Sawa Bank is a Japanese listing site for land beside streams and rivers. We wanted land with a stream running through it — and found nowhere that let us search on that condition. So we built it: listings gathered from across Japan, with each parcel's relationship to a stream determined from terrain data.
547listings
181listers and owners
47prefectures
LAND GUIDE
A closer look at land with a stream
Get a feel for the site in our video. Start with this short sample, approximately 17 seconds long.
Sample site tour (about 17 seconds). Press play to watch with sound. View the video page
STREAM SCENES
Scenes from a stream
Clear water and a stream flowing between rocks. Select a photo to view it at full size.
Water so clear you can see the stones beneath.A stream winds between rocks, surrounded by trees.
Photos and videos from the site
This is the stream on site.
Yanagisawa, Mukawa, Hokuto, Yamanashi. We photographed the stream on and around our own land. Use the speaker button to turn on video sound. Select a photograph to enlarge it.
Flowing towards us under dappled sunlight.Stones on the bed, viewed underwater.
Clear water flows between moss-covered rocks.Clear enough to see the sand and pebbles below.The stream continues along banks of bamboo grass.
Permitted (outside the urban planning area; notification to the city is required)
We are the seller. We are not a licensed real estate broker and do not provide brokerage, agency services or the statutory explanation of important matters. Transfers of land are exempt from consumption tax, so the price has no tax classification. The area is the total of 4 parcels calculated from official cadastral-map coordinates and may differ from the registered area.
Limitations first.Desk analysis indicates that none of the 4 parcels adjoins a qualifying access road. The site is outside Hokuto's urban planning area, where the road-access requirement does not apply, but you must secure your own access route. One watercourse crossing the site has an upstream catchment of only 0.06 ha and may flow only after rain.
Finding land is only the beginning. We also want to care for the water that flows through it. Starting with our own land, Sawa Bank aims to protect woodland and stream environments and pass that approach on to future owners.
Keep woodland. Protect water. Pass on the record.
01
Keep waterside vegetation
Retain trees and ground cover beside streams, and limit mowing and felling to areas where they are needed. Treat waterside habitats and the surrounding woodland with care.
02
Keep wastewater and sediment out
Check where wastewater goes and how work is carried out, so that household wastewater and sediment from earthworks do not enter the stream.
03
Record changes and pass on the care
We aim to keep dated photographs and notes on flow, cloudiness and wildlife, then pass those records and our approach to maintenance on to the next owner.
These are our conservation policy and planned activities, not a record of completed work.
LOCAL LIFE / GOLF
Mukawa, Hokuto, Yamanashi
Kaikoma Country Club
A round of golf beneath the mountains.
Kaikoma Country Club is in Mukawa, Hokuto. Enjoy golf surrounded by trees and mountain views—a way to spend more time in the area when you visit to explore land.
Get a feel for the site in a sample video of approximately 17 seconds.
What we have verified
These stages show how far we have checked the published information.We also show the stages we have not yet reached.
Public information547 listings
Compiled from information published by the lister
Stream relationship assessed547 listings
Classified from descriptions and terrain as through the site, adjoining it, or nearby
Hazard zones checked541 listings
Checked against data from Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
Terrain analysed2 listings
Slope, flat land and catchment area calculated
Checked on site2 listings
Visited and photographed the water conditions
We carry out site visits and terrain analysis progressively, with permission from the listing companies and owners.
We never present an unchecked property as verified.
WHY
Ordinary property sites cannot search for “has a stream”.
Whether a description happens to mention a stream can only be found by opening each listing one by one. Sawa Bank determines it from the land itself, first.
01
We find the stream from the terrain
We analyse national terrain data to estimate where water collects and flows, then overlay the Ministry of Justice cadastral map to determine, parcel by parcel, which land a stream borders or crosses.
02
Conditions as numbers
Relationship to the stream, length it runs, catchment size, gentleness of slope, area of flat ground, winter sunlight, hazard zones. We have the system to compute all seven. Analysis is complete for roughly 87,000 parcels in Hokuto and Nirasaki, Yamanashi; we are applying it to listings progressively.
03
Verifying on the ground
Terrain analysis alone cannot tell you whether water actually flows. With permission from the lister and the owner, we are visiting sites to photograph and film the streams. Listings will show these as the visits are completed.
On estimates.
Stream courses include estimates derived from terrain data. Year-round flow, boundaries, water rights, road access and development feasibility must be verified on site and with the lister. This site makes no claim about future value or usability.
SEARCH SYSTEM
Find land with a stream by parcel number.
Want to find candidate sites beyond the land already listed for sale? The sawa search system overlays stream courses estimated from terrain data with official cadastral maps, so you can find parcels beside or crossed by a stream. See the guide for coverage, instructions and pricing.
Example sawa screen: compare stream courses and parcel numbers using aerial imagery and a CS terrain map.
01
Streams and parcels on one map
Overlay estimated stream courses, parcel boundaries and parcel numbers to check the location and size of candidate sites.
02
Filter by terrain conditions
Within the detailed analysis area in Yamanashi, you can compare slopes, flat land and landslide-related hazards.
03
Check coverage and how to use it
Coverage includes Yamanashi, Shizuoka, Nagano, Gifu and Hyogo. Available data and the extent of analysis vary by area.
Candidate sites are not necessarily for sale. Stream courses are estimated from terrain data; actual flow and whether a site can be used must be checked on site.
MODEL SITE
To understand land with a stream, you need to stand on it.
How loud is the water? How cool is it in summer? Is the flat ground really usable? Some things cannot be conveyed by photographs or numbers. Visit our forest land in Hokuto free of charge by appointment. We do not give sales pitches during the visit.
Pin positions are approximate.
They are derived from the address down to the district level, and do not indicate the actual position or extent of the parcel. Confirm the exact location, boundaries and access route with the lister. Map: GSI tiles (pale) / Positions: GSI place-name search API — Geospatial Information Authority of Japan
MAKE IT YOUR OWN
The joy of working your own land
A little care, a little at a time.
A place becomes your own.
Cut back grass, clear fallen leaves and open a path. Notice the shade and the stream, and tend only the places that need it. Spending time working with your own hands is part of the pleasure of life beside a stream.
EnlargeTending the woodland little by little, while retaining the trees.
RENTAL
After buying land, equipment can be the biggest challenge.
Brush cutters, chainsaws, tillers and power tools can cost over ¥100,000 to buy and need storage even when used only a few times a year. We rent them ready to use, with blades sharpened, batteries charged and fuel added. Delivery to your site is available in Hokuto and Nirasaki.
Register what you are looking for, and we will tell you when it appears.
Land with streams is limited, and desirable parcels can sell quickly. Tell us your preferred area, size, budget and stream conditions, and we will notify you of matching new listings. Registration is free, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
The SAWA score rates stream conditions on seven indicators.
A higher number tends to mean water is close, there is usable flat ground, and the site gets sun. It is a guide, not a valuation. Scores appear on listings within the analysed area as we roll them out.
FOR OWNERS
Do you own land with a stream?
List your own land for free, with no listing fee or commission when it sells. Enquiries go directly to your registered contact details; we do not participate in the transaction.
For real estate companies with stream-side listings
Listing and photography are free. We add stream analysis, take photographs and videos on site, and provide the resulting media to your company free of charge. All enquiries go 100% directly to your company; we do not participate in the transaction.
What we ask you to doPermission to list and help arranging photography
NOTE / LINE
Our official note and LINE
Why we started Sawa Bank, what we leave out of listings and why, and how to research forest-land prices and procedures: we explain these topics on note, using official sources. You can also find us on LINE. Articles and LINE open on external sites; note articles are in Japanese.
Available
Owned by us
Public information
547 listings
Stream relationship assessed
547 listings
Hazard zones checked
541 listings
Terrain analysed
2 listings
Checked on site
2 listings
