Hi it’s mi 🙂
If you would love to live in a house in a good location in Japan without any furniture,
it’s gonna be a good choice to live in a share house.
You don’t need any furniture, and don’t need to pay a lot of deposit and initial cost.
You can start to live there immediately.
What you need is just your suitcase.
I’m living in a share house in Tokyo at the moment.
I’ll write about the review of my share house in Tokyo.
How to find a share house
I found my share house in internet.
The words that I searched in internet were “シェアハウス 東京（＝share house / tokyo）”, “シェアハウス 女性 東京（＝share house / women / tokyo）”, and “シェアハウス 希望の場所（＝share house / name of place that you want to live）”.
Finally I found my share house in “TOKYO SHARE HOUSE” which we can search share houses.
Location
I think living in a share house is not common in Japan yet, especially suburb.
There are more share houses in Tokyo than in other cities in Japan.
Many houses are located near some train stations.
In fact, my share house is located near 4 stations within walking distance and its location is really convenient.
Moreover there are supermarkets, restaurants, and convenience stores close to my house.
Share house structure
This share house is a five-storey building. Quite large.
It has about 30 private rooms, 2 living rooms, 2 kitchens, 4 shower rooms, 1 bath room, 7 toilet rooms, 2 laundry rooms, 7 wash basins, and rooftop.
5 washing machines and 2 dryers there. You can dry your laundry at the rooftop.
| 1st | Entrance | Shoe boxes | |||||
| 2nd | Private Rooms | Living room | Kitchen | Shower rooms(1) | Toilet rooms(2) | Wash basin | |
| 3rd | Private Rooms | Shower rooms(2) | Toilet rooms(2) | Laundry room | Wash basin | ||
| 4th | Private Rooms | Living room | Kitchen | Bath rooms(1) | Toilet rooms(2) | Wash basin | |
| 5th | Private Rooms | Shower rooms(1) | Toilet rooms(1) | Laundry room | Wash basin | ||
| Rooftop | |||||||
The residents can use all rooms except private rooms where they sleep.
Most of private rooms are for only 1 person, but some of them are for 2-3 people, which are called share rooms.
In share rooms, there are 2-3 beds separated by walls.
Share rooms are kind of semi-private rooms.
Speaking of cooking, the kitchen can be particularly crowded during lunch and dinner.
Besides kitchen, there are enough numbers of facilities for the residents, so I can do whatever I want almost anytime.
Rent and Initial cost
If I live in an apartment on my own in the same area, the rent and initial cost will be much higher.
In addition, furniture is required.
Let’s check the cost.
【My share house】
| Room type | Private room (for 1 person) |
Share room (for 2-3 person) |
| Rent / 1month | ¥73,000~ | ¥43,000~ |
| Utility costs / 1month | ¥11,000 | ¥11,000 |
| Deposit | ¥20,000~ | |
| Cleaning fee | ¥15,000~ | |
| Initial cost | ¥119,000~ | ¥89,000~ |
| 1 month | ¥74,000~ | ¥54,000~ |
※The cost depends on the size of each room.
【Rent an apartment on my own】
| Room type | All private |
| Rent / 1month | ¥90,000 |
| Utility costs / 1month | ¥10,000 |
| Deposit(Shikikin敷金) | ¥90,000 |
| Key money(Reikin礼金) | ¥90,000 |
| Furniture | ¥200,000 |
| Initial cost | ¥480,000 |
| 1 month | ¥100,000 |
※This is just an example.
As you can see from the above, the cost of living a share house is not really high compared to an apartment.
There are pros and cons of living a share house though.
Share mates
In my share house, about 40 people are living.
Men and women including foreigners.
Most of them are 20s and 30s.
In the living room and kitchen, some of people usually cook, talk and relax.
They all are so friendly.
I heard some share mates went to travel and hang out together.
And also, there are some couples in this share house.haha
I heard a man and woman met here and got married before!!
It’s really interesting to talk with the share mates because they have various of jobs and experiences.
Ofcourse, some people prefer to be with someone or love talking with someone, while some people prefer to be alone.
There are many kinds of people here.
House rules
Actually, we have many rules in Japanese share house which are strict.
That’s why houses are being kept clean.
Our house rules are….
- Do not use the kitchen and living room after 23:00.
- Put the garbage in the bag and throw it away when you cook in the kitchen.
- After washing dishes, wipe the dishes and put them back in place.
- Put hair in the bag and throw it away after you take a shower.
- Do not leave your stuff in shared space.
- Do not use a hair dryer in shared space after 23:00.
- Do not use washing machine on the 5th floor after 23:00. (Avaleble on the 3rd floor.)
- Put out the trash according to the rota.(4 times in 2 months)
- Basically it is possible to invite your friends. (Impossible to stay.)
- Minimum stay is 1month.
- Contact the management company 1 month before leaving.
Do you think it’s too many?
For me, I like these rules, because these rules make our house clean.
And also these rules make my life style more healthy.
Speaking to shared space, cleaners keep our house clean once a week.
I’d like to say thank you to cleaners.
How about living in a share house in Tokyo?
Do you wanna try to live in a share house in Tokyo?
There are pros and cons, but I can recommend it 🙂
Follow mi~!
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