The Japanese Apartment System

So I'm currently in the process of renting an apartment in Tokyo and for anyone starting out, there are quite a few things you need to know.

First off, you need your budget and the criteria you're looking for. Otherwise, you'll get overwhelmed with all the options in such a large city. For example, my criteria was that it needs to be as close to school as possible and under 50,000 yen. 

My apartment will actually cost 57,000 yen, but that's because it's ridiculously close to school and it has a loft. But a lot of apartments will have rent and then a monthly maintenance fee. You have to add them together for your "official" rent. I plan on budgeting around 10,000 yen for all utilities, but I'll post more accurate figures once I move in and start getting bills.

Next, you shop around. There are MANY different apartment leasing agencies and quite a few that do so in English, if your Japanese isn't up to scruff. However, before going to one of these agencies, you will need to prepare some documents that I wish I had done before.

Your passport
Your alien registration card
Proof of your job or school (in my case, my student ID was sufficient)
A copy of your bank statement with at least 3x the first months rent in it
A Japanese bank account (which you would need if you get a job anyway)
An emergency contact who is a Japanese person
-----------A Japanese coworker, fellow student, or possibly your employer will suffice.
A Guarantor - but sometimes the agency can arrange for a guarantor company

You should also understand that there IS discrimination against foreigners here. As in, a lot of Japanese landlords won't rent to you because you're not Japanese. It's just something you need to get used to - and a lot of English speaking agencies can help smooth the way.

I am renting my apartment through Flat-Japan. I highly recommend them - they're a small company, but they remember the details to your situation quite well. They offer a huge variety of apartments, but they have even more properties available than what they show online, so please send them an e-mail or visit them.

 http://www.flat-japan.com/english/

You can also find important things to know in their glossary:

http://www.flat-japan.com/english/glossary/index.html