So I’m moving to Tokyo next month for work (25m from Ireland)
My company are going to give me a place to stay for the first month but then I need to find somewhere myself.
I’ve got a ballpark budget of about 150,000 yen per month, and am hoping to get a decent 1LDK.
I’ve never been to Japan before so it’s hard to have a feel for neighbourhoods by just reading about them, and there are quite a few of them.
I realise it’ll be best to just actually visit these places next month but I’m trying to at least get some ideas before then.
My office will be in Minato-ku but the job is all remote for now so proximity to the office isn’t super important to me. It’d be a nice bonus if anything.
I’m trying to find a neighbourhood that’s a balance of being decently affordable while still having some good amenities, e.g. I want to be able to do my groceries & go out for food/some drinks locally but am happy to get a train into a super busy area like Shibuya/Shinjuku for a proper night out.
(I am pretty outgoing and like to get out and meet people)
It might not be a comparison that’s any use but I used to live in New York, in Bushwick, Brooklyn, and it fit the above description pretty well. So something with a similar vibe would be nice but I get that things don’t really work that way.
Some places I’ve been looking around are Ikebukuro, Setagaya & Meguro, but like I said I haven’t got a whole lot to go on.
Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated 🙂
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Edit: fixed a typo – thanks so much for the recommendations guys, lots of investigating for me to do
20 comments
Jesus Christ on that budget you could rent a ten room standalone house with a yard and parking space 40 minutes from central Tokyo.
Don’t limit yourself to a 1k.
Nippori!! It’s my favorite Tokyo area. Quiet and still close enough to the action.
Lucky dude!
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Lived in Sendagaya and loved it.
It’s between Shinjuku and Shibuya.
The OP mentions Bushwick Brooklyn as a reference point, a strong working class area with a diverse and resilient local culture. You have to go to Okubo to approximate the diversity of Bushwick but Shinjuku is an awful place to live. Neighborhoods with rich local traditions are plentiful in Tokyo: the area around Monzennakacho might be good, walking distance to the cafes and museums around Kiyosumi and Kiba parks. Another option would be around Kuramae, a solid neighborhood with good shops and restaurants, close but not too close to the busy tourist area around Asakusa. Being on the near east side of Tokyo will give you better access to the traditional performing arts, scattered all over Ningyo-cho, Ueno and elsewhere, as well as the literary and gaming cultures of Jimbocho and Akihabara.
Everyone else is recommending places like Sendagaya or Setagaya on the west side of Tokyo. Like Minato or Meguro Ward, these are affluent areas full of people who move to Tokyo from elsewhere and who spend all their money on rent and furniture. Celebrities live in the area, for example, and celebrities do not contribute to local neighborhood culture. Some great parks with excellent picnic culture can be found on the west side, but the youth culture is kind of anemic and predictable, the live music in Shimokitazawa is very amateurish without being spontaneous or exciting. In other words, there is no reason even for a musician to try to live in that area. Take a train to Inokashira park every now and then and stop by Kichijoji for a snack, but look for the real Tokyo in the alleys to the east of Nihonbashi.
In summary, the west side of Tokyo is for families who want to live comfortably and for foreigners who want to experience “Japan.”
The east side of Tokyo is for people born in “Tokyo” and for foreigners who want to understand “Edo.”
Check out Meguro, such as toritsu daigaku and gakugei daigaku.
I recommend looking outside the 23 wards. Kawasaki is an easy commute to the major stations in Tokyo and Yokohama, will be much cheaper than the 23 wards, and bonus easy access to the Kanamara festival every spring.
Others have mentioned the east side, which I’m not so familiar with. But I feel the Nakano – Koenji – Asagaya stretch of stations has a good community with great restaurants/bars as well as supermarkets. The connections to Minato might not be so great though. Tozai Line is ok if you’re ok with transferring. Never taken it in the morning though, so it could be crazy.
I’m not familiar with Brooklyn, but maybe also consider Kagurazaka or Iidabashi. With 150k a month you might be able to find a decent 1LDK there. The area also has a nice variety of restaurants.
Otherwise, Shiba-koen might be interesting to look at as well. It’d be closer to your office and you’re also close to Ginza, Hibiya which are great places to go out (in my opinion) or do some shopping. Roppongi isn’t too far away either although personally not a huge fan of the Roppongi nightlife. (But a lot of people are!)
Personally would recommend something not just in Tokyo’s 23 wards, but in the inner wards (Chuo-ku, Minato-ku, Chiyoda-ku, maybe Shibuya-ku) but that’s all personal preference. As other commenters have mentioned, the farther you go out of the center, the more square meter you get for your yen.
Hope this helps!
Shimokitazawa?
“Hip” place with a nice nightlife.
150,000 should get you a nice place I think.
If you are talking about the more newly developed and gentrified Bushwick, the neighborhood I would recommend and feels/reminds me most of it is off the Kuramae stop.
Fashionable, some little boutique style places, etc.
Hikarigaoka in Nerima ku is a good backup plan. There is a danchi community (government housing) that does not discriminate against foreigners (yes that is a thing) with relatively large apartments at reasonable prices. A taxi home from shinjuku or roppongi after trains stop running will not break the bank either.
I live in a 1LDK apartment 5 minutes from Shinjuku station that’s 150k. I can check if there are any other open spots. They also have 1k rooms for cheaper. Considering you are only 5 minutes away from the busiest station in Japan it’s not a bad deal.
Check out UR housing in the neighborhood that you want to live. UR is unfurnished but there is no fixed term contract, you can move out in 14 day notice. There are no initial payments like Guarantor fee, key money and other things. You’ll just have to make a 2 month’s rent as refundable security deposit
hello. Japanese people here. One advice. You may want to stay somewhere you can get to workplace without transferring trains. Rush hour in Japan in Japan is aweful. You’ll soon get sick of it. So closer the better in my opinion.
If you haven’t been able to find an apartment, here’s a very detailed and in-depth guide to helping you find one and things to look out for! https://youtu.be/TFeijoNpsfg
Nippori was nice when i lived there. Now theres too many tourists and non-local shop owners. Setagaya was the most welcoming for foreigners i felt. The mayor at the time was trans. So i feel they’re more tolerant and open.
One of the biggest tips I would give to someone who’s not familiar with Tokyo is that the physical location of your home is less important than train line access. I would start by finding a train line (or lines) that are important/useful for you and then basing your decision around a station on that line.
Nakameguro and Daikanyama are the best