Under 18, Finding an apartment in Tokyo Help

[Nobby]

Hi there, I went to Japan at 16 years old 2007 summer, now 17.

The main problem me and my friend Found before going, was simply... Finding a Place to stay !

Of course we wanted an apartment and not an overpriced Hotel (Which is 50% cheaper for apartment.)

Main Apartment companies wouldn't allow us simply because we were under 18 years of age.
Main, I mean Large known Companies such as Sakura House.

We finally found our place to stay on " http://www.tokyorent.com "

You don't encounter any Hiddern Japanese apartment fees, they were kind enough to hold the apartment for 6 weeks without deposit since I had trouble Wiring the money to them through by bank.

Their Locations are Avaliable all around tokyo.
I stayed in Shiinamachi, nice large town, had a decent sized apartment. Laundry Washers and dryers were only a 2 minute walk away.

The train station was located a 10 minute walk away, was one stop from Ikebukuro and was a great place to stay.

I'm not doing this to Advertise them in any way for financial gain, I understand how hard it can be for the younger Gaijin for finding your place in Japan.

Hope I could help

[Adriano]

Thanks for the link!
One more helpful site to who lives in thath craziness of Tokyo.
Sometimes I think that the japaneses likes to "hide"　their own shops ~_~ in special the so narrow small restaurants T___T

off-topic:
How can I say in english
をのぞいて (whitout?)
特に (in special?)

[Mike Cash]

Why am I reminded of the Homer Simpson quote, "I can't believe I'm going to lose my job just because I'm dangerously unqualified!"

Even if you were 18 you'd still be two years shy of being considered a legal adult in Japan. At 18, they may deal with you. But no business in their right mind is going to conclude legally binding business deals such as leases with a couple of 16 year olds.

[Kagemaru]

Have you looked at Leo Palace?

[Xurma]

I'd also like to know one thing.
I saw this link here: http://www.tokyorent.com
I was browsing it but I don't know much about renting and stuff like that.
Can someone please tell me what those "Available units" mean? Those 1K, 2K, 1LDK, 2LDK, 4LDK etc.

Thanks

[AJBryant]

K means kitchen -- usually a small, utilitarian one, although some are large enough to eat in. L is living room (usually western style, i.e., carpeted or solid floor and not tatami). LDK is the triad, living, dining, kitchen. The number is the number of OTHER rooms (for general use or bedroom). The typical lower-end apartment is a 1K (my first apartment was). My second and third apartments were 2K.

Tony

[two_heads_talking]

I remember a friend of mine had a small apartment. It had the multipurpose room (for sleeping, eating, watching tv etc.). The kitchen was basically a cubby alcove area with a sink stove combo.. (that was an odd looking thing..)and a bathroom where the sink was across from the toilet and the shower was above the toilet. I remember thinking that his whole apartment would have fit in my US bedroom and there still would have been room left over. I couldn't believe how much he payed for how little space he had.

[keatonatron]

That's the norm for pretty much everyone I know (because we're all poor students).

Of course the average rent is about USD $700 per month. Tokyo doesn't have a reputation for being expensive for nothing...

Although one thing I've noticed is Japanese people don't have stuff like Americans do, which makes it possible for them to live in such small apartments. My desk drawers are always full, my closet is always crammed with stuff I sometimes use (or plan to use someday). However, all my Japanese friends' rooms are very... sparse. They have a bed, a computer and/or TV, a closet of clothes and that's it! I don't get it... where do they keep things like their ipod chargers and digital camera accessories?? That kind of stuff always clutters up my place and I can't bring myself to toss it because I might need it some day.

[two_heads_talking]

keatonatron wrote:
That's the norm for pretty much everyone I know (because we're all poor students).
(snippity snippers)

They have a bed, a computer and/or TV, a closet of clothes and that's it! I don't get it... where do they keep things like their ipod chargers and digital camera accessories?? That kind of stuff always clutters up my place and I can't bring myself to toss it because I might need it some day.

I think they keep all that stuff at their parents house. (lol)

[keatonatron]

Could be! But even my friends who live at home have pretty sparse setups.

[two_heads_talking]

I will have to admit, I didn't see near as much "packrat" syndrome while I lived in Japan. I remember when I transferred from Sakata to Aizuwakamatsu when I was a missionary and called a service to pick up a few boxes to "truck" ahead of me.

When the driver showed up by himself to pick up the box and he couldn't even budge it, (it was a tea box that was loaded) he looked at me and asked me what I had in there. I told him (the items) and he said, that even a small family didn't have as much stuff on most moves. I was kinda stunned.

[Xurma]

two_heads_talking wrote:
I will have to admit, I didn't see near as much "packrat" syndrome while I lived in Japan. I remember when I transferred from Sakata to Aizuwakamatsu when I was a missionary and called a service to pick up a few boxes to "truck" ahead of me.

When the driver showed up by himself to pick up the box and he couldn't even budge it, (it was a tea box that was loaded) he looked at me and asked me what I had in there. I told him (the items) and he said, that even a small family didn't have as much stuff on most moves. I was kinda stunned.

By the way, that reminded me this..

If someone moves to an apartment in Japan from Europe, then does he have to buy new furnitures for the apartment in Japan? Or how does he transfer all the stuff from Europe to Japan?

[two_heads_talking]

I suppose that would all depend on the apartment, the owner of the apartment, and the lease agreement available. there is no definate answer for your question Xurma.

[AJBryant]

Shipping, the same as everything else.

As to whether they ship vs buy there, it depends on how attached they are to their stuff. I bought new furninture in Japan as I didn't expect my stuff -- rated for carpet or hard flooring -- to work well on tatami. I didn't need much, anyway. A kotatsu served as a general purpose table/desk, and I got a zaisu, a futon set, and a few "color boxes" (bookshelves) and that was that.

Tony

[keatonatron]

I'm sure it's much cheaper to just buy new stuff than to try to ship everything. It probably wouldn't fit in your house anyway.

The sofa I had in my bedroom back in the states wouldn't fit very well in my living room now...