CONTENTS:
- Finding Somewhere to Live in Japan
- Getting Around
FINDING SOMEWHERE TO LIVE IN JAPAN
Before we get into specifics and begin to look at different types of accommodation in Japan, it is quite important that I explain two customs that unique to Japan and associated with rental agreements. I am not sure what other countries implement similar customs, but, certainly, the UK does not, and so, for British citizens who are moving to Japan, it is important to understand them. They are the customs of 'key money' and 'guarantors'. Both are annoying and best avoided if possible.
Key Money
Key money has nothing to do with keys! Key money is a fee estate agents charge when people start a contract to rent a property. It is just a 'service charge' for no purpose other than to line their back pockets. It is not the deposit. Very often, if renting a normal apartment or house, you need to pay one or two months deposit, plus one month's key money. In some parts of Japan, the local government decided that the process of 'key money' should not be allowed. But around the Tokyo area it is standard. However, often, if the apartment is old, in bad condition, or not in such a desirable part of town (sandwiched between a chicken farm and sewage plant about 50 minutes walk from the station, for example) then the key money is often waived.
Guarantors
A guarantor is someone who adds their name to your tenancy contract to say that if you fail to pay your rent, then they are responsible for paying. Your guarantor must be Japanese - not a foreigner. Companies as an entity cannot act as guarantors - it must be an individual. There are a couple of ways around this if you don't know any Japanese people well enough to ask them to be your guarantor. There are 'guarantor companies' who, if you pay them a certain amount of money, will act as a guarantor for you. Another alternative is paying a lot of cash up front - like 6 months or a whole year's rent up front. That can be tricky for most people! As well as being Japanese, your guarantor must be someone with a regular income - an 18 year old who works in McDonalds twice a week isn't going to cut it with the estate agent.
Don't panic at this stage. There are ways to avoid these customs.
Now, let's take a look at different kinds of accommodation, especially those which are particularly relevant for foreigners moving to Japan for the first time.
English Conversation School's Company Apartments
Key Money
Key money has nothing to do with keys! Key money is a fee estate agents charge when people start a contract to rent a property. It is just a 'service charge' for no purpose other than to line their back pockets. It is not the deposit. Very often, if renting a normal apartment or house, you need to pay one or two months deposit, plus one month's key money. In some parts of Japan, the local government decided that the process of 'key money' should not be allowed. But around the Tokyo area it is standard. However, often, if the apartment is old, in bad condition, or not in such a desirable part of town (sandwiched between a chicken farm and sewage plant about 50 minutes walk from the station, for example) then the key money is often waived.
Guarantors
A guarantor is someone who adds their name to your tenancy contract to say that if you fail to pay your rent, then they are responsible for paying. Your guarantor must be Japanese - not a foreigner. Companies as an entity cannot act as guarantors - it must be an individual. There are a couple of ways around this if you don't know any Japanese people well enough to ask them to be your guarantor. There are 'guarantor companies' who, if you pay them a certain amount of money, will act as a guarantor for you. Another alternative is paying a lot of cash up front - like 6 months or a whole year's rent up front. That can be tricky for most people! As well as being Japanese, your guarantor must be someone with a regular income - an 18 year old who works in McDonalds twice a week isn't going to cut it with the estate agent.
Don't panic at this stage. There are ways to avoid these customs.
Now, let's take a look at different kinds of accommodation, especially those which are particularly relevant for foreigners moving to Japan for the first time.
English Conversation School's Company Apartments
For a lot of westerners, when arriving in Japan and about to start working as an English teacher, will be given a company apartment to live in. These are usually fairly small with extremely basic furnishings. They are usually quite adequate, and as the tenancy contract is made between you and your company this obviously reduces any stress.
However, in my experience, such apartments, while convenient, are often a massive rip-off.
When I first came to Japan and began working for a large English conversation school chain, I was unlucky with the apartment that I got. It was big - surprisingly big. This was not what I had expected at all, and this might seem like I struck lucky. It had a large kitchen - large enough to put a table in the centre of the room and sit four people comfortably around it. There was a living room and a bedroom of equal size.
The problem was that it was dilapidated, freezing and cockroach infested.
The bath and bathroom, which was covered in mold - mold that would not scrub off. That's what happens when there are unvarnished wooden shelves in a bathroom. The bath had a handle. When I wanted to use hot water in the bath I needed to turn the handle, and ignite the gas flame under the bath. I only took a bath once there and resorted to using the shower.
While the place was big, it only had one heater. And that heater was on its last legs. In the first few weeks in the apartment - in January and February 2005 - I sat shivering under a duvet with my feet up against an electrical heater I had bought.
As the summer approached, the cockroaches swarmed and every day I found myself hunting them down with a shoe in my hand. Disgusting.
After 11 months I had managed to get my finances together and gave in my notice for the apartment, moving out in February 2006. It was a joyous occasion.
But, actually my experience is not a common one. Other employees of the same company, living just a 5 minute walk away, had been given relatively modern apartments that were smaller and far more acceptable.
What we did have in common with each other, however, was that we were being charged far too much for the apartments we were living in. Everyone was paying between 75,000 and 78,000 yen per month. Recently, the apartments the other employees were living in have been advertised for just 50,000 yen per month, so clearly, the company was charging them at 150% the going rate. Of course, it is expected that the company will make a small profit, but that's quite a price hike. This is a common situation for most English conversation school apartments in Japan.
My advice is, of course, move out as soon as possible. Or even, never move in at all! That's easier said than done though.
A major advantage to company apartments is that there is no need to pay key money and no need to have a guarantor. See the top of this page for an explanation of what key money and a guarantor is.
Guest Houses
An easy alternative to staying in a company apartment is the guest house. This sounds like some kind of bed and breakfast, possibly with shared sleeping quarters. Not so.
You can get your own room with your own bathroom. Perhaps you may have to use a communal kitchen, but you will have your own private space with a lock on the door.
I have never lived in a guest house, but I wish I had known about them before I had moved to Japan. In hindsight, this would have been a far better place to live for me until I had moved into a new apartment with my wife.
There are obvious advantages to guest houses. Of course, every guest house is different but, generally, I believe the following facts are true:
A bicycle will also help you get around more of your local area and you'll find more and more shops and small local yakitori boozers as you explore. So go and get yourself a bicycle - you won't regret it. Don't worry about getting a 'trendy' bicycle. Everyone has the same kind of bog standard unisex bicycle. These are known as 'mama-chari'.
A lot of foreigners try and park their bicycle in the street near stations and find their bicycle gone when they return. You can get away with doing this for a few hours but not for too long. Bicycle 'police' (more retired geysers working for a bit of extra dosh) will put a note on your bike and, in a few hours, if your bicycle is still there it'll get taken away. They take it somewhere and you need to pay to get it back. This has never happened to me so I don't know exactly what to do if it does. But remember - these bicycle 'police' are not working in the evening and at weekends so you can get away with it at certain times!
Lastly, if you are worried about cycling on roads, you don't need to. Everyone cycles on the pavement. Drivers get annoyed with cyclists on the road so it's best to avoid this unless you know what you are doing and prepared to cycle at a reasonable pace. Also, in Japan, crash helmets are for kids. You'll get laughed at if you use one unless you're a 'serious' cyclist. That's why everyone cycles fairly slowly on the pavement.
Japanese people cycle like nutters though. You'll be amazed how they just swerve to avoid a pedestrian from the pavement onto the road without looking behind them. Japanese people are dismissive of the dangers of roads. So be careful not to do whatever foolishness the cyclist in front of you may be doing.
When you get to Japan get your bike and, especially if you don't have a car but even if you do, it's a must.
While the place was big, it only had one heater. And that heater was on its last legs. In the first few weeks in the apartment - in January and February 2005 - I sat shivering under a duvet with my feet up against an electrical heater I had bought.
As the summer approached, the cockroaches swarmed and every day I found myself hunting them down with a shoe in my hand. Disgusting.
After 11 months I had managed to get my finances together and gave in my notice for the apartment, moving out in February 2006. It was a joyous occasion.
But, actually my experience is not a common one. Other employees of the same company, living just a 5 minute walk away, had been given relatively modern apartments that were smaller and far more acceptable.
What we did have in common with each other, however, was that we were being charged far too much for the apartments we were living in. Everyone was paying between 75,000 and 78,000 yen per month. Recently, the apartments the other employees were living in have been advertised for just 50,000 yen per month, so clearly, the company was charging them at 150% the going rate. Of course, it is expected that the company will make a small profit, but that's quite a price hike. This is a common situation for most English conversation school apartments in Japan.
My advice is, of course, move out as soon as possible. Or even, never move in at all! That's easier said than done though.
A major advantage to company apartments is that there is no need to pay key money and no need to have a guarantor. See the top of this page for an explanation of what key money and a guarantor is.
Guest Houses
An easy alternative to staying in a company apartment is the guest house. This sounds like some kind of bed and breakfast, possibly with shared sleeping quarters. Not so.
You can get your own room with your own bathroom. Perhaps you may have to use a communal kitchen, but you will have your own private space with a lock on the door.
I have never lived in a guest house, but I wish I had known about them before I had moved to Japan. In hindsight, this would have been a far better place to live for me until I had moved into a new apartment with my wife.
There are obvious advantages to guest houses. Of course, every guest house is different but, generally, I believe the following facts are true:
- They are often foreigner friendly. A lot of guest houses advertise in English to get foreign customers.
- There is no need to pay 'key money'. (I explained what this is above.)
- There is no need to have a guarantor. (I explained what this is above too.)
- It is possible to apply for your room from abroad.
- It is usually cheaper than English conversation school's company apartments.
- Utility bills are included, often including an internet connection!
Of course, the downside for some people may be that you may have to share a kitchen. And that, the presence of so many other foreigners may 'get in the way of' your Japanese experience. Alternatively, that may be good for you as you'll be able to make friends easier without the problem of a language barrier. A further downside may be that the guest house may have rules regarding guests that stop you from bringing your new Japanese friend back to your room late at night for a bit of cultural exchange (nudge, nudge, wink, wink, man-of-the-world, say no more).
There are lots of guest houses in Japan, especially around urban areas. In order to find one just enter the name of the city (or the station name) where you want to live, and the words 'guest house' in a search engine and you'll probably find one pretty soon. There are also lots of websites that are very helpful, such as guesthousejapan.net (click on the union jack to display the website in English).
If you are planning on staying in Japan for just a year or two, I would highly recommend living in a guest house. Cheap rent, social environment, all bills included - sounds like a winner to me. Couple that with the fact that there is no need to have a guarantor, or pay key money, and you can start to see how living in one of these places will help you adjust to life in Japan without much stress. I can't believe I didn't live in one of these. It's far preferable than living in an apartment owned, or sub-contracted, by your employer as it allows you to change your job without having to worry about where you are going to live.
Of course, some foreigners prefer their 'own space' and privacy so that's what makes them choose to rent from an estate agency. So let's take a look at that next.
Renting from the Private Sector:
Firstly, although this option may give you a feeling of independence in Japan, I wouldn't advise it at least until you are properly settled in to life in Japan and intending to stay for longer than a couple of years. If you are only going to stay in Japan for less than a couple of years, renting from the private sector is just going to be too much hassle.
After living in my English conversation school company apartment I moved into an apartment of my own which I rented and lived alone for about 4 years. After meeting my wife we moved into another apartment where we currently live, but not for much longer. Both rental agreements were made in my name. First, I will try and explain what you should think about when looking for an apartment to rent from the private sector.
There are lots of guest houses in Japan, especially around urban areas. In order to find one just enter the name of the city (or the station name) where you want to live, and the words 'guest house' in a search engine and you'll probably find one pretty soon. There are also lots of websites that are very helpful, such as guesthousejapan.net (click on the union jack to display the website in English).
If you are planning on staying in Japan for just a year or two, I would highly recommend living in a guest house. Cheap rent, social environment, all bills included - sounds like a winner to me. Couple that with the fact that there is no need to have a guarantor, or pay key money, and you can start to see how living in one of these places will help you adjust to life in Japan without much stress. I can't believe I didn't live in one of these. It's far preferable than living in an apartment owned, or sub-contracted, by your employer as it allows you to change your job without having to worry about where you are going to live.
Of course, some foreigners prefer their 'own space' and privacy so that's what makes them choose to rent from an estate agency. So let's take a look at that next.
Renting from the Private Sector:
Firstly, although this option may give you a feeling of independence in Japan, I wouldn't advise it at least until you are properly settled in to life in Japan and intending to stay for longer than a couple of years. If you are only going to stay in Japan for less than a couple of years, renting from the private sector is just going to be too much hassle.
After living in my English conversation school company apartment I moved into an apartment of my own which I rented and lived alone for about 4 years. After meeting my wife we moved into another apartment where we currently live, but not for much longer. Both rental agreements were made in my name. First, I will try and explain what you should think about when looking for an apartment to rent from the private sector.
- How far from the station can you cope with living? This is a major factor which I guess British people might not see as being so important. However, it is a major issue for Japanese people. Because the train system is so good, a lot of people don't have or need cars. Generally, most places you would want to go to (schools, businesses cinemas, hospitals, tourist attractions) are located to stations. Japan seems to have been constructed around stations. This means an apartment's rent is often greatly influenced by its distance from the station. Even if it's a brand new apartment with all the mod cons, if it's 30 minutes walk from a station it's going to be relatively cheap. Generally a lot of Japanese have a pathetic notion that any apartment more than 10 minutes walk from a station is 'too far'. So, if you can handle a 15 minute walk then you'll be increasing your options and are likely to find a great apartment that is relatively cheap in comparison to apartments with in that 10 minute radius. If you live even further away but don't mind cycling (or taking a bus) to the station you'll find places that are amazingly cheap. This may sound inconvenient but there are always lots of bicycle parking lots around stations. Bicycle parking lots usually cost around 100 to 200 yen per day.
- How small an apartment are you prepared to settle for? Unsurprisingly, the smaller the apartment, the less your rent is likely to be. Possibly, this point isn't really worth making, but, in Japan, apartments go very very small. The first apartment I rented was tiny - as you entered you were in the kitchen which amounted to a corridor with a sink, fridge, gas cooker and cupboards. Next to the kitchen was a cramped bathroom. Continuing on from the kitchen was the main room which was probably about 4 metres long and 3 metres wide. I managed to force a sofa in through the window (it was a ground floor apartment). That was my 'living room'. Finally, above the living room there was a 'loft'. This amounted to a shelf which acted as the bedroom, or rather, somewhere to sleep. The ceiling was so low you could not stand up. I had a low bed up here, and if I was sleeping on my back, my nose was probably about 40 centimetres from the ceiling. Because of the apartment's size, the rent was dirt cheap - 44,000 yen a month - almost half of what I was paying for my company's apartment. So, if you are prepared to 'go small' you can also 'go cheap', but be aware that small means shoe box size.
- How old an apartment are you prepared to settle for? Unlike property in the UK, in Japan, whether it's a house or an apartment, whether you are renting or buying, properties depreciate in value. It's like buying a brand new car - as you drive it off the dealer's forecourt, it automatically becomes worth a fraction of what you just paid for it. So, the older the apartment, the less your rent will be. However, there is, perhaps, an important factor to consider here. Japan is prone to earthquakes so buildings are constructed to regulations. They are built to withstand large shakes and they have to be built in a certain way. But when were these regulations first implemented? 1981 apparently. Generally, I would personally recommend avoiding anything built before 1995 as, of course, as construction techniques improved, the more earthquake-resistant buildings were.
Those are the 3 main factors you may want to consider when looking for your own apartment.
What are the benefits of living in your own apartment?
- Independence.
- Privacy.
That's about it really, if you compare renting from the private sector to living in a guest house.
So what are the disadvantages?
- Insurance. You usually need to buy insurance for your apartment just in case you burn it down.
- Bills, bills, bills. Unlike living in a guest house, none of your bills will be included. Not only will you have to pay your bills and keep an eye on how much you are spending on them, you also need to go through the hassle of getting your electricity, gas, internet, water and phone lines connected and/or set up. That can be challenging if you don't have a decent grasp of Japanese.
- Key money. See the explanation at the top of this page for details. Usually, you will need to pay key money.
- Guarantor. See the explanation at the top of this page for details. You will need a guarantor. Finding a guarantor can be problematic. Also, if you suddenly leave Japan for good and don't end your contract agreement properly and don't pay your final utility bills, your guarantor will be charged.
- Estate Agency Prejudice. Often estate agencies and/or landlords are wary of renting to foreigners. This may because the consider them 'troublesome tenants' or it may just be that too many foreigners in the past have caused problems, either with noise, or with failing to pay their rent or ending their tenancy agreement properly - it is all too easy for a foreigner to just up and leave in a huff without giving notice. I have heard stories of other British people entering estate agencies and being told that they don't rent to foreigners. How widespread this kind of attitude is I have no idea.
So, as you can see, there are a lot of disadvantages to renting from the private sector. However, if you are going to live with a Japanese citizen, then, obviously, this option may be a better option for you. I really like my current apartment and I'll be sad to move out in the not too distant future.
As a final note, it is possible to find a house rather than an apartment. I know a couple of guys who rent their own houses. One of these guys who lives in a house only pays about 50,000 yen for it per month. That's pretty cheap. But it's cheap because it is about 20 minutes walk from the station, over an hour away from Tokyo on the train and the house is pretty old.
GETTING AROUND
Bicycles
In this section I'll be talking about how to get around your local area and around the country. I'll be commenting on the use of bicycles, cars and trains. There are lots of bus services in Japan but although I lived there for almost 10 years my experience of buses is fairly limited.
If you're moving to Japan you'll be busy sorting out your essentials - bank account and mobile phone (in that order) for example. But when you get a chance to take a break from dashing around trying to jump through bureaucratic hoops and fill in forms correctly get a bicycle. The cheapest will probably set you back only around 12,000 yen but you can always get something a bit more flashy. Generally, around Tokyo, the cheapest won't come with gears. A lot of the Kanto area is fairly flat so, at least where I was living in Saitama, it wasn't an issue. There are bicycle stores everywhere because every Japanese person has a bicycle, well, almost.
There are bicycles everywhere. And train stations are surrounded by bicycle parking lots, often like the one in the picture above. Parking often costs around 200 yen for a day, but you will occasionally find some free parking lots. The ones you have to pay for are invariably attended by old geysers. So Japanese use their bicycles to get from home to station as well as to go shopping at the supermarket or even to get their young ones to school - see the picture below.
If you're moving to Japan you'll be busy sorting out your essentials - bank account and mobile phone (in that order) for example. But when you get a chance to take a break from dashing around trying to jump through bureaucratic hoops and fill in forms correctly get a bicycle. The cheapest will probably set you back only around 12,000 yen but you can always get something a bit more flashy. Generally, around Tokyo, the cheapest won't come with gears. A lot of the Kanto area is fairly flat so, at least where I was living in Saitama, it wasn't an issue. There are bicycle stores everywhere because every Japanese person has a bicycle, well, almost.
There are bicycles everywhere. And train stations are surrounded by bicycle parking lots, often like the one in the picture above. Parking often costs around 200 yen for a day, but you will occasionally find some free parking lots. The ones you have to pay for are invariably attended by old geysers. So Japanese use their bicycles to get from home to station as well as to go shopping at the supermarket or even to get their young ones to school - see the picture below.
My recommendation - get a bicycle and when you get it, pick out the biggest baskets the store has got for an extra couple of thousand and get one bad boy basket bolted onto the front and an even bigger bad boy basket bolted onto the back. It may seem like a weird recommendation and totally unnecessary but, trust me, once you make a supermarket trip and pick up a massive pack of toilet paper and crates of booze it'll all make sense.
A bicycle will also help you get around more of your local area and you'll find more and more shops and small local yakitori boozers as you explore. So go and get yourself a bicycle - you won't regret it. Don't worry about getting a 'trendy' bicycle. Everyone has the same kind of bog standard unisex bicycle. These are known as 'mama-chari'.
A lot of foreigners try and park their bicycle in the street near stations and find their bicycle gone when they return. You can get away with doing this for a few hours but not for too long. Bicycle 'police' (more retired geysers working for a bit of extra dosh) will put a note on your bike and, in a few hours, if your bicycle is still there it'll get taken away. They take it somewhere and you need to pay to get it back. This has never happened to me so I don't know exactly what to do if it does. But remember - these bicycle 'police' are not working in the evening and at weekends so you can get away with it at certain times!
Lastly, if you are worried about cycling on roads, you don't need to. Everyone cycles on the pavement. Drivers get annoyed with cyclists on the road so it's best to avoid this unless you know what you are doing and prepared to cycle at a reasonable pace. Also, in Japan, crash helmets are for kids. You'll get laughed at if you use one unless you're a 'serious' cyclist. That's why everyone cycles fairly slowly on the pavement.
Japanese people cycle like nutters though. You'll be amazed how they just swerve to avoid a pedestrian from the pavement onto the road without looking behind them. Japanese people are dismissive of the dangers of roads. So be careful not to do whatever foolishness the cyclist in front of you may be doing.
When you get to Japan get your bike and, especially if you don't have a car but even if you do, it's a must.
Cars
Most foreigners don't have a car in Japan. It's not worth it if you're just staying for a year or so. If you're from the UK and you have a UK license it's actually pretty easy to get a Japanese license - no test required, just an hour at some place (might be the police station, I'm not sure) watching a video, and payment of around 10,000 yen.
Personally, I'm cack at driving - I haven't driven for over 10 years since passing my test - so I wouldn't drive anywhere. And my wife wouldn't let me behind the wheel in any country. Although we didn't have our own car we often borrowed her parents' car for big shopping trips to Costco. But generally, where we were living, we didn't need a car. In other parts of the country it's different. But around Tokyo the train system is so comprehensive that you don't need a car. I had a 12 minutes walk to the station in the morning, and after taking the train I had a 12 minute walk to my school. The supermarket was 5 minutes walk away. And most places you'd want to go to are centred around the station. And for everywhere else, you can always jump on your bicycle.
Don't get me wrong. Cars are great in Japan. We've been on a few trips by car around Japan - Gifu, Izu, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Nikko and Mount Fuji. We also rented a car during our trips to Okinawa (main island) and Ishigaki (a smaller island of Okinawa near Taiwan) It's a really good way to see the country. And if you want to try out a 'Love Hotel' then they are often found near highway exits so difficult to access in any way other than by car.
Travelling by car on national holidays means traffic jams. Long ones. Beware! The other thing to bear in mind is, unlike the UK where road use is free (except for ridiculous anomalies such as the Dartford Tunnel) there are highway tolls.
When driving in the winter around the snowy parts of the country, you'll need snow tyres. This became blatantly obvious on our trip to Gifu in February 2012. And, yes, we did have our snow tyres fitted before we left. If you look at the pictures below from our trip, you'll understand why.
Renting cars is straightforward and companies do have English language websites. Almost everyone drives automatic transmission. So if you have a chance to drive around the country, take it. But, if you're living around a major city, and you're not staying long, don't bother with buying one. I didn't have a car for almost 10 years and I never felt I needed one... although my wife wouldn't agree perhaps!
Trains
Trains are amazing in Japan. They have a reputation of being on time... always. That's not quite true because from time to time, fairly often really, someone chooses to end their life by jumping on the train tracks in front of an incoming train. Every year I must have been delayed by 2 hours about 5 or 6 times due to this choice of suicide.
Trains often have announcements and maps in English so it's easy to get where you are going. And there are great English language websites helping you to plan your route. I've always used Hyperdia but there are many others.
Tickets are sold as singles rather than returns. Also, the language of ticket machines can be changed to English so there's no problem there for people who are new to the country. The machine asks you to select a price of ticket rather than a destination. You can find out how much your destination should cost by looking on the board above the ticket machines. But if you can't find your destination just buy the cheapest ticket and use the fare adjustment machine at your destination.
Here's the thing most foreigners don't realise when first arriving in Japan. There are travelcards, pretty much all over Japan. But they are called 'commuter passes'. You buy a commuter pass for 1 month, 3 months, 6 months or a year. The price of the commuter pass is determined obviously by duration but also by which stations you are travelling between - it's a pass from station A to B that allows you to get off and on at any station in between.
If you're thinking about where to work and live, try to sort it so that you are travelling the other way to everyone else in the mornings, especially if you start work between 8:30 and 10:00. In my case I was lucky to live 20 minutes from Ikebukuro - a central station in Tokyo - but landed a job going further outside of Tokyo in the outback of Saitama - a prefecture north of Tokyo. I didn't plan this - it just landed in my lap. So every day I took a train going the other way to most people - a peaceful 45 minute direct cruise from my home station to where my school was, and I got a seat every day, without fail. For a few months my wife in Shinjuku and for a few more months in Shibuya. It was painful. Face in armpit time. I experienced this for a month each year when, in my summer vacation I earned a bit of extra cash at a summer school in Tokyo. It was punishing. How people can do such a journey all their working life is beyond me.
Personally, I'm cack at driving - I haven't driven for over 10 years since passing my test - so I wouldn't drive anywhere. And my wife wouldn't let me behind the wheel in any country. Although we didn't have our own car we often borrowed her parents' car for big shopping trips to Costco. But generally, where we were living, we didn't need a car. In other parts of the country it's different. But around Tokyo the train system is so comprehensive that you don't need a car. I had a 12 minutes walk to the station in the morning, and after taking the train I had a 12 minute walk to my school. The supermarket was 5 minutes walk away. And most places you'd want to go to are centred around the station. And for everywhere else, you can always jump on your bicycle.
Don't get me wrong. Cars are great in Japan. We've been on a few trips by car around Japan - Gifu, Izu, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Nikko and Mount Fuji. We also rented a car during our trips to Okinawa (main island) and Ishigaki (a smaller island of Okinawa near Taiwan) It's a really good way to see the country. And if you want to try out a 'Love Hotel' then they are often found near highway exits so difficult to access in any way other than by car.
Travelling by car on national holidays means traffic jams. Long ones. Beware! The other thing to bear in mind is, unlike the UK where road use is free (except for ridiculous anomalies such as the Dartford Tunnel) there are highway tolls.
When driving in the winter around the snowy parts of the country, you'll need snow tyres. This became blatantly obvious on our trip to Gifu in February 2012. And, yes, we did have our snow tyres fitted before we left. If you look at the pictures below from our trip, you'll understand why.
Renting cars is straightforward and companies do have English language websites. Almost everyone drives automatic transmission. So if you have a chance to drive around the country, take it. But, if you're living around a major city, and you're not staying long, don't bother with buying one. I didn't have a car for almost 10 years and I never felt I needed one... although my wife wouldn't agree perhaps!
Trains
Trains are amazing in Japan. They have a reputation of being on time... always. That's not quite true because from time to time, fairly often really, someone chooses to end their life by jumping on the train tracks in front of an incoming train. Every year I must have been delayed by 2 hours about 5 or 6 times due to this choice of suicide.
Trains often have announcements and maps in English so it's easy to get where you are going. And there are great English language websites helping you to plan your route. I've always used Hyperdia but there are many others.
Tickets are sold as singles rather than returns. Also, the language of ticket machines can be changed to English so there's no problem there for people who are new to the country. The machine asks you to select a price of ticket rather than a destination. You can find out how much your destination should cost by looking on the board above the ticket machines. But if you can't find your destination just buy the cheapest ticket and use the fare adjustment machine at your destination.
Here's the thing most foreigners don't realise when first arriving in Japan. There are travelcards, pretty much all over Japan. But they are called 'commuter passes'. You buy a commuter pass for 1 month, 3 months, 6 months or a year. The price of the commuter pass is determined obviously by duration but also by which stations you are travelling between - it's a pass from station A to B that allows you to get off and on at any station in between.
If you're thinking about where to work and live, try to sort it so that you are travelling the other way to everyone else in the mornings, especially if you start work between 8:30 and 10:00. In my case I was lucky to live 20 minutes from Ikebukuro - a central station in Tokyo - but landed a job going further outside of Tokyo in the outback of Saitama - a prefecture north of Tokyo. I didn't plan this - it just landed in my lap. So every day I took a train going the other way to most people - a peaceful 45 minute direct cruise from my home station to where my school was, and I got a seat every day, without fail. For a few months my wife in Shinjuku and for a few more months in Shibuya. It was painful. Face in armpit time. I experienced this for a month each year when, in my summer vacation I earned a bit of extra cash at a summer school in Tokyo. It was punishing. How people can do such a journey all their working life is beyond me.
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