I just got accepted into Sophia university for fall semester and I’m starting to look into where to live and was wondering if anyone had any ideas or suggestions. There’s a couple international dormitories offered by the uni that I’m thinking of applying to but they can be expensive (1kÂ¥) or far from campus. Was wondering what other options I may have, I don’t know if I’d want a year long lease since I might not be in Tokyo between semesters so is it easy enough to find short term rental units in Tokyo and if so is it even worth it or would it just be better to bite the bullet and to with what the university offers. Thanks
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I had a classmate that commuted from Ibaraki every day which is a 2 hour train ride one-way. So you always have the choice to trade time for cheaper rent.
You didn’t really give a clue to your budget but I don’t think you’ll be able to beat the value of the Sophia dorms. For example [Sophia Arrupe](https://www.sophia.ac.jp/eng/admissions/exchangeprograms/housingInfo_costs/Housing_List/arrupe.html) is ~120,000 a month, very nice and clean, and a 10min walk to campus. The [cheapest Sakura House in Tokyo that I could find](https://www.sakura-house.com/building/hatagaya-house?roomid=94) is ~64,000 a month, not very appealing, one-third the size, and you add 20min train ride with a transfer so you’ll have to buy a monthly train pass too. You can find places that cost less but you’ll have to make concessions.
As far as commute convenience goes you want to be on any train line that goes through Yotsuya Station: Chuo, Sobu, Marnouchi, Namboku. No matter where you chose to live, just for your sanity and happiness, try and make sure you don’t have more than a single transfer between your apartment and school.
You can go east, west on the chuo/sobu or north on the nanboku. Marunouchi and south of nanboku is probably too expensive. For anywhere close.
hi sorry for the late comment but congrats on your acceptance ! Could you maybe pm how did u get into Sophia (ex: difficulty, SAT scores.) if you r willing. I am in the middle of college applications period and I would really appreciate it if you helped. Tqsm and have a nice day!