My 19-yr-old son is going to Japan to visit his pen-pal of 2 yrs. He thinks he can rent an apartment for 1-1/2 months for a mere $800. I don't think it's possible. Can someone...anyone...shed some light on what he should look for, watch out for, etc?
Hope he speaks Japanese... There is very little English. Even in Tokyo airport, there is almost no English signage. Not sure about the pricing, but things are expensive there.
Sorry Erika, my only visit to Japan was the Yakota airport, in 1971, on a military hop home. I think the shop owners must spoken English, because I spent a lot of money on what is now, very outdated camera gear. Jim
I was just in Tokyo last year, but only at the airport for a few hour layover. I was speaking with another American there who had spent time in Tokyo and commented on how little English signage there was at an international airport and he said it was even worse outside the airport and that it was very expensive.
He won't be able to rent a regular apartment. They require many months worth of rent as bribes and a guarantor to co-sign. However, he should be able to find short-term accommodations that would be cheaper than an apartment and catering to foreign travelers. Just do a Google search. I found this site that seems to have a few places Tokyo Apartments - Tokyo Serviced and Rental Apartments Just stay out of Tokyo metro area and he should be able to save quite a bit of money.
Where in Japan will he be? My niece spent last year in Japan (she is a Japanese Language major). She may be able to help.
OK, she says a month or two is kind of an odd amount of time. Hostels usually cater to folks staying a few days only. Some hostels have "private rooms" that might be rented for longer maybe. As Scottag says, he might have to dig and do some careful research. The good news is that Osaka is a really nice place and he should have fun. Good luck!
The outskirts of Osaka might be doable for a room and board type of place. That's where knowing to speak some Japanese would help. Osaka's standard of living is fairly close to, say Vancouver BC or Seattle WA. BTW, I'll be visiting Kobe (the city next to Osaka) probably in July.