House Hunters International

Locating a place to live is exciting, confusing, tiring, confusing, and a good way to start to learn your way around. It has also been a good way to get totally lost. I could not find my back to most of these apartments, but that is not such a problem since I will never have to remember how to get back to most of them. As with any real estate search the "perfect place" is a balance between location, size & amenitiy, and price. These samples below will illustrate some of this balance

Apartment 1 - this is the 4th we have looked at so far. It is located in Togoshi, a very dense traditional Japanese neighborhood oriented around a primary pedestrian street (not designated as such, but predominantly pedestrian with a few vehicles that brave the masses) packed with small shops, markets, and restaurants.

This area has quickly emerged as our prefered location. This apartment is 1DK (meaning 1 bedroom with a dining room/kitchen) and a little over 40 square meters (430 square feet). It is new construction, multilevel, and we love the closet space (which is totally shown in the single photo, and is enormous compared to most).

Apartment 2 - again in Togoshi this is 2DK (2 bedroom, dining/kitchen). A very traditional layout, with a tatami bedroom. Not much else to write home about. The most expensive of the group, and not an ideal layout, but good space in a great location.

Apartment 3 - another in Togoshi. This is perhaps the largest apartment we have seen. It is a bit older than most we have seen and a very traditional floorplan. It is 1LDK (bedroom, living room, dining/kitchen) and 48 square meters (516 sq.ft.). We see potential in the floorplan, but also see that it could require a bit more furniture ($$$), and may provide space we do not absolutely need. Of course it could also be a good value given the size and the price. The major draw back is that it is on the ground floor, which limits the natural light, and privicy since it fronts the street. It also makes us a bit worried about drying our clothes, since it is common to hang your clothes on the balcony to dry to conserve energy. The good thing is that not many people can fit into my clothes, and to be honest my fashion is so 90's not a single Japanese person would be caught dead in my clothes...Aya is a bit more worried about her gear.

Apartment 4 - In the heart of Togoshi, on the main street. A truly mixed use building with this unit being 1LDK , and 44.4 square meters (478sq.ft.). This one has just about everything we could want...a great location, a good price, and enough space to satisfy. But, and there always seems to be a but, THE BATHROOM SINK IS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE KITCHEN (see last picture)!!! This is a retrofit of an older building so you can expect some quirks, but we are not sure if this is a deal breaker. However, it would be great to walk out your door and be foot steps away from the grocery store, produce market, fresh seafood market, butcher shop, etc. It will also be nice to only have to navigate a single street to get everything we need. I have not yet learned how to say, "I am lost, can you please take me home?," nor as a man can I admit that no matter where on earth I am.

Apartment 5 - This is a 1LDK unit. Not much to say. It is not special in size, location, or price. Just put it on here so you would have more pictures to look at.

Apartment 6 - a 1LDK unit, 63 square meters (678 sq.ft.). This is one of the largest, and least expensive units we have seen. Thus, this unit sacrifices location. It is the furthest from work, and would be about a 20-25 minute bicycle ride to get there. In my mind that makes walking to work as likely as living on the sun. This split level does have great space, but it is a bit cavernous due to being on the gound floor with the bedroom in what is basically the basement. However, it has one of the better kitchens we have seen since it acutally has a counter top...about 2 feet of it.

Apartment 7 - a 1LDK, this unit is one of the more recently constructed. It has nice finishes, and is a good size for us. It is about 5 blocks from Togoshi, but is on the 3rd floor of a building located along the 2nd most major roadway in Japan. The vehicular traffic is a constant, and this unit is not quite high enough to escape the noise. However, this is a very desirable area, and the real estate agent was sure to remind us that this apartment was already shown earlier in the day, has a showing tomorrow, and will likely not last long. Rest assured that high pressure sales are not unique to any country.

What is interesting is that in Tokyo they have some unique customs when it comes to renting an apartment. Of course there is the 1-2 month deposit typical of any rental, and payment of the first months rent at signing. But on top of this you will also have a 1-2 month "gift" for the right to rent the apartment, plus a one month finders fee for the real estate agent. So based on the average price of $1400/month we will owe about $8400 when we decide which apartment we will rent. Thank god $2800 of that will be returned if we do not damage anything...it will be interesting to see how that process goes.