Beneath the Peak

Last week’s presentation at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club in Hong Kong is now available online, thanks to the nice people at Vimeo.

Click here to watch the video.

Via the always stimulating TED, here’s a presentation by Ellen Durham-Jones about converting “dead” suburban shopping malls in the United States into city centers, and the environmental benefits that the process brings.

Economic necessity is sparking some very creative solutions, some of which could be applied to the disused factories and warehouses here in Hong Kong.

Yesterday, NHK World ran a story about Mainland Chinese buying real estate in Japan.

One of the most interesting parts of the piece is about three-quarters of the way through, when a Chinese developer rejects a home design as being too downmarket for Mainland customers who — unlike their Japanese counterparts — want their success to be visible.

The same developer says she is confident that values in Hokkaido will continue to rise for the next 10 years. That’s more than a bit optimistic, given that saw Hokkaido experienced net out-migration of 21,000 people in 2008.

H/T Jenny

Thanks to everyone who turned up for yesterday’s speech at the Foreign Correspondent’s Club in Hong Kong.

The luncheon drew a crowd of 70 — including local and international journalists, developers, bankers and institutional and individual investors — and was followed by a lively Q&A session.

Click here to listen to an MP3 stream of the presentation.

For more pictures, visit Landed: Japan on Facebook.

On Tuesday, July 13, I’ll be delivering a luncheon speech  at the Foreign Correspondent’s Club in Hong Kong.

Japanese Real Estate: Bargain or black hole? looks at the opportunities and pitfalls of buying a home, a recreational property or an investment property.

The presentation is open to non-members.  Click here for reservations and details.

On June 5, I delivered a presentation about the joys (and frustations) of owning a home in Hong Kong at the Smart Investment & International Property Expo.

The presentation — plus 15 minutes of Q&A — is now available online.

There’s a nice piece in the latest edition of Tokyo-based Metropolis magazine about the Japan book, which has also been featured recently in the China Daily and Sing Pao.

And I will be speaking on a panel discussion at the Smart Property Expo this Sunday afternoon at 4:15. That’s in addition to my presentation on Saturday afternoon. More here.

After making six speeches in five days in Tokyo last week, I’m getting ready to do it again here in Hong Kong.

I’ll be delivering a presentation on the joys of self-publishing to the International Association of Business Communicators on Friday, May 28 (details here).

And on Saturday, June 5, I’ll be talking about Hong Kong real estate at the Smart Investment & International Property Expo 2010.

Both events are open to the public.

I’ll be speaking about self-publishing at a luncheon organized by the Forum for Corporate Communications on Friday, May 14.

The lunch is at the Chef’s Table in the French Kitchen of the Grand Hyatt, and is open to nonmembers.

Details and reservations are available here.

Landed: The guide to buying property in Japan has arrived from the printer.

Thank you to everyone who preordered the book, which will ship today.