I’ve entered my third semester in Japan now, and so far my experience with student accommodation has been mostly frustrating. I lived in Adachi City before, and for my first semester I stayed in a lovely guest house which was nice, clean, modern and full of cool people. Unfortunately, they switched to short term only for my second semester so I had to go. Then I got a place in Arakawa, which was noisy and unpleasant, but still somewhat manageable.
Nevertheless, I decided to move, and this time go with an accommodation recommended by my university. It seemed to be a nice dorm in Setagaya. However, soon after I booked, the issues started. On their website, they advertised a small 11m2 room without kitchen for just over 400k yen for half a year. As well as an 18m2 one with mini kitchen for around 150k more. I was under the impression I had booked the bigger one, and was still very surprised to receive an invoice for over 800k for the half year. The invoice included a cascade of storage charges, like a 100k “admittance fee”, a 43k cleaning fee, and a lot more. All in all, a cascade of hidden costs. But for utilities and supposedly food included, I still decided to accept and pay.
When I arrived however, the unpleasant surprised hit. No, I did not get a bigger room, I got the tiny, poorly cut 11m2 room. Mold in one corner. Furniture old and worn. Smelly AC. The whole place is surrounded by no less than 7 layers of barbed wire, and in every aspect looked like a european prison.
And no, turns out food wasn’t included either. Ultimately, my college recommended I stay in a tiny, old and tattered dorm room without meals included or a kitchen for 133.000 yen a month. Over 850 USD. I at least managed to cancel and be refunded minus a deduction
I’ve now found a nice 23m2 apartment in the same area for 69k without and around 80k with utilities.
So even if your college recommends you a certain dormitory, be very very careful of hidden charges and unpleasant surprises. Shop around. They aren’t any better just because they have your colleges seal of approval.
by Yonda_00