Advice needed: To ship my own furniture or look for a fully furnished apartment

[noel]

Hi, I will be relocating to Tokyo soon.

I need some information on how much it will cost to rent a fully furnished apartment near Roppongi area. Service apartment is out of my reach as its somehow against my company policy.

Alternatively, would it be advisable to ship in my own furniture as I heard from friends that its quite difficult, almost impossible to get a fully furnished apartment at a reasonable price.

Thanks !

[larabell]

Originally Posted by noel

Alternatively, would it be advisable to ship in my own furniture as I heard from friends that its quite difficult, almost impossible to get a fully furnished apartment at a reasonable price.

Except for those "service apartments" that cost almost as much as a hotel, I've never heard of furnished apartments (though I admit I've never looked for anything in or near Roppongi myself ).

I've also heard that it costs more to ship furniture overseas than to buy it here so unless you have some pieces you don't want to part with, it's probably not economical to ship stuff over. You could consider leasing if you're only here for a while. Both times I was shipped over to Japan I dealt with a company called Tokyo Lease (a Google search will yield quite a bit of information on the company). If you're here for a year or less, leasing should be less expensive than either buying or shipping. And they take care of both delivery and pick-up after you're gone.

If you're planning to be here longer term, they also sell used furniture, which ends up even cheaper. In my case, after a couple years I was officially transferred to the local office and lost all housing benefits -- at which time I was able to make a sweet deal with Tokyo Lease to buy the few pieces of theirs that I really liked for pennies on the dollar (like a couple of full-size bookcases for $10 each that are still in use today). If you're here for the long haul, I'd also suggest buying only the bare minimum you need to survive and then watching the free classifieds for used stuff being sold by ex-pats leaving the country. You can pick up some good deals that way and a lot of the stuff has been used only a short time (of course, that depends on what you can negotiate with whomover is picking up the tab for the relocation, I suppose).

And, unless your stay is really short, I'd stop looking in Roppongi. For whatever you can afford there, you can double it by accepting as little as a 1/2 hour commute. Unless, of course, you can't get enough of expensive concrete high-rises packed in like sardines. Or if you have an income to rival that of Dave Spector and can afford to live in a penthouse !

[Ann-JulietteGenevieve]

My experience has taught me that it’s easier to just get "place holder furniture" if you are going to be in a place for 2 years or less. If you are relocating - I have found it beneficial to ONLY have the essentials for the first few months. (you can always have them shipped over later) Why? Generally speaking the first place you move to abroad isn’t going to be the place you end up living.
What I *thought* I wanted when I moved to Japan ended up being a near 180 from what I REALLY wanted once I’d lived in the country for a while.
Roppongi has a great night life and a wonderful street life (or at least it did when I lived in Japan) but I found other places fit my style and personality better once I’d been in Japan for a while.
Good luck, enjoy the adventure and don’t be afraid to reevaluate your wants and needs!