Very random, but I got a really rural placement (town of less than 7000) and I can’t imagine there being many options for furniture/houseware items to purchase. Will I have to go to a city for these things?
If you’re moving into your pred’s old apartment /BoE provided housing there’s a pretty high chance it will be furnished with all the basic necessities.
My place was mostly furnished enough as is, but like the others said, Nitori and IKEA will be your best bet.
For me, I had to drive an hour and thirty minutes north to the closest city, load up what I could in the car (that I assume you’ll have in the inaka?) and anything else that’s too bulky can be shipped to your address, though you’ll need to be there to receive it (like most packages in Japan). Depending on your Japanese level, you might need someone to help with the setting up the delivery in store.
Good luck!
Are you sure you’ll have to furnish your own apartment? Have you been explicitly told this? I’m in a town of 3,500 and most of towns around me are under 15,000. Everyone I know was given a fully furnished apartment (down to the toilet paper). Half the furniture is owned by the BOE, half inherited from preds of years past. My pred basically just took her clothes and left everything else. Could be annoying if your pred collected a lot of junk, but I don’t know anyone who’s had that problem. At least in my area, preds are pretty good about separating what will be useful for their successor from what won’t and getting rid of unneeded clutter.
I usually buy from Amazon, if I had the chance to visit the city I buy from Nitori or IKEA.
I was in a very similar situation (my population size is about 8,000 so I feel you). I was put in a brand new place that I had to completely furnish myself. The closest places that had second hand things is about an hour and a half away. At the time I did not have a car when I first got here so I used Amazon to order the essentials. Then I left my place basically unfurnished until more recently when I was able to make trips to the second hand stores that are far away from me with my car and find some good deals on things. I would definitely use Amazon if Nitori or Ikea are far away because Amazon will deliver the furniture right to you and usually bigger furniture you can even choose a specific time for it to be delivered so you can be home the first time when it comes to you. (In Japan their Amazons can deliver at any time with smaller items and if you aren’t home they usually leave a slip where you can reschedule for a different time when you are at home).
I used Amazon for mostly everything in my apartment and went to the konbini to buy Amazon vouchers with cash so I didn’t have to use my home bank account debit card
Probably will have to go to the city. There might be local shops for basic house wear like cooking supplies.
Huge shout out to Nitori.
I ordered a few big things through them, and not only did they carry it up the stairs into my apartment, but also unpacked it, put it together, put it in place and left with the packaging.
amazon will be your best friend
Do you not have a predecessor? I mean, it does happen. But typically whoever was there before you is going to be very happy to pawn their stuff off on you. Getting rid of trash in Japan is a bit complicated. Getting rid of large items (especially without a car) is really hard.
If you are truly arriving to an unfurnished apartment, consider yourself lucky. You won’t have to deal with moldy futons and the fifteen colanders left behind by well meaning but incompetent individuals.
Not always, but most commonly, Japanese apartments are truly unfinished right down to the lack of light fixtures. Buying off departing JETs helps as do recycle shops, hard off, nitori, and large garbage collection day. You might not want to try the last one in deep inaka since everyone will know you and where you live but I did largely furnish an apartment that way once, so it’s a thing.
You don’t have to furnish it all at once either. It’s ok to scrape by with the minimum for a while. Just remember to buy curtains first.
Super rural placement (2000 people) that came with a BOE-owned house. Most of the furnishings were made by a seniors group (it was a heavily forested area so woodworking was a big thing).
Had to replace a few items over the years – washer/dryer, TV, etc… – and at the time, the stores didn’t deliver that far out to the boonies.
Since the house was owned by the BOE though, if I ever needed a large item, one of the staff members and I would take a town truck to the nearest Nitori to pick it up.
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I personally used Amazon.
Amazon is the answer.
Japan has online stores and delivery.
[Nitori](https://www.nitori-net.jp/ec/) is basically Japanese IKEA. It’s really affordable, sells virtually everything you need and delivers nationwide.
IKEA also deliver in some areas but unfortunately not nationwide. There’s a bunch of other online stores too like [lowya](https://www.low-ya.com/), [bellemaison ](https://www.bellemaison.jp/), and [Nissen](https://www.nissen.co.jp/?navi=head_902_001) or even just Amazon and Rakuten.
If you’re moving into your pred’s old apartment /BoE provided housing there’s a pretty high chance it will be furnished with all the basic necessities.
My place was mostly furnished enough as is, but like the others said, Nitori and IKEA will be your best bet.
For me, I had to drive an hour and thirty minutes north to the closest city, load up what I could in the car (that I assume you’ll have in the inaka?) and anything else that’s too bulky can be shipped to your address, though you’ll need to be there to receive it (like most packages in Japan). Depending on your Japanese level, you might need someone to help with the setting up the delivery in store.
Good luck!
Are you sure you’ll have to furnish your own apartment? Have you been explicitly told this? I’m in a town of 3,500 and most of towns around me are under 15,000. Everyone I know was given a fully furnished apartment (down to the toilet paper). Half the furniture is owned by the BOE, half inherited from preds of years past. My pred basically just took her clothes and left everything else. Could be annoying if your pred collected a lot of junk, but I don’t know anyone who’s had that problem. At least in my area, preds are pretty good about separating what will be useful for their successor from what won’t and getting rid of unneeded clutter.
I usually buy from Amazon, if I had the chance to visit the city I buy from Nitori or IKEA.
I was in a very similar situation (my population size is about 8,000 so I feel you). I was put in a brand new place that I had to completely furnish myself. The closest places that had second hand things is about an hour and a half away. At the time I did not have a car when I first got here so I used Amazon to order the essentials. Then I left my place basically unfurnished until more recently when I was able to make trips to the second hand stores that are far away from me with my car and find some good deals on things. I would definitely use Amazon if Nitori or Ikea are far away because Amazon will deliver the furniture right to you and usually bigger furniture you can even choose a specific time for it to be delivered so you can be home the first time when it comes to you. (In Japan their Amazons can deliver at any time with smaller items and if you aren’t home they usually leave a slip where you can reschedule for a different time when you are at home).
I used Amazon for mostly everything in my apartment and went to the konbini to buy Amazon vouchers with cash so I didn’t have to use my home bank account debit card
Probably will have to go to the city. There might be local shops for basic house wear like cooking supplies.
Huge shout out to Nitori.
I ordered a few big things through them, and not only did they carry it up the stairs into my apartment, but also unpacked it, put it together, put it in place and left with the packaging.
amazon will be your best friend
Do you not have a predecessor? I mean, it does happen. But typically whoever was there before you is going to be very happy to pawn their stuff off on you. Getting rid of trash in Japan is a bit complicated. Getting rid of large items (especially without a car) is really hard.
If you are truly arriving to an unfurnished apartment, consider yourself lucky. You won’t have to deal with moldy futons and the fifteen colanders left behind by well meaning but incompetent individuals.
Not always, but most commonly, Japanese apartments are truly unfinished right down to the lack of light fixtures. Buying off departing JETs helps as do recycle shops, hard off, nitori, and large garbage collection day. You might not want to try the last one in deep inaka since everyone will know you and where you live but I did largely furnish an apartment that way once, so it’s a thing.
You don’t have to furnish it all at once either. It’s ok to scrape by with the minimum for a while. Just remember to buy curtains first.
Super rural placement (2000 people) that came with a BOE-owned house. Most of the furnishings were made by a seniors group (it was a heavily forested area so woodworking was a big thing).
Had to replace a few items over the years – washer/dryer, TV, etc… – and at the time, the stores didn’t deliver that far out to the boonies.
Since the house was owned by the BOE though, if I ever needed a large item, one of the staff members and I would take a town truck to the nearest Nitori to pick it up.
Amazon is your friend if all else fails.