Tokyo housing

June 7, 2005 4:45 AM

Help me find housing in Tokyo.

I'll be attending a university in Tokyo for ten months beginning in September. I want to find housing somewhere in Tokyo for that period. Here are my requirements:

- Rent of ¥80,000/month or less
- Efficiency apartment w/kitchen and bathroom
- No roommates if at all possible
- Apartment must be furnished
- Total commute time of an hour or less to Shinjuku
- No curfew preferred
- Student-friendly management a plus
- No key money would be nice, but not necessary

I believe I can find a guarantor to sign a rental agreement if necessary, so that doesn't matter too much. My main concern is the usual requirement of a two-year contract -- obviously I won't be around that long. If you know of anything that fits these requirements *or* know of somewhere I can go to make my search easier, please post it! Thanks!

posted by armage to travel & transportation (9 comments total)

Kimi Information Center has apartments listed in English, some of which don't require key money.

It might be difficult to find a furnished apartment. Since you are only staying for 10 months, you might find it more convenient to live in a gaijin house, but they tend to vary considerably in quality, privacy, etc.

You could check Metropolis magazine and buy somebody's furniture pretty cheaply.
posted by dydecker at 5:03 AM on June 7, 2005

Ganbatte ne, Google!

(Nan demo nai!) : )
posted by Smart Dalek at 5:07 AM on June 7, 2005

Example of a gaijin house. Overpriced but convenient and furnished.
posted by dydecker at 5:17 AM on June 7, 2005

You definitely dont want to live in a gaijin house for 10 months. Not only is there no privacy, your Japanese won't get any better that way...
posted by gen at 3:46 PM on June 7, 2005

I'm surprised your university is not able to be of assistance, but definitely check out the "gaijin" free papers/magazines. I've been away for a while but when I last lived there, there was a realtor company that specialized in foreigners, meaning, no key money and month by month leases. Unfortunately, I don't recall the name - but I'm sure they advertise in those papers/magazines.

And I agree you don't want a gaijin house for more than a few weeks.
posted by birdsquared at 6:05 PM on June 7, 2005

Thanks for the tips. I'm not interested in a gaijin house, for the aforementioned reasons (and more). My Japanese is pretty good, and I have plenty of friends who are already in Japan (and yes, I'm pumping them for info as well). The Kimi Information Center seems to have excellent prices, and I've found a couple of other agencies like Sakura House that don't seem too bad at first glance. My biggest problem is somehow arranging a rental without being in Japan -- finding a place to stay for a few weeks isn't really an option.

And birdsquared, I have yet to contact my university about non-university housing -- but they only offer space in two dorms for international students or a homestay. I've done a homestay before, and I am sick of dorm life. But I will contact them as soon as possible. I'm on a bit of a time crunch here, since I have to decide whether I'll take the university housing option or not by next Friday.

Keep the links coming!
posted by armage at 7:16 PM on June 7, 2005

See if you can't stay in University housing for a week or two while you get squared away with any housing contract stuff you'll need to do. Hotels can get expensive fast and you'll likely need something as the chances of you being able to go from the airport to you new apartment are slim to none.

On preview: Waseda is making excellent use of the BLINK tag on the dorm information page! The dorms listed are all in out-of-the-way places so travel from those places would probably be a pain in the ass.
posted by mexican at 8:16 PM on June 7, 2005

I lived in a Leopalace "one-room mansion" for longer than I care to remember.
posted by planetkyoto at 7:09 AM on June 9, 2005

Thanks for all of the help, folks. I'll see how things go.
posted by armage at 5:45 AM on June 14, 2005