Tokyo Real Estate Portal

Rainbow Bridge in Tokyo under fireworks.

Japan is a beautiful country outside of its overpopulated and gray cities; however, one will find Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Kobe, Nagoya, Hiroshima, Fukuoka and other Japanese cities to be very clean (especially considering the number of inhabitants), apart from occasional air quality issue in the larger cities, and crime remains quite low. The mass transit system, including local trains and subways, bullet and various express trains, buses, and domestic air travel are second to none. Things show up and depart on time, amazingly even buses!

Many expatriate transferees and their family members, at first reluctant to come for a posting, often find themselves unhappy to leave! Expats find Japan, although very transient for the international community, to be rewarding from a social aspect, and career-wise. The opportunites to make friends hailing from various parts of the globe is very appealing and parents have less worry about safety of their children. Children and parents often find the international schools to be very conducive to educational, social and emotional growth.

Japan offers incredibly beautiful terrain outside of its concrete jungles. Foreigners who move to Japan for a sojourn have Kyoto as a must-see and rightly so for its rich cultural heritage and sites, as well as Nikko and Hokkaido. The Izu Peninsula and Odawara/Hakone (both of which are close to Tokyo), the eastern and southern parts of Kyushu (Miyazaki, Kagoshima and Kumamoto prefectures) and Okinawa are highly recommended places to visit. For nature lovers opportunities abound for hiking, surfing, skiing and snowboarding. For more info and details, be sure to check out Outdoor Japan.

Depending on the city where you are being posted, if not Tokyo, there are currently many options with regards to housing. Most expats choose to live in an apartment but there are houses available in the areas where most expatriate type housing is situated. Housing options of course depends on the budget, as does as the size of the city to which you are moving. Finding a suitable house in Tokyo is usually difficult but not impossible!

It is highly advisable to consider commuting time, train transfers (if you are going to travel to/from the office by rail) and congestion, most of which is human during peak commuting times! or traffic jams, before deciding the locale of your Japan residence. Many of the international schools provide bus services if you have children, and many families choose to live nearer the school than the breadwinner’s office but a lot of that is dependent on the ages of one’s kids and also how comfortable they are to traveling to school alone or with friends who live nearby. We would happy to provide free consultation and recommendations on areas to live after learning of your particular situation. Do not hesitate to contact us for advice.

Photo of Odaiba, a man-made island in Tokyo Bay offering entertainment and shopping.

For those who may cringe at the thought of Japanese food, there are many restaurants in the major cities providing a variety of cuisine types from all over the globe. As well noted by doctors and scientists studying the topic, Japanese and Okinawans have the longest life expectancy in the world and a large reason for that is atrributable to the nutrients, fiber, acids and oils inherent in Japanese cuisine as well as the high alkaline content due to the propensity to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables.

Tasty Asian, American, African, Mediterranean, various European and Fusion fare can be had here, especially in the larger cities such as Tokyo, Yokohama and Osaka, with the provincial areas providing the best “washoku,” i.e. Japanese cuisine. Sushi is fresh and the best in the world. If you are unable to find acceptable fare in the major cities you are indeed a finicky eater! Japanese cuisine is quite diverse in its choices and many who have come hardly able to bear eating Japanese food come to miss many parts of the cuisine upon leaving.  Many food critics say the food in Tokyo is the best in the world and it would indeed be difficult to find a place with the quality and diversity of choices in another city.

Tokyo was formerly known as Edo and was made the nation’s capital by Hideyasu Tokugawa. The Chinese characters literally means ‘east capital’ as the previous capital before Tokyo was Kyoto and before that Nara, both situated in the western part of Japan. Tokyo is comprised of 23 districts or wards known as “ku” in Japanese. The old part of the city, which has more charm, is situated on the eastern part of town and includes Taito-ku, Sumida-ku, and Bunkyo-ku.

The original residents of Tokyo are known as “Edokko” although the majority of the estimated 12.3 million people (which is almost 10% of Japan’s total population) dwelling here now should not be considered as such. The registered number of foreign residents reached 327,000 as of October 2001. Tokyo is for the most part quite clean for a city of its magnitude and crime remains low. The mass transit system is quite efficient, buses and trains show up and depart on time!  Sometimes this amazes (with regards to buses) because one wonders how they can follow the schedule as unexpected traffic jams do occur.

With its well-known temples and shrines situated near massive skyscrapers and its mix of old and new in almost every neighborhood, Tokyo is a work of contrasts. Polite and rude, clean yet dirty, gray yet colorful, cloudy and sometimes sunny, rich and poor the city has a lot of energy but it can also drain it from you quickly, especially in the muggy and often wet summers.

Yet for the expat it is a very liveable city and convenient ; although people who are active may get frustrated at the difficulty to get into nature at peak periods of travel, i.e. the weekends and holidays.  Services tend to be very good once you get past the communication barrier but you will find people in the service industries to be quite polite.

Useful Links:

American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ) - Provides information, networking opportunities, and advocacy resource services for members.
Japan National Tourist Organization -  Promotes tourism to all of Japan by offering info and attractions for tourist areas, details on festivals and events, museums, shopping and dining, transportation, and much more.
United States Embassy Tokyo, Japan - Located in Minato Ward, Tokyo, near the ANA Hotel. Site provides information on U.S. policy, public affairs, visas and consular services for audiences interested in U.S.-Japan relations.

Click onto our Guide to Tokyo for more info on life in the Big Mikan as Tokyo is sometimes known as in expat circles.