Internship in Tokyo

4 comments

1. This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.

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   **Internship in Tokyo**

   Hi everyone! Not so familiar with posting in Reddit, I hope I am doing this correctly 🙂 Apologies if not, or if any info is missing. I will try to edit/complete it if that’s the case!

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   I am a student from a third world country but currently living and studying in Europe. The company I am working for has a branch in Japan, and they accepted me for an internship at the end of the year.

   I will be earning around 150.000 Yen monthly. The company is actually in Chiba (bordering Funabashi), however I would prefer to live in Tokyo.

   I plan to find a place in the Edogawa area, as this seems to be quite close to Chiba in comparison to other Tokyo areas. I have been searching in Fontana, and also looked into several social apartments (Sakura, Oak). Unfortunately, I do not find that many options for Edogawa. Does anyone have any suggestions on trustworthy apartment/social apartment websites (which offer services in English and allow short term rental)?

   I was also wondering if anyone here lives in Edogawa and if they could mention the pros and cons of it? Moreover, I would like to ask what the cost of monthly utilities is in Tokyo. Thank you very much! 🙂

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   I will also be very grateful for any tips about moving to Tokyo and things I might overlook to prepare. If it is relevant, I am in my mid 20s, female, and do not speak Japanese. However, I plan to take on lessons and be at least on A2 level by the time I go to Tokyo.

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2. LeoPalace. It’s neither great nor especially cheap but they will rent to foreigners with relatively little hassle. Unless you have someone in Japan helping you get an apartment, this is your best bet.

   Also is your company paying a transportation allowance? I’d get a place to live as close to your work as you can. You can always visit Tokyo nearby. Everyday expenses must be taken into account.

3. 150K yen a month?? That’s all? Are they covering your accomodations and transportation fees?

   I get that it’s an internship but unless you have a lot of savings 150K is so little that you’d have to get the smallest apartment in the cheaper areas around your work place… You’ll have to live very frugally without considerable savings.

   Tokyo is generally foreigner friendly with English in the important places such as train stations and on direction signs/maps around the city. You’ll do okay with basic Japanese if it’s just for a short time.

4. If transportation costs are covered, 150k/month is the upper range of what you get for an internship. Apartment is close to impossible for op to get on her own, but for interns living in a sharehouse is the best option anyway. OP should be able to get something decent for 70-80k/month. Especially if the company helps. (Shitty sharehouses will cost less and have special rebates for the first few months or so. But avoid them. Shitty sharehouses tend to have shitty tenants.)

   Leaving 70k/month for living expenses. That’s not the high life but definitely not peak frugality.

   For sharehouses I recommend a company called [Couverture](https://couverture.jp/en/) because they have English speaking staff, are selective about people living in their sharehouses, and keep them in good shape. One of many websites for sharehouses would be [Tokyo sharehouse](https://tokyosharehouse.com/eng/)