condos near the station, and its long history with international residents makes sellers comfortable dealing with foreign buyers. We line up lenders, explain the ongoing costs of hillside property, and guide the whole purchase in your language.