HOUSING OPTIONS
Hotels and Inns
The Yoshida Institute is located in the western part of Tokyo, near Shinjuku and Ikebukuro. When you first arrive you'll most likely need to spend a short amount of time in a hotel or inn until you get settled. There are a large number of hotels nearby and the ones below are some of the more affordable choices. Booking in advance is recommended but you can always reserve a room at the Welcome Inns Reservation Desk at Narita Airport when you arrive.
- Kimi Ryokan - a modern Japanese-style inn popular with foreigners
- Taito Ryokan - very inexpensive inn near Asakusa
- New Koyo Hotel - backpacker's hotel with a mixture of Western-style and Japanese-style rooms. Lots of nice shared facilities.
- Tama Ryokan - small Japanese-style inn in Takadanobaba, a 20 minute walk to school.
- House Ikebukuro - modern Japanese-style inn in Ikebukuro
- Tokyo Yoyogi Youth Hostel - youth hostel near Yoyogi Park
The Welcome Inns network also runs an online reservation service where you can look up hotels and make reservations.
Guest Houses and Dormitories
Guest houses and dormitories provide affordable short-term or long-term accommodation for many students. Guest houses provide rooms in small houses, from three rooms and up, with shared kitchen and bath facilities. Rooms in dormitories are typically the cheapest but afford very little privacy.
- Yoshida House - small guest houses in Tokyo
- Guest House 1965 - small guest house in Tokyo
- Bamboo House - small guest houses in Tokyo
- Sakura House - guest house and apartment rental agency
- Gaijin House - guest houses around Tokyo
- J & F Plaza - real estate agent with guest houses
There are also listings for guest houses and rooms in apartments shared with other foreigners in two free weekly magazines, Metropolis and Tokyo Notice Board.
Find a host family
- The Homestay Web - has registered host families waiting in Japan.
- Homestay in Japan - The experience of staying with host family in Japan will be something you treasure for life.
Apartments
Students planning to live in Japan for a long time can rent an apartment on their own but the process is somewhat complicated. A typical strategy for finding an apartment is to first explore various places that are a convenient commute away from school and visit real estate agents in the area. Information on apartments is only provided in Japanese so it's best for beginning students to wait a while before trying to rent an apartment on their own. The Kimi Information Service in Ikebukuro provides a helpful apartment listing service.