Hi,
I just moved back to Tokyo after doing an internship here in winter 2022. At that time I lived a 10 min walk from Tabata on the Yamanote line, and while pretty far off from work with a \~50min commute, I kinda enjoyed the quietness and piece there. I also made some friends on and around my street and there were some cute festivals too.
Now I found a really nice apartment a couple streets away from Waseda University. The flat is ideal, just a bit expensive for it’s age and size, but it is a “designer” loft and I’m a sucker for that.
So my main issue to figure out would be if the area is actually a dealbreaker.
It would take \~45min with only public transport (Toyoko line & Bus). The best way for me would actually be to ride a bicycle to nishi-waseda (5min) and take the train from there (15min) which halfs my commute time. So anywhere I want to go I will have 5-20min just to get to a well connected station…
Now people told me horror stories of Tokyo summer and that it will be basically impossible to be outdoors. But sure a 5-10min bike ride to the next station will still be possible?
The other thing about the flat is that one wall is basically all tainted glass where the afternoon sun shines through. It only has one AC unit which is on the floor (also the first time I’ve seen that). So I guess for the summer months I would need to get a big curtain to not overheat in my flat. Otherwise the house is concrete and seems to be insulated, except the windows.
I guess if someone could clarify how bad I need to prepare for summer and how long this period usually lasts?
The last thing would be the area in general: when I went to visit the flat during lunchtime, there were huge lines in front of every restaurant. I’m not sure if I’m a big fan of basically living on a campus, but maybe it has upsides to it. E.g. cheap food, lots of cafes, and maybe I could use university sports facilities?
Is there someone here who lived in Waseda and who was not a student?
Would be nice to get another impression.
However I *really* liked the parks and the river. Huge plus for me.
Sorry to make you read all that, but I’m a bit torn. It would be my first flat where I live alone and I don’t want to move in the next 2 years. Half of the time I work from home, so it would be nice to enjoy my flat too.
by branchfree
