# Moving to Tokyo... advice needed!



## Singapore Saint

Hi Everyone,

My wife and I are currently considering an offer to move to Tokyo, after 6yrs in Singapore (we are from UK). I have never been to Tokyo and know very little about it... I have a couple of standard questions if anybody can help, or point me in the directions of websites that can help.. I've found very few active forums about living in Japan!

Areas to live: 
My wife's office is in the Mori tower, and we don't mind a commute of around 30 - 45mins; having lived as expats in Singapore for 6yrs, we are happy to live anywhere, we don't necessarily have to live in any expat 'enclaves.' We have a Boxer dog, so would like a landed property if possible, (but we don't yet know what our rental budget will be..), if we are in an apartment, we would like to be close to parks and open areas if possible. We'd prefer a more residential area than a central area if they exist..!
Are there any areas to avoid, any unsafe areas..? We're too used to Singapore where everywhere is fairly similar and there is no real difference between areas..

What would an approximate typical monthly rent be for a 3LDK with a small garden or a 3LDK apartment?

Cars:
We have only recently bought a car in Singapore, having gone 5yrs without one, and bought one mainly to make it easier taking the dog to places as taxis wouldn't take a large boxer dog... I believe that to buy a car you need to prove you have a place to park it, is that right? How easy would it be to take a dog to parks, open areas, countryside etc without our own car, do taxis take dogs?

Just a couple of basic questions, but any guidance would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks.


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## larabell

I assume you're referring to the Mori Tower in Roppongi. If so, you're in luck. There are two or three recent threads on this very forum which go into great detail about places to live with quick access to Roppongi. I assume you've taken the time to read the other posts on the forum, right?

There are no truly "unsafe" areas in Tokyo. The areas near and inside the Yamanote-sen loop are more densely packed and, in some cases, noisier. And there are some seedy areas North of Shinjuku but nothing I can think of in the part of town you're likely to want to live.

Free-standing rental houses are rare in the inner city. But if you get further out of the city (30 to 45 mins can take you quite a ways on the trains and subways) you should have no problem. I'm not sure about the prices -- that depends on how far you go. Maybe 2~300,000 yen for a 3LDK apartment so I wouldn't expect it to be much more than that for a house. A yard big enough for a boxer, though, will be hard to find. Land in Tokyo is pretty expensive and most houses have minimal outdoor space (my place, for example, has none).

Taxis don't transport large dogs that I know of. I've also never seen one on a train, subway, or bus so you might need a car. But... in the Roppongi area you'll be paying over 30,000 yen for a parking space. A bit less if you're further out (and don't expect to drive to work) but even here in Nakano, it's about 30,000 yen per month to rent a parking space. The good news is that if you find a house further out, it might come with a parking space (again, depending on how far away from the city you live).

I'd also assume you're not going to want to commute to work by car. During the week, in the Roppongi area, that can take 2 to 3 times as long as going by subway. Both the Hibiya-sen and the Oedo-sen are convenient for getting to Mori Tower.

It is true that in order to buy a car, you have to prove you have a parking space. At one time there was apparently a black market for parking spaces that get rented to multiple people at the same time (for a lot less than it would take to rent a real one) but I don't know if that still exists and, anyway, you're going to need to park the beast somewhere, right? I'm not sure what the rules are for *importing* a car that you already own but I'd be surprised if they don't also require you to have a place to put it. The streets in Tokyo are too narrow to allow for on-street parking. Most areas don't allow overnight parking on the streets. Paid parking lots exist all over but they charge an arm and a leg if you park there long-term.

Hope that helps some...


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## Joppa

Singapore Saint said:


> My wife and I are currently considering an offer to move to Tokyo, after 6yrs in Singapore (we are from UK). I have never been to Tokyo and know very little about it... I have a couple of standard questions if anybody can help, or point me in the directions of websites that can help.. I've found very few active forums about living in Japan!
> 
> Areas to live:
> My wife's office is in the Mori tower, and we don't mind a commute of around 30 - 45mins; having lived as expats in Singapore for 6yrs, we are happy to live anywhere, we don't necessarily have to live in any expat 'enclaves.' We have a Boxer dog, so would like a landed property if possible, (but we don't yet know what our rental budget will be..), if we are in an apartment, we would like to be close to parks and open areas if possible. We'd prefer a more residential area than a central area if they exist..!
> Are there any areas to avoid, any unsafe areas..? We're too used to Singapore where everywhere is fairly similar and there is no real difference between areas..
> 
> What would an approximate typical monthly rent be for a 3LDK with a small garden or a 3LDK apartment?
> 
> Cars:
> We have only recently bought a car in Singapore, having gone 5yrs without one, and bought one mainly to make it easier taking the dog to places as taxis wouldn't take a large boxer dog... I believe that to buy a car you need to prove you have a place to park it, is that right? How easy would it be to take a dog to parks, open areas, countryside etc without our own car, do taxis take dogs?
> 
> Just a couple of basic questions, but any guidance would be greatly appreciated!


Mori Tower is on the Roppongi Hills, an area rich with foreign firms and close to the entertainment district full of foreigners' bars. Rent in a typical expat apartment in the area will be high, but handy for commuting. If your budget is more limited, you may want to consider somewhere to the west, just outside the Yamanote loop line like Nakameguro, which is more residential but only 15 min by the subway Hibiya line. 
Having a large dog will be a problem in Tokyo, as few apartments allow large pets, and a house with a garden will be prohibitively expensive. If you insist on bringing your dog, you need to consider living further out in the suburbs, with consequent longer commute. As for rent, it's difficult to pin down - there are many agents specialising in expat rentals, as a typical local agent would usually require a Japanese guarantor, other costs and a minimum rental period of 2 years. Your employer may help with putting you in touch with an agency. Minimum rent for a 3LDK (which is considered quite big for Tokyo) would be around 200,000 yen a month unfurnished, plus utilities and management charge in a not-too-expensive area (you can pay many times that near Roppongi, Azabu and Hiroo). 
You wouldn't want a car in central Tokyo, as parking is expensive (and you pay a big premium for an off-street parking space required by law), traffic heavy and high running costs, as you may only use it at weekends. If you are going to live in the suburbs, a car would be a possibility, though many people manage without as public transport is very good. Taxis are unlikely to take a big dog.


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## dallibee

I guess it is all about what your rental budget is. If it enough then you can live really near to work and have a parking space with your apartment or house. 

I have just come back from a trip to tokyo to find a house as we are moving there in November. I was really surprised that in our price range, houses were actually cheaper than apartments as they don't have the 24 hour english speaking concierge , or gym or pool etc. we found a great house in Hiroo ( one stop from rappongi) with a tiny patch of grass for our dog to poo on. a few minutes walk to the station and lovely big park.

check on the net for Ken Realty, they have a lot of properties on the net and you can get an idea of the range that is available for your budget. we found that the prices posted were negotiable.


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## Singapore Saint

Many thanks for the info everyone.. still ploughing through all of the other threads as well... this has all come very quickly, not much time to make an informed decision!


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