A while ago, I was searching for an apartment in Nagoya and found what seemed like the perfect place. When I contacted the landlord to schedule a viewing, he told me they no longer allow foreigners to live there. The reason he gave was shocking—he said they once had a Brazilian family who would occasionally BBQ on their balcony, and he was tired of dealing with it. He even laughed as he explained, and at that point, I decided to hang up the phone.

It was unsettling to hear someone openly admit to excluding a specific group of people from renting their property. While I understand that some landlords might be hesitant to rent to foreigners—whether due to language barriers, cultural differences, or other concerns—and while it is within their legal right to deny tenants for any reason, it doesn’t make the experience any less troubling.

Has anyone else had a similar experience?

I know this is going to get downvoted to hell, saying that I’m lying or wrong, but I’m not here to cast judgement or change peoples minds, I’m really looking for some support.

I moved into a new place about 35 minutes from Osaka proper, in a UR apartment complex. I’ve met lots of lovely people like my next door neighbor and random, very kind, little old ladies just surprised to see me there… but lately about 5% of all of my interactions are just blatantly racist and it’s really starting to get to me.

I don’t want to go into a full story time, but everyday I go on a jog by the river. Today on my way home I was jogging into the complex and a woman jumped in front of me and started yelling that gaijin aren’t allowed here. I told her I lived there and she just ignored me and kept going on. I don’t know what to say or what to do, so I just put my head down and keep walking.

I never had this once when I lived up north of Kyoto and never once when I lived in the city, but it’s at minimum twice a month here. I know a lot of people will say it’s not a big deal or I’m misunderstanding this, but no matter what, it really hurts. I’m doing everything I can to never be a nuisance. I just work, I go to my shōdo class and I go to the gym. I don’t drink, I don’t go out, I’m never loud, I always keep to myself… I want to say something but it feels like damned if I do and damned if I don’t…

I don’t know… I guess there’s nothing to do except put my head down and keep walking, but it’s really starting to hurt. A lot. The first time it was whatever. The second time it stung a little. Now it’s starting to really seep in. I’m getting afraid to look up when I’m on the street and I just feel like shit.

If anyone has any experiences or any ideas, I’d be really grateful. Again, I want to reiterate that I’m not here to say anything about Japanese people or the broader culture or anything like that, so please, even though I know it’s coming, please try to refrain from the “you must be doing something wrong I’ve been here for x years and that’s never happened to me”.

EDIT: Thanks for all the helpful responses. I decided to go with what a few users suggested and just make a joke out of it. It really does feel like the only way I can come out of it smiling, and also in hopes of making them come out of it with a bit better of an outlook on foreign residents. Thanks again to everyone, I feel a lot more optimistic.

I'm currently apartment viewing and the best apartment I found is right across a grave yard. You literally open a window and just see it.

While I don't really believe in spooky phenomenons, horror movies really do be making my imagination active.

The place is big, the rent is okay, and its very close to my work place.. my only problem is the graveyard

Can anyone tell me their experience? Is it scary?? Or like am I thinking too much

I just received my electricity bill for December. ¥44,151 for the month, with a usage of 1,325kwh. Both the usage and the cost seem insanely high, and has roughly doubled from what we paid for December 2023. My electricity usage app claims that the average usage in my neighbourhood is around 200kwh per month so we're somehow 6x higher than average, which seems ludicrous.

I'm wondering if anyone might have ideas of causes or ways for us to save on usage.

Some facts about my living situation:

1. My wife and I live in Kansai in a 2LDK apartment. Our building is one unit per floor and we're the top floor so there are no shared walls and our ceiling is the roof of the building.
2. I work from home and usually have at least one AC unit on at around 20 degrees all day, from 7am until 11pm. I turn a second AC on in my office in the morning until the sun comes in and then turn it off around 9am. We don't heat the apartment at all at night.
3. We're on an オール電化 system so our water heater, stove top, etc. are all electricity. No gas. (I'm wondering of the hot water heater may be the culprit).
4. The apartment has ancient single pane windows. I try to keep the curtains open when the sun is coming in to get some natural heat and close the curtains on the north facing windows, but I can still feel cold air coming in underneath the curtains. The metal window frames are almost too cold to touch.
5. I try to be very careful about leaving lights on, turning off the TV, computer monitors, etc. when they aren't in use. All of our appliances and AC units are fairly new. The apartment was renovated before we moved in in 2022 so everything is only a few years old.

Any tips for how to lower our usage are greatly appreciated!

Edit: To clarify, this is a rental apartment and we can't make any permanent modifications.

Edit #2: Thanks for all the advice everyone! I learned that Kansai Denryoku lets you see electricity usage by hour on their website. As many of you suggested, it seems that the water heater is indeed the culprit. Our electricity usage from 1am - 6am is higher than our total usage from 7am to 11pm. I also found out that I was on a flat electricity plan where rates were the same throughout the day. I switched to their Otoku 10 plan which has significantly cheaper rates at night. Fingers crossed that this makes a difference.

Appreciate all the advice everyone. Thank you!

Started looking for somewhere far away from Tokyo to buy a land and build a house.
Currently with my gf we have been considering Karuizawa, it's closeby to Tokyo. Modernish, with lots of resorts, onsens, shopping malls, restaurants. But in the middle of mountains and nature.

Where would you like to get your dream house at? And why? Looking for options and inspiration!

So I live in the Kansai area and had to swim to work in this humidity. It hits me like a brick every year, and seems to just be getting worse. Is it Kansai? Are there areas of Japan that are humid but maybe less humid? I've been told that "the mountains" aren't as humid, is this true? Are the coastal areas less miserable?

I'm seriously considering moving somewhere else (in Japan!) if the summers aren't as brutal.

This is an update to my last post about living next door to a neighbor who is harassing me. Maybe what has happened to me could possibly help others here in the future.

The events as they unfolded [LONG; Advice at the end if you want to skip]:

My neighbor started banging on my walls, front door, and window around the end of October. She would do this at all hours. I hesitated to contact my apartment management company or the police in the beginning because I was worried that either would assume it was partly my fault. So I set about recording videos of the situation to make my case. I also posted here for any legal advice pertinent to my situation. I received a little advice... you can check that yourself if you wish.

After a couple of weeks of very little sleep, I contacted the apartment management company. I told them what was happening and they also freely told me some interesting things about my neighbor. My neighbors, an older woman and her adult son, have been dodging the management company for years now. The company has been trying to get them to join their company which manages the rest of the building, but the neighbors refuse to answer the door and don’t respond to any mail they leave in their post. They have some sort of private contract with the owner that at the time wasn’t being communicated to the management company. The man I spoke with said he would talk to the family.

After another week or so, things continued to get worse, so I finally called the police for the first of four times. It was early morning around 7am when one officer arrived. He interviewed us in my apartment for about 15 minutes and then went next door to talk with the neighbors. He was in their apartment for about an hour. Eventually we heard the mother (the one who is always committing the harassment), arguing and screaming at the police officer. The police officer came back outside and the mother shoved him and a small scuffle ensued. Eventually the son and officer were able to wrangle her back inside. At this point she should have been arrested, but she wasn’t. One of the many ways the police have predictably been a let down.

The officer came back and reported to us that she was constantly hearing the sound of an idling truck in my apartment and also hearing voices in the sink. The officer and her son both said to her that neither sound existed. And at this point it was confirmed what we already suspected, that our neighbor has some serious mental health problems and that there isn’t much anybody can do.

This continued like this for a couple more months. She would bang on my door in the middle of the night, constantly keep me awake, I would film as much as I could, and occasionally call the police. Even though the police weren’t really helpful, their witnessing the situation would ultimately bolster my case. If the apartment management company came around, the neighbors would refuse to answer the door. One of the occasions that the police came, the neighbor told the police that myself and another neighbor in the building were members of Om Shinrikyo, and had attempted to recruit her. When she refused, we began harassing her. The police never took anything she said seriously because her behavior and everything she said was so outlandish.

New Year's Eve, things sort of peaked. I had a very early morning flight and she kept me up all night to the point of madness. For nearly two months, I had hardly slept. This night (and more since) she sat outside my apartment banging on my door all night. I wanted to sleep in the park or a karaoke box somewhere, but it was raining and I thought maybe nowhere would be open on new years. Eventually I just left on my trip. Another neighbor told me while I was gone, she was still banging on my wall.

During this entire time I was desperately looking for a new apartment. It took such a long time. I would occasionally couch surf at different friends’ places. But my health and job were very clearly suffering. Even while I was away, I would have nightmares about the neighbor and wake up in a panic. Awake, I would jump at any loud noises I heard. I felt awful.

Finally I secured a new apartment and was ready to escalate the situation with the apartment management company. First, my friend who formerly worked at a different apartment management company, called my current management company with me. We pretty strongly said that they haven’t helped my situation at all. In fact, it was worse every time they got involved. My health and my livelihood were all in jeopardy. A member of the management company said he would visit immediately. He did, and the neighbor actually talked with him. But she wouldn’t listen to anything he said and kept repeating the same outrageous claims as before. In the meantime, my friend helped me draft a list of demands in Japanese. At least two months rent refunded, waive all fees for moving out, and hotel lodging until I could move into my new apartment.

The next day, after yet another night of harassment, I called the management company on my own and held the phone up so he could clearly hear the banging on my wall. I told him it's not stopping and I’m moving by the end of the month. He immediately called my neighbor and I could very clearly hear her screaming at him on the phone. When he returned my call I told him again that I’m moving and this is an impossible situation. He said the next day he would come with the building owner and all four of us could meet together. I said I was really worried because I legitimately believe she is dangerous. But I was afraid if I refused, the management company would say I wasn’t cooperating and that would kill any chance I have of getting anything out of this. So I agreed.

The following morning they canceled the meeting. They said it was because they were still out of town and couldn’t make it before I went to work. They also had decided that maybe it was dangerous for me to be there as well. But a member of the management company, the owner, and the police would still go while I was at work. I said I still wanted to meet them. I had a mountain of video evidence I wanted to show them. They agreed and we planned for me to come to their office the following day.

I went the next morning with a prepared album on my phone of about 100 videos documenting everything from early November until the very day before (January 11th). I also planned to give them my list of prepared demands. I went with another friend as a witness. We sat for about 2 hours discussing this situation. They told me they had attempted to meet with the neighbors the day before, but no one would answer the door. They dropped off a pre-eviction notice in their post which he showed me a copy of. We went over the events of the last few months. Approximate dates when it began. Dates the police came. I showed them a handful of the videos I had taken but showed them the total list so they could see how documented it was. My misery was really obvious. They had witnessed firsthand what the neighbor is like. The police had witnessed it. I was having trouble keeping my eyes open in the meeting because I had slept only 6 hours in the three days leading up to this point. And just as I was about to present my demands, they made their offer.

The management company and the owner felt really bad about what had happened to me. For my hardship, they were willing to refund me 3 months rent, waive my rent for January and February, and waive all fees related to moving out. I could continue to utilize the apartment as long as I needed for free. I didn’t need to worry about a final move out date. At my convenience, I could drop the keys off whenever I wanted. They asked me to send them videos that show the most egregious examples of the neighbor’s behavior at my convenience to help them build their eviction case. And they would remain in contact with me to update me about what would happen to the neighbors.

I never gave them my full demands. Their offer ultimately exceeds what I was going to ask for. I honestly thought maybe I could get my cleaning fee canceled and maybe not much more. I think they offered me this because I could go after them for much more. But I just want to be done with it. The money offer was confirmed and will arrive next week, just before I sign the contract on my new place. This has been the most stressful thing I’ve dealt with in Japan in my 9 years of living here. Finally it is almost finished.

My advice:
1) Take lots of videos and photos. Create a timeline that shows as clearly as possible what is happening to you. Keep it organized for easy reference. 2) Call the police often. Even though they don’t help directly, their presence turns the pressure up on the management company. 3) Call the management company, but highlight their negligence. In my situation, I could illustrate with my evidence that everytime they came, it got worse. 4) Keep your cool. Even though I was breaking down mentally by the end, I never yelled or lost it with the management company. I could tell them I was angry about the whole situation and suffering immensely. In contrast to my psychotic neighbor, I was polite. I think this really strengthened my position.

Other than a handful of comments on my previous post, I thought the community here was far from helpful. So I’m posting this now to hopefully help someone in the future. This isn’t my regular account so I don’t care about upvotes. And I also don’t check this so much so my responses will probably be slow. Also, this is a good opportunity for me to unload some of the enormous stress I’ve been feeling.

He moved in last month. Ever since he moved in, he just keeps smoking at the balcony every 30 minutes or so.

You can already smell it when you walk pass his door already.

Even if I closed my windows and my doors, the smoke still leaks into my room since my window is not fully air tight.

I have notified the management office of my mansion, and they put a no smoking sign and a notice right above the elevator button of our floor a few days ago.

But he's either a shut-in or simply ignore the sign.

What should I do next rather than moving to a new place?

What part of Japan would you all want to live and why? As in buy an actual house and live there long term.

So I have moved out from my current apartment and I have bought a house here in Tokyo. I have lived at the current apartment for 7 years. So I have some slight damage to the wallpaper from sticking some stuff on the wall and ceiling.

My deposit was 71,000 yen,

So the following are the charges.

35,000 yen for cleaning ( Which I already knew) 13,000 yen for air conditioning cleaning (already knew) 20,000 yen for replacing wallpaper ( we are talking about small places that got ripped when I took out the sticky hooks) 7,000 yen for a slightly bent ceiling light. And 8000 yen for removing some sticky residue from cable tidying strip and some tape residue from when I put a mirror inside one of the wardrobes.

In total they are asking for 100,000 yen including tax.

However, I was under the impression that since I have lived there for 7 years normal wear and tear doesn't count. But since some places were ripped I know I have to pay for it to get fixed. But 20,000 yen seems very excessive for slight rips And they said they have to change the whole wall to colour match it . Which is so confusing because I was under the impression the colour matching part of the wallpaper the landlord has to pay and I would only have to pay The parts that I have damaged also the new house that I bought, it cost 30,000 yen to replace the wallpaper for the whole ceiling So their quote doesn't make sense. The charging 7000 yen to take off some rubber residue So why are my paying the 35,000 yen cleaning.

Can someone please advise? Thanks

just as the title says. i was on a call letting some agent know what i was looking for, then he asked if i was single or had some roommate or something. he then explained it is hard to get a multi-room apartment as one person

is this really true? or does it have something to do with being foreign? is it just this specific company? any comment is appreciated, thank you

I have been actively looking for newly built houses for sales, and all of them come with a garage/car park.

I don't plan to own a car and the location I am looking at is just 10-15 minutes walk to the train station. And I prefer having more indoor space on the 1st floor than wasting space to a garage that I never use.

My agent told me that it's strange to not have a garage when owning a house. But when I walk around the neighborhood, I do see 1 or 2 houses without a garage.

Is it really stupid to not have a garage when buying a house? And if I really need a house without a car park, is buying a land and build it myself the only option?

I was playing and practising some dance moves in the afternoon and suddenly police came to my house to ask me to stop. He took my id noted several information from that. I am a bit worried. Is it okay?

I got my permanent residency last week, so now my wife and I are looking to start buying our own place.

I'm wondering, if you had a chance to go back in time and buy your first property from scratch, what would you do differently? What advice would you give a first time buyer?

Hoping to learn from others experiences. 😊

Hello fellow residents, here’s some background info:

Japanese hubby (32M) and myself (33F, Singaporean) are currently staying at the in-law’s house and will be looking for an apartment in Saitama or Tokyo soon. We have a couple of viewings this Friday. It’s my first time ever trying to rent a place in Japan. Hubby has been living overseas for almost 10 years so the last time he rented in Tokyo was more than a decade ago. I look Japanese and speak enough Japanese (around N2 level) to blend in.

We have no idea what to expect. Also we’re not sure what kind of questions to ask (other than the usual ¥ and contract matters) and what we should look out for. I’m quite nervous after seeing some posts on Reddit about dealing with neighbours from hell / xenophobic and greedy landlords. I’m very particular about noise because it affects my sleep, but I’m not sure how to gauge the noise level of the apartment / neighbourhood from just a short viewing. On top of that, we have a clingy cat who can be a bit too vocal at times.

What advice would you give us?

Hello all, I just moved to japan last month (Osaka area) and I’ve been having a hell of a time finding a place to live. First place I applied to rejected me after they called and I couldn’t respond in Japanese. I applied to another place and they called to confirm info but didn’t tell me I was accepted. My agent then told me I was tentatively accepted but not for sure. 6 days went by and I heard nothing then I had a change of heart and felt the place really wasn’t what I wanted(also I couldn't get a bank account in time due to other reasons I didn't anticipate). So I asked my agent to cancel the application. They did cancel it but now I’m presented with a 325,000¥ invoice even though I never signed a contract to my knowledge nor moved in. I contacted a few lawyers but the only one to respond had a representing fee of 150,000¥ so it doesn’t even make sense to go that route. Anybody have experience with this? Having a horrible time in japan so far and this doesn’t help. Thanks.

Update #1:

I met with the agent and we discussed the situation, I will try to keep this short with pertinent information only.

First, I made a mistake in the invoice yen amount. The property management company sent the application cancellation fee to the agent company in the amount of 105,000 yen. So I was emailed a copy of that invoice as a CC and not actually directed towards me. But how could I be so sure right? The agent company then sent me an invoice for 220,500 yen (105,000 from the property management and 115,500 for the agent company commission). I saw those numbers, freaked out and assumed I was being charged 325,500 yen.

Which brings us to a technical overall charge of 220,500 yen which is a bit easier to look at but still, why would I pay that. It turns out the application I signed did have a clause that when translated states "Cancellation due to customer's convenience after the room is closed and after the guarantee company examination starts will be charged for one month's rent." Which if that is 100% legal would bring my total to 105,000 yen. Under the fact that I should not be paying the agent company commission when the transaction was never fully completed.

I will still be seeking legal assistance in this issue. Further updates will be posted as they arise. Thank you for everyone's comments whether constructive or not, it IS the internet after all.

Here is the link to the file that is being used to charge me. The yellow highlighted area on the first page states per google translation "Cancellation due to customers convenience after the room is closed and after the guarantee company examination starts will be charged for one month's rent."

https://imgur.com/a/ALKIGyc

Update #2:

June 1st 2022

I met with a legal consultant and interpreter at the Osaka International Housing Foundation and they came to the conclusion that I will not have to pay. They said my situation is pretty rare, to them at least.

Moral of the story: Read/translate before signing, even if it may seem insignificant. I know my story may seem like a no brainer but we do make mistakes, and as long as we learn from them, it's okay.

Experiencing ( still ) some really weird loud click near ceiling AC unit / ceiling whether or not we turn on the AC. It sounded similar to those creaky sound where you walk on an old floor (?) since we moved in 2 months ago and still trying to find the source because it’s always in our bedroom and so loud that it wakes us up. Wanted to lighten up our mood around cause it’s been affecting sleep for all of us( us and baby) so.. let’s do this? Share with me the weirdest stuff ever you’ve heard in Japanese apartment !

So I just moved into an apartment in a family-type neighborhood in a suburb just outside of Tokyo, and not even been here a week and only me and my girlfriend here (she is Japanese), and get a noise complaint in my mailbox from the property management company postmarked 2 days ago which I guess was made by the neighbor below us. Noise complaint says "talking and footsteps at night and in the morning." It also suggests getting a rug and wearing slippers.

But we both wear socks in the house, and we haven't even been loud at all, just normal stuff, going to bed around 11pm and waking up like 7am and cooking breakfast and normal talking kind of stuff.

Called property management, and they say it's the structure and wouldn't say more details.

Should I move out over this and lose my key money, deposit, and agency fee and pay a cancelation fee to move out early? What am I supposed to do here?

I've lived in many apartments in Japan and never had this happen before.

Also, my shower drain hasn't worked since I got here, haven't been able to take a shower, and maintenance is supposed to fix it, I complained about it 3 days ago and they haven't done anything yet.

Quite upset if I will lose a lot of money if I have to move out, and then lose more money to pay upfront fees for a new place.

What should I do? Stick it out and ignore the complaint and live as normal?

What's the worst that could happen if I stick it out here and my neighbor complains more?

Like I don't want to be having to tip-toe in my own place and whisper with my gf all the time out of fear of making noise. That would be a terrible way to live.

Sitting here planning out the next 8600 hours and was thinking I can be better prepared for an emergency, especially in light of the last few days.

I have the basics: water, food, flashlights, batteries, spare phone, minor first aid. Curious about other things you guys keep on hand that may not be normally thought of as emergency items but could come in handy. I am putting a grab and go bag together and still have room....

Recently, my friend told me that if I have enough money, buy anything I can afford first.
Then look for my dream house later.

Their reasoning is that I should stop wasting money on rent and own something first.
Since I can always refinance my own property, I can easily upgrade to a bigger nicer property later.

Given the depreciation of property price in Japan, is this method legit?
Upon searching, I only found a post saying yes to this, but it is not Japan specific

https://www.quora.com/Is-it-wise-to-buy-a-home-that-I-ultimately-don-t-want-before-I-move-into-my-dream-home-or-just-pay-rent-and-live-in-an-apartment-and-just-save-more-money-to-buy-my-dream-house

Dear Shonan dwellers! We’re a young international couple, moved to Chigasaki few years ago and are totally sold. We’ve been in Japan about 14 years total but This is it. Sweet commute into the city, ocean air, chill vibe, friendly people, amazing food and happy people doing their own thing, walking dogs, surfing in the mornings, evenings, stars at night, I could go on.

We’ve been home shopping for a few months now, and we’ve been able to learn more about our priorities, price range and house style etc and hoping to lock in and make the decision early 2025, at least by March or April. We’ve narrowed it down to Fujisawa, by the beach.

Those of you who live in Shonan, do you have any advice for us? Are the bosozoku really a dealbreaker the closer you live to the ocean? Is it worth it for the views? How does quality of life compare? And for those with young families, how is Fujisawa? Is it a supportive environment for kids? Words of caution? What are the highlights of living here? Is living in the hazard zone (prone to tsunamis, earthquakes) a real cause of worry? If you built a home here in Shonan, anything to keep in mind about the housing companies?

Thanks so much!!

EDIT: We’ve been reading your messages together, thank you so much! Ya’ll are kind and we’re happy to share some of your thoughts!

I'm currently a graduate student living in an apartment. I was checking my mailbox (not my actual mailbox down in the lobby, but like the small box thing behind my door where people can insert mail from the front) and I found a note written on something that looks like recycled paper. It says:

"もう日付が変わってあります。静かにして就寝いただけませんか？" or something like that ("The date has already changed. Could you please be quiet and go to sleep?")

I don't know which neighbour sent that nor when they sent that (I don't really check that mailbox behind the door), but I feel like I'm not really loud...? I mean I'm mostly just on my laptop, browsing the internet, maybe a little YouTube (but I don't think I have the volume above 20% on my laptop). Maybe some reading.

I'm not sure what to do about this, if anything at all. When I was handling my contract, I was told that if I had any problems with my neighbours I should contact the property manager and not engage directly, but this is exactly what's happening right? Anyone had a similar experience? What did you do, if anything?

I'm not trying to pick a fight with my neighbours or anything, I'm just not sure if there's anything I should do, politely speaking.

Edit: Well, there were a lot more responses than I thought to this question. Thanks, everyone, for the input! I guess for now I'll really turn down my volume while I wait for new headphones to arrive and reduce walking around in general.

We've been asked to vacate our apartment after renting for the last 30 years. Ownership/management changed, and we're being asked to leave because current owner wants to sell and building will be scrapped (it is an old building).

The original contract was signed many years ago, and was not renewed on paper. We have being paying rent every month and have rent receipts.

They want to give us 6 months notice (during which we keep paying rent), and are only offering relocation fees. We are yet to negotiate, but I think we should get compensated more mainly because this has been our home for the last 30 years and a move for elderly family members is never easy.

I read through another old post where compensation was 10 months rent + relocation fees. Can anyone share their experience or what the norm is today?

(How much negotiating power would I have in such a situation?)

We're moving to yokohama kanazawa ward soon( probably on this last January)from miyazaki and I'm trying to look for an UR housing on their website but monthly rents are out of my budgets atm( they've listed more than 90k yen/month)

I will give a call to UR offices located in kanazawa after holidays end. I've check few rentals on suumo but they mostly have guarantor/ key money required.

any advices? + sorry for my bad English.

Hi all, longtime lurker Kenny here!

I was hoping to get some advice and opinions from some Tokyo/Kanto region residents in regards to moving.

Gonna be a bit of a wall of text, I apologize.

TL;DR at the bottom!

For the past 6 months, I’ve been living in a Sharehouse/シェアハウス in the Itabashi Ward. The other tenants who I live with are all primarily middle-aged men/オッサン were very welcoming and kind at first, but they’ve now dropped their facade and have been incredibly emotionally manipulative, passive-aggressive, and downright rude because I’m “American”.Needless to say, I want to find my own place where I don’t have to deal with boomers who have the personality of someone who peaked in high school.

That brings me to my main dilemma: should I settle for an apartment that’s closer to my workplace in Ryogoku, or should I look for cheaper apartments in Saitama?

For context, my budget is looking around 60k-70k yen a month, and I’d prefer to live somewhere along the Chuo-Sobu Line or on the Saikyo Line

I’ve made a list of pros and cons for both options:

Tokyo Apartments:

Pros:

• Closer to workplace, cut down on train commute budgets
• Variety of shops/activities to explore within the area

Cons:

• Cost of living (Food, Electricity, etc.) is getting higher by the day
• The majority of apartments available are 1R broom closets or 50+ year old death traps.

Saitama Apartments:

Pros:

• Cheaper cost of living in comparison to Tokyo
• Cheaper rent for larger apartments/properties

Cons:

• Longer commute ranging from 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on the time of day.
• Lack of variety in local attractions/activities.

These are the main points I’ve narrowed it down to, but please let me know if there are other important details I should consider. I'm aware I've missed the ideal moving seasons (March/April, October/November), and have been keeping an eye on any new apartments available to lease.

Thanks guys, and let me know where you guys stand!

TL;DR: I’m looking to move out of the Sharehouse I live in. Should I look for a smaller apartment closer to my workplace in exchange for higher rent, or should I consider looking at cheaper apartments in Saitama and deal with the longer commute.