If you are moving to Tokyo and are seeking for an apartment to rent, you have two choices: a furnished apartment or an unfurnished apartment. Needless to say, the former obviously offers a ready-to-live setting with furniture and appliances, while the latter does not. Beyond this physical difference that you can perceive at a glance, […]
At the peak of the Japan’s economic bubble in late 80’s, the value of whole Tokyo land was once said equivalent to that of whole United States. Do not get surprised yet, as the land value of the imperial palace which is only 12 times the area size of Alamoana Shopping Mall in Hawaii, was […]
House hunting in Japan has never been easy especially if you are internationals. First thing you need to do is to make an appointment with a property broker, who, at most cases, does not speak English at all. Yes, there are high-end focused brokers such as Ken Corp that assists you in English but not […]
Key money is pronounced “Reikin 礼金” in Japanese, which literally means “Thank You Money”. So why do you have to thank your landlord by paying key money on top of your rent itself, when you are renting an apartment in Japan? In old times especially during the period of high economic growth in 50’s through […]
Renting an apartment in Japan has never been simple for most internationals. The whole process can be very overwhelming especially if you have just arrived in Japan — you need: 1) Japanese phone number, 2) resident card (Visa), 3) certificate of employment, 4) Japanese bank account, and 5) guarantor living in Japan. What’s rather ironic […]