In the weeks following the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami in Japan on March 11, real estate transactions came to a halt across much of the country, including Tokyo.
Especially affected were the residential high-rises that dot the capital's waterfront, known as tower mansions, that became popular around 2000 and made cavernous entrance halls, gyms and swimming pools commonplace for luxury buildings.
Two fears were commonly expressed in the initial days after the disaster: the height of the 40- to 50-story buildings and their proximity to the ocean.
But as time has passed, industry experts say, the persistent concern is location, not altitude.
Historically, the Japanese have shunned living near the sea and, after the recent tsunami devastated the northern regions of Japan's main island, Honshu, people are reverting to that behavior, said Seiji Yoshizaki, a senior real estate consultant at Funai Soken, a business consulting firm. (New York Times)
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