180000 JPY is actually closer to $1300 USD at todays exchange rate...not including utilities and other household expenses of course. Was expecting more expensive actually. Very nicely done tour!
It's crazy expensive when you think about it, especially considering that it is a rental. I wouldn't even think of living there unless I was making $300K+. It's just not worth it (to me at least), especially if you work from home and can basically live anywhere.
It’s cultural. Japanese are brought up in a collective society environment, we could argue how it kills individualism, but in a mega city like Tokyo it’s probably necessary. Did you know that most Japanese schools don’t have janitors? The students are expected to do those tasks. Add to that the low divorce rate among the population, and the heavy Emphasis on personal responsibility, then you get a clean city like you see.
My opinion is that it’s a really nice apartment for $1,800 a month. I showed your video to my husband and he was impressed. After looking at your apartment video, I checked listings for 1 bedroom apartments in San Diego for 1,800…good luck if you can find one; and if you do, they are old and crusty. Nice apartments like yours range $2,400 - $3,000 here. Yabai! So expensive to rent in San Diego. Thank you for sharing.
@@barrettish sorry man i missed the 506 sqft...that's actually smaller than out here in long island NY...1800 gets a a bit bit bigger...maybe 600-700sq ft.
I love the Tokyo aesthetic.. from an Americans perspective, Tokyo looks “cluttered” but it’s an elegant and aesthetically appealing type of cluttered. That word sounds bad but I can’t describe how I feel otherwise.. just a beautifully crafted city that feels really warm and connected
I love that you have a waiting area, it’s soooooo nice! And the lobby! Such a great way to not let your guest come in your home if you are a bit private or if you are meeting someone in the same building!
There's definitely a lot of good living spaces, especially for a big city like Tokyo. I also like how clean it is despite so many people out and about every day!
Gotta be honest, I live in Belgium and 1800$ for this is absolutely insane to me.. We probably have something close to a mansion or a loft (depending on which city) for this amount of money.. I live in an appartment twice this size and pay 650$ a month.. But then again, I don't live in Tokyo of course :p
Yeah it’s interesting to see how people react depending on how it is where they live. Americans, Canadians, etc. living in cities think it’s an amazing deal lol. In much of Japan, this type of apartment would be a lot cheaper actually. It’s really paying for the location. Tokyo is pretty much the biggest city in the world population-wise and economically, so it’s not too bad overall, I think.
I live in New York City so the apartment in Tokyo to me actually looks pretty good. My only issue with it is the closet space, but the balcony makes up for it. NYC it's not uncommon to get something that hasn't been renovated in decades, with mice and roaches a common problem for 2k a month.
The street view is a bit Cyberpunk for me. It is somehow fascinating and the apartment is really nice and cozy. I like that the livin room with the kitchen area is not so empty as in many other videos. 😅
It definitely was a cozy place to live. The living room and kitchen area probably weren’t empty because we could’ve used more storage space to be honest lol
This is a very nice apartment, although it really could use some more storage space. At today’s exchange rate, the monthly rent is $1198.06 US or $1657.62 Canadian. I live in a small city in the interior of BC, Canada and I own a 2 bedroom condo. A 1 bedroom condo in my building would currently rent for about $1800 Canadian including a storage locker and indoor parking. (The range in my area is about $1650-2000). I think your apartment is very reasonably priced for a newer building in a nice area of Tokyo. I was there earlier this month and was surprised at how reasonable prices were for everyday things. Very different to my last visit in 2000. At that time Tokyo prices seemed astronomical. Years of deflation in Japan and inflation in Canada have changed the equation.
Yeah exchange rate for yen-earners is terrible. Apartments are cheap for a lot of others but Japanese don’t consider them cheap due to their wages and the exchange rate. Not the greatest situation but still reasonable overall compared to other major cities, I think. Canada must be a little on the high end, especially Vancouver…
I've always thought Japan was expensive (and it is to some extent) but this apartment is MUCH bigger and better than the $2000 apartment I'm currently renting in Singapore!
The Japanese are so utilitarian. Their tastes reflect convenience and efficiency. They don’t seem to want extra stuff that might weigh them down. Very interesting and great informative vid😊
That sounds about right. I will say that a lot of Japanese homes end up being a bit cluttered though, probably due to things like lack of space, paper-centric society, etc. Thanks for watching though, I'm glad you enjoyed it! 🙌
I really enjoy seeing apartments and styles of living in other countries , big & small cities . I am American I have too much stuff … we always need a lot of storage for junk we never use 😂 I need to become more of a minimalist. Thanks for sharing your videos . 🙂
I just started throwing stuff away that I don’t use for over a year (except it has a good reason, like my traveling stuff during covid) - keeps the basement clean
I struggle with that as well! 😆 To be honest though, a lot of Japanese homes can appear cluttered, probably because of the lack of space and the preference/need to have hold tangible items. I’m glad you enjoyed the video, thanks for watching!
Love this video and the thorough explanation. Love the house too :-) The current rental in Singapore with $1800 - we can only get a decent master bed room shared with others.
Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed it! Yeah I think Singapore rent is more expensive than Tokyo on average. I think the average salary is higher in Singapore though.
What a great tour, and a nice apartment too! Japan is on the "soon" list for travel. There are so many aspects of the culture and history that I'm interested in, so we are hoping to make it a fairly long trip. And as a Canadian, it's always nice to see fellow humans taking their shoes off inside their homes. I'll NEVER understand the idea of keeping outside shoes on inside your home...it's just gross.
Thanks for watching! Yeah long trips are great if you can. You can see more and take it a bit slow, get to know neighborhoods a little deeper. haha yeah, I don’t get wearing shoes in your home as well! Just think about where they’ve been and what they’ve been on! lol
@@becc_snipe Unfortunately yes… my ex got offended as I suggested taking shoes off in a “house we were going to move into” meaning he prefers shoes on 24/7 🤢😵💫
It's nothing like what I expected. But it is more. And to be fair, especially for the price, that balcony and its view is great! Thank you for making this video
Your apartment is so nice. You get so much more for your money in Tokyo than in NYC! Everything is so neat and clean and well-organised in Japan. I have visited once and would like to return.
Very nice apartment for a couple and great location for people wanting to live near the center of Tokyo. It will fill up quickly with things. Something I’ve gotten used to living here.
I like your apartment. The space is well used. As somebody who lives in Germany for me this prices seem the incredibly high. We payed 300€ for our first 60m2 Appartement 23y ears ago. Afterwards (15 years ago) we bought a freestanding 125m2 house in a 500.000+ people city. The credit rate was 1.050€. Was, because now it‘s paid. So running costs are only energy and taxes. And most of the energy delivers the sun via photovoltaics. Okay, in the meanwhile prices for new real estates rised also, but for 1.800€ you can surely still buy a house in this area. Nevertheless, interesting view on your home and city. Once in my life I will visit Japan for sure.
That's not in Berlin though, right? Most areas in Japan are cheaper than this. I've lived in a 2-bedroom apartment in Japan for less than $300/month before. Tokyo has the highest prices in Japan because it's a big city by population and economy, and this area is higher than Tokyo's average. I hope you'll visit Japan sometime! They say that Japan and Germany are similar in some ways.
Hey I think it'd be helpful to make a floor layout picture for your videos so we can get a better idea of the size difference and scale of the apartment, thanks.
I probably should've put it in the video too but I have a floor layout and a lot of information in the blog I linked in the description! www.barrettish.com/log/post/tokyo-1ldk-apartment-for-1800-dollars
You should get some sort of shelf or something for the nook near the fridge. You can fit good amount of stuff there. The fire hole seems so small. Can you really fit through it?
Yeah, we ended up just using it for bags and what not. The fire escape hole is a little small… I think I could fit in it but it would be a little tight. If you think that’s small, you should see the seats on city buses lol
Your complex has nice amenities and seems to be conveniently located near markets, etc. Would LOVE to have someone greet me every time I enter the building, as well as secure my packages. I live in an unsecured building, and porch pirates are a menace. Anyway, two thumbs up! 👍
180K yen is around $1,200 nowadays, that's a damn sweet deal if you ask me the living room/kitchen area might be on the smaller side, but the bathroom & amenities more than make up for it
It's a good place, the problem on RENTING apartments, is always storage... If you buy your own house (or get a rent that allows you drilling remodel actions) you will be able to add storage in places like too kitchen, top bedroom, etc, and that will make your house bigger a lot!!!
Yup, for sure. Unfortunately drilling is almost never allowed in rentals in Japan. I did end up buying a place in Tokyo though. If you're interested: th-cam.com/video/uA5w8Wp5MDY/w-d-xo.html
Just for context: 180‘000 yen is only about 1‘100$ right now. It‘s still quite expensive for a 1LDK. I live in a 1DK only about 5minutes (by car) away from this apartment and only pay 90‘000 yen.
Yeah exchange rate is crazy now. This is more than the average 1LDK. Not sure what kind of place or where yours is but 90,000 yen is pretty cheap for a 1LDK, must’ve got a good deal.
@@barrettish Yeah the weak yen is terrible. It‘s in Noge, upper floor of a 2 family home, 30.3m2. Yours is super luxurious tho, with a portiere and all these auto-lock and mailbox features.
from the videos about Tokyo apartments that I saw I believe you pay fair price for such a big place! and its kind of luxury building and its in the center of Tokyo ! amazing!!! enjoy
Really thorough tour, wish we could have those automatic bathtubs... If you don't mind an opinion, I think this apartment could use some more shelves (I'm assuming the owner permits it). Above the stove, the trash can, and a magnetic/wipable board on the empty wall in the kitchen. They are surprisingly useful. Also you can place both tvs on the walls, place a dresser in the bedroom and it would free a lot of closet space. In the living room you could move sofa closer to the tv, or maybe have a projector with a screen? And in that spot where the printer is, I'd put dome taller furniture, with shelves, drawers, etc, put all the stuff in boxes, maybe there would even be space for some of those appliances from the kitchen, like the Zojirushi, toaster oven, kettle, espresso machine, since they're used regularly, but in certain times of the day, so t's a bit of a waste to place them where there's already no space. It could be like an extension of the kitchen. Also, the couch is definitely too big, I'd sell it, even with a loss.
You can’t put things on walls in rental apartments in Japan unfortunately, only if you own the place. The sofa was definitely too big lol, we would’ve got a slightly smaller one if we could do it over.
Nice Video. I used to live near Shimokita for over 1 and a half year, but I must say I tried to avoid the Odakyu Line, cause it is always so crowed especially during rush hour.
Thanks! Wow, Shimokita... nice! Yeah... luckily I didn't have to catch the train during rush hours normally. I have at times though and hated it. Inokashira Line is not great either.
Wow, this is much cheaper than what you’d pay in Melbourne. The design makes efficient use of space. Sqm is similar to what you’d find in Melbourne for a 1 bed, but they feel much smaller in Melbourne because of poor layout design. And you will never find separate toilet, wash area and shower for a 1 bedroom apartment. You’re complaining about storage space then open a big walk in closet 😂. You’ll never find that in Melbourne, much less an entry where you can your shoes. Thanks for walking us through!
Sounds a lot like American apartments in major cities lol. I do appreciate how Japanese apartments are designed thoughtfully when it comes to space utilization. lol having that closet space was lucky, although I'm pretty sure that wasn't meant to be a clothes closet. Glad you found this interesting though, thanks for watching!
Thanks but putting up shelves is not typically allowed in apartment rentals in Japan. We could possibly do so in the apartment I’ve shared more recently since it was purchased, but they usually try to maintain rentals in a level of condition that would be good for future renters.
I can’t help but think every time I see these videos that Japan’s modern bathrooms are so much more well thought out than in the United States. I love how in Japan they have the shower and tub together in one space like that where it prevents water dripping off you after bathing so you don’t have a wet floor when you go to use the bathroom or brush your teeth. Edit: there are layouts in the United States where you can technically accomplish this but in most cases with most home bathrooms, they don’t have this type of layout
I agree, I think US design around the bathroom/toilet in general is quite outdated. Toilets almost look uncivilized and generally a toilet, tub/shower and sink are just kind of thrown into a room together. Would be curious to know why that is...
As someone who lives in America and hates the culture of apartments. It feels like a punishment to have to live in an apartment. This makes it seem like a privilege. It's incredible. I hope to experience that one day
@@Haldarys In the apartments I've lived in, there's kind of this shared underlying misery associated with the idea of not owning your home. Can you really ever be comfortable ? Also the idea that there are people on the other side of that wall. That causes some other kind of angst. Sleeping in a room where someone is sleeping against the other wall that you don't know. That's kind of like a universal experience. Crazy.
@@mr.wardensworkshop Is it a cultural or personal point of view ? I'm european and lived in both in houses and apartments and i don't feel anything like that.
Right now, the exchange for this comes too 1264.00 per month so even cheaper! I WISH I could get something like this. I pay over $3000 USD for my 2 bedroom apartment and limited utilities.
That new building is definitely costing that rent money. 18 man for a 1LDK is a bit high for Setagaya since it doesn't have any major stations. Oh and you should definitely get those vertical trash bins for the pet bottles and glass bins
Yeah it’s on the higher side, but like I mentioned it was great for our work and family situation. I ended up loving the area. Vertical trash bins would’ve been great for sure.
180,000¥ is around $1,340 USD, which for that apt in that area and that size is not bad. My 66m 2ldk in Toshima-ku is around $1,650 which is why I was so I'm surprised you said $1,800.
Yeah just made it simple and put the disclaimer since the rate is always fluctuating. The price isn’t bad, sounds like you got a good deal too. Would love that added space!
180K for a 1DK in *Setagaya* is on the high side IMO. You're paying more because it appears to be a newer building with some amenities. You can get a updated 1LDK closer to central Tokyo (with access to more than 1 train line) for less. For example I wss paying 165K for a 1LDK near Ueno. Older building but it was fine for me. Tokyo Metro JR and Tsukuba all within walking or bicycle distance.
Yeah it is, the average at this station for a 1LDK is just under 160k, but the average size is smaller and this one was only 5 min. from the station so we were paying for that and the building. This one was great for us at the time but we’ve since have gone through a lot of changes.
Yeah it’s a fair price, it’s a couple hundred over the average price for that type of apartment in that area, and this one probably has more added benefits (number of delivery boxes, etc.). The actual paperwork was the hardest part, we had some this working in our favor… my wife is Japanese, I’d been working at a Japanese company for a while, etc. It’s still at the high end of what we wanted to to pay but in the end it worked out, especially with the slightly bigger space than typical and Covid hitting. As usual though, lots of upfront costs or fees that you don’t get back.
Oh boy I thought Tokio has renter friendly. I live in Switzerland, and we pay 2500,- Swiss frace for 135 qm. We do live in the country because the city is just too expensive. 50am for 2000,- and more.
It depends on a few things but it’s not too bad for a city this size. Cities are always more expensive, you’d get more space in Japan’s countryside as well.
In Singapore, this would probably cost upwards of USD 2.4k for 50 sqm condo apartment. But Singapore doesn't have 'key money-fee' or 'insurance' and generally white goods (fridge, washing machine, aircon) are provided
Hong Kong is literally the most expensive place to live in the world right now. Def one of the most expensive in East Asia. It costs more per square meter to rent there than anywhere else. Also one of the most dense in population, def more dense than Tokyo. Hong Kong is so expensive that less-than-desirable living conditions are common, such as sub-divided flats, "coffin homes" and even cage homes. Because they're all you can really get on the cheaper side. I believe that's all $1800 would get you in Hong Kong. So Tokyo is not that bad in comparison. Seems like the money still at least goes a decent ways for the space. $1800 was about how much a 1br unit in Los Angeles costed maybe just 2yrs ago. Nowadays you're looking at minimum $2k/month, usuallu more. Even still, it is currently 52% cheaper to rent in the U.S. than it is to buy a home at the moment, making it the worst time to purchase a home. Hasn't been this bad since the mid-90s. And even with that in mind, a lot of apartments remain vacant or are becoming vacant because it's still expensive to rent even though it's cheaper than owning at the moment. lol. So landlords are suffering too, even though technically renting is cheaper right now. And those who are renting typically have roommates to share in some of the costs. I've even begun seeing some subdivideds and bunks apartments beginning to spring up. Ppl buying up or even renting up property and then jacking up the prices for profit. It's nuts. Vegas is relatively cheaper; same with places like AZ or even TX. But the trade-off is the weather, although Vegas would be more tolerable of the 3; Nevada in general. It's desert, but at least there's a lot to do there compared to the other two. Plus L.A. is only a small drive/flight away if a change of scenery is needed. I've seen some apartments that are as low as $200-$300/month in Tokyo and even those are not too bad; they seem to vary depending what area you're in. Some were ridiculous for the money while others were perfectly liveable for the price but might put you a little more away from the main cities.
Yup, Hong Kong seems pretty expensive for the space. I've only visited but I could kind of sense that. A lot of US cities, especially major ones, are just really expensive. Average salary is definitely better, but the only comparable US city to Tokyo is NYC basically, and obviously you're not getting anything there that's close to what you'd get in Tokyo for the same price. What's also good about Tokyo is that there's a decent supply of studio and 1-bedroom apartments that are affordable for singles to rend and live in. I find that type of housing is really lacking in the US, and the ones that are there are expensive.
Great tour of ur apartment ( which was really quite big ) a good lay out , & ur rubbish room was interesting, to people down under lol so very very different, I couldn’t imagine being around to many people 😮
Glad you found it interesting! Yeah, Tokyo is a very different lifestyle versus a lot of places, really. Out of the cities I’ve been to, only places like NYC, Hong Kong, Shanghai or Seoul can kind of be compared. Definitely redefines “city”!
Thanks! I made a video about this actually: th-cam.com/video/-En8MTdPyYA/w-d-xo.htmlsi=QfOIb8sQZojRbnrg The prices might have increased a little since, but I hope this gives you an idea.
Not too expensive, however I'm buying a 4-bedroom house about 20 minutes from Shinjuku and it costs about 140,000 yen/month (bought newly built). Just to give a little perspective on prices here in Tokyo.
That sounds like a really good deal... I've never come across something like that. But yeah, you can definitely find a decent place to live in Tokyo for 140,000 yen/month!
So almost $1700 Canadian dollars. That sounds like it's much much cheaper than Toronto since rent prices there right now usually go for around $2,000 a month.
In my city in Brazil, with 1800 dollars/month you can quite literally live in a 780 m² house with 4 bedrooms and a pool (in a high middle class part of the city); or a 220 m² 4 bedroom luxury apartment with an ocean view. Only (very succefull) doctors, judges, diplomats or such would be able to afford something like that here. Hell, someone that makes 1800 dollars a month is a high middle class individual here. Pretty crazy seeing countries like Japan and the US being like that. But then again, someone in Brazil making 2k dollars a month can live a decent middle to high middle class life style, while someone making the same amount of money in Tokyo wouldn't.
Yeah definitely, it's crazy to see how different incomes and costs of living vary between countries. People living in smaller cities or towns in Japan could get way bigger places for the same price as this apartment too. I looked at houses/apartments for sale recently, and a small 1-bedroom apartment near this place in Tokyo is more expensive than a 4-bedroom 2-story house in the town I used to live in in Fukuoka prefecture.
nice man, My budget 25 years ago always was 450,000~600,000 rent, but 15 years ago I found a nice luxury mansion in Chojamaru area back of Ebisu Garden place I bot it not big but fine for me and my wife, 100 sqm enough! I like your appartment nice Setagaya many young people like there setagaya and Shimokitazawa anyway great! keep going man! nice review!
@@triarb5790 Yup. Although there has been a small shift that’s been happening over the last few years with cashless payment systems like PayPay. I think the cash-focus is tied to the culture of placing a lot of value on tangible objects in general.
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as someone who's lived in tokyo before, this is by far the most thorough and well-explained tour ive seen. i miss tokyo haha
Thank you! I'm glad you think so. Yeah, Tokyo's great!
Why’d you come back I’m tryna get there😩😭
@@onaregulaar4383 I talk a little bit about it here if you're interested: th-cam.com/video/i7-3rrKbR3E/w-d-xo.html
180000 JPY is actually closer to $1300 USD at todays exchange rate...not including utilities and other household expenses of course. Was expecting more expensive actually. Very nicely done tour!
Yeah, good for USD earners right now! Thank you!
It’s expensive for locals. Your mindset is because you earned us standard income. The Japan average salary is around 3k. So that’s more than half.
@@whitepouch0904but most japanese get 2-3 months salary in july and December as bonus. So additional 5-6 month pay
Even lesser now lol $1200
It's crazy expensive when you think about it, especially considering that it is a rental. I wouldn't even think of living there unless I was making $300K+. It's just not worth it (to me at least), especially if you work from home and can basically live anywhere.
always amazed by how clean the city is. love it.
It’s huge in just making you like your everyday for sure. Thanks for watching!
It’s cultural. Japanese are brought up in a collective society environment, we could argue how it kills individualism, but in a mega city like Tokyo it’s probably necessary. Did you know that most Japanese schools don’t have janitors? The students are expected to do those tasks. Add to that the low divorce rate among the population, and the heavy Emphasis on personal responsibility, then you get a clean city like you see.
My opinion is that it’s a really nice apartment for $1,800 a month. I showed your video to my husband and he was impressed. After looking at your apartment video, I checked listings for 1 bedroom apartments in San Diego for 1,800…good luck if you can find one; and if you do, they are old and crusty. Nice apartments like yours range $2,400 - $3,000 here. Yabai! So expensive to rent in San Diego. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks! I bet, most of the desirable cities in the US are pretty expensive. Yabai haha. San Diego’s nice though! Thank you for watching!
$2400-3000 for a single bedroom?!
At the rate inflation is going, I’m terrified I’ll end up in the streets sooner or later. 😢
@@jimmydelcid8779 that's the same for Long Island NY...super expensive over here...
@@barrettish long island is super expensive...1,800 gets you a studio apartment out here...
@@barrettish sorry man i missed the 506 sqft...that's actually smaller than out here in long island NY...1800 gets a a bit bit bigger...maybe 600-700sq ft.
I love the Tokyo aesthetic.. from an Americans perspective, Tokyo looks “cluttered” but it’s an elegant and aesthetically appealing type of cluttered. That word sounds bad but I can’t describe how I feel otherwise.. just a beautifully crafted city that feels really warm and connected
That’s an interesting way to see it. Thanks for sharing!
I love that you have a waiting area, it’s soooooo nice! And the lobby! Such a great way to not let your guest come in your home if you are a bit private or if you are meeting someone in the same building!
Thanks! It's a great building and the lobby area can be really useful!
Every detail is so well thought out in Japan. And for the amount of people living there, it's so clean!!
There's definitely a lot of good living spaces, especially for a big city like Tokyo. I also like how clean it is despite so many people out and about every day!
Gotta be honest, I live in Belgium and 1800$ for this is absolutely insane to me.. We probably have something close to a mansion or a loft (depending on which city) for this amount of money.. I live in an appartment twice this size and pay 650$ a month.. But then again, I don't live in Tokyo of course :p
Yeah it’s interesting to see how people react depending on how it is where they live. Americans, Canadians, etc. living in cities think it’s an amazing deal lol.
In much of Japan, this type of apartment would be a lot cheaper actually. It’s really paying for the location. Tokyo is pretty much the biggest city in the world population-wise and economically, so it’s not too bad overall, I think.
I live in New York City so the apartment in Tokyo to me actually looks pretty good. My only issue with it is the closet space, but the balcony makes up for it. NYC it's not uncommon to get something that hasn't been renovated in decades, with mice and roaches a common problem for 2k a month.
@@dingbat3440 Same issue for me with the closet! 😅
In Bulgaria, for this money you could probably rent the equivalent of a small castle.
I never thought of Belgium as being a cheap place to live.
It's so CLEAN! ❤ the communal areas are sparkling.
Yeah I loved that!
The street view is a bit Cyberpunk for me. It is somehow fascinating and the apartment is really nice and cozy. I like that the livin room with the kitchen area is not so empty as in many other videos. 😅
It definitely was a cozy place to live. The living room and kitchen area probably weren’t empty because we could’ve used more storage space to be honest lol
This is a very nice apartment, although it really could use some more storage space. At today’s exchange rate, the monthly rent is $1198.06 US or $1657.62 Canadian. I live in a small city in the interior of BC, Canada and I own a 2 bedroom condo. A 1 bedroom condo in my building would currently rent for about $1800 Canadian including a storage locker and indoor parking. (The range in my area is about $1650-2000). I think your apartment is very reasonably priced for a newer building in a nice area of Tokyo. I was there earlier this month and was surprised at how reasonable prices were for everyday things. Very different to my last visit in 2000. At that time Tokyo prices seemed astronomical. Years of deflation in Japan and inflation in Canada have changed the equation.
Yeah exchange rate for yen-earners is terrible. Apartments are cheap for a lot of others but Japanese don’t consider them cheap due to their wages and the exchange rate. Not the greatest situation but still reasonable overall compared to other major cities, I think. Canada must be a little on the high end, especially Vancouver…
I've always thought Japan was expensive (and it is to some extent) but this apartment is MUCH bigger and better than the $2000 apartment I'm currently renting in Singapore!
Hdb?
@@beautifulstranger101 condo
I think Singapore is more expensive overall. Average salary isn’t that great in Tokyo and Japan overall, though.
Thank you for sharing this insight about life in Japan!
I'm glad you enjoyed it, thank you for watching!
The Japanese are so utilitarian. Their tastes reflect convenience and efficiency. They don’t seem to want extra stuff that might weigh them down. Very interesting and great informative vid😊
That sounds about right. I will say that a lot of Japanese homes end up being a bit cluttered though, probably due to things like lack of space, paper-centric society, etc. Thanks for watching though, I'm glad you enjoyed it! 🙌
I really enjoy seeing apartments and styles of living in other countries , big & small cities . I am American I have too much stuff … we always need a lot of storage for junk we never use 😂
I need to become more of a minimalist.
Thanks for sharing your videos . 🙂
I just started throwing stuff away that I don’t use for over a year (except it has a good reason, like my traveling stuff during covid) - keeps the basement clean
I struggle with that as well! 😆 To be honest though, a lot of Japanese homes can appear cluttered, probably because of the lack of space and the preference/need to have hold tangible items.
I’m glad you enjoyed the video, thanks for watching!
Me too ….sigh
Love this video and the thorough explanation. Love the house too :-) The current rental in Singapore with $1800 - we can only get a decent master bed room shared with others.
Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed it! Yeah I think Singapore rent is more expensive than Tokyo on average. I think the average salary is higher in Singapore though.
What a great tour, and a nice apartment too!
Japan is on the "soon" list for travel. There are so many aspects of the culture and history that I'm interested in, so we are hoping to make it a fairly long trip.
And as a Canadian, it's always nice to see fellow humans taking their shoes off inside their homes. I'll NEVER understand the idea of keeping outside shoes on inside your home...it's just gross.
do people actually do that???
Thanks for watching! Yeah long trips are great if you can. You can see more and take it a bit slow, get to know neighborhoods a little deeper.
haha yeah, I don’t get wearing shoes in your home as well! Just think about where they’ve been and what they’ve been on! lol
@@becc_snipeyes lol
@@becc_snipe Unfortunately yes… my ex got offended as I suggested taking shoes off in a “house we were going to move into” meaning he prefers shoes on 24/7 🤢😵💫
It's nothing like what I expected.
But it is more. And to be fair, especially for the price, that balcony and its view is great!
Thank you for making this video
I'm glad you found it interesting. Thank you for watching!
Your apartment is so nice. You get so much more for your money in Tokyo than in NYC! Everything is so neat and clean and well-organised in Japan. I have visited once and would like to return.
To be fair there aren't that many places on Earth that don't compare favorably to NYC as a place to live 😅
Thanks! Yeah, I think average salaries are higher in NYC but I hard to beat Tokyo's apartments for their price!
lol 😅
This is the best video i've seen in a while!
Wow thanks! I’m really glad you enjoyed it!
Nice that it has an "Amazon Lock Box type" within the building. 👌🏾
Yeah they really come in handy!
Very nice apartment for a couple and great location for people wanting to live near the center of Tokyo.
It will fill up quickly with things. Something I’ve gotten used to living here.
Thanks! haha yeah I’ve always run into that problem!
Love this condo unit and the vicinity!
Kyodo station is really convenient!
Yeah great place!
I like your apartment. The space is well used. As somebody who lives in Germany for me this prices seem the incredibly high. We payed 300€ for our first 60m2 Appartement 23y ears ago. Afterwards (15 years ago) we bought a freestanding 125m2 house in a 500.000+ people city. The credit rate was 1.050€. Was, because now it‘s paid. So running costs are only energy and taxes. And most of the energy delivers the sun via photovoltaics. Okay, in the meanwhile prices for new real estates rised also, but for 1.800€ you can surely still buy a house in this area. Nevertheless, interesting view on your home and city. Once in my life I will visit Japan for sure.
That's not in Berlin though, right? Most areas in Japan are cheaper than this. I've lived in a 2-bedroom apartment in Japan for less than $300/month before. Tokyo has the highest prices in Japan because it's a big city by population and economy, and this area is higher than Tokyo's average.
I hope you'll visit Japan sometime! They say that Japan and Germany are similar in some ways.
Yes, it was very informative and interesting to watch this video. Thank you for your sharing it with us here on TH-cam 👍👏
Thank you for watching!
WOW!!!! Love your bedroom my friend. And your bathroom is very lovely as well. Tokyo is number 1.
Thanks! I'm surprised you like the bedroom, it's quite basic haha
@@barrettish your very very welcome my friend.
This is actually pretty big for the price! It's cheaper than my studio in tiny studio in LA. Thanks for the video.
Thanks for watching! Yeah, a lot of US cities are pretty expensive.
Hey I think it'd be helpful to make a floor layout picture for your videos so we can get a better idea of the size difference and scale of the apartment, thanks.
I probably should've put it in the video too but I have a floor layout and a lot of information in the blog I linked in the description!
www.barrettish.com/log/post/tokyo-1ldk-apartment-for-1800-dollars
Looks like a great area and for the price I think you got a real steal of a deal man nice.
It really was, totally miss it!
Japanese builds are impressive. They account for everything it's insane
Definitely detailed and pretty well made, I think.
You should get some sort of shelf or something for the nook near the fridge. You can fit good amount of stuff there. The fire hole seems so small. Can you really fit through it?
Yeah, we ended up just using it for bags and what not. The fire escape hole is a little small… I think I could fit in it but it would be a little tight. If you think that’s small, you should see the seats on city buses lol
I love that train station at 15:29. Seems like a nice, tranquil area.
Yeah I came to really love this area!
Your complex has nice amenities and seems to be conveniently located near markets, etc. Would LOVE to have someone greet me every time I enter the building, as well as secure my packages. I live in an unsecured building, and porch pirates are a menace. Anyway, two thumbs up! 👍
I can imagine… This place is really nice to live in, pretty lucky, I feel. Thanks for watching!
nice, i liked the video you presented the apartment really well. i love watching home tours to see how people are living 🤗
Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Dag, them trains is clean! LOL. I'm from Philly, so this is not the norm. 😂
I can imagine, it’s not the norm anywhere in the U.S.! lol pretty unfortunate I think
The trains are clean, not "is"
180K yen is around $1,200 nowadays, that's a damn sweet deal if you ask me
the living room/kitchen area might be on the smaller side, but the bathroom & amenities more than make up for it
Totally agree! Japanese kitchens tend to be small for some reason. The living room is also a little small but we also bought the wrong sized sofa lol
Thanks for inviting us into a snippet of your life :)
Of course, I’m glad you’re enjoying it!
It's a good place, the problem on RENTING apartments, is always storage...
If you buy your own house (or get a rent that allows you drilling remodel actions) you will be able to add storage in places like too kitchen, top bedroom, etc, and that will make your house bigger a lot!!!
Yup, for sure. Unfortunately drilling is almost never allowed in rentals in Japan. I did end up buying a place in Tokyo though. If you're interested: th-cam.com/video/uA5w8Wp5MDY/w-d-xo.html
Just for context: 180‘000 yen is only about 1‘100$ right now.
It‘s still quite expensive for a 1LDK. I live in a 1DK only about 5minutes (by car) away from this apartment and only pay 90‘000 yen.
Yeah exchange rate is crazy now. This is more than the average 1LDK.
Not sure what kind of place or where yours is but 90,000 yen is pretty cheap for a 1LDK, must’ve got a good deal.
@@barrettish Yeah the weak yen is terrible.
It‘s in Noge, upper floor of a 2 family home, 30.3m2. Yours is super luxurious tho, with a portiere and all these auto-lock and mailbox features.
from the videos about Tokyo apartments that I saw I believe you pay fair price for such a big place! and its kind of luxury building and its in the center of Tokyo ! amazing!!! enjoy
Yeah it’s not bad at all considering the location, distance from station, quality of building, etc. I recommend that area!
Nice tour of your home Barrett
Thank you!
Nice work, very informative
Thanks, I’m glad you liked it!
Really thorough tour, wish we could have those automatic bathtubs...
If you don't mind an opinion, I think this apartment could use some more shelves (I'm assuming the owner permits it). Above the stove, the trash can, and a magnetic/wipable board on the empty wall in the kitchen. They are surprisingly useful. Also you can place both tvs on the walls, place a dresser in the bedroom and it would free a lot of closet space. In the living room you could move sofa closer to the tv, or maybe have a projector with a screen? And in that spot where the printer is, I'd put dome taller furniture, with shelves, drawers, etc, put all the stuff in boxes, maybe there would even be space for some of those appliances from the kitchen, like the Zojirushi, toaster oven, kettle, espresso machine, since they're used regularly, but in certain times of the day, so t's a bit of a waste to place them where there's already no space. It could be like an extension of the kitchen. Also, the couch is definitely too big, I'd sell it, even with a loss.
You can’t put things on walls in rental apartments in Japan unfortunately, only if you own the place. The sofa was definitely too big lol, we would’ve got a slightly smaller one if we could do it over.
Nice Video. I used to live near Shimokita for over 1 and a half year, but I must say I tried to avoid the Odakyu Line, cause it is always so crowed especially during rush hour.
Thanks! Wow, Shimokita... nice! Yeah... luckily I didn't have to catch the train during rush hours normally. I have at times though and hated it. Inokashira Line is not great either.
Wow, this is much cheaper than what you’d pay in Melbourne. The design makes efficient use of space. Sqm is similar to what you’d find in Melbourne for a 1 bed, but they feel much smaller in Melbourne because of poor layout design. And you will never find separate toilet, wash area and shower for a 1 bedroom apartment. You’re complaining about storage space then open a big walk in closet 😂. You’ll never find that in Melbourne, much less an entry where you can your shoes. Thanks for walking us through!
Sounds a lot like American apartments in major cities lol. I do appreciate how Japanese apartments are designed thoughtfully when it comes to space utilization. lol having that closet space was lucky, although I'm pretty sure that wasn't meant to be a clothes closet.
Glad you found this interesting though, thanks for watching!
Great video! The apartment looked cool! 👍
Thank you!
Thank you for this video, was a very engaging and interesting video
I'm glad you enjoyed it, thanks for watching!
apartment was great. May I suggest putting in some utility shelves? you could do so much more with the space
Thanks but putting up shelves is not typically allowed in apartment rentals in Japan. We could possibly do so in the apartment I’ve shared more recently since it was purchased, but they usually try to maintain rentals in a level of condition that would be good for future renters.
I can’t help but think every time I see these videos that Japan’s modern bathrooms are so much more well thought out than in the United States. I love how in Japan they have the shower and tub together in one space like that where it prevents water dripping off you after bathing so you don’t have a wet floor when you go to use the bathroom or brush your teeth.
Edit: there are layouts in the United States where you can technically accomplish this but in most cases with most home bathrooms, they don’t have this type of layout
I agree, I think US design around the bathroom/toilet in general is quite outdated. Toilets almost look uncivilized and generally a toilet, tub/shower and sink are just kind of thrown into a room together. Would be curious to know why that is...
wow bigger than I had expected. Looks great
Thanks!
As someone who lives in America and hates the culture of apartments. It feels like a punishment to have to live in an apartment. This makes it seem like a privilege. It's incredible. I hope to experience that one day
Hope you will too!
What do you call the culture of apartments ?
@@Haldarys In the apartments I've lived in, there's kind of this shared underlying misery associated with the idea of not owning your home. Can you really ever be comfortable ? Also the idea that there are people on the other side of that wall. That causes some other kind of angst. Sleeping in a room where someone is sleeping against the other wall that you don't know. That's kind of like a universal experience. Crazy.
@@mr.wardensworkshop Is it a cultural or personal point of view ?
I'm european and lived in both in houses and apartments and i don't feel anything like that.
Right now, the exchange for this comes too 1264.00 per month so even cheaper! I WISH I could get something like this. I pay over $3000 USD for my 2 bedroom apartment and limited utilities.
Oh yeah, if you're making USD then Japan would be a great deal right now!
Thank you Barrett for this video!!!
Thanks for watching!
Okay, that's really nice for $1800 a month in Tokyo. I was paying like $950 a month for a much smaller one in Koiwa back in 2007-2009
Thanks! It depends on a lot of things, I'm sure your place was decent!
That new building is definitely costing that rent money. 18 man for a 1LDK is a bit high for Setagaya since it doesn't have any major stations. Oh and you should definitely get those vertical trash bins for the pet bottles and glass bins
Yeah it’s on the higher side, but like I mentioned it was great for our work and family situation. I ended up loving the area. Vertical trash bins would’ve been great for sure.
Thanks for making this video! Given how expensive housing in Tokyo is in general, $1800 for that much isn’t that bad.
Thanks! I think it's pretty good too, and the area was great for us.
180,000¥ is around $1,340 USD, which for that apt in that area and that size is not bad. My 66m 2ldk in Toshima-ku is around $1,650 which is why I was so I'm surprised you said $1,800.
Yeah just made it simple and put the disclaimer since the rate is always fluctuating. The price isn’t bad, sounds like you got a good deal too. Would love that added space!
180K for a 1DK in *Setagaya* is on the high side IMO. You're paying more because it appears to be a newer building with some amenities. You can get a updated 1LDK closer to central Tokyo (with access to more than 1 train line) for less. For example I wss paying 165K for a 1LDK near Ueno. Older building but it was fine for me. Tokyo Metro JR and Tsukuba all within walking or bicycle distance.
Yeah it is, the average at this station for a 1LDK is just under 160k, but the average size is smaller and this one was only 5 min. from the station so we were paying for that and the building. This one was great for us at the time but we’ve since have gone through a lot of changes.
Your place looks awesome thanks for sharing
Thank you for watching!
The bathtub features have me searching the web! I need that.
haha bathrooms in Japan are really good!
It's like living in a tiny IKEA store.
lol yeah a bunch of our stuff was from IKEA
The fire escape is ingenius we need them in Australia
For sure! Could be a little wider but pretty clever.
Woww your apartment is so nice and clean 💕💕
Thanks, it got messy quite often though haha
50 square meters is considered about adequate for 2 people in Germany as well.
Interesting. It’s a little small for the US probably but the US is a bit oversized.
According to current USD to Yen exchange rates 180k Yen is roughly $1200.
280k Yen would be $1800 and for that you can rent a 3LDK.
Crazy
Apartment, bld. complex, location - all look nice. Do you think 1800usd is a fair price? Was it hard to get (especially as for foreigner)?
Yeah it’s a fair price, it’s a couple hundred over the average price for that type of apartment in that area, and this one probably has more added benefits (number of delivery boxes, etc.). The actual paperwork was the hardest part, we had some this working in our favor… my wife is Japanese, I’d been working at a Japanese company for a while, etc. It’s still at the high end of what we wanted to to pay but in the end it worked out, especially with the slightly bigger space than typical and Covid hitting. As usual though, lots of upfront costs or fees that you don’t get back.
Dublin here. That's pretty similar to what you can expect here for $1800/€1600.
Not bad! Thanks for sharing :)
Thanks for showing your apt. I really love Japan and wished one day to move there.
Thank you for watching! Go for it!
Oh boy I thought Tokio has renter friendly. I live in Switzerland, and we pay 2500,- Swiss frace for 135 qm. We do live in the country because the city is just too expensive. 50am for 2000,- and more.
It depends on a few things but it’s not too bad for a city this size. Cities are always more expensive, you’d get more space in Japan’s countryside as well.
In Singapore, this would probably cost upwards of USD 2.4k for 50 sqm condo apartment. But Singapore doesn't have 'key money-fee' or 'insurance' and generally white goods (fridge, washing machine, aircon) are provided
Oh interesting. Yeah when I rented in the US, the apartments came with appliances so the way Japan is was new to me too.
6.55 Those taps are looking really freaked out. Leave my eyeballs alone!
lol it does look like a face 😮
Cool tour sir!
Thank you!
@@barrettish Np!
Japan is always so clean everywhere!!! (except Shibuya. I visited there and it was a mess....)
Yup, it has its dirtier areas… Shibuya, Kabukicho… overall it’s quite clean though, especially for a city of its size!
Your apartment looks great! May I know where you got the thin shelf under your kitchen counter from?
Thanks! Yeah I think we ordered it online from a store called dinos…
Prices in Atlanta 2023 seem to be about the same as Tokyo. We have better outdoor space but y'all's bathrooms are far superior.
I’ve never been to Atlanta but am curious about it. Nice to hear that there’s good outdoor space!
Hong Kong is literally the most expensive place to live in the world right now. Def one of the most expensive in East Asia. It costs more per square meter to rent there than anywhere else. Also one of the most dense in population, def more dense than Tokyo. Hong Kong is so expensive that less-than-desirable living conditions are common, such as sub-divided flats, "coffin homes" and even cage homes. Because they're all you can really get on the cheaper side. I believe that's all $1800 would get you in Hong Kong. So Tokyo is not that bad in comparison. Seems like the money still at least goes a decent ways for the space. $1800 was about how much a 1br unit in Los Angeles costed maybe just 2yrs ago. Nowadays you're looking at minimum $2k/month, usuallu more. Even still, it is currently 52% cheaper to rent in the U.S. than it is to buy a home at the moment, making it the worst time to purchase a home. Hasn't been this bad since the mid-90s. And even with that in mind, a lot of apartments remain vacant or are becoming vacant because it's still expensive to rent even though it's cheaper than owning at the moment. lol. So landlords are suffering too, even though technically renting is cheaper right now. And those who are renting typically have roommates to share in some of the costs. I've even begun seeing some subdivideds and bunks apartments beginning to spring up. Ppl buying up or even renting up property and then jacking up the prices for profit. It's nuts.
Vegas is relatively cheaper; same with places like AZ or even TX. But the trade-off is the weather, although Vegas would be more tolerable of the 3; Nevada in general. It's desert, but at least there's a lot to do there compared to the other two. Plus L.A. is only a small drive/flight away if a change of scenery is needed.
I've seen some apartments that are as low as $200-$300/month in Tokyo and even those are not too bad; they seem to vary depending what area you're in. Some were ridiculous for the money while others were perfectly liveable for the price but might put you a little more away from the main cities.
Yup, Hong Kong seems pretty expensive for the space. I've only visited but I could kind of sense that.
A lot of US cities, especially major ones, are just really expensive. Average salary is definitely better, but the only comparable US city to Tokyo is NYC basically, and obviously you're not getting anything there that's close to what you'd get in Tokyo for the same price. What's also good about Tokyo is that there's a decent supply of studio and 1-bedroom apartments that are affordable for singles to rend and live in. I find that type of housing is really lacking in the US, and the ones that are there are expensive.
Great tour of ur apartment ( which was really quite big ) a good lay out , & ur rubbish room was interesting, to people down under lol so very very different, I couldn’t imagine being around to many people 😮
Glad you found it interesting! Yeah, Tokyo is a very different lifestyle versus a lot of places, really. Out of the cities I’ve been to, only places like NYC, Hong Kong, Shanghai or Seoul can kind of be compared. Definitely redefines “city”!
That's a pretty good size apartment. Usually the Japanese ones I see here look so small.
Yeah it’s a little above the average. We really liked this place!
That apt was not too bad for Japan. A similar 1 bedroom in the U.S.coat about the same, and 2 bedroom up to $2,500 a month in nice area.
I think it depends on where in the US. In Honolulu, San Francisco, or LA for example (places I've lived), I would expect less for the same price.
This is pretty nice! I mean the price is amazing 😍😹 bc my 980sqft 2b2b condo mortgage is about $3300 + $400HOA here in Brooklyn/NYC 😅
Thanks! NYC is expensive but it is NYC! 😁 I don’t know we’ll but it sounds like you have a pretty good deal for the location!
that is huge appartment compared to my 2.600$ singapore one-bedroom condo
I have heard Singapore can be pricey!
If I may ask, just pure curiosity, how much you pay per kWh ( electricity ) and per m³ ( natural gas )?
Great video btw, GE GE!!!
Thanks! I made a video about this actually: th-cam.com/video/-En8MTdPyYA/w-d-xo.htmlsi=QfOIb8sQZojRbnrg
The prices might have increased a little since, but I hope this gives you an idea.
Not too expensive, however I'm buying a 4-bedroom house about 20 minutes from Shinjuku and it costs about 140,000 yen/month (bought newly built). Just to give a little perspective on prices here in Tokyo.
That sounds like a really good deal... I've never come across something like that. But yeah, you can definitely find a decent place to live in Tokyo for 140,000 yen/month!
So almost $1700 Canadian dollars. That sounds like it's much much cheaper than Toronto since rent prices there right now usually go for around $2,000 a month.
Maybe but there are high fees as well, especially at the beginning and during renewal. The gap is probably less than it seems.
In my city in Brazil, with 1800 dollars/month you can quite literally live in a 780 m² house with 4 bedrooms and a pool (in a high middle class part of the city); or a 220 m² 4 bedroom luxury apartment with an ocean view. Only (very succefull) doctors, judges, diplomats or such would be able to afford something like that here.
Hell, someone that makes 1800 dollars a month is a high middle class individual here. Pretty crazy seeing countries like Japan and the US being like that. But then again, someone in Brazil making 2k dollars a month can live a decent middle to high middle class life style, while someone making the same amount of money in Tokyo wouldn't.
Yeah definitely, it's crazy to see how different incomes and costs of living vary between countries. People living in smaller cities or towns in Japan could get way bigger places for the same price as this apartment too. I looked at houses/apartments for sale recently, and a small 1-bedroom apartment near this place in Tokyo is more expensive than a 4-bedroom 2-story house in the town I used to live in in Fukuoka prefecture.
Keep in mind 2,000 a month in the US is minimum wage job. Just working should make that
@@cookingwithadamkahnandlixu2718 LOL $2k/month is NOT minimum wage in the US. It's literally half that.
gawd i WISH there was something that nice in Boston for that price!
Yeah, that goes for most major US cities! Average salary in Tokyo is a bit lower though.
nice man, My budget 25 years ago always was 450,000~600,000 rent, but 15 years ago I found a nice luxury mansion in Chojamaru area back of Ebisu Garden place I bot it not big but fine for me and my wife, 100 sqm enough! I like your appartment nice Setagaya many young people like there setagaya and Shimokitazawa anyway great! keep going man! nice review!
Wow that’s awesome! You must’ve had a really nice place for that amount! Thank you!
Is this a Clio Mansion? Looks very similar to where I used to live, including all of the fittings
It's an Odakyu mansion. My guess is a lot of the same appliances and what not are used in a lot of buildings and homes.
From what I've seen from other youtubers in japan, the trash room alone is probably worth the higher rent compared to cheaper apartments.
Yeah this trash room is great. We’ll maintained too.
Gives me a great perspective when I move to Tokyo. Thank you. But I’m slightly confused. Aren’t you leaving Japan?
Glad you liked it! Yup!
I used to live on the Odakyu line. Good train line! I miss riding the romance car.
Yeah good line! Lucky you, I only got to ride the Romance Car once!
Love the apartment ❤❤❤
Thank you!
Cool video. A bit small for my tastes but I guess that's standard issue for Japan.
Thanks! Yeah, we get used to city living after a while.
Better than what I get for the same price in Connecticut...but less convenient location...
Interesting. I’ve never been to Connecticut but i would’ve thought it’d be a decent deal there!
This is a very nice apartment for $1,800 a month when comparing it to many U.S. apartments. Just need to make sure to not have a lot of stuff.
Yeah, definitely. lol I struggled with not having too much stuff!
I love Tokyo ❤
So do I!
This video reminded me of how advanced Japan is!😱🤩
Advanced in some areas, very outdated in others.
It is still very much a cash society. Which is surprising.
@@triarb5790 Yup. Although there has been a small shift that’s been happening over the last few years with cashless payment systems like PayPay.
I think the cash-focus is tied to the culture of placing a lot of value on tangible objects in general.
This is awesome! Its my goal to live in japan someday
Thanks! Hope you’ll make it happen!
I'm about to learn Japanese and move to Japan for a great living
Go for it
This would be a pretty decent place for the price in Boston, Chicago, or LA.
Yeah, or in most major U.S. cities I think. Average salary is probably more though.