New City Estates in Japan

The expat housing Tokyo City has to offer is usually negotiated between international company and real estate broker. It isn’t common to find an expat looking for his own accommodations without the help of his office, but if this is your situation, there are many options available for you.  Most real estate brokers will want to know more about your needs and budget. The expat housing Tokyo has can be found for you based on the following:

• Do you need to be near a school for your children?
• Would you rather walk or commute to your office?
• Would you prefer a single detached apartment or a condominium unit?
• Do you plan to have pets?

These are just a few of the questions you can expect to be thrown at you right away. If you are coming from a house that had big rooms, you might get a culture shock with the sizes of the bedrooms in most Japanese apartments. You will also find that older apartment units are very functional while the new modern apartments tend to gravitate more towards being aesthetically appealing.
It is possible to start hunting for your house or apartment even before leaving for Japan. Much of the paperwork can be done through email. Once you have settled into a hotel or temporary living arrangement, you can contact the broker and start looking around.
Your main focus should be type of neighborhood. There are certain places where expats tend to gravitate and you can talk to your broker to bring you there. You will know and feel at home because of the presence of Caucasians in the area, especially at night.
Unless you are picky with the real estate company in Japan, you could end up at the losing side with a house or apartment in the wrong neighborhood or facilities. Do make it a point to be cautious on which broker to select, and don’t hesitate to get recommendations from other expats.

Even with the recent earthquake and tsunami, a Tokyo apartment for rent is still highly sought-after. There are many expatriates and foreigners who come to Tokyo for business, studies, and recreation. Being a country with a different language and culture can be difficult especially if you end up with a Tokyo apartment for rent that is too inconvenient for your daily schedule of events and activities. Here are 5 tips on how to find the perfect  Tokyo apartment for rent. Hopefully it will direct to accommodations suited for your purpose in being in Japan.

The budget is always one of your priority concerns. In Tokyo, monthly rental prices are astonishing considering the space you get in return. But that’s Japan which is considered one of the most expensive cities in the world. On the bright side, you will learn how to appreciate the little space you get. It teaches one to be neat and organized.

Along with your budget is location. Obviously, the nearer the apartment is to your place of business the better it will be for you. You save on transportation costs only if you don’t end up in the heart of Tokyo which is the most priciest of all real estate properties. Thus, accessibility will have to work hand in hand with your budget and you might find yourself compromising on location.

Keep the lease period in mind whenever you find something that can work for you.  Unlike in the western countries, Japanese landlords prefer not to lease to anyone if the duration is shorter than 12 months. This means it will be harder to find an apartment if your stay is a few months-long only. If this is the case, look for serviced apartments which cater to short term stay. Supposing you do get the apartment and lease period you want, be ready to move in within a couple of weeks. It’s not often that you get same day contract signing and moving in, but it is possible.

Keep in mind that word of honor is highly regarded in this part of the world. Your word is good as the written contract.  You are also expected to honor the apartment and its owner by not letting if get run down or dirty. That is considered to be your obligation as a tenant.  Keep these 5 tips in mind as you go around looking for your Tokyo apartment for rent and you will soon find the perfect one.

The ryokan is the Japanese version of an inn. They are not hotels because they have a more homey atmosphere and are more like homestay than a strict and rigid hotel ambience. For this reason, it is a wonderful introduction into the Japanese culture, and it does not cost as much as a hotel.

One of the unique differences with a ryokan and a hotel is that inside the ryokan, you are not allowed to wear shoes. You either have to wear slippers or socks. You cannot go walking around in your bare feet because it is considered disrespectful. Once you enter the tatami room, you have to take off your slippers because these are not allowed inside the tatami room. This is essentially your bedroom so you can walk around in your bare feet. At night, you are allowed to walk around in kimonos or robes. If you wish to go outside the ryokan, you need ask if it is permissible to keep the robes on. Some owners frown on night robes being seen outside.

The top 5 ryokan choices in Tokyo are:

Annex Katsutaro Ryokan which is located in the Ueno neighborhood and owned by the Japanese Inn Group. It comes with free Wi-Fi, air conditioner, bathroom, and hair dryer. It is very accessible although you may have to take and expensive taxi if you miss the last train ride at midnight. You will be happy to note that the staff are fluent in English and are generally very friendly and accommodating.

The Ryokan Asakusa Shigetsu in Tokoy is slightly more expensive than the above mentioned ryokan but it offers more amenities. It has the typical public bath although you have a personal bathroom in your room. It is also owned by the Japanese Inn Group so you can expect the same efficient and friendly service.

Andon Ryokan in Tokyo is a pleasure to stay in. It has won a Japanese architectural award and is the first ryokan to be built in Tokyo. You can enjoy free tea and coffee all day long and the staff are all English-speaking and very personable. You get all the modern convenience set in a traditional Japanese ryokan ambience.

The Ryokan Kangetsu is not as well designed or situated as the top 3 mentioned above but their service is impeccable. Their room rates are also very affordable although the rooms are a bit smaller.

Finally, the Hotel Edoya while calling a hotel is really a ryokan with modern amenities.  It has the traditional public bath and traditional Japanese tatami rooms. You can expect reasonable fees and professional service.

Yokohama is the Kanagawa Prefecture’s capital city and is second largest city of population of Japan after Tokyo. Yokohama is regarded as Japan’s most popular municipality city. This third largest city of Japan, is situated in south of Tokyo, on Tokyo Bay of Kanto region in the island of Honshu. Yokohama developed rapidly as Japan’s important port city along with other ports like Kobe, Nagoya, Hakata, Chiba and Osaka.  The city is a strong economy hub for biotechnology, shipping and semiconductor industries. Following that, Nissan has moved its headquarters from Tokyo to Yokohama in 2010.The Yokohama people are pride of their remembered history and culture, which are commemorated in museums of the city.

Yokohama is unique compared to other Japan’s busy cities, as people of Yokohama enjoy spending time just sitting around the park and enjoying the sunset view of the city. Yokohama is also famous for shopping malls like Mycal Honmoku. Mycal Honmoku is Japan’s largest mall with more than three hundred shops, entertainment and restaurants. Yokohama is also famous for its amusement park of Minato Mirai 21 and designer shops of Odakaya More. With so many things to see in Yokohama, a visitor needs a comfortable guesthouse to relax after a long day of eating, exploring and shopping around d the city. Yokohama offers so many beautiful guest houses that are rented in the central parks of Yokohama. The guest houses are proved to be convenient with adequate budget, compared of staying in a hotel.

Yokohama guesthouses offer the best own private space at a low prices. It offers a place to cook and a guest can watch movies on own space of time without bothering to communicate with other tenants and lifestyles. One of the guesthouses in Yokohama is Isezakicho apartment. It is a famous and old apartment that is located in Isezaki Mall. This apartment is a convenient place to stay as a guest can see so many shops, restaurants and bars around the area. It is a 4 minutes’ walk from Bandoubashi station, Koganecho station and Kannai station.

Isezakicho Annex is also located nearer to Isezakicho apartment.  The Isezakicho Annex is a precious and gorgeous apartment which has 100m2 detached houses. No 15 Akebano apartments is just 3 minutes walk from the Yoshinocho station. It is located in a quiet residential place with good access and transport to Yokohama city. With supermarkets, Maita park and convenience stores surrounds it, this apartment offers such a nice soothing environment to stay around in Yokohama.

‘The city of Yokohama is a wonderful place to live’- Now that seems to be true statement if you have ever been to Yokohama in Japan. Talking about Yokohama in detail, it is in fact a young city. Opened to trade in 1858 Yokohama is one of the powerful ports that the world has ever witnessed. International trade settlements made Yokohama an ideal place for foreigners including traders and job seekers to have accommodation on their transition period.

Even though the 1923 earth quake destroyed the port city to its core, the port regained its international fame and now boasts of many facilities and infrastructural development attracting domestic and international crowd. Yokohama’s international face has given it a diverse population of which the English speaking community is greater as compared with any other places in Japan. This has led to the development of many international schools and education facilities in the city making it even attractive to stay.

The weather of the city is yet another attraction which adds on to the beauty of its green parks and port sides. Having an accommodation whereby you can spot Mount Fuji from your windows everyday while you wake up is something truly awesome!

In simple words we can say that Yokohama city has everything that any family needs to have a peaceful and quality life. From kids to youngsters to old parents, the port city of Yokohama has a lot to cater to!

Condominium buildings in Japan are called Mansions. In Japan, a typical mansion will be a 10 story concrete building in the middle of the city surrounded by more mansions. A weekly mansion is a furnished apartment for short-term stays. From a size versus price perspective; they are generally more expensive than other housing such as guesthouses and ryokans. One of the big differences between a guesthouse and a weekly mansion is that guesthouse accommodation is conducive to meeting other people and socialising, whereas weekly mansions are private rooms with no ‘social space’ to mingle with other guests.

Weekly Mansions are predominantly used by Japanese people and often by those on business trips. The rooms are fairly small and in most cases not ideal for families. Meals are not included and at most places there is no housekeeping. The rooms are set up to cater for travelling business people so all rooms have a high speed internet connection. The company which runs the weekly mansions in Tokyo is called Weekly Mansion Tokyo. They offer accommodation in 44 locations in the Tokyo area.

A condo is a form of house ownership in which separate units of a larger building complex are sold, not rented. There is a lot of misunderstanding about the word ‘condominium.’ It actually does not refer to the type of unit itself, but the term applies to the legal ownership arrangement. Any multi-unit structure can act as a ‘condominium’. The earlier occupants should either vacate the building or purchase their units outright. The owner of a condominium technically owns everything within their inner walls. The individual homeowners possess shared rights to the most common areas such as the elevators, corridors, club houses and pools. The proper maintenance of these common areas is the responsibility of a condominium association. Home owners own a share of interest in the association. They have to pay monthly dues and special maintenance fees for major problems. Tokyo’s inner-city waterfront is greatly changed by the construction of huge structures in the post-industrial era.

The number of new buildings in the Shinagawa area alone has gene over 12,000 units in ten locations in the past two and a half years. Japanese villas are available immediately for short and long-term rental. Japanese condos come with all usual attractions and amenities. Many condos come with full kitchen, quality furnishings, hot-springs bathroom, Cable TV, DVD, VCR, CD Player, beach and picnic gear, air conditioning, and much more. Other amenities include kitchen, iron, blender, mixer, coffee maker, toaster, microwave ovens, cookware and utensils, spices, condiments and heaps of dinner and glassware.

The stay in a Japanese vacation rental would be an unforgettable experience. The largest buyers of condos include REITs and privately owned real estate funds. They usually convert originally built-for-sale condos to rental ones. Many individual buyers also put their newly purchased condos on the rental market. Taking up one’s own mansion is always considered beneficially. But they can be more difficult to sell as opposed to a single home with some acreage. Condo owners own their units only, not the land beneath the structure. Veteran apartment renters who don’t mind the presence of close neighbors benefit the most from condo living. Another type of housing similar to Weekly Mansions are Monthly Mansions. Because many of the Weekly Mansions in Tokyo are run by the same company there is a fair degree of standardization in the facilities. There are a larger number of Monthly Mansions run by various operators so the pricing, size and standard of facilities varies quite a bit.