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空き部屋を、どう開くか。

The short answer: minpaku and renting are not the only options. Choose by purpose — income, minimal effort, or human connection. This page compares five paths side by side: minpaku, renting, share houses, leaving it as storage, and opening the room to people at no charge.

空き家は900万戸。けれど、これは「部屋」の話。

Japan's Housing and Land Survey counted 9.0 million vacant homes as of October 2023 — 13.8% of all housing, both record highs.

But this page is not only about whole vacant houses. It is also about the one room that emptied when a child moved out, the tatami room that became storage, the spare space inside a lived-in home.

"It feels wasteful" is where most people stop. This page sorts the thinking into an order — and the first thing to decide is the purpose, not the method.

空き部屋活用の選択肢を、目的別に並べる。

OptionIncomeEffortProcedureConnectionEase of stopping
Minpaku (private lodging business)Lodging feesOngoing: cleaning, keys, guest careNotification system; up to 180 days/yearPer guestClosing also requires notification
Renting (ordinary / fixed-term lease)RentContracts, managementDepends on lease typeLittleOrdinary leases are hard to unwind; fixed-term ends at expiry
Share house (via operator)Rent-equivalentRecruiting and management sit with the operatorPer operator contractOngoingPer contract
Storage (leave as is)NoneMinimalNoneNone
Open it to people, free (the KIBOU way)None (no lodging fee)Only when hostingRegistration and listing are free; see "The rules"Conversation with each stayYou decide each time

If income is the goal, minpaku or renting comes first — KIBOU is not an income scheme. What the KIBOU way holds are the last two columns: connection, and the freedom to stop.

→ Comparing with minpaku

制度の基本。宿泊料を受け取るか、受け取らないか。

Before opening a room, here is the shape of the rules — just enough to know where the line runs: whether you receive lodging fees.

If you charge for lodging: the private lodging business (minpaku) system is notification-based with a stated cap of 180 days per year (Japan Tourism Agency's minpaku portal). The Hotel Business Act's categories are all defined as operating "for lodging fees," and are stated to require a licence from the prefectural governor.

If you don't charge: the law's definitions hinge on receiving lodging fees, and there are official answers to individual cases. Iwate Prefecture's public Q&A, asked about a no-fee lodging service offered to member companies, answered that it "does not constitute a hotel business" — and adds that hosting friends and acquaintances generally needs no licence. The national FAQ describes judging by whether something is run repeatedly and as a business, and treating cases without that character as outside the regulation.

In short, official answers point to hosting without lodging fees sitting outside the hotel-licensing system. What remains is one check on your own housing — building rules if you live in a condominium, your lease if you rent — and there is always a place to ask (your municipality or health center). With that, you have the map of the rules.

This page is not legal advice; how the rules apply is judged case by case. It points to official sources and where to confirm.

Source: Statistics Bureau of Japan, Housing and Land Survey (2023)

Source: Japan Tourism Agency, minpaku portal

Source: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Hotel Business Act FAQ

Source: Iwate Prefecture, Hotel Business Q&A

交流に開く、という第三の道。

Not income, not storage — connection. And it has precedents.

Kyoto Prefecture has run "Kyoto Solidaire" since fiscal 2016, matching students and other young people with seniors' spare rooms for low-cost stays and daily interaction. The national transport ministry's white paper (fiscal 2017 edition) describes such intergenerational home sharing as mutual watchfulness, learning, and community.

And there was Sonomanma-so, a single house in Ebisu, Tokyo: 830 cumulative visitors as of May 2020, and more than 1,000 in the 2025 record — grown by word of mouth and returners. The house was not rented out; it was opened, and it became a community.

What comes back differs by person — the presence of younger people in the house, a conversation at the table, some days just that. What is certain: instead of rent, what remains is records and relationships.

→ The record

→ What makes a home a community

始め方。6つの手順。

  1. Decide the purposeincome or connection; don't chase both at once.
  2. Talk with your familyeveryone's consent comes first.
  3. Walk the room and the shared spaceswhat you open, what you share (bath, kitchen).
  4. Put the house rules into wordsbath times, meals, curfew, rooms that are off limits. The rules too obvious to say are the ones to write down.
  5. Checkbuilding rules, your lease, and the municipality or health center if unsure.
  6. Start smallwith KIBOU, stays are up to two nights and three days, and you decide each request.

With KIBOU, the rules you wrote in step 4 become your home's game. Registration and listing cost nothing. Visitors learn how your household lives before they apply, and after a stay, both sides record what they saw.

Safety has its own mechanisms, separate from the game: identity checks, emergency contact, and the scope of shared records. The game plays the guidebook; safety gets a dedicated design — the roles are split so neither is done halfway. That is why clearing the game stays what it is: a record that someone learned your home and completed preparation to visit, never asked to carry the heavy role of proving safety or character.

大切にしてほしいこと。

  • If income is the goal, minpaku or renting fits better — KIBOU takes no lodging fees; it is built for connection.
  • There is no "anyone" and no "always" here. Hosts decide each time; declining is part of the design.
  • If it strains the family, rest. The room isn't going anywhere.

よくある質問

空き部屋を民泊にすれば、収益になりますか?

Sometimes, but it can't be promised. Notification, the 180-day cap, cleaning and key handovers are ongoing work, and costs vary too much by property for a single figure. See the comparison article.

無償で人を泊めるのに、許可は要りますか?

The Hotel Business Act's licensing is stated to apply to operating "for lodging fees." There are official answers to individual cases — Iwate Prefecture's Q&A answered that a specific no-fee lodging service did not constitute a hotel business. Cases are judged individually, so check building rules and your lease, and consult your municipality or health center when unsure.

何から始めればいいですか?

Decide the purpose and talk with your family. For the KIBOU way, start by putting your house rules into words — they become the material for your home's game.

途中でやめられますか?

Yes. Hosts decide each request, every time. If it doesn't fit, you can pause or decline.