Living in Japan

[TheAdjustment]

I want to move to Japan in 6 months and stay for an entire year. I want to live in Tokyo or very close to it but I am having trouble finding an inexpensive place to stay. I'm looking for some others who've been to Japan or who've lived there that can give me some insight to find an inexpensive place to live.

I checked online but it all seems pretty expensive, should I be looking for something other than an apartment? I looked up apartments and they're going for 160,000 Japanese yen which is like $1,600. I just need a small space to accommodate me and my girlfriend, we both are tidy and don't consume much space. Basically we're looking just a place to sleep and bathe but at the same time not have to live with anyone else. For those of you who've lived in Japan is it possible to find a place around tokyo or just nearby to live for two people for around $1,000 or less a month? Any thoughts on this will be helpful.

Also: I am not sure if an apartment is what exactly I'm looking for, but I'm guessing it's the most ideal.

 

[Mikawa Ossan]

I don't know how much help I can be, but I'll try.

First off, how is your Japanese? Can you speak and read? If so, any information that I can give you will be much more useful, as I've never tried to find an apartment through the medium of English in Japan.

Secondly, will you be working wihile in Japan? If so, doing what? If you plan on teaching English while here, oftentimes your employer will provide housing for you, so you won't need to search on your own.

Some basics on apartments in Japan.

They are smaller than apartments in America.

Although this is changing somewhat, it is customary to have something called "reikin" and "shikikin" when signing the contract. "Reikin" is non-refundable and is basically your saying thank you to your new landlord for letting you live in his her property. It generally runs about 50,000 yen. "Shikikin" is like the deposit you pay for an apartment in America with a couple of notable exceptions:
1) It does not accrue interest.
2) You probably won't get much back anyway.
"Shikikin" is sometimes referred to as "hoshokin". (There might be a difference between the two, but I'm not 100% sure what that difference might be.)

Contracts generally run for two years.

Generally speaking, a guarantor (co-signer) is needed, although it is possible to find apartments that do not require them. Being a foreigner might make it difficult to find one that will accept you, however.

There is something called "shokakukin" that you should look out for. If the apartment has this, it means that you will have to pay this amount to the landlord, usually upon leaving the apartment. "Shokakukin" basically means "depreciation money". Not all apartments have this, so try to avoid it if possible.

Apartments are described by the following scheme.

2LDK

Here "2" refers to the number of generic rooms.
"L" refers to the presence of a living room.
"D" refers to the presence of a dining room.
"K" refers to the presence of a kitchen.

The absence of one of thise letters usually means that that particular room is not part of the property.

Unless otherwise stated, apartments are unfurnished. This means that there is no refrigerator, no lights, no cooking range, no curtains, no anything.

I can't speak for the situation in Tokyo specifically, but around these parts, I would make sure that I had about 300,000 yen on hand in cash for signing the apartment lease.

I'll try to add anymore information later if I can think of any.

 

[FrustratedDave]

Good post!!!!!

 

[Glenski]

Obviously, the closer you live to the center of any large city, the more you will pay. Where do you want to be (probably for the sake of work)?

Have you looked into LeoPalace21? They offer fully furnished apartments with Internet connection. The only thing is, you have to pay for your whole stay up front, whether it's a month or a year, plus a cleaning service fee. No guarantor is needed, unlike most other apartments in Japan (guarantor usually means employer).

Don't like that setup? You'll have to consider guest houses (gaijin houses). Like boarding houses.

 

[TheAdjustment]

Thanks Mikawa Ossan, Good post, helps a lot.

I can speak a little Japanese and this summer I am taking a writing and speaking class in Japanese. I won't be working right off in Japan at least not for a couple months, I have considered going to school there. I am not rich either, I am saving up money in order to be able to live there without having to worry about much right away.


Thanks for the reply Glenski,
I checked out the LeoPalace21 and it seems pretty decent, I sent in an inquiry and hopefully I'll find more out on pricing. Thanks for that recommendation, it seems like something that I'm looking for. To you does it seem that I am looking at about $13,000 (USD) for an entire year?

 

[CorDarei]

I checked out the LeoPalace21 and it seems pretty decent, I sent in an inquiry and hopefully I'll find more out on pricing. Thanks for that recommendation, it seems like something that I'm looking for. To you does it seem that I am looking at about $13,000 (USD) for an entire year?

I've been looking an LeoPalace too, and they have a lease system now where you can pay month by month, but you have to sign a 2-year contract and the application process is more involved than the pay upfront way. Also it seems that you have to be in Japan to apply, and you need an alien registration card and registered hanko (and maybe a guarantor as well - there are companies that will act as a guarantor for a fee, I believe).

About the price, I'm not sure about Tokyo, but I've been looking around Osaka and it seems that (since I can't quite afford to pay 12 months in advance) paying 6 months rent twice would be about 1,200,000~1,300,000 yen. It seems a bit pricey, especially figuring in things like cleaning fees etc.

My plan is to rent a furnished apartment for one month (either LeoPalace or MonthlyCHINTAI) so I'll have enough time to apply and be approved for a longer-term lease. One note about the 2-year lease: the LeoPalace site says that breaking a contract within 6 months incurs a penalty (~2 month's rent), but there doesn't seem to be a penalty if you move out after one year. Anyway, I'm not really sure if there isn't a better way, so if anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear them too.

 

[selen]

I'm sorry.I don't know there.good evenning

 

[TheAdjustment]

What would you say the advantages and disadvantages of LeoPalace and MonthlyCHINTAI are? At this point I'm really thinking of the LeoPalace, although with the cleaning costs I'm not sure how much extra that's going to add for the entire year.