# Housing areas for families



## jadetiger

I am considering taking a position in Tokyo this year, but would like to know what are the better neighborhoods to consider renting housing for a family of 3 and how much I can expect to be paying per month.


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## synthia

Welcome to the forum! Your new employer should help you find housing, because it can be a difficult process. Western executives with good expat packages are usually placed in Roppongi.

Are your children of school age? Will your employer pay for them to attend an international school? That is a really important benefit.


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## jadetiger

Thanks for the reply Synthia Not school age...toddler.


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## synthia

International nursery school, then? Before you enroll your child in a Japanese program of any kind, be sure you look into the Japanese education system. It's a bit rigid, and teachers may actually encourage bullying and teasing of students who are in any way 'different'. Also, Japanese children are toilet-trained quite young, by 18 months, usually. I've heard it can make it difficult to find diapers, among other things. Not something I can verify on my own, though.


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## jadetiger

Sounds interesting. Thanks for the heads up? Definately food for thought. I was looking at information about Roppongi and it looks pretty "lively". Any thoughts about locations outside of the city? I'm not against a short commute if it means a larger more cost effective living arrangement.


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## synthia

I don't think there are any 'short commutes' to the suburbs. I had a 20 minute commute, and I only went a few stops on the subway, from Ikebukuro to Shinjuku Even a short commute can be unpleasant because the trains are so jammed. I used to try to stand on the right side of the train on the way to Shinjuku, because that way I could see trees!

You will be living in an apartment, even in the fairly far out suburbs. I only met two people in Tokyo who had a private house. One was quite rich, and even then had no yard at all. The other inherited the house.


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## jadetiger

I'd like to be able to search for some places now to get my expectations in line. We will have some support to find a place prior to moving, but I'd like to be able to also suggest a couple of locations with 2 or 3 bdrm apartment options. Know of any good websites I can peruse in the meantime? If Roppongi is the first choice, what would be the top 5 locations I should consider? The office is located in Chiyoda-ku, but not important that I'm close.

Thanks


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## synthia

You might not think it is important that you are close, but a spouse jam packed onto a Japanese commuter train might think differently.

I haven't been in Japan for a while, so the only thing that comes to mind is Roppongi. Because it is an expat enclave, apartments there are larger, and more expensive.

Apartment sizes are specified as a number and DK, meaning the number of rooms plus the dining and kitchen area. They always have, as far as I know, only one bathroom, which will be separate from the room for the toilet. Rooms are specified in mat sizes, as in a 6-mat room, referring to the number of tatami. Maybe that only applies to traditional apartments, but I don't remember it that way.

I wouldn't worry about being able to make suggestions of areas. Be more concerned about what you want in an apartment and know where you are willing to compromise.

Will the company lease the apartment and sublet it to you, and if not will they pick up the substantial up-front expenses?


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## crosslec

*Where to live in Yokohama*

Couple (age 52 and American) about to move to Japan. Office in Kawasaki. Good Expat Package, previously lived in Kobe (Entente Apt) Want best expat apartment near Kawasaki. Guess this is Yokohama area. Advice ??? Arigato


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## crosslec

Oh, we lived in Kobe 2000-2002. No kids with us, 2 back in usa on own


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## Marisa

jadetiger said:


> Sounds interesting. Thanks for the heads up? Definately food for thought. I was looking at information about Roppongi and it looks pretty "lively". Any thoughts about locations outside of the city? I'm not against a short commute if it means a larger more cost effective living arrangement.


I wouldn't recommend you move outside of the city as there can be serious traffic congestions and trains are packed during commuting hours. Roppongi is basically a busy nightlife area - drugs, pimps, nightclubs and "girls" surface by evening and not so interesting during the day, either. If the office is in Chiyoda-ku and you don't want the Roppongi lifestyle, try Ichibancho. Area is very central and surrounded by greenery. Government offices and Prime Minister's Office is close by, as is Imperial Palace. Very classy area. Less than a 10 minute drive to Roppongi or American Club or main English-speaking medical clinic.


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## larabell

Hmmm... I'm coming to this thread a bit late but there were a couple things said that I would take minor issue with.

I have a 4-yr-old in Japanese day care and a 2nd-grader in Japanese Elementary. I don't see any signs of them being treated any differently than other kids (except that the girls all seem to like my older son). The 2nd-grade class has done some pretty interesting things that, when I went to school, weren't even on the curriculum. Most of the pressure on kids comes from the parents who want their kids to enter Todai someday. From what I can tell, things don't seem to get tough until around middle-school.

If you're going to be here a while and are thinking International School, though, your relocation should take that into account. There aren't all that many International Schools around and transportation can be a challenge if you have to commute to take the kid to school and go back the other way to get to work.

Also, there are no problems with diapers or other baby supplies, as kids are kids and some need diapers longer than others.

I would definitely _not_ recommend Roppongi if you have a toddler. You will want an area with parks to play in, streets on which a kid can safely walk and ride their bicycle, and at least a bit of quiet on the weekends (when there's no election coming up). How close is your office to Tokyo station (Chiyoda-ku is pretty big)? Try Nakano. I commuted from Nakano to Oimachi (near Shinagawa) for years. I'm lucky enough now to have a job where I can work mostly from home but I still go to the office now and again and there are only a few windows of time during the morning commute that I would feel qualify as "crowded" -- maybe I'm just getting used to it. Anyway, Tokyo to Nakano is a straight shot (one train, no transfers) and it only takes about 20 mins.

I have heard that trains in the other direction (ie: Chiba) are very crowded. Also going West from where I'm at it gets a worse. Maybe I'm just lucky.

BTW, there is no subway from Ikebukuro to Shinjuku and very few from which one can see trees. The Yamanote-sen runs between those two stations but it's only about 4 stops and less than 10 mins total. On the West side of town, there are a number of train lines that can put you in reasonably suburban surroundings within a half-hour. Unfortunately, fewer choices from the East side (Chiyoda-ku) because the bay is kinda in the way. But you can get down to Kawasaki in less than 20 mins (assuming Tokyo as the starting point) and things are less crowded and less expensive down there.


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## synthia

OK, it was probably a train, not a subway to Shinjuku. I never sorted it all out, so if I went underground and bought a ticket, it was a subway. We have subway lines in Washington DC that go above ground, but they are still called the subway. And it used to be, if you stood on the right side of the train going to Shinjuku, and stooped a bit, you could see some trees. This was long ago, and they may well be gone. It was a short trip, though at rush hour it sure seemed a lot longer than ten minutes.


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## larabell

Sounds like the Yamanote. You're lucky you got off at Shinjuku. The segment of the Yamanote between Shinjuku and Shibuya is said to be one of the most crowded in all of Japan.

That's another good reason to live _outside_ the loop. You can usually avoid the Yamanote altogether. Some of the lines radiating out from Tokyo are just as bad. But many are not. It might behoove one to ask come colleagues (or experienced train riders on this list) about certain segments once you know where your office is and have a potential apartment picked out. I always said I was going to try a test-run at rush hour before relocating but never had the time or inclination to follow through on my threat.

I guess the point is that you don't have to be shoved into the train by the "white-glove army" if you plan ahead when picking a place to live and avoid the segments that everyone in the city uses (like Shinjuku-to-Shibuya or Shinjuky-to-Ikebukuro... or any part of the Ginza-sen ). It also helps if you're in a position to be able to skew your work schedule a bit one way or the other to avoid the heavy times (which seem to be different on different lines).


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## jadetiger

*what about Shirogane*

Hi all, thanks again for all the insights. Have been travelling around the different areas and agree with most of the insights provided. Came across this area of town called Shirogane. Anyone with some experience here? Seems like a nice part of town to be with a toddler.

Thanks again


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