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- Herausgeber: WS
- Kategorie: Lebensstil
- Serie: Far Away Home in Japan
- Sprache: Englisch
Dreaming of a Japanese adventure? Let's make it happen!
This guidebook is your ultimate companion for navigating the exciting (but sometimes overwhelming) world of finding a home in Japan. Whether you're a complete newbie to the country or already in Japan and looking for settling in more comfortably, this book has you covered.
With this friendly guidebook by your side, you'll be able to:
1. navigate Japanese real estate websites;
2. find a suitable home for your family;
3. understand the rental contract and your legal rights;
4. understand how Japanese homes differ from your home country;
5. choose what you can change or demand for your new home;
6. see outside and inside real Japanese homes with over 150 pictures included;
7. read Japanese instructions for using the rice cooker and other appliances;
8. decide what to bring from abroad and how;
9. prepare your pets for import to Japan;
10. know when it's appropriate to negotiate and how;
11. save money on fees and expenses;
12. save time to find the right information and forms you need;
13. and much much more!
This book is suitable for both newcomers who aren't fluent in Japanese (intermediate English-okay!), and those who are already in Japan and would like to better understand the choices available when renting and living in a Japanese rental house or apartment.
The book also includes access to a separate online list of resources regularly updated (i.e., links to real estate websites in Japan, agencies providing help and support to foreigners, forms and information for importing your personal effects duty-free, etc.)
Foreword of "Japan Guide from Renting to Rice Cooking":
"...a genuine tour de force ...the best introduction to the quotidian realities of life in Japan... a visually rich tour of Japan’s housing and rental landscape alongside a personable guide who never fails to inform and delight with her well-grounded facts, perceptive insights, and charming asides."
– ROGER ROBINS, Professor, Center for Global Communication Strategies, The University of Tokyo (retired)
Das E-Book können Sie in Legimi-Apps oder einer beliebigen App lesen, die das folgende Format unterstützen:
Seitenzahl: 298
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024
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japan guide from renting to rice cooking
Far Away Home In Japan
Book One
izabelle grenon
Copyright © 2024 by IzabelleGrenon
ISBN 978-99993-0-071-1 (eBook)
ISBN 978-99993-0-072-8 (paperback)
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
To my sons, LucasTaiga and MichaëlKaito, for their unwavering enthusiasm and faith as I took on this ambitious project and uprooted our family to go on a new life adventure. You’re my sunshine. You’re my everything!
contents
Foreword
Introduction
BONUS: List of Resources!
Regions, Prefectures and Cities
1. Choosing a Home
Housing Options
Can I Afford a “Mansion”?
Need Help?
Finding a Suitable Home
Which Factors Impact the Monthly Cost?
Maintenance Fees
Security Deposit and “Gift” Money
Fees, Fees and More Fees?
The Guarantor
Insurance
Moving With Friends or Foes?
Renting With Pets
The “No Foreigner” Condition
Can I Negotiate?
Should I Care About Insulation?
How About Earthquakes?
Tsunamis and Typhoons Too?
2. Housing Features
The Rental Listing
Where’s the First Floor?
The Floor Plan
Room Sizes
Room Sizes and Furniture
The Kitchen
Toilet, Bath and Shower
Closets
DEN, Service Room and Storage Room
Heated Floor
Loft
Balcony
Rental Cost
Why Can’t I See Outside?
Shutters
Disability Access
Car Parking
Bicycle Parking
3. The Rental Procedure
Flow of the Renting Process
Timeline for Setting Up Your Home
Register Your Address at the City Office
Rental Agreement Renewal
When the Rental Agreement CANNOT Be Renewed
When You Are Asked to Move Out
When You Want to Move Out
4. Moving From Abroad
Pack Your Suitcases
Transporting Your Luggage
Custom Declaration at the Airport
Shipping by Air or Sea?
Shipping Your Vehicle
Packing and Unpacking
Better Buy New or Bring With You?
Can I Plug-In Appliances From Other Countries?
Shipping Insurance
5. Moving With Pets
Which Countries Are Rabies-Free and Why It Matters
(Step 1) Microchip
(Steps 2, 3 and 4) Rabies Vaccines and Antibody Tests
Other Vaccines and Treatments
(Step 5) Rabies Test Results and Quarantine
(Step 6) Advance Notification
(Steps 7 and 8) Pre-Export Inspection and Health Certificate
Rabies Antibody Titer Survey (Dogs Only)
(Step 9) Import Inspection
Timeline for Importing Pets
Airline Boarding Requirements
Medicine for Your Pet in Flight
What to Do After Arriving at Your New Home
Moving Out of Japan With the Same Pet
6. Settling In
Do I Need to Clean Before Moving In?
Is the Water Safe to Drink?
Where Does the Electricity Come From in Japan?
Setting Up the Electricity
Setting Up the Gas
Do I Need Kerosene Too?
How to Apply for Water?
Where and How Can I Pay My Bills?
Aircon (Heater + Air Conditioner)
Using a Kerosene Heater
Why Are My Feet Still Cold?
A Light for the Night
Curtain Laces and Panels
The Intercom “Moshi Moooosh”
Thin Walls: “Shush”
Can I Nail or Screw Something on the Wall?
Do I Need to Sleep on the Floor?
Bed Sizes in Japan
Can I Put Furniture on a Tatami Floor?
The Toilet
A Bath or a Shower Today?
Why Is There No Hot Water?
Warming Up the Bathroom/Toilet Area
Laundry Machine to Spin My Belongings
Clothes Drying Options
No Oven?
How to Use a Rice Cooker
Can I Have a Dishwasher?
Sorting Out the Garbage
Getting Rid of Bulkier Items
7. Moving Out
The Termination Notice
Finding a Moving Company
Disconnecting Utilities and Other Services
What Needs to Be Done at the City Office
Forwarding Your Mail
Getting Rid of Everything
If Moving Out of the Country
Final Inspection
Share of Responsibilities for Damages to the Rental
How Much Deduction From Your Deposit Is Too Much?
Common Problematic Cases Related to Deductions for Damages
Who Decides on the Cost of the Repairs?
Final Notes
Pronouncing Japanese Words
Glossary
List of Regions
List of Cities
Bibliography
Disclosure
At Home
Contributors
About the author
foreword
In this inaugural volume of her FarAwayHome in Japan series, IzabelleGrenon has achieved a genuine tour de force. First, the book immediately establishes itself as the most comprehensive, thorough, and eminently useful guide available on its specified topic, finding and setting up your new home. Yet it is much, much more. Indeed, it doubles as the best introduction to the quotidian realities of life in Japan that anyone could find.
The secret to this achievement, it seems to me, lies in the rare conjunction of skills and aptitudes that the author brings to her work. The list begins with the keen eye and analytical mind of a trained scholar. (Before venturing into the spheres of writing and consulting, Dr. Grenon spent over a decade as a tenured faculty member in linguistics at Japan’s most prestigious university.)
What truly sets this work apart, however, and what should secure its place on the bookshelves and desk tops of new arrivals to Japan, are qualities rarely found among degreed academics. Here, the scholarly perspective is grounded in practical sensibilities, informed by lived experience, and animated by the wit, zest, and sparkling prose of a novelist.
The result is far from the regimented march through a catalogue of tedium that we meet in so many guidebooks. Rather, readers embark on a visually rich tour of Japan’s housing and rental landscape alongside a personable guide who never fails to inform and delight with her well-grounded facts, perceptive insights, and charming asides.
– ROGERROBINS, Professor, Center for GlobalCommunicationStrategies, TheUniversity of Tokyo (retired)
introduction
Japanese bridge in HamarikyuGardens in Tokyo
You’ve perused a few books about Japan, read tons of manga and now can’t contain your excitement about living in the country that inspired the world’s most famous animated movies? As exciting as it can be to live in a new country, you’ll soon find out, for better or worse, that Japan is quite different from what you’d imagined. What’s it really like to live in Japan?
The trains are a haven of silence even when overly packed with commuters, who may be reading, playing games on their phones, applying their make-up or sleeping throughout the commute.
When a shopping mall opens its doors in the morning, the staff greets you with a deep respectful bow as you walk past their shop, giving you a sense of what it must feel like to be Royalty.
And my Japanese friends would be indignant if I didn’t mention the food… so many delicacies in so many varieties! Food is so important in this culture that any respectable TV show or movie will have people eating in front of the camera every 5 minutes or so (I’m barely exaggerating,I swear).
Vending machines at a park
You can also find vending machines virtually everywhere—even in the middle of nowhere—distributing cold and hot tea or coffee, corn soup, pizza, banana, bugs (yep, not a typo), and so much more!
Japan also boasts a rich traditional culture rooted in Shintoism and Buddhism with unique ceremonies, festivals and holidays. So many things make Japan special, in a wonderful, endearing way.
You may be surprised to find out, however, that despite having some of the most advanced and sophisticated technologies in the world, “unlimited” high-speed internet in Japan may limit access to the high-speed part to less than 2 hours of video streaming per month.
You’ll also soon find out that Japan has yet to move its bureaucratic system to a fully digital management format. Accordingly, be prepared to fill in any number of forms still available only on paper. While there’s a push for offices and schools to become more “digital” they’re held back by a workforce still lacking critical computer skills. Even today, you may be asked to send documents by fax if you can’t bring them in person (I’m not kidding).
AlthoughTokyo and other cities have announcements in English on the trains, and added many direction signs in English, Korean and Chinese, most people working at city offices, immigration offices, hospitals, clinics, shops, grocery stores and public schools, do not speak or understand English or any other languages besides Japanese.
Even if you’re fluent in Japanese, you may find that getting the right information from local people—even at the city office—can be a frustrating and discouraging process, at times being told that something is not possible (when it is, you just asked the wrong person), or that something is possible (when in reality, it isn’t), or finding that they can’t understand your language or answer your question and are unwilling to help you find someone who can. As someone who’s lived in Japan for 14 years, I know how hard it can be to find certain pieces of information and distressful it is when you don’t.
There are many books, YouTube videos and pamphlets available in many languages explaining to foreigners coming to Japan what NOT to do to avoid violating cultural norms. Pieces of advice include “do NOT cut in line,” “do NOT lick your chopsticks,” “do NOT come into someone’s home with your shoes,” etc.
Commercial street near Shibuya station in Tokyo
This is all well and good but it may leave you wondering ‘what CANI do when I am not comfortable with a situation?’ (e.g., you’re a victim of abuse) or ‘where can I find this or that?’ (where’s the oven gone?)
Rather than focusing on what you can’t do, these guidebooks focus on what you CAN expect or demand when things are different from what you’re used to, what resources are available, and what your rights are when things don’t go as planned.
To support you throughout your journey in the land of the rising sun, the series “FarAwayHome in Japan” provides you with honest, detailed and accurate information to get you through all the little and not-so-little challenges awaiting you in Japan, whether you’re a well-seasoned expat or this is your first time living abroad.
As a resident of Japan, you should have equal rights to feel safe, respected and comfortable. Unfortunately, as a foreigner, you’re bound to face unique challenges and be at a social disadvantage due to a lack of knowledge and information regarding cultural expectations, laws and regulations. These guidebooks won’t help you pass your exams, get promoted or find your “forever love” in Japan, but they’ll help you make well-informed decisions regarding your daily life in Japan.
This first book of the series provides you with all you need to know to find your new home in Japan including tips and advice on how to settle in comfortably, information about laws and regulations related to rental lease agreements in Japan, detailed instructions on how to operate common items at home (so many buttons…all in Japanese?), a glossary of terms with their English translation, and so much more!
As your life in Japan gets more complicated (getting married, having a baby, building a house?), there’s a book in the FarAwayHome in Japan series that has already been published or is coming out soon to help you through each stage of your journey, because if Japan had a motto, it would most certainly be:
“Why make things simple, when you can make them complicated?”
Japanese road sign—Photo by HélèneDugas
bonus: list of resources!
While it’s nice to have links to specific shops and useful websites, these links do not remain active forever and new resources come available. So, instead of providing a list of resources within this book, such a list has been set up for you online. The list is always and forever free for anyone and regularly updated. You can check the online List of Resources to be used as a friendly companion to this book using the following:
http://www.izabellegrenon.com/resources/far-away-home-in-japan-book-1
regions, prefectures and cities
TokyoMetropolitan prefecture in Kanto region
Japan may appear to be a small narrow island on the world map, but don’t be mistaken, Japan is geographically large and diverse.
Map of Regions and Prefectures of Japan—Figure slightly modified (font enlarged) from Bobo12345, Public domain, via WikimediaCommons
Japan is 378,000 km2—and has more land surface than Norway or the UnitedKingdom, in fact—with considerable differences in climate and landscape throughout its numerous islands.
Japan is made of 14,125 islands divided into 47 prefectures. A prefecture includes several cities, towns and villages, with each city divided into several wards. The 47 prefectures are also grouped into regions, generally listed from North-West to South-East—Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kanto, Chubu, Kansai (also called Kinki), Chugoku, Shikoku, Kyushu-Okinawa—and you’ll find that in some contexts people refer to these regions instead of a specific city or prefecture. For instance, you may look for a real estate agent working in the Kanto region if you’re looking for a rental in Tokyo or Kanagawa prefecture. If you want to move to Kyoto, you’ll need a real estate agent working in the Kansai (or Kinki) region instead.
Islands in Okinawa region
Not sure in which region you’re located or want to move to? I have made two lists at the end of this book to help you find out (List of Regions and List of Cities) because, as you’ll find out through this book, you’ll need to know the regions and prefectures to start “house-hunting,” and how to write your city and prefecture in Japanese for a variety of online application forms (e.g., to apply for utilities).
TheList of Regions is organized by regions, then prefectures and their major cities, with the regions listed in the traditional Japanese order: Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kanto, Chubu and Hokuriku, Kansai (Kinki), Chugoku, Shikoku, Kyushu and Okinawa. Kyushu and Okinawa have been separated, as they’re sometimes treated as different regions. Similarly, Hokuriku, which is part of the Chubu region, has been listed separately for convenience.
In the List of Regions, you’ll find how to write the city, prefecture and region in Japanese orthography (katakana, hiragana and kanji), which comes in handy when having to fill out various online forms, even if only to be able to select the proper region, prefecture and city from the drop-down menus.
If you need to find out your region first, you can consult the List of Cities, which includes the major cities in each prefecture organized in English alphabetical order. For each city listed, you’ll find its corresponding prefecture and region. You can then go to the List of Regions to know how the city, prefecture and region are written in Japanese orthography.
choosing a home
Residential street in Hokkaido—Photo by KateSekiya
Looking for the perfect home in Japan is very much like online dating: You may spend weeks and months trying to find the perfect match only to have your hopes crushed by rejection.
Like online dating, you may never get a chance to woo the other side to convince them you’re truly a wonderful person and they would be lucky to have you.
In fact, you’ll most likely never meet the landlord during the entire application process. Yes, there is an application process for renting in Japan, you can’t just take it on the spot and get the keys. The landlord can also reject your application for several reasons, which we will discuss in this chapter and in Chapter 3.
Additionally, moving to a new home in Japan may turn into a rather expensive affair (more than adate) especially if you’re restricting your search to a particular area, you don’t have Japanese relatives, you’re moving with pets or you’re on a short-term visa.
In this section, we will look at your possible housing options and how they compare in terms of fees and monthly costs. We will explain the fees you may have to pay upfront, which can be equivalent to 2 to 4 months’ rent (or more if renting in the Kanto or Kansai area), how you may be able to reduce these fees, who can be your guarantor and when you may need one, factors you want to consider in choosing your new home (location, insulation, earthquake resistance) and where to find someone to help you navigate this process.
housing options
Moving to a new home can be exciting and even more so when moving to a new country like Japan! Woohoo, land of Pokemon, here I come!
But, it can also feel overwhelming to decide where to live and what kind of home you need while having to deal with tons of paperwork (oh yeah, that…), endless packing (do I really need all this stuff?), and the constant juggling of work and social life while trying to move abroad.
Japan being “one-of-a-kind” also means that many things about your new rental will be different from what you’re used to. You’ll get confused, wondering why things are not like you’re used to and frustrated to lose your time trying to figure out all the little and not-so-little details that you thought should be straightforward.
To give you a head start with the moving process, let’s begin with what you can expect in terms of housing options.
Houses with flat roof in Hokkaido—Photo by KateSekiya
It’s advisable (you may have no choice, actually) to rent something fully furnished for the first few weeks after your arrival. Being in Japan while “home-hunting” will give you more options as most landlords won’t agree to rent to you if you’re not yet in Japan. You’ll also need time to set up utilities and furnish your new home (or wait for your personal effects to arrive one or two months later if shipped by sea). But first things first: Let’s start with the different housing options that may be available to you.
OPTION 1—HousingProvided by Employers or Schools
Some employers and educational institutions like universities have housing for their employees or students, but you may need to apply for them within a specific timeframe. These are usually considerably cheaper than private housing (in some cases even free) and without the initial fees required by private rentals described in option 4 below. However, be aware that these rentals may be rather old, relatively small, and their availability is limited.
Some of these rentals will also have a limit on the time you can stay in them. In addition, if you quit your school or job, you’ll also be asked to vacate the premises.
OPTION 2—Foreigner-FriendlyHousing
Fully furnished room in a share house—Photo by DavidGreen
Another option is to rent through an agency that caters specifically to foreigners, with many that are fully furnished and ready to move in. I’ll refer to this type of housing as Foreigner-Friendly rentals for convenience. These can be a great nothing-to-worry-about option for a temporary home in the first few weeks or months.
There are accommodations ranging from simple rooms to luxury apartments for entire families. AlthoughForeigner-Friendly rentals can range in price depending on the size, location, and amenities included, they’re often intended for short-term stays (a few weeks to a year) as they may be rather costly as a long-term option.
In that sense, these are similar to Airbnb but possibly cheaper (though not necessarily) and intended for those living in the community for at least a few weeks or months rather than for tourists.
OPTION 3—SubsidizedHousing and Semi-PublicHousing
A reasonable option for foreign residents is housing provided and subsidized by a city or municipality. You can inquire directly at the city office where you plan to work or study if they offer this type of accommodation and if there’s anything currently available.
These are good value in terms of what you get for the cost and are available to anyone without discrimination based on nationality.
Semi-public housing, also called URRental housing, is similar in terms of cost and requirements to subsidized housing but is managed by the UrbanRenaissance (UR) Agency rather than by a city or municipality. You can search the UR real estate website to see for yourself if anything is available in the area and size you want. You can then apply for it directly.
URRental housing is commonly used by diplomats, officials, permanent residents and other long-term residents.
Another big plus is that not only is the monthly rental cost generally lower, but they also do not require extra fees or a guarantor, which are often needed for privately owned rentals (see below).
Each building will have different requirements and restrictions and require a minimum income and a period of stay in Japan of at least a year or a long-term work permit. Most of them do not allow pets.
OPTION 4—PrivateHousing
The most common option when renting in Japan is privately owned rentals, which I’ll refer to as Private rentals in this book. Private rentals are commonly managed by real estate companies, which act as an intermediary between the tenant and the owner of the building.
The real estate agent will show you around and inside the premises, prepare the rental agreement, manage the payments, follow up with the rental agreement renewal, address any concerns you may have and so on. Most likely, you’ll never meet the actual owner of your building.
House in Yamaguchi—Photo by SofiaLee
Sharing a private rental with a roommate is also an option and can help with reducing costs. Whether you’re moving with someone else, or you have a roommate moving in, make sure you have permission from the landlord and you agree on all the financial terms and living conditions. Also, learn or inform your new roommate about any rules related to your building and be sure to check the section MovingWithFriends or Foes? later in this chapter for more information.
Getting confused already? Here’s a comparison chart to get you started based on the descriptions in this section. We’ll get into more detail about what impacts the monthly cost and what those “extra fees” are in the next sections.
Comparison chart of the housing options available in Japan
can i afford a “mansion”?
When the real estate agent offers to show you a “mansion,” you may wonder how rich they think you are!
While the word “mansion” in English is usually used to refer to an imposing manor house worthy of a celebrity or financial mogul, this word is used in Japanese to refer simply to an apartment or condominium in a building with at least 3 floors and concrete walls.
Don’t be disappointed… the “mansions” in Japan come in all forms from very luxurious to extremely humble. So, rest assured that no matter your budget you can probably afford a mansion in Japan.
A “mansion” in Tokyo
need help?
Do you have a Japanese friend or partner to help you with finding a home, assist with signing the rental agreement and setting up the utilities and other necessities? Fantastic!If not, no worries, here’s how you can get the extra help you need.
Recently, more and more real estate websites have English versions, and sometimes other languages as well. If a website is only in Japanese, you can use the automatic page translation feature in Chrome, for instance. It won’t translate everything (like embedded text) but if you can figure out which city, ward, train line or train station you want to search in, it will allow you to get started.
If you’re not fluent in Japanese you’ll most likely need someone to translate at some point. While there are websites in English and automatic translation is very helpful, very few real estate agents are fluent in English or other languages, except for foreigner-friendly rentals, which should have staff who can assist you in English and possibly in other languages as well.
It may be the case that your employer has someone who can assist you, but that’s still the exception rather than the norm. A non-Japanese friend fluent in Japanese might be able to assist, though the real estate agency (and landlord) may be more at ease if you’re accompanied by a Japanese person, rather than a bilingual non-Japanese friend.
Alternatively, you can hire an interpreter, but if you need to pay for their assistance, you might be best served by hiring the services of a real estate agent who can assist you in a language you can understand in the area you’re looking for. Refer to the free online List of Resources to start your search for an agent who can speak a language you understand. There are some private (not free) and governmental (free) organizations offering support with daily matters to non-Japanese residents, some of which you can find in the List of Resources.
Note that you’ll need to pay for any (private) extra support in addition to paying for the fees charged by the real estate agency in charge of your rental, unless the help is provided or paid for by your employer, school or rental agency.
finding a suitable home
Are you dreaming of living in a charming home with tatami floors and paper doors, or in an ultra-modern home with movement-activated lights and automatic flushing toilets?
Before getting carried away with the JapaneseDream, let’s focus on your current needs.
If you use a real estate agent to help you find a home, the first thing they’ll ask you is “What are you looking for?” They’ll want to know where you want to live (city and ward) or which is the most convenient train line or train station for you, how many bedrooms, minimum size in square meters (m2), your resident status in Japan, your budget and whether you can speak and write Japanese, at a minimum. All this information is necessary to determine what kind of rental you can realistically expect.
A traditional Japanese house in Yamaguchi prefecture—Photo by SofiaLee
A modern Japanese house in Hokkaido—Photo by KateSekiya
You’ll also need to tell them if you have any other special requirements such as a place that accepts pets (small dogs are generally preferred to cats and bigger dogs), a specific distance to the nearest train station, the age of the rental and additional features you want such as a heated floor, parking space, elevator, disability access, and so on.
I’ll discuss various housing features in Chapter 2, including why you may consider adding them to your list of requirements.
A detached house in Hokkaido—Photo by KateSekiya
Keep in mind that the cost of your new rental will require significant initial fees in addition to any maintenance fees, parking fees, and so on. A detailed breakdown of these fees is provided in the following sections.
To minimize your initial fees, you can request that the real estate agent look only for rentals that don’t require any deposit, key money (which isn’t the same thing as a deposit) or guarantor, for instance, but that will considerably limit your choices as you also need to find housing that welcomes foreigners, as explained in this chapter.
which factors impact the monthly cost?
As in other countries, monthly rental costs in Japan can range from relatively low to extremely high. As you can imagine, more expensive should correlate with a better home… but what is considered better in Japan?
Two-story apartment building in Yokohama city
Themonthly rental cost (yachin 家賃) of a rental home in Japan is generally affected by the following factors:
As in any other country, rentals in the heart of big cities like Tokyo, Yokohama, Kyoto and Sapporo are generally more expensive (and smaller, much smaller) than something similar in rural areas.
In addition to the size, age and overall condition of the premises, the cost of your new home in any large city will vary depending on the nearest train station. Some stations are in high demand either because an express train stops there, multiple trains pass through or the station has some features favored by a certain demographic. For instance, some stations are sought for being family-friendly, others for their dynamic nightlife.
Busy intersection in front of Ikebukuro station in Tokyo
In addition, an important consideration in the rental price is the walking distance from the building to the closest train station, because people usually commute by train to get to school or work every day. Especially in big cities, the traffic during rush hours can be excruciatingly slow, so going by train is usually the fastest and most reliable way to get wherever you need to be on time (and being “on time” is the norm in Japanese society). Typically, the calculation of walking distance is done in increments of 5 minutes using GoogleMaps or something similar. Homes within 5 minutes walking distance are more expensive than the same ones within 10 minutes.
The listing on the real estate website, as in the fictional example above, will indicate the time required to reach the nearest train station (25 minutes, in this example). Note that the distance indicated on the listing isn’t necessarily the walking distance, indicated as 徒歩25分 in Japanese but could be the distance by bus, indicated as バスで12分. And then, you could have the walking distance to the closest bus stop, not the train station, which is 5 min. in the example above (バス停徒歩5分).
If you’re on a budget, you may want to look for homes that are a 15-minute walk from the closest station or more, especially if the area you want to live in is in high demand.
Beware that a short walking distance doesn’t equal an easy walking distance. Since even urban areas in Japan have a great deal of hilly terrain, homes may be situated at the top or bottom of long, steep slopes.
NearShimokitazawa station in Tokyo
It’s advisable to visit the premises in person to make sure building is accessible for you or to have your real estate agent show you the way to the station using video chat.
Property-specific amenities—car or bicycle parking, gym, meeting room and so on—are nice perks but may incur additional fees not included in the rent (car parking) or higher maintenance fees (gym, meeting room).
Thepublicamenities within walking distance can also affect the demand for and the cost of a particular rental, such as grocery stores, hospitals, shopping malls and pharmacies. If you have children, you may want to inquire about the closest nurseries (hoikuen 保育園), kindergarten (yōchien 幼稚園) and schools nearby as well, keeping in mind that the most popular ones may also inflate the rental prices nearby.
Residential street 10 min. walk from Ikebukuro station in Tokyo
Finally, if you’re renting in a large building, you’ll likely have to pay maintenance fees in addition to the rent, as discussed in the next section. Although it will be listed separately from the monthly cost, it can add a significant amount to what you need to pay every month.
The good news is that property and land taxes have already been included in the rental cost and should be paid by your landlord. You do not need to make provisions to pay these fees. Unfortunately, you can’t deduct these “hidden” fees from your tax report either.
Note also that the monthly cost for a rental in Japan is expected to be paid in advance and you may be asked to pay for this month on the last day of the previous month at the latest. Failure to pay on time can lead to an uncomfortable relation with your landlord as Japanese people in general are pretty serious about punctuality.
Residential street in Okinawa
maintenance fees
You finally found something suitable within your budget and are delighted until you realize the maintenance fees (kyōekihi 共益費) or management fees (kanrihi 管理費) add a significant amount to your rental cost! Are these fees optional? Can they be negotiated? Unfortunately, maintenance fees and management fees are neither optional nor negotiable, and they’ll be added to your rent every month.
Large buildings, especially when each unit is owned by a different individual (known as condominiums in other countries), may require each owner to pay additional fees every month for expenses related to the general maintenance and oversight of common spaces (stairs, elevator, garden, roof) and provision for major repairs. It may also include the fees paid for a security guard at the entrance. Such housing will be advertised with the monthly cost in big numbers with the maintenance and parking fees separately.
Residential buildings in Okinawa
Large residential building in Hokkaido—Photo by KateSekiya
While the parking fees only apply if you own a car, the maintenance/management fees are not optional. You’ll need to pay these in addition to your monthly rent, and the amount is non-negotiable because the owner of the unit you’re renting isn’t the one who set this amount.
security deposit and “gift” money
Six-story apartment building in Okinawa
As if moving to another country was not expensive (and exhausting) enough, there are many additional fees you should budget for when looking for your new home in Japan. Depending on where your rental is located and the specificity of your rental agreement, you may have to pay as much as 6 times the monthly rental cost when signing the rental agreement! As most of the initial fees are non-refundable, you’ll want to minimize these, even if you have the money to spare.
To restore the property to its original condition for the next tenant you’ll be asked to give a deposit. The deposit should be used in part or in full by the landlord for cleaning and repairs after you’ve moved out while disposing of any items you left behind.
Not only the amount of deposit required varies from one rental to another, but the deposit system and the Japanese terms vary per region.
A detached house in Hokkaido—Photo by KateSekiya
Kanto region
Kansai, Kyushu, Chubu and Chugoku region
In the Kanto region (Tokyo and surrounding cities), the security deposit is called shikikin (敷金), and usually varies from the equivalent of one to two months’ rent. This deposit may be refundable in part or in full when you move out—if there's anything left after deduction of the restoration fees (genjō kaifukuhi 原状回復費). The amount deducted for the “restoration fees” in the Kanto region depends on the extent of repairs and cleaning required to restore the rental unit to its “initial condition” while factoring out the time you’ve lived on the premises. Restoring the rental to its initial state may include a thorough professional cleaning, redoing the wallpaper, changing damaged tatami mats, repairing dents in the walls or floor and disposing of any items you left behind.
The amount deducted from the deposit will be determined by the landlord or their representative after an inspection of the premises on the day of your departure or soon after. Counterintuitively, the longer you’ve lived in the same rental the more likely it is that you’ll receive a large portion of your deposit back. This is to account for natural wear and tear, as well as the depreciation of the premises over time, for which you’re not deemed responsible.
In addition to the deposit, many owners in the Kanto region also charge another month’s rent as key money (reikin 礼金). The
