HOW TO: Search for an Apartment in Japan - Part 2

We're finally back with part two on how to find an apartment in Japan. In part one, we discussed ways to find apartment rental listings and real estate agents and gave you some helpful search words. Today, we're going to walk you through how to use Suumo, which is one of the Japanese apartment listings sites we listed in part one. As to be expected, each site is different, but most of the vocab below should be helpful when searching online in Japanese.

How to Use Apartment Search Sites - Suumo

1. Go to Suumo's site.

2. Choose the region you'll be moving to.

3. Make sure you're looking at rentals (賃貸), as some sites will want you to choose what exactly you're looking for, whether buying or renting.

4. Choose how you want to search, perhaps by train line or area, commute time, map, road map, rent, or real estate office. If you know some Japanese, you can also search using keywords.

5. For this example, I chose to search by area (エリア) in Aichi prefecture (愛知県). As you can see below, a list of cities (and wards in Nagoya city) appear. I'll click the box next to any of the cities or wards I want to search in. After that, click the blue button at the bottom of the page. (If you click on the city or ward name, rather than check the box next to it, it will go straight to the results for that location.) 

However, if you want to choose other options first, scroll down the page before clicking the blue button (see second image below).

As you can see below, you can choose any options or preferences (although the less you choose, the more listings you'll see, which is good to keep in mind for smaller cities).

Once you've chosen your desired preferences, click the blue button at the bottom.

6. The next page shows the results. If you didn't set any preferences on the previous page, you can adjust them in the left sidebar below.

As you browse through the listings, you can select and deselect various options in the left sidebar to change or narrow the listings you see. For example, if you want an apartment with parking, check the box next to "駐車場あり". For this section (and on other sites as well), here are some words to know: 

Japanese	Hiragana	Romaji	English
賃料	ちんりょう	chinryou	rent
下限	かげん	kagen	lower limit
上限	じょうげん	jyougen	upper limit
管理費	かんりひ	kanri hi	management fee
共益費	きょうえきひ	kyoueki hi	community fee
込み	こみ	komi	included
礼金	れいきん	reikin	key money
敷金／保証金	しききん／ほしょうきん	shikikin / hoshoukin	safety deposit
なし	ー	nashi	none
間取りタイプ	まどりタイプ	madoritaipu	unit layout
建物	たてもの	tatemono	building
種類	しゅるい	shurui	type
駅までの徒歩分数	えきまでのとほふんすう	ekimadeno tohofunsuu	walking distance from nearest train station
以内	いない	inai	within
指定しない	していしない	sitei sinai	no preference
専有面積	せんゆうめんせき	senyuu menseki	area
築年数	ちくねんすう	chikunensuu	age of building
こだわり条件	こだわりじょうけん	kodawarijyouken	preferences
駐車場あり	ちゅうしゃじょうあり	chuusyajyouari	has parking
バス　トイレ別	ばす　といれべつ	basu toire betsu	separate bath and toilet
ペット相談	ぺっとそうだん	petto soudan	open to discussion regarding pets
2階以上住戸	２かいいじょうじゅうこ	2kaiijyou jyuuko	unit on the 2nd floor or above
室内洗濯機場所	しつないせんたくきばしょ	sitsunai senntakuki basyo	location for washing machine indoors
エアコン付	えあこんつき	eakon tsuki	air conditioner included
オートロック	ー	o-torokku	automatic locks
フローリング	ー	furo-ringu	wood (or hard) flooring
間取り付き	まどりつき	madori tsuki	floor plan included
物件動画付き	ぶっけんどうがつき	bukken douga tsuki	video of building included

7. The following image is an example listing. You can see an image of the apartment in the far left column, followed by the location, distance to train station or bus stop, monthly rent plus additional fees, key money and safety deposit, size, which direction it faces, what type of building it is and how old it is. You might see an area (such as in the yellow box in the image below) describing what pictures are available for the unit or house. To see the listing, click the address link (in blue) or the image.

8. The following image will be at the top of a listing's page, with essentially the same information as the previous page.

9. There are three tabs below the top part of the listing page. The first (which should appear by default) is the unit information, followed by neighborhood information and finally the real estate office info.

10. If you scroll down the apartment information page, you'll see a section with specifics about the place (what's included and other details). Next is a summary of info such as transportation, layout, the floor it's on in the building (if applicable), when you can move in, damage insurance, building structure, age of building, parking, conditions, number of windows, nearby stores and others. Included info will vary by listing.

11. The second tab lists general info about the neighborhood, such as the closest supermarkets, convenience stores and other important facilities.

12. The final tab lists info about the real estate office.

13. If you're interested in the apartment, you can make an inquiry directly from the page (translations for the input fields below) or you can contact the real estate office directly if you prefer.

Other Words to Know

As you begin your online search, or even if a real estate agent is looking for you and they send you apartment information in Japanese, you might also find some of the following words and phrases useful (in addition to the ones above). (This isn't a comprehensive list.)

Japanese	Hiragana	Romaji	English
バルコニー	-	barukonii	balcony
ガスコンロ対応	かすこんろたいおう	gasukonro taiou	can use gas stoves
クロゼット	-	kurozetto	closet
シャワー付き洗面台	しゃわーつきせんめんだい	shawaa tsuki senmendai	bathroom sink with shower nozzle
TVインターホン	TVいんたーほん	TV intaahon	door intercom with camera
オートロック	-	ootorokku	automatic locks
陽当たり良好	ようあたりりょうこう	youatari ryoukou	good sunlight
シューズボックス	-	shuuzu bokkusu	shoe cupboard/cabinet
システムキッチン	-	shisutemu kicchin	system kitchen
南向き	みなみむき	minami muki	southward facing
追焚機能浴室	おいたききのうよくしつ	oitaki kinou yokusitsu	bath that is able to reheat water
脱衣所	だついじょ	datsuijyo	changing room (space outside of bath area to "change clothes" - may have sink area)
洗面所独立	せんめんじょどくりつ	senmenjyo dokuritsu	standalone sink
洗面化粧台	せんめんけしょうだい	senmen keshoudai	sink with makeup stand
２口コンロ	にぐちこんろ	niguchi konro	supplementary insurance
駐輪場	ちゅうりんじょう	Chuurinjyou	bicycle parking
CATV	-	-	cable TV
即入室可	そくにゅうしつか	soku nyuusitsu ka	immediate move-in possible
３口以上コンロ	さんぐちいじょうこんろ	sanguchi ijyou konro	three or more gas nozzles
対面式キッチン	ふたいほけん	taimensiki kicchin	open kitchen
全居室洋室	ぜんきょしつようしつ	zenkyositsu yousitsu	all western rooms (no tatami)
保証人不要	ほしょうにんふよう	hoshounin fuyou	guarantor not required
単身者相談	たんしんしゃそうだん	tanshinsya soudan	single people OK to discuss renting (e.g. for a family-sized apartment)
CATVインターネット	CATVいんたーねっと	CATV intaanetto	cable internet
二人入室相談	ふたりにゅうしつそうだん	futari nyuusitsu soudan	two people ok to discuss renting (non-family members)
全居室フローリング	ぜんきょしつふろーりんぐ	zenkyositsu furooringu	all rooms wood flooring
２面バルコニー	にめんばるこにー	nimen barukonii	balcony on two sides
敷金２ヶ月	しききんにかげつ	shikikin nikagetsu	safety deposit is two months rent
緑豊かな住宅地	みどりゆたかなじゅうたくち	midori yutakana jyuutakuchi	area has lots of greenery
外壁コンクリート	がいへきこんくりいと	gaiheki konkuriito	outer building structure is concrete
クロゼット２ヶ所	くろぜっとにかしょ	kurozetto nikasho	two closets (in a room)
ルームシェア相談	るーむしぇあそうだん	ruumushea soudan	room sharing open for discussion
南面リビング	なんめんりびんぐ	nanmen ribingu	living room on South side
学生相談	がくせいそうだん	gakusei soudan	students OK to discuss renting
バス2路線	ばすにろせん	basu nirosen	two bus lines nearby
敷地内ゴミ置き場	ちきちないごみおきば	shikichinai gomiokiba	on-site garbage collection area
平面駐車場	へいめんちゅうしゃじょう	heimen chuushajyou	ground floor parking lot
LDK１２量以上	LDKじゅうにりょういじょう	LDK jyuuniryou ijyou	LDK is 12 tatami mats or more
洗面所のドア	せんめんじょのどあ	senmenjyo no doa	bath area has a door
南面バルコニー	なんめんばるこにー	nanmen barukonii	balcony on the South side
礼金１ヶ月	れいきんいっかげつ	reikin ikkagetsu	key money is one month's rent
保証会社利用可	ほしょうかいしゃりようか	hoshougaisha riyou ka	OK to use a guarantor company
通風良好	つうふうりょうこう	tsuufuu ryoukou	good air circulation

Hopefully this will get you started with your apartment hunt, but remember that you can also ask a real estate agent to search for you, and in major cities you might be able to find a real estate agency that offers services in English if you can't speak Japanese. For example, Surviving in Japan's current sponsor, the H&R Group, can help you find a place to live in Tokyo, Nagoya or Osaka. See part one for more.

Many thanks to David Thompson (husband) for doing the translations for this post!

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This post was brought to you by Surviving in Japan's November sponsor, Japan Home Search, a service provided by the H&R Group and one of the most extensive English real estate and apartment listings in Japan to help you find the perfect home when relocating or moving to Tokyo, Osaka, or Nagoya.