Hello this is a bit of a distress post. I just came to Japan two weeks ago as a student. I lived in a hotel in the meantime but today I moved in to my student dormitory. It’s a share house meaning that I share a kitchen and bath with 8 other people but have my own room.
I really didn’t think much of it. You know it’s just a few other students and the apartment building was built in 2012 so how bad can it be.
But today I moved in here and I’m super unhappy. From mild stuff I can look over like a few stains at walls and general old furniture. But there are a few things like literal dirt in cupboards and refrigerator to mold in the bathroom that I just can’t stand. Also judging by the trashcan the other 3 people that life here since last semester either all have problems or one specific person has a sever alcohole problem.
Don’t get me wrong I’ll give this a chance. Clean the house, meet the Romies etc. But if from here on out even those things go smoothly I have to get out.
All Apartments I’ve found online are really for travelers and not long time stayers. I will have a Japanese bank account soon and I have a residence card. Where would I start looking for that?
4 comments
Your university should have access to apartments for students only. I’d start by speaking with someone at international affairs to see what they have or who you should speak to. One issue is they might not have any open until next April (end of March) depending on your location and how much housing they have.
Which city are you in?
I’m going to suggest that the first course of action be as u/heretoolongtoo mentioned.
If that doesn’t work out for whatever reason at all (i’m not here to judge), basically searching for stuff in English is going to turn up foreigner-targeted stuff.
If your university can’t help you find a place to move to, at least they should be able to recommend a local realtor that is experienced with helping foreigners find accomodation. Hopefully you find someone experienced and willing to help.
You can also try websites such as [suumo.jp](https://suumo.jp) to find listings that aren’t going to scalp you, but they are in Japanese and will not be easy to navigate if you’re struggling with nihongo.
Is it a public university? The facilities are often grim.
You can try an app like “Lifull Home’s” to start looking for places, but it’s going to be expensive for a student to live alone in private accomodation.