Roommate Wanted - Sangenjaya, near Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan

We are looking for a responsible, non-smoking flatmate who needs an accommodation in Sangenjyaya, 2 stops (4 minutes) from Shibuya. The flatsharing is managed under the Western style.

The room2 (wooden floor) is available.

We are looking for a responsible, non-smoker flatmate.

The apartment

The flat is located on the top floor of a 4 story building with a total of 19 apartments.

There are four private rooms:

The rooms and rents

No.	size	rent	utilities (*at cost)	others	details	flatmate	status
1	6 tatami	62000	6000	*wide terrace *huge cupboard 1	photos and more	an American guy	taken
2	6-tatami-sized wooden	56000	6000	*terrace	photos and more	an American guy	available
3	4-tatami-sized carpet	49000 2	6000	*terrace *closet	photos and more	a Singaporean guy	taken
4	4-tatami-sized carpet	53000 3	6000	*terrace *shelf	photos and more	available soon	taken

Where is the Sangenjaya?

Access and Local info are here

Interested applicants are welcomed to come view the flat. Please email with a list of time and dates you are available for viewing.

This is flatshare, which means it is rather autonomous, not a guest-house, hostel nor hotel. It is rather the same as Western style flatshare, different from so-called Japanese share-house (usually company-owned, where you are treated like dormitory students).

flat & equipment

The flat 61 square meters and located on the 4th floor (top). Only thing I would like to mention is that the building does not have a lift. This is quite common in Japan and it also provides a good exercise.

The building’s 32 years old and mostly home to families. Neighbourhood is quite local and residential but walking distant to central hub of Sangenjaya.

All rooms come equip with an air conditioner (Room 1’s air conditioner is only for cooling. an electric heater is in the room) and basic furnishing (bedding, table, cabinet)

Renovations history

What all flatmates share

All flatmates will share

dining and kitchen 8 jou (with table and chairs)

• refrigerator
• microwave oven
• dishwasher
• tableware
• home telephone
• vacuum / mop

bathroom with tub and shower

lavatory with Japanese style shower toilet

*automatic washing machine with dryer

Rent

There are no thanks money/key money to move in. (I do not like those Japanese system.)

• Rent must be paid by bank transfer (cash is accepted, however it is a hassle as you must deliver it to me)
• The rent includes 24-hours free internet access (WiFi). The bandwidth is at best 40Mbps for all four flatmates. Although it is flat-rate plan, too much bandwidth usage could be filtered or blocked. I was cautioned once from internet provider about abusing Torrent usage, please be mindful of local Japanese service restrictions.

• wired-Internet: all rooms have a wired-Internet socket, however, the ones in the room 2 and 4 are not working any more. We do not check the other two for years, too. So only WiFi access are guaranteed but the wired-LAN on the room 1 and 3 are plus if works.

• utilities bills (gas, electricity, water) are split between all residents. (i.e. if the flat is full, the cost are less, as the base fee is split between everyone)
• deposit will be refunded after all utility bills gather, which make take 45-60 days after your your move-out day. Not on your moving-out day.
• commission charge when transferring refunded-deposit will be paid by landlord if the recipient account is inside Japan. If sending money oversea is required, the commission of wire transfer (around 4000 yen, depend on country) will be deducted from your deposit.
• No agent fee. It’s a person-to-person business.

(*) To streamline the process, I will automatically charge a tentative flat rate of 6,000yen (on top of rent) for monthly utility fees. This is usually the average expenses (can fluctuate depending on season). When someone moves out, I will calculate past expenses, send information to all flatmates for confirmation and reimburse the difference respectively.

I do not benefit or gain anything from this process, and if any of flatmates want to manage utilities among them, I will be very happy to quit this extra work.

No thanks / key money, just 1 month refundable deposit (in case of damages or any unpaid bills)

Comparing with other accommodations

Here is a market comparison. If you know certain price, please calculate by yourself as same.

Initial cost example

	here (shared, concrete, furnished)	studio (concrete, unfurnished)	1DK *1 (concrete, unfurnished)	studio (wooden, unfurnished)	weekly-mansion (furnished)
deposite (usually 2month in Tokyo)	62000	172000	182000	138000	20000
thanks money (usually 2month in Tokyo *2)	0	172000	182000	138000	0
agent fee	0	86000	91000	64000	0
first month rent	62000	86000	91000	64000	178000
furniture & electrical appliances	0	?	?	?	0
minimum stay	1month	1 month(*3)	1 month(*3)	1 month(*3)	1 week
total initial	124000	516000+	546000+	384000+	198000
refunded(at end)	62000	172000	64000	138000	198000

1. “1DK” means “one bedroom and separated dining-kitchen”. So-called “one-room” in Japan has kitchen in the same (and only ) room.
2. There are 0 or 1 month thanks money apartments recent years. Those tend to have more expensive rent though.
3. Most apartments require a 1-2 year contract or lease. Our flat is quite flexible and per-month basis.

Rules of the flat

• No smoking (prohibited inside flat and on terrace. Streets are also prohibited by local law) No exception for e-cigarette.
• Partying must be consulted beforehand to the building management committee. (It’s a building’s rule, not mine. It does not mean prohibition, I hope.)
• Housework and cleaning will be a shared responsibly between other flatmates.
• Short-term guest are allowed to stay overnight, which should be notified to other flatmates.
• You should consult about long-term guest to landlord and other flatmates beforehand.

All other rules can be discussed among all flatmates.

• chores duty
• morning shower timetable
• time zone to keep quiet
• …and more?

If you have given your one-month notice of leave, the room will be open to showing to potential tenants. I will arrange a viewing when you are home, otherwise I will ask for your permission before showing on your behalf.

For recent years, all flatmates are collecting about 500 yen per month for common things, such like toilet papers and kitchen detergent.

More questions? Maybe I already answered here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Contact Info

My bottom-lines are the followings.

• non-smoker
• professional (or you have other income during your stay)
• helpful

The current flatmates request someone who is “clean and tidy” as the flat is very compact and prone to clutter and mess.

Recently, “clean and tidy” is asked by all flatmates, as the flat is too compact to be messy.

Please let me know your name, occupation (or how you will afford your rent), visa type, planned move-in date, and how long you intend to stay (if you know).

Once we have come to an agreement, I will require a copy of your ID and emergency contact info (in the case that you are not able to contact them yourself.)

If you know anyone interested, please direct them to this link: http://flatshare.jp/blog/

Thank is all. Thank you for reading, and please don’t hesitate to ask me anything. I hope your room seeking in Japan goes well anyway!

1. Room 1’s air conditioner is only for cooling. An electric heater is in the room. ↩

2. Room 3 has an issue. There are sometimes odor in the back of closet, which likely comes from direction of the toilet. Rent had been discount 5,000 yen from the original amount. There is no plan to fix this issue at this point. ↩

3. Room 4’s air conditioner is broken now. An eletric heater is supplied for winter. It should be replaced by summer. ↩