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You’ve applied to school in Japan, completed the student visa application — and the next challenge is finding affordable housing in Japan. This is tricky, especially for expatriates and newcomers who aren’t familiar with the Japanese language or the best way to filter through accommodation options. With high rental costs and limited availability, the search for a suitable and also affordable place to live can be overwhelming. However, with the right approach and some research, it is possible to find a comfortable and affordable housing option in Japan.

On a limited budget as an aspiring language school student? Don’t worry! If you value affordability, this article provides a comprehensive guide on how to find affordable housing in Japan, including useful tips, cheaper areas to consider, shared housing arrangements, and exploring the option of jiko bukken.

Looking to start your new chapter in Japan? Coto School Finder will help you find the right school and explore accommodation in Japan! Coming to Japan is a big deal, and the advantage of using a free study abroad service like Coto School Finder is that you can save a lot of time and money!

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Average Monthly Rent in Japan

In Japan, the monthly rent for accommodation varies greatly from prefecture to prefecture. Therefore, where you stay is the biggest factor behind how affordable your place to stay is in Japan. If you are looking to budget your stay in Japan, are ways to mitigate housing costs, but the most effective way to find affordable housing in Japan is staying in a prefecture, city or even neighborhood that has overall lower housing costs. To that effect, a good guideline for reference is the average monthly rent in the area you are interested to stay in. 

According to the Statistics Bureau of Japan’s 2018 Housing & Land Survey, the average monthly rent in Japan nationwide is 55,695 yen. The survey also reveals the average monthly rental for each prefecture in Japan. Amongst the 47 prefectures in Japan, there are 4 prefectures whose average monthly rental exceeds the national average, they are: 

  • Tokyo: 81,001 yen 
  • Kanagawa: 68,100 yen 
  • Saitama: 59,358 yen
  • Chiba: 57,421 yen 

Tokyo is the prefecture with the highest average monthly rent in Japan, with its neighboring prefectures’ averages also exceeding the national average. By the way, the prefecture with the lowest average is Kagoshima prefecture with an average of 37,863 yen monthly rental. Other prefectures of interest are:

  • Osaka: 55,636 yen
  • Kyoto: 54,605 yen
  • Nara: 48,492 yen
  • Fukuoka: 48,429 yen
  • Aichi: 52,492 yen
  • Hiroshima: 48,361 yen

Keep in mind that these price points are for 1R studio apartments. 1R stands for “1 Room”, which usually means it’s a studio apartment with no compartments between the kitchen and the ‘bedroom’. 

As for international students, according to JASSO’s 2019 Privately Financed International Students’ Living Situation Survey, the nationwide average monthly housing cost for international students is 35,000 yen. In Tokyo, the average is higher at 45,000 yen per month for housing. Likewise, the Kanto region is also higher than the national average at 41,000 yen per month due to its close proximity to Tokyo. The Kyushu, Chugoku and Shikoku regions have the lowest average monthly housing cost at 24,000 to 25,000 yen. 

Ways to Find Affordable Housing and accommodation in Japan

  Photo by DLKR on Unsplash

There are many ways to find affordable housing and cheaper rental apartments in Japan, and here are some of them. Before that, make sure you know the essential Japanese vocabulary related to apartment hunting. While big cities like Tokyo and Osaka are getting more foreign and English-friendly, expect all your apartment contracts to still be written in Japanese. 

1. Stay in a Cheaper Area 

As mentioned above, housing costs in Japan vary greatly depending on where you stay. Expect bigger and highly populated areas to be more expensive than rural areas. Additionally, if you are living in or near the city center, the cost will also be higher. What you can do is research different cities and neighborhoods in cities to compare the housing costs. 

Also, take into consideration public transportation options and commute routes to work or school. Evaluate whether the longer and maybe more expensive, commute are worth the sacrifice for more affordable housing. For example, many people who work in Tokyo choose to stay in neighboring Kanagawa, Chiba or Saitama prefectures despite the longer commute as they save a lot more than staying in Tokyo. 

Does this mean you should live in cities outside Tokyo? Not exactly! Ultimately, it comes down to what you think is best for you. There’s no such thing as the best city in Japan to study as an international student, as we all have different budgets, goals and lifestyle preferences.

Within Tokyo itself too, the further you are from major areas like Shibuya or Shinjuku, the cheaper the rent gets. Affordable wards in Tokyo tend to be the northern area: Katsushika, Kita, Itabashi, Nerima, and Adachi, where the rent ranges from 50-57,000 yen. Besides that, key neighborhoods to look into are Tachikawa, Edogawa, Nerima, Sugamo, Suginami.

Here’s one thing to note: West Tokyo tends to have lower rent and larger-sized apartments, but you might have to sacrifice distance and convenience. Though they are technically part of Tokyo, big wards like Shinjuku, Shibuya and Ueno are located in the eastern part of the city. If you’re fine with the commute and love countryside-esque neighborhoods, you might want to look into areas like Tachikawa or Kokubunji!

Though not in Tokyo itself, a lot of foreigners also like to live in neighboring prefecture like Kanagawa or Saitama Prefecture — usually in cities that are on the border of Tokyo. This way, they have direct train access to downtown Tokyo.

2. Using Real Estate Agency Services in Japan

There are many accommodation-searching websites in Japan that can help you with your search. Popular rental listing sites include Suumo, Lifull Home’s, Mini Mini, and Apaman. There are also English-friendly websites if you are not confident in your Japanese. Some of them include:

Here’s a tip: check the online rental listings first before you visit the apartment agency in person. Most big apartment agencies like Suumo and Mini Mini have branches in each neighborhood anyway. So why should you check apartments in Japan through their online portal first? In online rental listings, you can filter apartments by criteria, including filtering out apartments that require key money and gratitude money. You can also specify factors like the apartment size, floor, direction of the apartment and the age of the building.

From personal experience, researching and comparing housing costs can be tiresome and stressful. In many cases, the apartments listed are usually already unavailable, and so the real estate agent in charge will introduce to you other properties with similar conditions. Therefore, after a little online research to get a feel of the rental prices to expect for apartments with conditions you are interested in, you can seek out the help of real estate agents. Let them know your monthly rental budget, where you would like to stay and your criteria for the apartment. 

A good idea is to let the real estate agent know where your workplace or school is, and the nearest station, and ask them to recommend neighborhoods.

3. Find an apartment with no key money or gratitude money

Don’t be surprised when you see that you have to pay 4-5 times the monthly rent on your first contract. Don’t worry — no one is trying to scam you! This is just a common practice in the apartment industry in Japan, where the initial fees involve paying key money, or reikin. A reikin is basically a gratitude, non-refundable fee. There are also additional costs such as guarantor fees, lock changing fees, cleaning fees, maintenance fees, and agency fees. Altogether, they can rack up a ton of money!

Thankfully, many agencies are trying to remove key money, especially for tenants that hold a foreign passports. If there’s a particular building or area that you like, you can also watch for ‘0’ key money campaigns. 

4. Network and Ask for Recommendations 

Don’t underestimate the power of connections. One of the best ways to find affordable housing or neighborhoods in Japan is to ask for recommendations. Whether it’s colleagues, classmates, acquaintances or student support, you can get recommendations for places to stay or even reliable real estate agents that can help you. 

5. Relax Your House-Hunting Criteria

If your house-hunting returns results that are beyond your budget, you could try relaxing your criteria for accommodations. If you are not too picky about your accommodation, then older properties places further from the station, with smaller rooms, and fewer facilities will be cheaper. 

However, if you over-relax your criteria too much, you may end up miserable in a place you do not like. We recommend selecting 3~5 criteria that you are fixed on and loosening up on the rest. Criteria we recommend include:

  • Maximum 10~15 minutes walk from the nearest train station
  • Maximum 20 years old building
  • Maximum 1-hour commute to work or school
  • Auto-lock for safety reasons including avoiding salespeople, evangelists, etc. 
  • City gas properties such as propane gas are more expensive
  • Internet-ready or internet-equipped properties 
  • Ample sunlight is important to prevent mold problems in summer and winter

6. Consider Shared Housing Arrangements 

If you do not mind sharing a home with other people, or perhaps you are keen to do so, then consider shared housing arrangements which are relatively common in Japan. Shared housing arrangements include staying in a share house, finding a roommate, or finding a housemate. 

Sharehouses in particular have grown quite popular in Japan, even amongst the older generation. Unlike having a roommate, staying in a share house means you will have your own private room, but share common spaces like the kitchen, shower room, and lounge where fellow residents can gather and “share” their lives. It is a great choice to meet new people and make friends. There are even shared houses with set themes like sports, gardening, and computers so like-minded people can live together. 

And, most importantly, shared housing arrangements are generally cheaper than renting your own apartment.

7. Consider UR Housing

Have you heard of UR Housing? The best-kept secret to finding an apartment in Tokyo to rent is that Japan has a really great public housing system with units that are recently renovated. If you make above a certain amount and can prove that you have been paying taxes in Japan, then you are entitled to start looking for an apartment through the UR Housing Agency.

UR stands for Urban Renaissance. It is a publicly owned real estate holding company that owns and manages large apartment blocks all over Japan. What is good about UR housing apartments for foreign residents or ex-pats in Tokyo? UR Housing doesn’t require key money and guarantor money. You can also transfer if you move in-between UR units. It’s also easier to set up gas, electricity, water and internet, too!

Exploring the Option of Jiko Bukken in Japan

Jiko bukken (事故物件) is a property where the former occupant had died unnaturally. Death may be by murder, suicide, or natural death. It is known as a “stigmatized property” in English. In the case of natural death, it does not include natural death that is immediately discovered, for example, a family member passing away due to illness and discovered the next day, which is a norm. What it refers to is cases where the occupant had passed away naturally, but the body was undiscovered for a long time, perhaps months or years. 

Jiko bukken are available to rent or purchase for a very low price due to their dark history and stigma that makes it difficult to rent or sell. Property management companies are obligated by law to inform prospective renters or buyers of the property regarding the property’s “defect”. The law does not however specify how long this obligation lasts. The jiko bukken’s property manager can be sued by the renter or buyer if they fail to inform or purposely conceal the unnatural death in the property. Going to a reputed real estate company is the safest bet to avoid getting cheated into renting or buying a jiko bukken, as they are highly likely to inform regardless of how many years have passed to avoid ruining their reputation and getting brought to court. 

The advantage of renting or buying a jiko bukken is the incredibly cheap price. How low the price can go depends on the seriousness of the incident. For rentals, it is possible to receive half-priced rent for 1 to 2 years. For purchasers, it is possible to buy the property for half or a quarter of the market price. 

The disadvantage of jiko bukken is its dark history. People who are superstitious or afraid of the supernatural may be worried or scared of “uninvited guests”. If you are planning to buy the property, then keep in mind that selling or renting out the property may be very difficult. 

If you do not mind and want to stay in a jiko bukken for cheap pricing, you can find them by directly inquiring with a real estate agent, or finding「告知」, 「訳あり」or「瑕疵」properties on rental listing sites. 

Recommended English-Friendly Real Estate Agencies in japan

Finding affordable housing in Japan is difficult enough as a foreigner, but more so if Japanese is difficult for you. Here are our recommendations for English-friendly real estate agencies in Japan. 

  • Real Estate Japan: English website; resources blog to learn about the property market in Japan; specializes in foreign nationals living in Japan; has property listings all over Japan; buying, rental and short-term properties available.  
  • Hmlet: English and Japanese website; fully furnished properties available; common lounge for socializing with other tenants; many young professional residents; a mix of Japanese and foreign national residents; organize social events
  • Best-Estate: Website available in 7 languages including English; can sign a contract while overseas; multilingual staff available; all listings available for foreigners; dedicated service for foreigners. 

Conclusion

Staying in Japan can be expensive as it has one of the highest living costs in the world. A large portion of your living costs will be taken up by housing costs. Fortunately, there are ways you can mitigate your housing costs, such as staying in a cheaper area or finding an affordable place to stay. There are also other housing options such as shared housing or jiko bukken, if you do not mind. 

If you do not want to relax your house-hunting criteria and want to live in the city center, there are other ways to save on living costs. Categories you can save on include food by cooking more, public transportation by walking or cycling more, and recreation and entertainment by replacing them with hobbies that do not cost money. You can also save on utility bills by changing your lifestyle.

If you like to read more about life in Japan, make sure to follow our blog where we cover everything you need to know about Japan!

Is housing in Japan expensive?

Housing will be the most expensive living cost in Japan. However, the cost of housing in Japan depends greatly on where you stay, so it is possible to find cheaper housing too. Staying in rural areas is not expensive, but staying in a big city is.

How can I find cheap housing in Japan?

  1. Choose to stay in a cheap area.
  2. Research cheap neighborhoods and housing options.
  3. Ask a real estate agency to help you find one.
  4. Ask for recommendations from friends and colleagues.
  5. Relax house-hunting criteria.
  6. Consider shared housing arrangements.
  7. Explore the options of Jiko Bukken.

What is the average rent in Japan?

The average monthly rent in Japan nationwide is 55,695 yen. Tokyo has the highest average rent in Japan at 80,000~ yen per month.

What is jiko bukken?

Jiko bukken (事故物件) is a property where the former occupant had died unnaturally. Death may be by murder, suicide, or natural death. It is known as a “stigmatized property” in English. Jiko bukken are available to rent or purchase for a very low price due to their dark history and stigma that makes it difficult to rent or sell.

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Get Started

With so many things to explore, are you considering living in Japan — perhaps to go to university or work? Enrolling at a Japanese language school might be the perfect option for you, as it will prepare you to get to your next goal.

If you are ready, let Coto School Finder assist you in finding the right program in the city of your choice and applying for a student visa — for free! Contact us by filling out the form!

Contact Us to
Get Started

With so many things to explore, are you considering living in Japan — perhaps to go to university or work? Enrolling at a Japanese language school might be the perfect option for you, as it will prepare you to get to your next goal.

If you are ready, let Coto School Finder assist you in finding the right program in the city of your choice and applying for a student visa — for free! Contact us by filling out the form!