Residence

Most traditional Japanese homes are one/two storey wooden structures suitable to the Japanese climate. However, in recent years western style, concrete apartments have become more popular. When talking of apartments in Japan one will often hear the word "manshon" or マンション in Japanese. While many westerners often associate the word "manshon" with "mansion", in Japanese it actually refers to a modern Japanese apartment unit. A loose English translation for the word "manshon" would be condominium.

Unfortunately, due to land constraints in Japan apartment prices tend to be high, room size tends to be small and convenience is a large factor in rental prices.

It is no secret that most Japanese real-estate agencies would rather rent their rooms to Japanese than to foreigners. Due to excessive complaints about noise, cleanliness, foreigners not paying, and foreigners deciding to leave the apartment without notice, many foreigners have come to be seen by landlords as more of a liability than asset. Not to mention the culture and language differences.

Two unique practices of Japanese real-estate agencies, and also two of the biggest complaints of foreigners looking for an apartment, is the double charge of shikikin (deposit) and reikin (reikin) when renting a Japanese apartment. There is little argument that these practices are not old and outdated but regardless of how people feel these practices do exist. For a one-person apartment with shikikin and reikin included you can expect to pay around 300,000 yen to move in although your monthly rent would be 50,000 yen. The big cost here for moving in is the shikikin and reikin which usually amount to a combined total of 4 months rent. In addition there will usually be fees for management, preparation and cleaning of the apartment for you to move inside, and insurance. In total expect around 300,000 yen.

Lately there have been some rental agencies that claim to offer cheap apartments with no shikikin and no reikin. Be cautious with these places! In my experience you get what you pay for and what you do not pay for in shikikin and reikin you will pay for in higher monthly rent. In addition these companies will also stick you with other costs outside of shikikin and reikin which will bring your total moving cost close to the 300,000 yen you would have paid at another agency.