Cool affordable places in Tokyo

Hi, Emma here. Fredrik and I looked around at Gaijinpot for apartments in Tokyo. I love looking at apartments, wether it’s Swedish real estate through Hemnet or apartments in Tokyo. So I’m highjacking Fredrik’s blog to showcase some of our findings.

First, let’s take a look at what apartments we’ve stayed in so far;

Apartment 2007 & 2009, ~13 sqm

I remember the initial shock walking into this “apartment”. The actual living space is probably smaller than most people’s bathrooms. But it didn’t bother us. And apparently we liked it so much (lol) that we returned to exact same place 2 years later. Since we were only there as tourists, staying just a month, we didn’t really care that much about the living standards. After all, you don’t spend that much time inside. There were some good subway lines within close distance, that’s all we needed.

Apartment 2010-2011, ~24 sqm

Now when we came back in 2010 we wouldn’t just be tourists, we would actually live there, for a year. So we amped it up and splurged on a 24 sqm apartment. That’s 11 more than last time! And a lot more central. And more expensive. I liked it, it was practical, small and cute.

If you’ve never been to Japan, these places may seem insanely small. Well, they are. But you get used to it. Next time we return and stay for a longer period I want a bigger place though. And I want a kick-ass view overlooking Tokyo. So, as I mentioned in the beginning of the post, we browsed for some apartments just for fun. But still reasonable ones. All apartments have a monthly rent of 15 000 SEK / € 1 600 / ¥ 200 000, are between 50 – 70 sqm and are in central Tokyo. (Our previous apartment was 10 000 SEK /  € 1 100 / ¥118 000  per month, but it was intended for short-term stays)

Apartment #1, Concrete wall to the left

Now this is more classy, huh? What I’ve noticed is that they very often leave the concrete walls exposed. I love that raw feeling.

Apartment #2, Concrete bathroom

Apartment #3, More concrete walls

This is what a typical cool-looking “house” in Tokyo looks like to me, you see them everywhere. I think about 4 families live in this complex. Or maybe the double. If I can’t live in a skyscraper, I could definitely settle for this.

This is one crazy house! It’s 45 sqm and a few stories high. A bit too “open planned” for me, I wouldn’t want to use the bathroom. Imagine the reaction when you have guests over who want to use the toilet.

Excuse the horrible montages, it wasn’t me. These last three images show my current dream apartment. 2 bedrooms, 54 sqm, 15 000 SEK / € 1 600 / ¥ 200 000 per month and it has the view! Just look at that big window!

Well, some day