# Advice on apartment



## Woodwoc

I have been in Japan for three weeks and the last few weekends have been going around searching for a permanent place to stay. 

Found a few interesting one and was wondering if anyone heard about apartment shinonome canal


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## Woodwoc

Sorry I accidentally press the send button. The apartment name is shinonome canal 5. It's near toyosu which is in the Bay Area and wonder if its "earthquake safe". I have walked around the area and it looks great. Anyone have any information about this place? As I will be here for at least 5 years, would really like to find a good home. 

Thanks.


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## larabell

Plug "shinonome canal 5 earthquake" into a Google search. There's a whole blurb about the building in English on the web and it includes a discussion of earthquake safety (assuming that's the same building you looked at).

It looks like the building is more-or-less ON the Bay, not just in the area. It also looks like it's smack in the middle of reclaimed land -- which could be a good thing or could be a bad thing, depending how smart the Engineers were. In the event of a nasty quake in the Tokyo area, you might have to worry about tsunami but I've been told (informally) that the shape of the Bay tends to dampen the effects of tsunami coming in from the sea. Still... there's a lot of water in the Bay itself that certainly could cause trouble if it started sloshing around.

That said... it sure looks like a pretty building in a nice location. You're not going to find 100% "earthquake safe" anywhere in Japan, in my opinion. Some say we're overdue for a big one in this area but nobody knows when -- could be 5 years from now, could be 100 years from now -- and nobody really knows how big (remember the fault off Sanriku was considered "seismically insignificant" until 3/11 happened). If the building you're looking at is the same one I found on the web, it's really new and the building codes were probably pretty strict regarding earthquake safety. And, in general, you're safer in a high-rise than in a 5-story wooden building, anyway (though if you're high enough up, the ride could be kinda scary). I don't think I'd worry about it too much.


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## ramen2013

As lalabel said, there is no 100 % safe place for earthquake in Japan.
But it's not bad that you worry about earthquakes and prepare for that.
Shinonome is reclaimed land. So I can say that the land is not relatively strong.


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## larabell

ramen2013 said:


> Shinonome is reclaimed land. So I can say that the land is not relatively strong.


That was my original thought and one would need only point to the problems with Kansai airport for evidence of what can go wrong. But you'd also think that building on reclaimed land would entail tougher regulations for the foundation -- like going down to real bedrock. And Japan has been building on reclaimed land for a long time so you'd think they'd have it figured out by now. But I don't know of any way, short of having seen the place being built, that you could possibly know for sure how the foundation was constructed. On the other hand, you could say that for just about any tall building in Tokyo.

Another thing to consider is the surrounding land. The building itself may remain proudly standing but if you can't leave because the parking lot and streets have been liquefied, that's not terribly convenient. There are areas in Chiba-ken that dropped about a meter due to the 3/11 quake and now high tide shows up on everyone's doorsteps.


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## Woodwoc

Thanks guys for the reply. I have talk to my colleague and they are saying the big one will happen in Tokyo soon. So my question to them if it does happen which part of Tokyo is safe. They told me roppongi and I was like how can I afford even a 1k there! So I guess the only way is to work a lot of overtime as my office is in roppongi.


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## larabell

You certainly shouldn't live anywhere you don't feel safe. But Roppongi isn't going to be any safer than anywhere else if the big one does hit soon. And there are just as many so-called "experts" claiming that the 3/11 quake relieved pressure and that the big one is less likely now than it was before. I'd bet your colleague is just guessing like everyone else.

If nothing else, you should prioritize newer buildings over older ones and concrete/steel over wood. If living in an expensive area like Roppongi means you're going to have to settle for living in a 30-year-old building, you're probably making the wrong choice. On the other hand, if the big one does hit while you're here, at least you'll be able to walk home from work.

You could also consider getting out of the city center altogether. An neighborhood where the buildings are more spread out and nothing is over three stories tall will survive better than an area with glass-panel high-rise buildings everywhere you look. Also, if the worst-case scenario does happen, you may be better off in a neighborhood where everyone knows each other.


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## Woodwoc

When I did my search main criteria is definitely concrete and less than 7 years old. I have seen quite a few that I really like but so far shinonome was the one that sort if capture my heart. One of my friend actually told me that if I actually ask for too many opinion I will not be able to find an apartment!

About the big one, my colleague actually told me that it will be in Tokyo. The one happened recently is not the one as its not in Tokyo. I guess since I have made the decision to come over I just need to prepare as best as I could.


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## larabell

Woodwoc said:


> One of my friend actually told me that if I actually ask for too many opinion I will not be able to find an apartment!


I think if you *listen *to too many opinions, you won't be able to find an apartment. It probably doesn't hurt to ask. But, in the end, you're going to be the one living there, not the people from whom you requested opinions.



> About the big one, my colleague actually told me that it will be in Tokyo.


People have been predicting the next big Tokyo earthquake ever since the last big Tokyo earthquake in 1923. I'm willing to bet that your colleague is no better at guessing when and where the next big earthquake will strike than the experts who can't even agree among themselves. Even before the quake on 3/11, there were predictions that the next big quake would occur in Tokyo and, guess what, it happened 300 km away. We don't have the knowledge to predict quakes. Nobody knows when or where the next one will be. Forget what your colleague says. If a 9.0 struck directly under Tokyo you're toast no matter where you live so what's a few kilometers from Shinonome to Roppongi going to buy you? Live where you're going to feel most comfortable on a day-to-day basis.

One thing you *can *count on is that another earthquake will strike Tokyo at some point in the future. It might be while you're here, it might not happen for another 100 years. You really should be prepared either way. You can pick up earthquake preparedness materials in English at most local ward offices. Mostly you just need to be sure you have enough supplies to survive until normal food and water distribution is restored. But if predictions of future earthquakes are going to keep you awake at night, you certainly don't belong in Tokyo.


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## Yosh

Hello, it might be a little late to reply to this but I grew up in Tokyo so could give some advice from my point of view. 
Tokyo is a big city so I would recommend you to live near your work place. I used to live in the place called Minamiosawa and commute to Meguro and took me nearly 2 hours due to slow trains in the morning(it's 1.5 hour to come back home). So better to stay close to your work place, at least within 1 hour. I would avoid to live near the coasts though, because tsunami may hit those areas. 
This might be irrelevant to you but some of my non-Japanese friends used to live in Yoyogi, and they loved it! Yoyogi is in the city centre and very convenient to go anywhere yet pretty quiet. Also, Setagaya-ku is a nice area to live, in particular along Keio-line (in my opinion!). There are plenty of supermarkets, restaurants and bars. If you walk 5 - 10 mins away from each station, you'd find a quiet residential area and some parks. Rents are fairy cheap compared to the city centre. 
I know that not only you are worried about earthquakes, but as larabell and ramen2013 said, there is no 100 % safe place for earthquake in Japan. I am going back to Japan for a short while this autumn, but personally not too worried about the quakes. Maybe I am used to it too much. Anyway, hope you find a nice place, good luck


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## larabell

I was poking around on the web the other day and ran across hazard maps for all of Japan. The data has been updated to reflect conditions after the 3/11 quake. The maps show that while the inland areas of Tokyo (Roppongi, Yoyogi, Shinjuku, etc) have a 3% chance of a Shindo 6+ quake happening in the next 30 years, the chance of the same ground-level shaking (for those who don't know, the Shindo scale is a measure of shaking, not energy released) is more like 11%. There's still no way to predict where the next big one will occur but if it's close, that reclaimed land is apparently going to take more of the brunt. On 3/11, those coastal faux-islands, as well as Yokohama and Chiba, sustained more damage than the Western parts of Tokyo.


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