What is Digg?173 Comments
- wilf_brim, on 12/30/2007, -3/+96Two months to the landlord, and another to the realtor just for the privileged of moving in. Maybe it's because I'm a stupid American, but that seems pretty over the top to me.
- consonance, on 12/30/2007, -17/+59Maybe if potential home buyers in America were forced to prove that they could afford the house they buy, we wouldn't be in such big trouble.
- sloppychris, on 12/30/2007, -0/+40Yes, but after reading that I'm also a stupid American not willing to move to Japan.
- Saiing, on 12/30/2007, -6/+45I'm currently in my 4th Japanese property and have never had to hand over 6 month's money. If you have the ability to negotiate (i.e. you bothered to learn to speak a little Japanese) you can get a lot of that money reduced. Sounds like he's just another fool living in the gaijin bubble -who the hell lives for "years" in foreign guesthouses - most people if they ever use one spend a few weeks there. It kinda annoys me when people put about these kinds of stories like they're FACT, and usually all they're doing is showing their own ignorance. I wouldn't want someone to do it about my country.
If I was a dumb ***** who couldn't look after myself in Japan, and had to hand over way more money than I should have, the last thing I'd do is write a blog post about how stupid I've been. Tokyo is expensive, and does cost more than elsewhere in Japan, but it's not as bad as he makes out. - Gogara, on 12/30/2007, -0/+37Not six month's salary, of course, since the bottom line was 10k US -- you probably won't be moving into a high-class neighborhood with a salary of 20k/year.
- thailand1972, on 12/30/2007, -0/+28It's true all over Japan - not just Tokyo. I forked out $4000US just to move into an apartment in Chiba (about an hour out of Tokyo). Oh, and then I had to pay my first month's rent too :). Oh, and I had to do all in my girlfriend's name since gaijin's can't rent directly in Japan (unless the law's changed in the last 5 years)
Now I live in the centre of Bangkok in a plush apartment with fast internet, fully furnished. It cost me $800 to move into this one, and that INCLUDED the first month's rent. And all in my name.
Thailand 1 Japan 0. - sloppychris, on 12/30/2007, -3/+31We're not in a 'rental crisis'.
- eShinn, on 12/30/2007, -1/+25What the author neglects to mention (unless he was lucky enough to not deal with - though I doubt it) is the fact that your choices in apartments (particularly the newer and/or those with nicer floor-plans) are female only and/or do not allow foreigners to rent from them. Seriously. This was a huge road-block for me the past several years I was in Tokyo. They would allow cats and dogs, but no foreigners.
- Harbinger67, on 12/30/2007, -1/+24The Japanese? Being xenophobic? NO WAI!
- Chompy, on 12/30/2007, -1/+23Speaking as a landlord who has rented and/or let all over the United States, I can tell you that pretty much everything you've said here is wrong.
- Vuredel, on 12/30/2007, -0/+22They don't just do it to foreigners. It's just how things work in Japan.
That said, it still sucks hardcore. - RobotBuddha, on 12/30/2007, -1/+23Don't forget the danger of water leaks turning out to be a ghost. Or, pretty much everything else turning out to be the ghost of a long haired girl for that matter.
- inactive, on 12/30/2007, -0/+17I take it they don't care about "the war on the middle class".
- belfastbiker, on 12/30/2007, -4/+21Two months in-advance non-refundable rent as a backhander to the landlord, all legal, on top of the other monetary requirements? ***** that.
- oMeSSiaHo, on 12/30/2007, -4/+18Come on! They were totally taking advantage of the foreigner.
- scairborn, on 12/30/2007, -1/+15I live in Okinawa, and I'll tell you its just about the same thing, but because I'm military, I got away without paying the landlord a gift, and the government fronts me all the cash to move me in. But once you find a place you're locked in, because theres no way I could afford to do that again on my own.
- sloppychris, on 12/30/2007, -2/+15Then what does this have to do with the article?
- billbillbilly, on 12/30/2007, -0/+12that can be arranged
- undy242, on 12/30/2007, -1/+13It doesn't sound much different then relocating to New York City. I had to shell out nearly the same amount for my apartment of very similar rent cost.
- Puppetfunk, on 12/30/2007, -3/+14Winningest Comment of the week?
- Chompy, on 12/30/2007, -1/+12Have you actually been to Japan, are you just talking out of your ass? Racism is very much alive and well there, and many Japanese don't even bother to hide it. I've had people refuse to sit near to me at restaurants. There was a row there just a year or two ago about a Hokkaido onsen that refused to admit white people.
- Zippo, on 12/30/2007, -0/+10Yeah, Japanese people have to pay this junk too. It's ***** stupid, but it's custom and it ain't going away.
- arcticblue, on 12/30/2007, -0/+10I've seen bits of racism here and there in Okinawa. I've only ever seen the "Japanese Only" signs at bars though...and for good reason. There are alot of Marines here (I myself used to be one stationed here) that get drunk and out of control. Most bars put the "Japanese Only" signs up to keep the trouble-making Marines out. The further away from the bases you get, the more rare the signs get. I've been in a couple "Japanese Only" bars only because I can speak enough of the language to prove to them I'm not a "baka gaijin" and I had a great time. The old mama-sans love talking to younger guys and I've learned quite a bit of Japanese from them. I don't agree with the racism here, but I understand why a small portion of the population is like that.
One more thing... the racism mainly comes from the older generation that were directly affected by the war. I've never met someone my age (20's) that showed any signs of racism. Everyone my age that I've met has been extremely interested in what life in America is like and many have asked me to teach them a little English. I've asked a few of the younger Japanese people here what they think of the racism and they don't understand it at all. Things are changing quickly in Japan and once this older generation leaves, you'll find that much of the racism will leave with them. - neko6, on 12/30/2007, -0/+10World's top expensive cities by CNN (source: http://money.cnn.com/2007/06/15/pf/most_expensive_ ... )
1. Moscow
2. London
3. Seoul
4. Tokyo
5. Hong Kong
6. Copenhagen
7. Geneva
8. Osaka
9. Zurich
10. Oslo
11. Milan
12. St. Petersburg (Russia)
13. Paris
14. Singapore
15. New York City
16. Dublin
17. Tel Aviv
18. Rome
19. Vienna
20. Beijing
I guess it'll be harsh in all of them... :( - chancesarent, on 12/30/2007, -2/+12wait....doesn't Okinawa=Japan? That's like saying you've lived in both the United States and Colorado..
- thailand1972, on 12/30/2007, -0/+10Sure you can. Then you can get ***** in jail for the rest of your life.
- rancor01, on 12/30/2007, -0/+10you've never been here, have you?
Japanese girls are frumpy, conservative and shy. - Tippis, on 12/30/2007, -1/+10And let's not forget that, as per rule #11, at any given time, there is a 50/50 chance that Tokoy will just spontaneously explode.
http://www.cs.utah.edu/~duongsaa/more_htm/jk_100an ... - gridbread, on 12/30/2007, -1/+10That basically could have been summed up with "You need a lot of money."
- sexybobo, on 12/30/2007, -0/+9coming from some one that lives in Missouri that is crazy. The house i am living in currently not huge but nice size 2300sqft cost $50k average rent for a house is between $350-$700 a month.
- gklitt, on 12/30/2007, -0/+9Yeah, except that buying is ridiculously expensive in Tokyo. The land for a house usually costs about $1 million, and on top of that a house costs an extra $500,000 or so. So, if $10,000 is 6 months of your salary, you're not buying in Tokyo.
- quobobo, on 12/30/2007, -3/+11Did you speak Japanese, or were you one of the five billion English teachers in Japan who make no attempt to learn the language (no offence, it's just that they seem to make up about 90% of the foreigners in Japan)? In Hiroshima, no foreigners I knew who had a decent command of the language had trouble finding apartments. Those who could only speak English, well... you can kind of understand why a landlord might not want them as a tenant.
- marx2k, on 12/30/2007, -2/+10SpecialK: Why? It's not really any different from any big city, but costs a hell of a lot more. Oh, and you get charming New Yorkers to deal with. (i.e. ***** you, stop looking at my Mercedez before I stab you)
- nymphetamine, on 12/30/2007, -4/+12I'm Ron Burgundy?
- grakker, on 12/30/2007, -4/+11Actually, just go to any US city, drop the NY pretentiousness and there you have it. Not hard at all.
- cocoabear, on 12/30/2007, -3/+10I used to live in Tokyo, and a more apt title for this piece is "How not to rent an apartment in Tokyo." or "How to get f'd in the a for being ignorant." I paid a quarter of what he did by having Japanese friends along with me.
- Campog, on 12/30/2007, -3/+9Amen to that. I would like Japan otherwise, but they still haven't gotten all the cultural/political kinks ironed out.
- Chompy, on 12/30/2007, -1/+7All I can relay is what I've experienced personally. I will grant you that this is changing, and that most of the time when I have gotten snubbed it was some geezer. Younger folks are usually pretty friendly.
- inactive, on 12/30/2007, -0/+6uziko can you buy me a house in Tokyo if its so cheap?
- Dominatus, on 12/30/2007, -0/+6Have you been to America?
- marx2k, on 12/30/2007, -0/+6Coming from an American, that's outrageous too!
- calibration, on 12/30/2007, -1/+7Coming from a Californian, that isn't that bad.
- arcticblue, on 12/30/2007, -1/+7Okinawa is part of Japan, but it used to be its own country (after WW2, it was actually a US territory for a while). It is culturally, historically, and environmentally very different than the rest of Japan. There are festivals and celebrations unique to Okinawa and it even has its own language although not spoken regularly any more (hogen).
Agreed. Okinawa > Japan. - inactive, on 12/30/2007, -4/+9Manhattan, where I live, is pretty much the same. In fact, most major world cities have a key-charge, a charge for the realtor, at least two months security, and a months rent in advance, if not two. This is not odd.
- thailand1972, on 12/30/2007, -0/+5I used to call my Japanese girlfriend "gaijin" whenever we were outside of Japan. We're not together anymore.
- sat0shi, on 12/30/2007, -2/+7This year I paid... Well, I forget exactly but it was around $3000 to move in to my apartment. My rent is $700/month for a 2DK apartment (two "whatever" rooms, a dining room, and a kitchen). Plus I have to pay $70/month to park in front of my apartment, which brings rent to $770/month. I'm right outside of Nagoya though and the area I'm living in is on par with prices of apartments right in the middle of the city because of its convenient location. I didn't think $3000 was that bad though, but maybe it's because I've never done it any other way.
- reddevil3, on 12/30/2007, -0/+5How much does the guy make? I'm guessing at least $70k or so a year?
This is quite ridiculous. - inactive, on 12/30/2007, -1/+6Missouri is cheaper than Sydney? Who'd imagine?
- bbear, on 12/30/2007, -0/+4New York does not have a key-charge. Besides Japan and India what other countries have this?
- crossmr, on 12/30/2007, -0/+4Nothing like Korea. Typical deposits can range from $20,000-$200,000 however you get it all back (also called key money) and your rent is extremely low. A $200,000 deposit could see you not paying any rent while living there and getting it (100%) back on a 2 year contract.
Seems like a good system if you have that kind of cash free you can tie up.. -
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