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So, spent today hauling a futon, a suitcase full of clothes, and some other stuff over to the new apartment in Kawasaki.  My roommate and I met the landlord out in front of the place and he showed us around, including all the brand-new appliances, the video security system, the new combination microwave/convection oven, and everything else.  Then, he took us out for some really nice ramen while we waited for the Tokyo Gas guy to show up.  (He spoke English.)

After we got all hooked up, we caught a cab over to Costco, which is only four kilometers away, and stocked up on housewares.  We came back and I did some quick shopping around the neighborhood, which included grabbing a bottle of Jim Beam from the My Basket supermarket for 1080 yen, which, at today's exchange rate, is about $9.30 a fifth, which is about a third of what it costs at the Safeway in Federal Way.

Then I ordered some pizza from Dominos online and we put the stuff away and I've had a few beers and now here is the secret to finding a decent apartment in Tokyo.

First, forget about finding a decent apartment in Tokyo.  Unless you're willing to pay north of $1500 a month for a studio, that is.  Tokyo real estate is about like Manhattan; it's there, there's plenty of it, but you're gonna pay through the nose.  The good news here is that you can do like everyone else with an ounce of sense does and find a reasonably-priced place just out of town somewhere.  Kawasaki, where I live, is really nice and cheap; so is Yokohama, and both are under 45 minutes to Tokyo by train.  (It takes me about 30 minutes on the train, with about a 12-minute walk at either end.)  Don't like long train commutes?  Enh.  That's what cellphone games are for.

Second, for the love of Pete, don't go to an agency, especially one that pops up on Google.  These guys find lots of apartments, but half of them won't rent to foreigners (keep an eye peeled for a vicious rant from me on this topic at some point), and they all charge first month's rent plus another month's rent as a deposit PLUS another month's rent as "key money," which is basically just some money that you sort of give to the building owner, God knows why, PLUS maintenance fees PLUS building insurance.

PLUS you have to have a "Guarantor," who is basically someone who agrees to pay your rent if you can't.  Zillion dollars in the bank and excellent credit, but no guarantor? Then your best bet is probably to go screw yourself.  Now, if you're Japanese, then this is perfectly okay, as your parents or your employer will sign on as your guarantor.  My parents have outstanding credit, but are in their 80s and live in Idaho, plus no Japanese company will act as a guarantor for a foreigner here on a student visa.  So it's institutionalized racism, essentially.

So, here's what you do.  You find yourself a company THAT OWN AND MANAGE THEIR OWN BUILDINGS.  This is what we did.  Well, okay, I didn't personally find them; a fellow student who lives in my new building posted about an available apartment on Facebook and I jumped on it.  The deposit was less than the first months' rent, there was no key money, and, in exchange for no guarantor, we just pay an extra 3000 a month.  It's a pretty new building, all clean, with great management.  There's a park next door and a 7-Eleven a few blocks away.

Now I'm going to walk over to that 7-Eleven and buy some tea and a bottle of water and then come back here, drink another can of Yebisu, and watch Avengers for the rest of the evening, in my new, clean, quiet apartment.