Job Discussion Forums

[sayu80]

HI,
I`m looking for an apartment in western Tokyo. Prefferable in Kichijouji or near there. Can anyone help me out? The only thing is, I don`t want to pay any key money. I would appreciate any info you can give. Thanks.

Sayu

[pnksweater]

sayu,

what kind of help are you looking for? Since you already know the area you want to live in all that's left if finding realtors, telling them what you want, and pounding the pavement.

[SEndrigo]

Kichijouji? haha...good luck finding a decent place without paying key money.

That's now a very desirable area in Tokyo....but, if you search around hard enough you may be able to find a place without key money. But maybe an older building and far from the station.

[Brooks]

Exactly. If you want to live in Kichijoji you have to pay, plain and simple.
From　there you can take the Chuo to Shinjuku or Inokashira to Shibuya.
It is a convenient place to live.

If you are けち then maybe a gaijin house is for you.

[pnksweater]

I think people tend to over estimate the necessity of key money. If you have the time to look and if you bother to ask it is possible to find a place with reduced or no key money payment. Not saying that it's easy- but they're out there.

Kichijoji is a very nice place to live. I would like to live there, but for work reasons and personal reasons I live on the inokashira line/keio line in Meidaimae. It takes me 12 minutes or so to get there on the local. Kichijoji is also accessible on the chuo line. Not my favorite for reliabililty, but there are some nearby (more affordable) housing options as well.

People will tell you it's exspensive and high demand... but Tokyo isn't zoned. There are hovels and house shares next to the exspensive modern manshons. If you have the time you can find something in your range. But it might take a year or so of shopping.

[Brooks]

I guess if you really try you can find a cheaper place but it won`t be close to the station. You will have to ride a bike to the station or take a bus.
There are places where if you share a bathroom, the price drops.

[SEndrigo]

pnksweater has a point by saying Tokyo isn't zoned, that's true. You do see condemned buildings right next to newly built apartments.

but rent in Tokyo is still expensive....may I ask what you're paying, pnksweater? I bet more than 60,000 yen a month for a 1K.

when i first arrived i thought riding a bicycle to the station wouldn't be so bad. But then I experienced rainy season, and a Tokyo summer.

it's murder !

even a 5 minute bike ride becomes a hassle. then you have to find a place to park your bicycle, all the while buckets of sweat are pouring down your forehead (or buckets of rain are being dumped on you from high above).

no wonder Japanese people prefer a place close to the station...the weather in this city is absolute crap for 4 months of the year.

yes, you can find places with no key money/deposit. But as you said, it takes a long time to find a good place.

[Apsara]

If you really want to live in Kichijoji, in a normal apartment as opposed to a gaijin house, I think you are going to have to cough up the key money. I was told recently that in one survey Kichijoji was considered the most desirable place to live in Tokyo. My husband and I recently moved to a new apartment a couple of stations from Kichijoji, visited several different real estate agents and only saw a very few "no key money" places, and there was always a reason they were "no key money"- the only reason landlords do that is to entice people to rent what is for some reason a very undesirable place- in every case we saw, the apartments had been on the agencies' books for ages, were 15 mins plus from a station and were at least 20 years old. Everybody would like not to have to pay key money, but most of us end up paying it. Having said that, check areas one or more stations away from Kichi- Nishi-Ogikubo is known for being considerably cheaper, especially as you get away from the station, and Mitaka as well.

[andrei81]

I live in Kichijoji and will be moving apartments next week (closer to the station), so that's about two months rent for the deposit, then another two months for agency fee and key money before I can even get my foot in the door.

There are loads of estate agents around Kichijoji station but I've only seen one or two apartments for rent that didn't require key money (and as mentioned earlier, they're usually tatty). You might get lucky and stumble across somewhere though, that's usually how these things happen!

If you want any more info on living here then drop me a line and I'll try and help.

[pnksweater]