Moving To Tokyo/Yokohama - Tips

TallNuck · 30 Oct 2018

Hi All,

I'm pretty excited to be moving to work near Shin-Yokohama next year.
I previously lived in Kyushu a few years ago, and am now coming back to Japan.

I know it is hugely general, but I was wondering if anyone had any tips/advice for setting up again in the big city?

Questions I'd have include:

(1) Advice for finding an apartment - Good rental companies, things to avoid, etc.

(2) Suitable location in Tokyo - I work near Shin-Yokohama Station, but don't want to live there

(3) Shared-apartment possibilities (ie. someone already lives there and I sub-let/share with them)

(4) Anything else to be aware of?

Honestly, I'm open to any good advice and do appreciate it!

Thanks
N

KyushuWoozy · 2 Nov 2018

Having lived in both Kyushu and Tokyo, my advice is to come back to Kyushu

But of course, I'm just half-joking. The best skill a human can have is to be happy wherever, whatever. Enjoy your new adventure.

thomas · 2 Nov 2018

As you will be working in Shinyokohama I'd look for some place in Kanagawa either along Toyoko Line (more crowded) or along Yokohama Blue or Green Lines (pricier). I'd definitely aim at keeping my commute short.

Other than that: what @KyushuWoozy said.

TallNuck · 6 Nov 2018

KyushuWoozy said:
Having lived in both Kyushu and Tokyo, my advice is to come back to Kyushu :

But of course, I'm just half-joking. The best skill a human can have is to be happy wherever, whatever. Enjoy your new adventure.

Haha, thanks! I loved Kyushu (lived in Nagasaki), but am moving to the big island now.

TallNuck · 6 Nov 2018

thomas said:
As you will be working in Shinyokohama I'd look for some place in Kanagawa either along Toyoko Line (more crowded) or along Yokohama Blue or Green Lines (pricier). I'd definitely aim at keeping my commute short.

Other than that: what @KyushuWoozy said. :

Thank you for the suggestion! that's exactly the kind of insider info I was looking for! :emoji_bow:

mdchachi · 6 Nov 2018

TallNuck said:
(2) Suitable location in Tokyo - I work near Shin-Yokohama Station, but don't want to live there

Why not? As thomas said, I suggest minimizing your commute since that is what you will be doing most of the time. On the other hand, if you can get your company to pay for your rail pass and could commute by shinkansen that would be nice. You could live by Shinagawa or Tokyo stations.

Hiroyuki Nagashima · 6 Nov 2018

When commuting to Shin Yokohama, I think a place convenient for commutation is Tsunashima.
綱島(Tsunashima)
"Tsunashima Station (綱島駅 Tsunashima-eki) is a railway station on the Tokyu Toyoko Line in Kōhoku-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, operated by the private railway operator Tokyu Corporation."
Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line, Toyoko Line and Minato Mirai Line are connected.
(Yokohama City Chinatown from Wako in Saitama Prefecture)
Access to Tokyo's Ikebukuro, Shinjuku and Shibuya is convenient.

It is 3.8 km from Tsunashima to Shin-Yokohama so You can commute by foot or by bicycle.
北新横浜から綱島までの徒歩ルート - NAVITIME
Bus from Tsunashima to Shin-Yokohama.
綱島駅から新横浜駅バス時刻表(綱71[東急バス]/綱72他[東急バス]) - NAVITIME

Share house along the Toyoko Line.
東急東横線の駅一覧：東京シェアハウス

TallNuck · 17 Nov 2018

mdchachi said:
Why not? As thomas said, I suggest minimizing your commute since that is what you will be doing most of the time. On the other hand, if you can get your company to pay for your rail pass and could commute by shinkansen that would be nice. You could live by Shinagawa or Tokyo stations.

True, I guess it is just hard to know what is in the area just based on google maps! Wish I could move there for a month beforehand, but that won't be possible.

I didn't think you can get Shinkansen rail passes, can you? I could find nothing on this. It's a quick 18min ride by Shinkansen from Tokyo station, but that would get mighty pricy over time.

TallNuck · 17 Nov 2018

Hiroyuki Nagashima said:
When commuting to Shin Yokohama, I think a place convenient for commutation is Tsunashima.....

Thanks for the recommendation! This looks like a convenient location, and not far out of tokyo. I was just reading that Yokohama itself ranks very highly for living in Japan, perhaps that would also be an option for somewhere to live...

mdchachi · 17 Nov 2018

TallNuck said:
True, I guess it is just hard to know what is in the area just based on google maps! Wish I could move there for a month beforehand, but that won't be possible.

I didn't think you can get Shinkansen rail passes, can you? I could find nothing on this. It's a quick 18min ride by Shinkansen from Tokyo station, but that would get mighty pricy over time.

For sure such passes exist. The question is whether or not your company would pay for it. You would have to ask them.
Here's a web page that talks about shinkansen rail passes:
新幹線定期券の料金と学割｜JR新幹線ネット
Rate from Tokyo to Shin-Yokohama is
東京〜新横浜 47,580円 (month) 135,610円(3 months).
So it's "only" about $450/month.

How much time are they giving you to find a place? Just a week or two?

TallNuck · 8 Jan 2019

mdchachi said:
For sure such passes exist. The question is whether or not your company would pay for it. You would have to ask them.
Here's a web page that talks about shinkansen rail passes:
新幹線定期券の料金と学割｜JR新幹線ネット
Rate from Tokyo to Shin-Yokohama is
東京〜新横浜 47,580円 (month) 135,610円(3 months).
So it's "only" about $450/month.

How much time are they giving you to find a place? Just a week or two?

Apologies, I never got the alert for this! DOH!

Thanks for the link, it seems there is something, though I don't imagine the company will give me that much for transport!

The company said they would help me find a place, I'm still waiting for more (not moving till mid April). I don't know if it would be possible to get somewhere first, or if I would have to get the Inkan/Bank/etc set up first.

It seems that YOKOHAMA might be a good option as a place to live though, there are quite a few train options covering much of the city and only ~20 mins to Shin-Yokohama. Any suggestions? (This forum is great, it's so hard to get good advice on this stuff)

mdchachi · 8 Jan 2019

My experience is too long ago to be very helpful. Hopefully others will chime in. My company put me in in a weekly mansion for a month or so and I had plenty of time to find an apartment. But they also brought me to Japan before I had my COE which was probably a factor as to why I had so much time to look for place. So I probably had my bank account before getting the apartment.
By the way I wanted to mention that you don't necessarily need an inkan. I lived in Tokyo for about 5 years in the 1990s and never had one and it was never a problem at all. Any time I had to submit a form where there was a spot for an inkan they always had me sign my name there. I would expect there to be even less need now.

TallNuck · 1 Mar 2019

Thanks for the reply mdchachi! That's good to know, I thought it was a requirement but would be easier just to sign.

I've made the decision to live in Naka-Meguro or somewhere a little further along the Toyoko Line, as this is the best balance for getting to work and for getting into Tokyo. I think Tsunashima is on this line, just further out.

If you have any advice on this very much appreciated! Excited to come back!

mdchachi · 1 Mar 2019

That's a good "upper class" area. I think you'll be happy there.

TallNuck · 7 Mar 2019

mdchachi said:
That's a good "upper class" area. I think you'll be happy there.

Haha, thanks. I may be one or two stops out, to save some money. I hear it's popular, but hey!

Moving To Tokyo/Yokohama - Tips

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thomas

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Hiroyuki Nagashima

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