Housing
Renting an apartment as a foreigner
Company Dormitories
Shataku and company dorms cost ¥10–30k a month including utilities and save ¥30–60k against market rent. How the payslip deduction works, the SSW actual-cost rule, and the risk that shows up when you quit.
How to Rent
How apartment rental actually works for foreigners — the agency process, guarantor companies, income screening, landlord refusals and the routes around them.
Furnishing Cheaply
How to furnish a first apartment for a fraction of retail — recycle shops, moving-season timing, free-listing apps, and why disposal fees make used furniture a buyer's market.
Move-In Costs
What each move-in fee actually is — deposit, key money, agency fee, guarantor, insurance — what the total should come to, and which lines can be negotiated away.
Share Houses
How share houses work — real prices, what move-in requires, booking from abroad, the trade-offs against apartments, and who they genuinely fit.
Utilities Setup
How to open electricity, gas, water and internet — costs, the gas appointment, the internet construction wait, propane warnings, payment methods and the ward-office moves.