# Moving over - advice needed please!



## Raffish_Chapish

Hi again - lots of questions and I appreciate your help loads and loads

So I'm moving over in Nov - will be working in Roppongi, I'm not getting relocation assistance.

1) When I get off the plane where would you advise I go and stay? A guesthouse while I look for a studio flat? or a monthly rented apartment? Any advice as to sites or places to find either? Guesthouse might be good to meet people no?

Next - Apartments...I'm thinking Hiroo or Azabu Juban - Ive prob got around 150,000 Yen I can spend a month...

1) Does rent typically include bills? If not, how much is the typical bill spend per month?
2) I've been looking online, Tokyo Apartment Inc seems good but anyone got any other ideas?
3) This 'Key Money' business looks like a nasty extra sting. Do you just have to suck it up when it's demanded or is this negotiable? ALSO this 'agents fee' - so I could be looking at 2 months deposit, 1 month key charge and 1 month agency fee - Sounds a nightmare...
4) Lots of the apartments look unfurnished - is this normal or do they charge you extra to put beds, table blah blah in?
5) A lot of the leases say 2 years min - is this normal?

Thanks again,

R_C


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## larabell

If it were me, I'd probably try a guesthouse but a business hotel would be another choice. There's a chain called Sakura House and they have an English web site so you can make all the arrangements before you even get on the plane. There are probably others. A web search would yield more information in that respect than a question on a forum. As for cheap hotels, JNTO used to have a booklet listing cheaper hotels aimed at tourists and some of them can accept reservations in English.

Another fine resource is the classified section of Metropolis magazine. They also have an English website. I also remember seeing a website where ordinary people rent out their spare rooms to travelers. Don't recall the name off-hand but you could always do a web search (notice a theme here? ).

1) In my experience, rent only includes utilities (which is what I assume you meant by "bills") if it's a serviced apartment (ie: meant for short-term stays). A real apartment usually doesn't but it's possible smaller units might. That's obviously up to the landlord or the management company.

2) Not off-hand. I've heard Century 21 has realtors who speak English but be careful. In general, realtors that specialize in ex-pat housing tend (in my experience) to charge higher rents. Maybe you can talk someone at your company into going to a local (Japanese) realtor once you decide approximately where you want to live.

3) Up-front costs when renting can be a nightmare. These days, there are a lot of places advertising "no key money" and I believe it's technically negotiable but unless you're looking at a dump that nobody wants to live in, it's pretty much a seller's market in Tokyo. You might be able to avoid the realtor's fee by finding places that have just been built and the builder is trying to rent them out. Then again, unless your Japanese is pretty good, you'll probably want that realtor helping you out.

4) Furniture usually only comes with serviced apartments (the pricey ones that are aimed at people here for a short-term stay). Most real (long-term) apartments don't come furnished and some don't even have appliances other than the basic toilet and hot-water heater. You can ask if they'll add in some furniture. In the first place I lived this time around, my employer got the landlord to add a refrigerator into the rent. The problem with that is that they know they'll have to get rid of it when you move out so they charge way more than the furniture is worth. You're better off buying stuff on your own. If you don't want the hassle of getting rid of a bunch of stuff in a year or two, then check out Tokyo Lease. Sometimes you can rent older stuff for not too much money. And don't forget Metropolis magazine (see above). Look for "Sayonara Sales" which means ex-pats who are going home and have a ton of stuff to get rid of.

5) A 2 year lease is pretty much standard. Again, the short-term serviced apartments don't make you sign a long-term lease. Guesthouses and so-called "gaijin houses" also don't require a lease (as far as I know). Once you're in, leases usually renew automatically with a renewal fee equal to one (or maybe two) month's rent.

Check out Sakura House and see if any of the places listed there might serve you for the entire time you're here. They don't seem terribly expensive -- the one near my place houses a lot of short-term English teachers so the rooms can't be all that costly. You might find that living in one of those places solves your problem for the time being and you can always change your mind and get a real apartment once you know you'll be here long enough to make the cost and the hassle worthwhile.


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## xenocrisis0153

LeoPalace offers semi-furnished places at decent prizes and plenty of availability.
UR housing has cheaper move-in rates and is more foreigner-friendly.

As for utilities, they are usually paid separately:
water - usually a flat-rate depending on the city, around 1,500-3,000/month
electricity - around 3,000/month, depending on how much you use your AC or TV
gas - about 2,500/month
internet - mine is 4,200/month

smartphone - I pay 6,800/month for the unlimited ipad-mini plan


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## nevaeh

xenocrisis0153 said:


> water - usually a flat-rate depending on the city, around 1,500-3,000/month
> electricity - around 3,000/month, depending on how much you use your AC or TV
> gas - about 2,500/month
> internet - mine is 4,200/month


Is this in central Tokyo?


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## xenocrisis0153

nevaeh said:


> Is this in central Tokyo?


No, I live in Kobe, I've also lived in other places around Japan., including up North Those are the rough estimates of what I've paid. If you want the highs:

water: 2,400 (a small village way up in the mountains... so more difficult to get clean water to.)
electricity: 8,000 (but I was playing xbox and using my tv a lot that month)
gas: 5,000 (took a lot of hot baths that particular month)


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## nevaeh

Thanks, I was asking because they're significantly lower than my bills, even on a good month! My low electricity is 10k and my high is 20k. 

For the op:
I thought I sent you a message but apparently I just left it as a public message on your profile, sorry 

Guesthouses and rental apartments in Tokyo here are some places that have shared/monthly rentals. Not all places are shared by the way, you can also rent private apartments on a monthly basis.

Key money is, thankfully, going out of fashion. Nonetheless, the "moving" fees for "proper" apartments are very high, probably not worth it if you're staying for 2 years. Also, might be hard to get the paperwork needed as a newcomer to Japan.

In my case, central Tokyo, high rise: 
No key money 
No agents fee

BUT: 
1st month's rent
+1 month deposit
+1 month for the guarantor company (first contract, after that it's 10,000 per year)
+ insurance costs and of course the initial monthly rental.

and 1 month's rent renewal fee when you renew the contract (so basically key money, except that it's not applicable when you first sign up).


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## xenocrisis0153

nevaeh said:


> Thanks, I was asking because they're significantly lower than my bills, even on a good month! My low electricity is 10k and my high is 20k.


wow, that IS a lot. Are you living on your own? How big is your apartment? (mine is just a 1K) Do you use the AC all night, every night?

80kWh, according to my last bill ran me Y1,858 ... so roughly Y23 per kwWh.


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## Raffish_Chapish

larabell said:


> If it were me, I'd probably try a guesthouse but a business hotel would be another choice. There's a chain called Sakura House and they have an English web site so you can make all the arrangements before you even get on the plane. There are probably others. A web search would yield more information in that respect than a question on a forum. As for cheap hotels, JNTO used to have a booklet listing cheaper hotels aimed at tourists and some of them can accept reservations in English. Another fine resource is the classified section of Metropolis magazine. They also have an English website. I also remember seeing a website where ordinary people rent out their spare rooms to travelers. Don't recall the name off-hand but you could always do a web search (notice a theme here? ). 1) In my experience, rent only includes utilities (which is what I assume you meant by "bills") if it's a serviced apartment (ie: meant for short-term stays). A real apartment usually doesn't but it's possible smaller units might. That's obviously up to the landlord or the management company. 2) Not off-hand. I've heard Century 21 has realtors who speak English but be careful. In general, realtors that specialize in ex-pat housing tend (in my experience) to charge higher rents. Maybe you can talk someone at your company into going to a local (Japanese) realtor once you decide approximately where you want to live. 3) Up-front costs when renting can be a nightmare. These days, there are a lot of places advertising "no key money" and I believe it's technically negotiable but unless you're looking at a dump that nobody wants to live in, it's pretty much a seller's market in Tokyo. You might be able to avoid the realtor's fee by finding places that have just been built and the builder is trying to rent them out. Then again, unless your Japanese is pretty good, you'll probably want that realtor helping you out. 4) Furniture usually only comes with serviced apartments (the pricey ones that are aimed at people here for a short-term stay). Most real (long-term) apartments don't come furnished and some don't even have appliances other than the basic toilet and hot-water heater. You can ask if they'll add in some furniture. In the first place I lived this time around, my employer got the landlord to add a refrigerator into the rent. The problem with that is that they know they'll have to get rid of it when you move out so they charge way more than the furniture is worth. You're better off buying stuff on your own. If you don't want the hassle of getting rid of a bunch of stuff in a year or two, then check out Tokyo Lease. Sometimes you can rent older stuff for not too much money. And don't forget Metropolis magazine (see above). Look for "Sayonara Sales" which means ex-pats who are going home and have a ton of stuff to get rid of. 5) A 2 year lease is pretty much standard. Again, the short-term serviced apartments don't make you sign a long-term lease. Guesthouses and so-called "gaijin houses" also don't require a lease (as far as I know). Once you're in, leases usually renew automatically with a renewal fee equal to one (or maybe two) month's rent. Check out Sakura House and see if any of the places listed there might serve you for the entire time you're here. They don't seem terribly expensive -- the one near my place houses a lot of short-term English teachers so the rooms can't be all that costly. You might find that living in one of those places solves your problem for the time being and you can always change your mind and get a real apartment once you know you'll be here long enough to make the cost and the hassle worthwhile.


Thanks a lot for all the help.
I'd rather get my own apartment as in my early thirties I like to have my own space.
I'll try and have a look at some monthly rented apartments and see what I can find.


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## motblut

*Temporary apartment suggestion*

_"When I get off the plane where would you advise I go and stay? A guesthouse while I look for a studio flat? or a monthly rented apartment? Any advice as to sites or places to find either? Guesthouse might be good to meet people no?"_


We just moved to Tokyo a week ago and got a one month temporary apartment through airbnb.com. You should assume you will need a month at the minimum before you move to your permanent place. I believe the paperwork can take 2-3 weeks after you find the right place. Hope this helps!


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