(Untitled)

[xelloss_poo]

I've been living in Japan for about 3 1/2 years in Aichi. In the middle of February, I'm going to be moving to Kanto area. (I would like to live somewhere in Kanagawa probably, or maybe Chiba, preferably within about an hour or so of Tokyo

Comments

[februaryfour]

For renting, I've had good experiences with both Century 21 and Able. Able, in particular, found us an EXCELLENT place 3 minutes from Yoyogi. I assume you're functional in Japanese and can talk about things like moving/apartments, or that you can bring a friend who's fluent? (Sometimes, if you're lucky, a real estate agent will run agent-fee-sales where they only charge you half a month's rent instead of one month's rent for the agent fee

[februaryfour]

If you can come up to Tokyo or Chiba before you have to move, then you should scout out stations where you want to live (or which are convenient to your commute) and then find a realtor near that station. That's by far the best way to find an apartment you'll like.

[xelloss_poo]

I'm functional enough to get by. My problem is that I usually understand what is being said to me, but I tend to freeze up at times or can't think of the words I want when talking.

But thanks for those recommendations. And that's a good idea about scouting stations.

And I have yet to see a single flier for moving where I live, in the 3.5 years. XD Its actually sort of countryside? So we usually only get things for small stores around this area. Wish I got moving company fliers where I lived though. XD

I'm actually a teacher at an Eikaiwa. I've talked to a few of my Japanese co-workers, but most of them still live at home. Or those that have moved, most have just done it themselves. And since I'm moving so far, I don't want to ask my friends to inconvenience them. Plus the sofa-bed is sort of large and heavy, and my stairs are sort of narrow at parts. XD Frankly I'm not sure how the person I got it from got it into the apartment.

Thanks for your help.

[februaryfour]

No problem. I know how hard it is to get information sometimes

[hinoai]

Saraaaaaaah come and scout out my area next time you're in Tokyo =D I would die to have friends nearby whom I can just meet for lunch and things like that =D

And we have that whole wonderful Kanagawa non-smoking thing, and half-price karaoke for girls every Monday, with all-you-can-eat ice cream included for free =D

[xelloss_poo]

Not next time I'm up. I'm only going up for the day on Sunday. I'm heading back Sunday night... though maybe I'll change plans and come back Monday evening. Hmmm...

I don't really care about the non-smoking thing as much or karaoke... I don't really go out to eat much. And I'm going to have no money to go out to karaoke, so... XD

And I found it funny how you commented on this one, and not the one on my journal.

[hinoai]

I commented on this one because it's the one where you talked about moving to Kanagawa. You didn't mention it on your other entry :D

Just let me know next time that you have a bit of free time in Tokyo. :D I can show you around Aobadai ^^

[kevinsensei]

1) pretty much any big name real estate company should suffice. Just go to ones located in the area you want to live. Check out http://homes.co.jp for ballpark figures of what to expect.

2) I moved from Saitama to Shizuoka using kuroneko. You have to pack everything yourself, but they're cheap. They bring a truck over to your place, load your stuff onto the truck, and then unload your stuff when they arrive at your new place.

[xelloss_poo]

2) That's an idea for the smaller boxes. When you moved, did you have any larger furniture items that you were moving with?

[darlingpoppet]

i also recommend finding an area/station you like and then meeting realtors there.

have you tried suumo.jp or athome.co.jp to look for apartments? sometimes it's fun to browse and get an idea of what's out there before you come out and spend the train fare to see things for yourself.

[xelloss_poo]

Thanks for the sources. :)

[sourangel]

I used Kuroneko when moving from Sendai to Kanagawa and had no problems. It was actually cheaper than when I used a real moving company to move my stuff literally 30 minutes down the road.

I used both Hikari Homes (http://www.tokyoapartment81.com/) and Transborders (http://www.transborders.co.jp/realestate/index.php?language=2) to find/rent aparmtnets and didn't have a problem with either one (both have agents that can speak fluent English and help you with everything). I also looked at an apartment managed by OakHouse (http://www.oakhouse.jp/eng/) and the staff also speak English and were very professional and easy to deal with.

[xelloss_poo]

Did you have anything large to ship or was it all boxes?

[sourangel]

It was all boxes besides a futon, which was a bit extra. It ended up being cheaper for me to just buy everything bulky I had again in my new city.

[xelloss_poo]

Yeah. I sort of want to keep the sofa-bed that I have. But that's the only large bulky thing that I have that needs special transportation. Everything else I could totally fit in boxes.