Accommodation

Author: Edutraveller
Date written: 04/19/2003 04:01:04 PM
Last edited: 2003/05/25 16:53:06
Keywords: Accommodation, Japanese accommodation, Hotels in Japan, Minshuku, Ryokan

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Accommodation

Accommodation can be a major expense. Whether coming for a short or a long stay, you won't find many very cheap options for accommodation in Japan. Overnight in a Youth Hostel (usually the cheapest) will set you back from 2,500 yen to 3,500 yen per night (add 1,000 yen for non-members) not including meals. If you really are on a budget, you can reduce costs by taking overnight buses whenever possible. Long-term accommodation has its own problems - see below for more details.

Long term

If you are planning a long-term stay, then your company or school/university will usually provide your accommodation. If not, then they will usually have a service to help you find somewhere to stay. In the rare cases that they do not, there are plenty of local estate agents (accommodation services) that will be able to help you find an apartment or room.

If you do rent somewhere, you will have to pay not just rent, but a down payment or deposit (hoshoukin) which is made up of two parts: a non-returnable "reikin" (effectively a cash present to the landlord) and a returnable "shikikin" (the real deposit, returnable less cleaning/any other charges the landlord thinks are due). Normally the reikin and shikikin are decided as a multiple of the rent per month: in most large cities 2:2 (two months' rent equivalent as reikin, two months' rent equivalent as shikikin) is not uncommon (1:1 is a good deal). In summary, expect to pay in advance about three to five times the normal rent for one month.

You will also have a contract - be careful of anywhere that tries to rent to you without one. Most landlords will also require a guarantor - basically a referee in Japan who guarantees your character. This is a formality for Japanese but can be a real problem for foreigners - usually your company or school will help you with this, but not always. If they don't, you may have to try a "gaijin house" (foreigners' house) which is a building that will rent to foreigners who do not have guarantors. Rents may be a little higher than the market average.

Short term

If you are coming for a short period of time, then your school will make arrangements for you, or you will be staying in hotels if travelling. When staying in hotels, try to reserve before you go - both because it's polite, and also because if one place is full, you may find that there are no other cheap choices in the area.

There are the usual five-star hotels in Japan that could be anywhere on the planet and where you can get anything you want (in most major languages). Expect to pay 20,000 yen-plus for one night. Slightly cheaper are business hotels, with room prices in the range from 4,000 yen to 20,000 yen. These are generally very clean and basic hotels. Capsule hotels, for business people in major cities, are as they sound - a small capsule too small to stand up in that will cost you as much as a cheap business hotel.

If you want something more Japanese, try a ryokan or minshuku. Ryokan are small Japanese inns, and you can find them all over Japan. They generally have tatami-mat rooms, and you sleep on a futon on the floor. They may have private or shared facilities. If connected to an onsen, you may have a private toilet/bathroom and then share the onsen facilities. Breakfast and dinner are usually included. Minshuku are basically rooms in someone's house. That is, the house is an inn and the family that runs the place also lives there. All guests eat together at set mealtimes. Minshuku in very rural areas may not have much experience of foreigners and may be a little scared of offering you a room at first. As with ryokan, breakfast and dinner are usually included. In both cases, this will almost always be traditional Japanese fare.

The final form of short-term accommodation in Japan is the Love Hotel. These are very gaudy buildings that stand out very clearly and offer rooms by the hour, afternoon, evening, all night, as you need. Basically places to take your partner if you have nowhere else to be alone for a short while, Love Hotels are also a useful last-resort if there is nothing else open. Most are fairly reasonably priced and all are open twenty-four hours a day.

Customs

There is nothing in particular to note about accommodation in Japan, except that it is generally best to reserve hotels and other accommodation in advance (almost essential for Ryokan and definitely for Minshuku). Remember also that in most Japanese accommodation, shoes are left at the entrance and you wear slippers inside the hotel/ryokan. Most business and modern hotels do not have this custom, but ryokan and minshuku almost exclusively do.

For long-term accommodation, remember that your landlord and neighbours probably consider all foreigners to be the same, so if you are noisy or cause problems, this may be interpreted as the behaviour of foreigners in general.

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