FAQ

To rent a room in Japan, a large amount of deposit is usually required, equivalent to 1 ~ 2 months’ rent (or key money, “shikikin” in Japanese, partially refundable), gift money to the landlord (or “reikin” in Japanese, 1 to 2 months’ rent, not refundable) and commission (1-month rent, non refundable).

Along with the first month’s rent, you need to be prepared to pay an amount equivalent to up to 6 months’ rent, possibly thousands of dollars. Moreover, these apartments are not furnished. You have to buy your own furniture and utilities are not included in the rent (a further 10,000 – 15,000 Yen/month).

At SAKURA HOUSE, we only require a deposit of 20,000 Yen and the first month’s rent to move in. Deposits are not needed for short stays vacations rentals. Rooms are furnished and utilities are already included so you don’t have to go through the trouble of applying for services in Japanese.

When moving into an apartment in Tokyo a guarantor or a co-signer is usually required. In most cases only a Japanese national with a steady income will be taken into consideration. However with SAKURA HOUSE, a guarantor or co-signer is NOT required

SAKURA HOUSE is a real estate agency in Tokyo, providing monthly share houses (guest houses), apartments and guest house accommodations exclusively for holders of non-Japanese passports at affordable rates.

SAKURA HOUSE offers 1,100 rooms in over 100 Tokyo area locations.

For a period of 3 months

SAKURA HOUSE office is located in Shinjuku, Tokyo.
Please visit our office page for details of our location and office hours.

Yes!. SAKURA HOUSE consists of an international team of multilingual speaking staff. English, French, Spanish, Korean and Chinese speaking staff are on hand ready to answer your questions.

Utility expenses such as electricity, water & gas are included (Up to 10,000 yen/person). We also provide Internet connection at no additional cost. You don’t have to go through the trouble of applying for these services.

Sorry, rooms are not equipped with a fixed telephone line. Some rooms have a phone line jack, so it may be possible for individuals to make a contract with a service provider. However, most of our residents prefer the more versatile mobile phone for their communication needs.

The reservation procedure is very simple. Please refer to our “How to start” page for detailed information.

In a share house, some of the facilities are shared. The room is private and lockable with a key, but you would have to share the common areas such as the kitchen, living room, toilets and bathroom with the other residents of the house. A share house is also called a guest house. 

In an apartment, all facilities are only for you to use: it’s a fully private unit. We can offer different types of apartments to accommodate from 1 to 3 (or more) persons: from a simple studio type apartment to a 3LDK.

Yes. There’s either a bed or a Futon set (Japanese- style bedding) with clean linens (e.g. bed cover, sheets, etc.), basic furniture (e.g. bookshelf, desk, chair, trash can, mirror, etc., may differ from room to room) and dishes. You can pop in with a suitcase and kick-off life in Tokyo immediately.

Yes, all rooms are equipped with an air conditioner. You can stay comfortably at SAKURA HOUSE all year round.

From Narita Airport to Shinjuku it takes approximately 2 hours. If your flight arrives in Narita before 4:00 p.m., please come to the Sakura House Lounge on the same day.

If the arrival time is between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. please call us (03-5330-5250) to see whether you can still make it to Shinjuku before we close for the day.

However, if your flight arrives after 5:00 p.m., we do not recommend hurrying to our office with all your baggage, since it would not be an easy ride especially during rush hour! Instead we suggest that you take your time and relax. We recommend that you spend the first night in one of our sister Sakura Hotels and come again the next day.

Please visit the SAKURA HOUSE LOUNGE on your check in day and so that you can receive your keys after signing the agreement.

Please bring the following documents with you when you come to Sakura House Lounge to sign the Lease Agreement:

Yes. Availability can be checked on this website or by simply contacting us by phone. After confirming vacancies, a reservation can be made by simply completing the deposit agreement and transferring 20,000 Yen by wire or credit card. Payment for the first month’s rent is not required until you come to the Sakura House Lounge to sign the lease agreement. Please contact us for further information on payment. (Please be reminded that any room or bed cannot be reserved without the deposit)

Yes, you can secure a place to stay with PRE-RESERVATION. With PRE-RESERVATION, you will be able to secure a room months before moving in.

Of course, we encourage you to take a look first. Please contact us to arrange a viewing. It is not necessary to visit our office; simply contact us at the number below. We can arrange for a member of staff to meet at the nearest station. If the room is not available, please visit our website or come to our office to check out the photos and video.

We only require a deposit of 20,000 Yen per person, which is partially refundable (up to 15,000 Yen). There is no need to pay reikin, shikikin, commission or any other extra fees.

No. We might ask for your parent’s or relative’s address if you don’t have a permanent address in your country. We also request the name of a person or a group that we can contact in case of emergency (both in Japan and your country). However, we do NOT require a guarantor.

If you are under 20 years old (18 or 19), we request written consent from your parent or guarantor.

We regret that we are unable to transfer reservations from one room to another.

However, we do provide PRE-RESERVATION, that allows residents move to another room from the second month onward at no extra cost.

Rents shown on the website are based on stays by a single person.

Anyone who can reserve a room with SAKURA HOUSE can reserve a room with PRE-RESERVATION; we recommend PRE-RESERVATION to anyone who is planning to go to Tokyo months from now and wants to secure a place to stay as soon as possible. 

Absolutely! Finding your ideal room may not be easy if you are not familiar with Tokyo’s geography, lifestyle or the characteristics of Japanese houses. Our reservation team will provide you with useful suggestions and help you choose your room according to your preferences (location, room size, budget, etc.). Please contact our staff anytime: [email protected]

In that case the Sakura House sales team will first send you a list of suggestions matching your preferences. If there is still no room that you like, you can either re-scheduled your check in date and wait until a room you like becomes available, or we can refund your deposit by bank transfer, PayPal or on the charged credit card.

Your deposit can be refunded as long as you have not chosen your accommodation yet. If you are already in Japan, you can get the refund in cash at Sakura House Lounge in Shinjuku. If you are abroad, we can refund it by international bank transfer, PayPal or on the charged credit card but in this case, we do not cover any possible charges for this money transfer.

In case you are not happy with your room choice, you will be able to move to another room during the first month, without any extra cost for you.

If the move-out notice is submitted at least 1 month before your check out date, we will calculate your daily rent and multiply it by the days you plan to stay before moving out. Please confirm your exact check out date so that we can calculate your remaining rent accurately.

On your check out day, Sakura House staff will come to your room and check its condition together with you. If everything is fine, then all the move-out procedures will be complete.

Before we arrive, please pack up your belongings, dispose of any garbage, vacuum the floor, wash and dry the sheets, etc. For further details, please refer to the documents received when the Lease Agreement was signed.

Check out is available between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. every day. Please indicate your desired check out time when completing the 1-month check out notice.

Please check your flight’s departure time. Narita Airport is approximately 60 km from downtown Tokyo. In the event that you have a morning flight we suggest checking out 1 day before and spending the night in a hotel. (We have a sister company Sakura Hotel.) This way you don’t need to worry about being late and your journey would surely be a pleasant one.

We occasionally organize events and parties to provide our residents opportunities to meet residents from other Sakura Houses.

Sakura Events allow residents to experience traditional Japanese Culture and make friends from all over the world.

In the event that you wish to check out, we require at least 1 month advance notice. Notice must be given by completing our “1-month check out request notice” form and bringing it to Sakura House Lounge in Shinjuku in person. The remaining rent will be calculated and a move-out inspection appointment will be arranged beforehand.

Please be reminded that if a minimum of 1 month advance notice is not given, a 1 month rent will still be charged from the day we are informed. In the event that you wish to move out, please inform us at your earliest convenience.

The monthly cut-off date is calculated exactly 1 month from the day the lease agreement is signed, inclusively. For example, if you sign the agreement on 15th January, the end of the month is 14th February.

In the event that you wish to have a guest stay over please inform us in advance. A fee of 2,000 yen per night/person will be applied. Sakura House will provide an extra set of Futon(Japanese bedding) for this period.

For safety reasons, in all our Sakura house properties, smoking is prohibited, including toilet, living room, from your room window or even your balcony. 
Smoking is only possible in the designated smoking areas which are mostly located near our house’s nearest Convenience stores. 
(If you have any questions on where to smoke the Sakura House staff are more than happy to assist you. )

During the check out procedure we will collect the keys from you. Once complete, you may not enter again.

Depending on the size of the room, an extra bed can be provided upon request. In most circumstances, we recommend versatile and efficient “Futon” sets (Japanese mattress) that can be tucked away easily.

All SAKURA HOUSE apartments, share houses and guest houses are available for daily/weekly stays.

Daily/weekly stays are short stays of less than 21 nights.

Deposits are not needed for daily/weekly stays.

Daily/weekly stays are recommended for vacations, business, temporary stays by visiting friends/family, etc.