Content creators in Japan are going viral for buying and renovating cheap, abandoned homes known as akiyas.

In Tokyo, akiyas can be purchased for a fraction of the price of what a home would cost in other major cities around the world.

Outside major cities it’s even cheaper. In some remote locations, akiyas are even being given away for free.

It may seem like an unbelievable opportunity to those struggling to get on the property ladder, but the BBC’s Japan correspondent Shaimaa Khalil investigates the reality behind the social media trend.

Video by Isabelle Rodd