Hey everyone!
**TLDR: Moving to Kanto from Kyushu and looking for advice on places outside of Tokyo where I can commute by Shinkansen and maintain an affordable suburban/rural lifestyle for a family of 4.**
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**\*\*\*Update\*\*\*: Some people have mentioned that 2 hours is probably too far, and I do agree! I’m definitely not aiming for a 2-hour commute, but rather that is my max limit. I’ll only go to the office once or twice a week so it won’t be a daily commute.**
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So I have a question for those who are familiar with family-friendly places to live outside of Tokyo where I can commute to Tokyo by Shinkansen.
I’ve currently been living in Fukuoka for the past 6+ years, but recently I accepted a job in Tokyo which is a hybrid remote position, so I only need to come into the office about once or twice a week.
We’re a family of four, and I have two boys (one of whom is on the autistic spectrum) who are about as hyper and noisy as can be haha.
We’re planning on initially renting a house before buying in order to get a feel for the land before fully committing.
The reason that I want to commute by shinkansen is that I have a condition that is triggered by extreme stress, and long rides on extremely crowded trains are a significant trigger. Also, we live in a pretty rural area now, and I couldn’t stand to subject my boys to mansion-life where they have to always be quiet and on their toes for neighbors, yet we obviously can’t afford this lifestyle in central Tokyo.
Personally, I’m totally fine with dealing with a commute of up to 2 hours or so (so long as I can sit), and I don’t mind living outside of the prefecture either. I’ve looked at some places in Saitama, Ibaraki, Chiba, and Kanagawa, but honestly, I’ve never lived in Kanto before, so I would love to hear advice on places from those who currently live there, have lived there, or maybe even someone currently living the lifestyle that I’m aiming for!
Thanks in advance for any help and advice you have for me!
https://www.reddit.com/r/japan/comments/y1nurn/places_outside_of_tokyo_where_i_can_commute_to/
9 comments
A two-hour commute by shinkansen (and even a tokkyu) is a HUGE radius. I mean, you could even do somewhere like 仙台 for that distance. And obviously the further out you go, the fare becomes very pricey. Is your company gonna be okay with that?
A place that I see ads in trains for a lot is 軽井沢 (Karuizawa). Pretty rural but still commutable.
Another option is to take a 在来線 that has the special グリーン車 seats. An example would be the 横須賀線.
宇都宮栃木県
Why the Shinkansen specifically? Your focus should be a quiet area, not choosing to the most expensive mode of transportation available. Plenty of areas around Kanto that fit your criteria. I mean there are quiet areas in Setagaya, Meguro etc and then you could ride a bicycle to your office. I have a friend that lives in Ota-ku and rides to Otemachi, been doing it for 15 years. Has 4 crazy kids in a big house. He only takes the train during extreme weather. I hate crowded trains too, so I just come to the office early – absolutely pleasant at 6AM or so. Leave at 5PM, again not crowded at all.
Takasaki, Gunma, Atami Shizuoka, utsunomiya
I’ve met a few people in Tokyo that commute in from Karuizawa. Very cool town – it’s where the Tokyo rich summer (or at least it used to be).
A two-hour commute will get exceedingly old very fast, and as others have mentioned, casts a **huge** radius around Tokyo. There are plenty of quieter parts of Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa, and even Tokyo prefecture itself that don’t require you to sit on a train for multiple hours to go to work.
Saw you mention Machida in another comment, how about any of the other stations in Kanagawa on the Odakyu Line that offer stops on the romance car? Seats are reserved but only each day and not in advance.
Odawara, Atsugi, Ebina, or Sagamiono?
Edit- adding Yamato and Fujisawa
You can check out Otsuki or Kofu in Yamanashi. Both a direct shot on the Azusa/ Kaiji from Shinjuku. Very chill areas with plenty of space.
Even if the ride in/out of Tokyo might be relatively peaceful, I’m still concerned about the leg of the trip where you’d probably have to switch to the JR or Subway to get to the office. Transfering at either Tokyo or Shinagawa could be chaotic enough to cancel out any zen you might have achieved up until that point.