Guides
Make yourself at home in Japan.
Practical help for arriving, settling in and everyday life, from the HalfKey team. Start with our Tokyo guides; check each page for the local rules that apply.
Where are you in the journey?
Start with what you’re planning: choosing a home, preparing to arrive, managing everyday life or getting to know a neighbourhood.
Before you arrive
Make the decisions that unblock your first week.
Your first week
Get connected and learn how your building works.
Everyday life
Handle the small things that keep a week running.
Solve a problem
Find the next action when something goes wrong.
When you leave
Close accounts and organise the handover.
Start here
The handful of guides we point everyone to first.
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Booking & Decisions · December 21, 2025
Choosing a Tokyo stay: apartment, sharehouse or hotel
A private kitchen, people to share dinner with, or someone at reception can each make a longer stay easier. Compare the arrangements you'll use every day, then check the full price and terms for your dates.
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Booking & Decisions · December 8, 2025
Renting a furnished Tokyo home as a foreigner
A furnished apartment can make a stay of several months easier to organise, with less household setup after arrival. Check the company's accepted documents and full terms early, then confirm the exact home and handover before arranging your move.
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Living in Tokyo · April 28, 2026
Planning a Japan digital nomad visa stay
A digital nomad stay takes more than a visa application. Check whether you can do your work from Japan, choose insurance that covers your needs, and find housing you can book with the documents you have.
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Booking & Decisions · May 7, 2026
Tokyo monthly apartments: what to check before you book
Planning a month or more in Tokyo? Compare furnished apartments by the full cost of your stay, the equipment you need, and the booking terms, with a few practical checks before you commit.
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Booking & Decisions
See all in Booking & DecisionsWhat to know before you book — choices, prep, and the questions to ask the operator.
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October 17, 2026 NEW
Do you need a hanko to rent an apartment in Tokyo?
A seal on your own lease is rarely the real obstacle. The seal that decides applications is the guarantor's registered one, which only a Japanese city office can certify, and that is why a parent abroad can't sign for you. Here is what to buy, and when.
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October 17, 2026 NEW
Moving to Tokyo in March or April: plan around the peak
An April start puts your move in the busiest moving weeks of the Japanese year. The real choice is between paying rent on an apartment before you need it and paying for a temporary home while you look. Here is what each costs and what each needs.
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October 17, 2026 NEW
Why a regular Tokyo lease usually waits a few weeks
The lease application wants a Japanese phone number and a bank account. The bank wants that phone and an ID showing your current address. The phone wants the same ID. Here is the order that works, and what you can finish before your flight.
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October 17, 2026 NEW
Same Tokyo apartment on five sites: duplicates and bait ads
Several agents can advertise one apartment at once, and the law caps what any of them may charge you. The copy you should worry about is the one nobody will confirm by unit number, or the one still online weeks after it was let.
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October 17, 2026 NEW
Sharehouse or furnished apartment first in Tokyo?
For the first one to three months you need a home that lets you register an address, finish the phone and bank paperwork, and leave on a known date. Compare a sharehouse room and a furnished apartment on those points before you compare kitchens.
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October 17, 2026 NEW
Student renting in Tokyo: who can be your guarantor
Whether your school will sign as guarantor depends on the school and the year: some still do it through a low-cost insurance scheme, others stopped recently and point students to a guarantee company. Ask the international office before you ask an agent.
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Money & Contracts
See all in Money & ContractsFees, deposits, contracts, and the math that runs the industry.
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October 17, 2026 NEW
Upfront costs on a regular Tokyo lease: a worked example
The first payment on a regular two-year Tokyo lease is usually several separate charges with different rules. Only one of them comes back, one has a legal ceiling, and a few are extras you can question before you pay.
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October 17, 2026 NEW
Starting a job in Tokyo: company housing or an allowance?
A housing allowance is extra salary, so part of it goes to tax and insurance before it reaches you. An apartment the company rents for you can cost you far less each month, but it is tied to the job. Find out which one your offer actually describes.
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October 7, 2026
Water leak or fire in a Tokyo rental: who pays?
A fire and a leak can each lead to two bills: one from the landlord for the apartment, one from neighbours for their homes. Japanese law treats them differently, and rental insurance is sold in matching parts.
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September 5, 2026
Late rent on a Tokyo furnished apartment: what to do
A failed transfer and an inability to pay need different solutions, but both call for prompt contact. Keep the payment record, ask for a clear balance and deadline, and get advice quickly if you receive a termination notice.
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September 5, 2026
NHK fees in a furnished Tokyo apartment: who handles them?
A television supplied with the furniture doesn't tell you how NHK is handled. Ask about the existing contract, confirm the arrangement with NHK where necessary, and keep any payment or cancellation record with your other apartment documents.
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August 22, 2026
Why foreign cards fail on Tokyo apartment payments
A failed payment is easier to resolve when you know which checks completed. Save the error details, confirm your available credit, and agree a supported payment method with the rental company before making another attempt.
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Living in Tokyo
See all in Living in TokyoDay-to-day in a Tokyo apartment, from konbini bill payment to the heating-and-mold dance.
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October 17, 2026 NEW
Switching a foreign driving licence in Tokyo: 2025 rules
Since October 2025 the switch needs a resident record showing your status and period of stay, and the knowledge check has fifty questions instead of ten. Here is who can apply in Tokyo, what to bring, how booking works and why the skills check date is months away.
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October 17, 2026 NEW
Fibre internet in an unfurnished Tokyo apartment
A new lease rarely comes with a working internet line. Whether a technician must visit, how long you wait and how fast the line can be all depend on how the building was wired, and you can check that before you sign.
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October 17, 2026 NEW
Moving apartments in Tokyo: where to change your address
Your new ward office handles the move and passes the address to immigration for you. The forms depend on whether you crossed a ward line, and your My Number card has its own deadlines that are easy to miss.
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October 17, 2026 NEW
A My Number notice arrived: what to do with it
The envelope holds your 12-digit number, not an identity card. Keep it, give the number only to the offices that are allowed to ask, and decide separately whether the plastic card is worth applying for.
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October 17, 2026 NEW
Gas, electricity and water in an unfurnished Tokyo apartment
Only the gas company sends someone to your door, and that visit has to be booked with you present. Electricity and water start remotely once you apply, each with its own lead time and one valve or switch you handle yourself.
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October 17, 2026 NEW
Viewing a Tokyo apartment: what isn't included
The fittings list tells you what stays in the room. The viewing tells you whether the things you buy will fit. Bring a tape measure for the washing-machine pan and the kitchen, and find out which gas the building uses before you apply.
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Neighborhoods
See all in NeighborhoodsWhere to live for which kind of life — ward by ward.
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September 4, 2026
Nakameguro for a month: beyond the river walk
Nakameguro combines two useful railway routes with a river walk that changes through the year. The best address for your stay depends on the station exit, the walk home and whether your everyday errands take you through the blossom crowds.
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August 21, 2026
Nakano for a monthly stay: choose the right train
Nakano gives you a choice of JR and the Tozai line, with shopping just north of the station. The line you use and the shops you visit will help you choose which side to stay on.
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May 21, 2026
Living in Yotsuya: trains, groceries and your street
Yotsuya has several stations and useful food shops, but the best daily route depends on your address. Compare the trains, groceries and nearby streets before deciding whether an apartment here fits your stay.
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April 2, 2026
Tokyo summer stays: check the festival route
Summer festivals can change the walk to your apartment as well as the sound outside it. Match your dates and building entrance to the organizer’s route map, then decide whether you want the celebration nearby or a train ride away.
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February 17, 2026
Tokyo for remote-working couples: desks and internet
Two remote workers need a plan for overlapping calls as well as a reliable connection. Compare an apartment with a separate room against a smaller place plus a paid workspace, then verify what the specific building and workspace actually provide.
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January 25, 2026
A month in Bunkyo: hills, stations and daily errands
Bunkyo’s hills can put two nearby apartments on very different daily routes. Check the walk home with groceries as well as the journey to the station. Garden opening hours and Tokyo Dome events can also affect which location suits your week.
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