#japan101

You’re ready to study abroad or live in Japan. You’re understandably excited, but there’s still one question; where are you going to live?

If you’re a university student (especially from places like the US, where there’s lots of university housing), you might not always have a dorm as an option. At Waseda, there are several dorms with rooms based on how much you’re willing to pay and a lottery system. So if you’re unable to pay very much or don’t want to share a room, you’re decreasing the chances of living in the dorms. That being said, my dorm is arguably nicer than all the underclassman dorms I’ve lived in at my university. My roommate and I share a private bathroom complete with a shower and bathtub (japanese people love bathtubs, but more on that later). We share a kitchen with the rest of our floor and have a refrigerator in the room because you’re expected to feed yourself (more on that later, too). 

Some things to know about dorms:

1. They’re really different from American dorms.

2. You’re generally not allowed to bring in any outsiders (with the exception of family members with an id). This is really common and is to protect the safety of residents, as well as limit noise.

3. They can and will boot you for misbehavior, being too loud, and especially illegal activities. (drugs, including weed/marijuana and some foreign prescription medicines are highly illegal in Japan, but more on that later). Drinking excessively or other unruly/disrespectful behavior can also result in you being given the boot or asked to leave.

4. There are a lot of different nationalities in the dorms. 

Other forms of housing:

Short Term:

If you’re traveling in Japan for a shorter period of time, you might want to consider hostels (they’re super cheap) or capsule hotels (also super cheap). But be aware that some hostels have mixed sleeping arrangements and capsule hotels sometimes only host men (potentially more on hotels/temporary housing after my upcoming kyoto trip because I plan to stay in a hostel). They also often have strict rules and similar to dorms can and will boot you if you misbehave.

Longer term:

1. Sharehouses

These are mostly popular with students because they’re fairly cheap, although I’ve heard they can be overcrowded. You’re university will likely have some resources, otherwise, you can google them. Some might provide a meal or two a day for a fee, but others won’t. 

2. Homestay/Host Family

So, I’ve not heard that much about this option as a university student... Except one friend’s poor experience. So unlike a lot of youth homestays, these aren’t going to be as rigorously vetted. You may get a great host family and have a wonderful time, but you should be aware that you are also paying these people to keep you. So in some cases, the living conditions might not be that grand and if you have the ability to, you should a. notify the program coordinator (if there is one) and b. find somewhere else to live. All the immersion in the world isn’t worth it if you’re being treated like shit and/or your host isn’t living up to their part of the bargain. These will either be through your university or something else. I would recommend the experience, unless you don’t want a lot of oversight because in some cases these people will be acting as surrogate parents. If you want to party, I wouldn't recommend this option.

3. Your own Apartment 

So I’ve not looked into this, so I’m going to send you over to gaijinpot.com where you will be in expert hands. They’re a really good source for a lot of things, including english support for apartment searchers and other resources. Apartments in Japan are a bit different from other places, including the fact that some are called a “mansion,” instead.

So one of the hardest decisions is whether or not to get a cell phone plan and if you do, what kind. A lot of the information that I previously found was fairly vague and really not helpful. One of the biggest things you dont want to do, unless you’ll be here a while, is buy a contract with a major carrier (docomo, au, etc). Most students are only here a year, so they wind up spending a lot of money on a plan and then extra money on getting out of that contract at the end of the year. The first time I was here, I actually didn’t have any cellphone or data plan and I survived, although the google maps function is really super handy. 

The biggest breakdown is whether or not you’ll need a phone number. If you’re planning on getting a job, opening a bank account, etc., you’ll probably need a phone number. If you’re not doing any of these things, you can just buy data. There’s a bunch of different plans for both, so I’m just going to tell you about the two best deals I know of. 

The first is called CD Japan. I’ve not personally used it, but a friend got a really good data plan (unlimited for 1 year at a flat rate) through them. It’s definitely one of the better deals on data and it’s all in english (yay!).

http://rental.cdjapan.co.jp/index_en_jpy.html

The second option is Sakura Mobile, which is the carrier I’m currently using. Their billing method is a bit odd, but I’ve had no problems with them. They also have english language service and are really reasonable. I’m on their smallest plan for the voice and data sim and its 3000yen a month for 3GBs of data and 30min of free calling. They’re on Docomo’s network and it works pretty much everywhere; tokyo subway, kyoto, mountains going to kyoto, gifu (which is pretty backwater, but still awesome), on the bus to gifu. It’s the best deal i was able to find and I looked pretty hard. 

https://www.sakuramobile.jp/

There are also reasonable plans at places like Bic Camera (one of the best places to get electronics), but you have to be able to understand Japanese because there isnt much english service. One of the bonuses of the two companies I listed, as well as the more traditional carriers is that they have english service, so there’s no trying to figure out what’s happening.

Finally, you’re going to want to get the messaging app “Line.” EVERYONE, EVERYONE uses line. My 50+ host parents use Line. Companies use Line. Line is used for everyday calling and texting and it’s totally free, unless you decide to buy the sticker packs or whatever. Line is specific to your phone and doing a factory reset can wipe all your data, so you need to be careful. It’s a pain in the ass (i’ve had 3 accs and lost them all on previous devices), but it’s really culturally important. GET THE LINE APP SO YOU DONT LOOK LIKE A CLUELESS GAIJIN!! Seriously, people ask for your line before they ask for your facebook acc.