If you don't have to own your own residence though, why not invest the money in a profitable investment elsewhere and rent in Japan?

Mistakes I see people make is they plan on living there a short time and over renovate the property where they will never get the money they put into it back. 

I plan to use two of the bedrooms for Airbnb short-term rentals.

Money was deposited into my account the day after checkout.

I know you don't have money for a downpayment yet, but when you do, rent out rooms or buy a duplex or triplex and live in one side and rent out the others.  

If you are raising money in a syndication raising less than $1M can be challenging due to the setup and ongoing costs to manage and run it.

Short answer is this is not the market to be investing for cash-flow. 

Given the short-term nature of mid-term rentals, including utilities can make your property more attractive to potential tenants, but it’s essential to factor that into your overall rent pricing.The best way to go about this is to ensure your listing is visible to your target audience.

Too many rentals, too much deferred maintenance, no real budgets, not enough money in reserves.You can still get CapEx in condos....these are called "special assessments" .

I just saw an email from Elevat and Blake capital raising money for another deal.