Are Leopalaces *that* bad?

38 comments

1. Not amazing but livable while you look for something else.

2. I stayed in a new one for 2 years. I didn’t mind it when I first lived in Japan. I definitely recommend it if staying for just a year and you are more of a minimalist. Not so good for pack rats.

3. I can’t speak on costs but I have a friend that lives in one. I visit often and it seems perfectly fine to me. My friend hasn’t had many complaints either. Everything is modern enough and in fine condition, and there’s enough room for the both of us when I stay over. The location is fine, a 10-minute walk from a station, and the immediate surroundings are normal. It’s just fine.

4. If you’re only gonna be here for a year I think it’s fine. Leopalaces definitely seem to be hit or miss. I lived in one for a year so here are the things that will be circumstantial:

   * Noise: My god the noise. The walls are basically cardboard and you can hear just about everything your neighbors are doing. Walking, talking on the phone, cooking, watching TV, snoring at night, doing bs inexplicable laundry at 4AM – you’ll hear EVERYTHING.
   * Kitchen: It basically doesn’t exist. It’s tiny as hell with absolutely nowhere to place anything so cooking anything is a mission.
   * Bathroom: There is no space to properly “get ready” in the morning. There is a mirror in the shower area but of course after a shower it’s humid as hell so you can’t use it to get ready.
   * Wifi/Internet: Idk if all, but most Leopalaces offer “free” home wifi, but it’s so frustratingly slow that you can’t watch videos in anything other than 360p.
   **EDIT: Seems like if you use your own router it improves the connection strength over that stupid life stick thing.**

   All in all, I wouldn’t want to live in one again but it gets the job done for a year. They are usually conveniently placed so that’s a positive I guess.

5. If you are only here for a year, they’re fine.

6. I stayed in a number of *Leopalace* apartments way back in the early 00’s.

   Given, that this was over twenty years ago, I had no complaints then. They were spartan, clean, comfortable and simply functional.

   Just fine for a few months.

   I can’t speak to the current state of their apartments though.

7. I rented one for my parents when they came to visit for a bit over a month after my son was born. While slightly expensive compared to my apartment, it was cheaper than a hotel for the same period of time, and cheaper than any of the nearby airBnBs around here (and not enough space in my tiny apartment to add 2 people for that length of time).

   They are on the small side, but maybe not bad for one person and probably livable for a year. You will feel cramped and claustrophobic by the end, but they do include some furnishings, so that helps you get set up, too.

8. It’s not that bad. A friend of mine lived in an apartment run by Leopalace and it was okay.
   We have so many memes about Leopalace and a lot of Japanese people still make fun of the company.

9. I survive 3 months. Very small and not that cheap imo. Is good when u r looking for a new place but not decided yet.

10. I’m currently living in one. It’s not terrible, very close to where I work (and close to the station), and there weren’t any issues with it when I moved in. The kitchen I have is incredibly small and frustrating to cook in. The walls are so thin I can hear my neighbor grunt, but it doesn’t bother me. Honestly both of my neighbors are pretty quiet so I don’t have any issues with noise, but experiences will vary. It does the job and it’s cheap. There were multiple days last month that I accidentally left my A/C on all day and my bill only went up 1000 ¥ (totaling around 2400 ¥ ). Be sure to check the place out before you move in, but it might be the most convenient option for just one year.

11. It’s better than living in an old house. Look for a newer building and decide which room layout you want. Wifi is fine most of the time, just use a VPN. Some people can’t get internet at home for months and LeoPalace has it built in. Don’t believe the stories but don’t expect it to be perfect either. If it sucks, then it’s easy to move out.

12. Living in one atm. It’s pretty alright.

    Taking points from other users, most of them depends a lot on the property (things can be different across leopalaces), so make sure you can visit the place and see things for yourselves before signing the contract.

    Noise: depends a lot on your neighbors. My current place has almost, if not no noise at all 99% of the time. Sometimes I could hear one of my neighbors talk in Chinese (probably on a call), but it’s just once in 2 months or so.

    Kitchen: make sure there is a free space (countertop) between hob and sink, without it cooking is almost impossible. I have lived in two separate leopalaces and both of them have the free space- I cook 2-3 times a week, it’s doable. I’ve got a friend who lives in a leopalace in Kawasaki and there’s no such free space I wouldn’t even consider to live there.

    Internet: I’m using their internet service (Leonet) but used my own router instead of their shitty thing that plugs onto their TV. With 3,600 yen a month I’m constantly getting 150-170Mbps down:up with a 5ms local ping, very respectable.

    All of that with a 40,000 rent (company subsidizes 25% so effectively I pay only 30,000), I’m happy.

13. They weren’t so bad 20 years ago. Now I’m not sure. I’d recommend to go for one that is newish. The older had a lot of issues. You can’t choose your neighbour’s though and that can impact you experience dramatically.

14. I’ve lived in 2 leopalace apartment and was lucky and didn’t really had a problem with both of them.

    First one was in Osaka 1km from the station. Semi-furnished and water was already included. Internet you have to pay separately. No problems with noise besides the occasional items dropped from above. I always choose the corner room first floor.

    Second one was in Kanagawa, same setup minus the water. Did have an annoying neighbor though luckily they are only noisy in the morning which I am out most of the time.

    So your stay in a Leopalace will depend on the people living beside you.

15. I think it really depends on the area or quality of the leopalace

    The standard leo palace is fine. I have visited or lived in a leo palace for a few months and it was fine.

    The issues I had living in one was the fact that there was no autolock (so I had some people knock on my door randomly to basically invite me to their cult) and the kitchen was small.

    It’s really great for short stays like yours.

16. It’s not as bad as most people make it out to be. I’ve lived in 2 different ones and it’s the same two things that bother me. Kitchen and wifi.

17. My loft bed was in a hobbit hole up a ladder. I couldn’t sit up all the way. I got used to it, but in the summer I had to sleep on the floor. I couldn’t cook much back then so the tiny stove across from my half fridge and microwave was okay for me, but I had mishaps from lack of space (RIP homemade macaroni cheese).
    Heard my neighbors on occasion, the coughing one was maybe 6 doors away, and the fighting couple was above me and 4 doors away. But I barely ever ran into anyone, maybe cause I had a weird schedule.

18. I honestly like the new leopalaces. My favorite is the Arma-L I was gonna move into one but the bf helped me move into a different apartment.

19. It gets the job done, and it’s often the only choice for many people. It’s not the best place to live in, but it’s also not the worst place to live in.

    Most of the bad qualities you see about LP exists in other slightly better places. Japanese buildings are generally below expectations with soundproofing and insulation. If you’re looking for a “mansion”, they’re generally going to be not much better than LP unless you increase your budget.

20. I lived in one for three months when I was moving to a new area to look for a new job.

    The only negative was that it was really expensive.

    EDIT: I think if you do a full year contract the price is a little more reasonable.

    Only advice I would say is that if there’s anything extra in the apartment that’s not on the inventory when you arrive, flag it with them asap. I arrived to find a bundle of extra bedding in the middle of the floor, so when I left I left it there and they were calling and asking me to come back and remove it. Also I had bought an extra doona and when I left I accidentally took the one that came with the place, and left the one I had bought. They must have the colour and pattern written down because they called to ask where the original one was. The inventory was, one futon, one doona etc it didn’t say ‘red and blue checked pattern’ so make sure you leave the exact same items because apparently one same item does not = the other. I had to take the train to Kobe on my day off to drop a doona at their office, lol. I wonder if the spare went into the rotation or was disposed of. I did not have to go back and remove the extra bedding myself because I insisted that it was already there and they eventually accepted that after a long conversation with my Japanese boss on the phone.

21. I lived in a LP for 2 years and had absolutely no problem. The only thing I can suggest is try to find one that is newly built.

22. They got in trouble because they were ignoring fire codes in 2019, basically skipping the requirements to have gaps between floors so that if a fire broke out it would slow the spread. In my opinion if they were willing to do that, there are a host of other things for safety that they must be skipping.

23. I don’t get why people say leopalace is cheap. I contacted leopalace for a short stay once and they pretty much bombarded me with fees and having to pay one month’s rent worth in fees multiple times over. I looked for a place for 3 months and I think I would have needed to pay like 6-7 months worth of rent just to be able to move in. even airbnb is cheaper depending on how long you intend to stay. but leopalace definitely charges a foreigner fee, which makes all their places much more expensive that anywhere else. so I would recommend to avoid LP and find a regular place. if you don’t speak enough Japanese then maybe you can find someone to help you? but honestly, even using google translate would probably find you better and cheaper places than leopalace.

24. It’s a lottery. 3 years ago I was in your exact same spot, Leopalace was seemingly my only option. I browsed reddit and found only negative and “it’s better than nothing” kind of opinions. Didn’t had anything else, so I went for it.My experience has been entirely positive. I have one of those apartments with a proper loft which is supposed to be used for sleeping, I just use it for storage (a life saver for me who has seasonal hobbies). I can’t hear my neighbors at all, I play music all day, watch movies at night, never got any kind complain, although I am on a unit on the ‘edge’ of the building so I only share borders with two apartments. Leonet’s internet connection (something that was particularly one of Leopalace’s biggest ‘negatives’) has been nothing but excellent. Strong 100mbs since day one – but be sure to get your own router. Kitchen is of course small but common, this is a single’s apartment in Japan, the kitchen will always be small unless you pay up. All in all a good experience in my end.

25. I lived in leopalace for 5 years, and honestly, it wasn’t too bad.

    Below is my experience as a woman:
    1. I’m sure this applies to anywhere, but cheap apartments have thin walls. I solved this, getting some noise absorbent sponges from the home goods store, and I didn’t hear my neighbor sneeze anymore, lol
    2. The rent was cheap. I live in a country area, so it was ¥45000 a month
    3. Mine came with parking, which was an extra 3000 yen
    4. The only complaint I had was the stove it came with. It was IH and was so weak that I bought my own to cook on.

    Other than that, it helped me save money since utilities we so low and it was furnished

26. Why not get yourself into one of the bigger share houses? Theyr usually foreigner friendly you get your own room and some of them even have a gym and nice entertainment/common area. Everything is included with the room so you basically just pay rent.

    I spend quite some time in one of these and except for minor “ugh, someone forgot to wash their frying pan” I couldn’t really complain.

27. I’d pick decent sharehouse over LP.
    sure in sharehouse you will meet people regularly, that’s fine really. You still can greet them and such.
    Not to mention complete set of utilities like kitchen, decent bathroom, washing machine, etc.
    Usually comes with free cleaning too for those, so you don’t have to clean bathroom!
    It’s also possible to ask the cleaning people to also clean your room if you pay them extra, YMMV.

    But damn in LP it feels like you live together in a single room and separated by literal paper.

28. I constantly read bad comments about LeoPalace, and I am genuinely confused as I had an amazing experience living for 2 years in one of them buildings.
    It was a very small apartment (16mt2) but it really covered all my needs at that time. Never had huge noise problems, maybe I was the loud g-jin

29. The beds and skirting have a veneer that starts to peel off after 4 years or so. It all gets replaced upon moving out, but definitely nature’s way of saying it’s time to find another place…

30. They’re not bad for a year living alone in Japan.

31. EARLY CHECK OUT PENALTIES

    Early check out penalties can be one or two months of rent. The less money you pay at check in (no key money or brokerage fees, etc.) the more you have to pay at check out.

32. I lived in Leopalace apartment (They called them Leonext, I guess it’s like a new improved version) for almost 3 years in Adachi near Takenotsuka station (it was like 15min walk)

    It was OK for the most part, it was 26 m² if I remember correctly. I choose it because it was the only affordable apartment with an actual big kitchen.

    As others mentioned about the noise, the noisy upstairs neighbor was my only issue with the apartment.

    For the internet, since I didn’t use the TV I bought my own router and used that instead of the stick thingy which made the internet much better.

    Overall, I would say make sure you check the apartment thoroughly and if you decide to go and take pictures on the first day when you move in of everything.

    Best of luck 🙂

33. Be aware there is 2 major different “Leopalace” type of building. There is some that are owned and managed by Leopalace directly and building that are not owned by Leopalace but can indirectly be rented from them. (The easy way to know is if they have have LeoNet provided or not, just check the option when viewing the units on their website).
    I would suggest to favor the ones that are owned and managed by Leopalace first and if there is realllly nothing, look the other part. I feel like the building not owned by LP are usually the ones with the most issues, but that’s just a personal feeling.

    Regarding the horror stories… yes there is many such stories online, but you also need to keep in mind that LP owns/manages over a million if not ten of millions of units across the country, so even 0.01% of bad reviews will make it look like a huge problem.

    Just make sure to use your own rooter and not life stick. Im currently at 80/70 down/up with mine versus the useless 20/10 that was coming out of lifestick.

34. They noise can be a problem, I picked top floor/corner apartment for that reason and never had any noise problems.

    Also got my own router and internet was fine. But the logging in is definitely annoying.

    Kirchen is small but you can add a little Counter on the other side and use lots of tension poles and hooks to utilize the wall space.
    I cook all my meals and it was finw

35. Depends on the floor plan and the area. I lived in one that had a kind of bunk bed and was on the second floor and the stairs were inside and it was actually pretty great for one person. It had a big closet and shelves by the stove and a little extra storage nook cause of how the stairs were.

    Then I lived in one with the standard high ceiling and storage space up high and I hated it, annoying to cook in and felt cramped.

36. Gotta be honest. Depends on what standards you have but for me, I would never live in any of their apartments. Been to a few over the years. The noise is ridiculous and the apartments themselves just screams cheap.
    For the price you pay you should get more.

    Edit: for a year I would say it’s fine.
    Personally I would rather live in a nicer sharehouse but that’s just me.

37. I live in an inaka Leopalace. Mine might be a bit exceptional from what I’ve heard, but I’ll share my experience anyway.

    Rent’s about 36k/month. I have air conditioning, heating, and internet, and both water and internet are included in my rent. I pay gas and electricity separately. There’s a complete bath/shower room and separate toilet with washlet, a laundry room with a laundry machine (no dryer), and a kitchen with a fridge and microwave all included. It also came with a TV + TV stand and one small coffee table. No other furniture.

    My kitchen is an actual somewhat-separate space with three gas burners, an under-stove broiler, counter space, and a comfortably large sink. There’s three cupboards above the sink, four total below the sink and stove, and three drawers. I’ve never had any issue with space for all of my dishes, cutlery, pots and pans, and food, kitchen space has been fine (more counter space would be nice but three gas burners is plenty for me and my sink is plenty big enough to both wash dishes and have a drying rack).

    Beyond my kitchen and laundry room, it’s all open space and doesn’t have that weird bed shelf thing or built-in furniture that some other Leopalaces have. I have my futon, a decently large corner desk, an office chair, a mini-wardrobe, and the included coffee table and TV/TV stand in there and still have a decent enough bit of open space.

    I’m on my second year here and have had very few issues – my internet goes out sometimes, particularly when there’s a typhoon or thunderstorm, but that doesn’t seem particularly unusual in my area. No mold or cockroaches or other building issues, and the walls are thin but not so thin that I can hear *every little thing* my neighbors do, and I have quiet neighbors anyway. They’re mostly either old people or salarymen who just come home to sleep and never have people over. If they watch TV or play games I’ve never heard it, and I generally don’t hear any cooking noises or talking or any of that either.

    My Leopalace experience has been perfectly fine, and I’ll definitely be a bit sad when I eventually move out and have to re-enter the housing roulette

38. Perfectly serviceable for just a year