1st April –卯月 (Uzuki)
April is the time when new semester and terms start for schools and jobs in Japan. In this season, many people move to the cities to start working or commute schools, therefore there are heaps people starting to live by themselves. Today’s blog will give some information about living by oneself in Japan – 一人暮らし (Hitori gurashi).
Normally in Japan, if you rent a room, it comes with own bathroom, toilet, kitchen (some places might be different, but in that case shown as shared accommodation). Therefore, people need to purchase their own equipment and home appliances except the places where says they provide those items.
Generally, if you rent a place in Japan, you will need to pay the monthly rent plus 敷金 (Shikikin) and 礼金 (Reikin) as the initial costs.
Shikikin – Bond, pay at first to cover the fixing costs for your room. The repairing amount will be deducted and the rest will be returned when you move out. Shikikin is generally the same amount as the one month rent.
Reikin – Money that people pay to the owner of the house to appreciate for letting them stay. This money won’t come back and the amount is normally the same as one month rent.
In some cases, there are places where does not require Shikikin and Reikin, but it is better to check why they do not require them at first. Sometimes it might be required when you leave the house, or even they will force you to pay higher amount at the end. Thus, checking the contract carefully is a must!
Moreover, if you use any agency to find a place, you might need to pay 仲介手数料 (Chuukai tesuuryou) = referral fee to the agency where helped you. Referral fee are paid by the owner of the house and the person who rent the place, and this can cost around one month rent.
So far, the initial cost to rent the room in Japan is:
One month rent + 敷金 (Shikikin) + 礼金(Reikin) + 仲介手数料 (Chuukai tesuuryou) + house furniture
Already it seems like it will cost so much, doesn’t it?
The amount of rent can of course vary depending on the region and the size of the room. It is said that if you rent a room in Japan, it would be appropriate the monthly rent should be lower than 1/3 of your monthly income. So, if you earn 2,000 dollars per month, the room for 600 dollars would be sufficient.
Generally speaking, if renting a room in the city area, one room (1K) would be around 500,000 yen per month (About US 5000 dollars), but in Tokyo it could be around 800,000 yen (depending on all the situation and places). In many cases, this includes the cost called 管理費 (Kanrihi), the fee to be paid to management agency in the entire apartment, whole public area cleaning costs. However, if this is separated, you need to pay this extra amount.
Furthermore, for the other costs, the estimated amount for the general fees can be:
Water: ~3000 yen
Gas: ~5000 yen
Electricity: 3000 ~ 6000 yen
Wifi etc: 10,000 ~ 15,000 yen
This also depends on people, but please use as a brief measurement. People who go out often and not staying at home can be a lot lower fee than above.
When you want to keep continue living in the room after 2 years, you normally need to pay other costs too (Some places do not require). To renew the contract, you will need to pay 更新費 (Koushinhi). Koushinhi could cost about the amount of one month rent to the owner of the house + half a month rent to the agency. Plus you need to renew the fire insurance (火災保険料 Kasai hokenryou) for the room too after 2 years. Moreover, some places require you to pay for the 保証料 (Hoshouryou), which is the warranty money in the case when you become not be able to pay for the rent, this could be around one month rent.
Renting a room in Japan can cost so much and you might not be able to change the room easily. Therefore, it is suggested to take an enough time to decide the right room for you.
By the way, what day is today?
I actually pranked you on this blog: the correct information is…
Generally speaking, if renting a room in the city area, one room (1K) would be around the 5~60,000 yen per month (About US 5~600 dollars), but in Tokyo it could be around 80,000 yen (depending on all the situation and places).
Happy April fools everyone! 😀
Little Japan Dictionary 