Finding a place to live

After you arrived in Japan you’ll mostly likely crash at a hotel or hostel for the first couple of days. But if you are planning to stay in Japan for a long time you might wanna get your own place. As there are like 100 real estate agencies at every bigger station it should be a piece of cake right? WRONG! Finding a place to live in Tokyo or Japan in general can be one of the biggest hurdles for you. But we have some tips for you to make it a little bit easier.

Hurdle 1

Even if there are a lot of real estate agents, most of them don’t speak any other language than Japanese.

Solution

If your Japanese skills aren’t really solid yet, make sure you bring a friend who speaks Japanese or alternatively check out a some places that have English-speaking staff like Sakura House. Even if you speak Japanese, check the web for specific words real estate agents use like 敷金、礼金 etc.

Hurdle 2

The landlord or respectively the company that owns the apartment might be a problem too. Why? Because some of them are – how to put it nicely? – not really open for foreigners. Some of them might have had bad experiences before, others just don’t want foreigners in their apartments and for some it’s just their “company policy”.

Solution

Unfortunately, there’s nothing you can do against it. the only thing you can do, is behave yourself when you finally got a place and ensure that Japanese landlords get a good image of foreigners in their apartments. (some of them are just worried, because they can’t communicate with you if you don’t speak Japanese and don’t know if you know how to separate the garbage – a total different story!)

Hurdle 3

Many real estate agents and landlords will ask you for a guarantor. That guarantor usually has to be Japanese and already working with a regular job and a stable income. Why is that necessary? Because the guarantor is responsible for you and they might turn to him if you don’t pay your rent or cause some other trouble.

Solution

If you have a Japanese friend how can help you, great! If not, you can use a guarantor company like Nihon Safety K.K.. They charge you about half a month’s rent and maybe some additional fees but only once. Then they fill in all the papers and if you don’t pay your rent in time, they pay for you but of course you have to pay it back to them and even a little bit more. But this option is probably the most convenient way.

Hurdle 4

I hope your suitcase is not only filled with dreams but also lots of money! Renting a place in Japan can be really expensive as they ask you for the rent of the current month, the next month in advance, deposit (sometimes up to 2- or 3-months rent), “thank you” money to the landlord and key money. Assuming your rent is about 70.000 JPY a month, the first month can sum up to 300.000 JPY and more.

Solution

Many real estate agencies run campaigns where they waive you deposit and/or “thank you” money, which takes a lot of the financial burden off your shoulders. Another option you have is to rent a place at Sakura House. You can rent places on a monthly basis and the apartments are already completely furnished. They have different types and most of the time you have your own room and share kitchen and bath with some other people. If you are very open, outgoing and don’t mind sharing kitchen and bath, this might be an interesting option. It’s usually cheaper than a regular apartment, is completely furnished and you can already meet some people.

If you are a student your university might provide you with a place. The same goes for people who get sent to Japan by their company. So check with your company/school first.

What experiences did you make when you tried to find a place to live in Japan? Leave us a comment or send us a mail!

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