# Relocating to TOKYO in a months time.....NEED HELP/ADVICE/SUGGESTIONS



## RMS

Hello,

Firstly, I have been following this forum for quite sometime and I must say the information shared is pretty useful. Hence, this encourages me as a complete new comer to post and seek assistance on my move to Tokyo.

I would be relocating to Tokyo probably after a month. This is the first time in fact I will be visiting Japan.
My company would be assisting me in the move but they would not be covering any accommodation and this would be completely my responsibility.

Can you please assist on 2 things

1) short term accommodation for say a month till I find a house for myself.
2) help on how to go about searching for long term accomodation. What factors to consider?

My budget for long term accomodation is between 100,000 to 150,000 yen as monthly rent.
I would not mind staying 20-30 min away from my office as travel time.
Is there a possibility to get a 1LDK apartment in this budget. Please suggest areas and places I should consider. like I have mentioned I do not mind travelling daily till 25-30 min.
Would you suggest to go for furnished or unfurnished apartment. Since I have shipment facilities I can ship furniture and other items but is it recommended?

My office is located in chiyoda-ku, Marunouchi.

Awaiting some good suggestions. Thanks


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## larabell

Congratulations on your move. I hope things go smoothly.



RMS said:


> 1) short term accommodation for say a month till I find a house for myself.


Look up "Sakura House". They have guest houses and apartments all over the city and they're geared toward short-term stays. You can probably even book the room online before you come over. There are other guesthouses as well. Look up Metropolis Magazine and scan through their classified ad section.



> 2) help on how to go about searching for long term accomodation. What factors to consider?


You'll almost certainly need to work with a Realtor. I'd suggest you ask your company to put you in touch with someone. They may have someone they've worked with before.

You should be able to get a 1LDK on your budget if you look outside of Tokyo. From Marunouchi, I'd suggest maybe Kawasaki or Yokohama. The trip from Tokyo station to Kawasaki station takes about 20 minutes so you could even change from there to another line to get into an even cheaper area. You could also look Eastward toward Chiba-ken but from what I've seen, the trains between Chiba and Tokyo are pretty crowded during rush hour. You could also go North to Akabane. I don't really know which area is cheaper because I've only lived on the West side. You can look in that direction but you'd spend your 30 minutes just getting across town and then you'd have to go even farther to get into cheaper areas. Kawasaki is probably your best bet -- and it's fairly nice down there, too.



> Would you suggest to go for furnished or unfurnished apartment. Since I have shipment facilities I can ship furniture and other items but is it recommended?


I would recommend against shipping furniture unless you live in a small place right now. A 1LDK apartment anywhere near Tokyo is going to be pretty small. You don't want to end up with more stuff than you can fit into the apartment. For example, a King-size bed probably won't fit into the majority of 1LDK apartments and a standard US-sized sofa may well not fit into the living room, either.

Furnished places are available but the ones I've seen are pretty expensive. I figure they landlords know that it's mostly companies who rent furnished apartments so they raise the prices accordingly. On your budget you'll probably end up with an unfurnished place. See if your employer can pick up some of the cost of renting furniture, too. Or maybe bring some small stuff (a table and some chairs, maybe... a single bed if you have one) and just pick the rest up from Ikea once you get here and find a permanent place.


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