About

What is special about MyHouse? Ultimately, it comes down to individual attention to your needs.

First, we design and build distinctive houses that reflect customers’ tastes and needs while paying attention to constraints like property location, budget, zoning laws, and Japanese customs. Due to years of experience, paying attention to details, reducing overhead expenses, and relationships with construction businesses we can provide a designed to your specifications house at predesigned prices.

Second, our founder, Melinda Watanabe, was surprised by the costs and limits she ran into when she built her first house in Japan. She wanted a mix of Japanese and European elements in her home, but was restricted by the “models” building companies offered. She could choose features like on a car, but was still limited by the original design. The built-to-order companies would give her exactly what she wanted but at a very steep premium.

Being a problem solver, Melinda changed career course. She spent years learning the nitty gritty reality of building family homes in Japan. MyHouse was created to navigate between real estate agents, banks/loans, architects, builders, and government bureaucracy. The goal is to simplify the process of building a house that the customer wants, not just settle for what is available at the right price. Melinda is always thinking, designing with the perspective of it can be done and it’s just a matter of figuring out how.

Third, on a daily basis, there are multiple languages in use at MyHouse. We have a global perspective because a good idea is a good idea, no matter the country of origin. On one level, a major part of our job is to not let things “get lost in translation.” Translation is not limited to different languages, but also between perspectives and ideas. This requires us to listen carefully, be open-minded, and ask questions before giving answers.