The Great Japanese Rental Odyssey

When Living the Dream Turns into a Comedy of Errors

By Steve the positive learner

Growing up in Australia, I was pretty much taught that money equals freedom. Credit cards? Nah, never really got the hang of those—mainly because I was too busy avoiding their devilish high interest rates. Cash was king. But hey, that's a story for another day.

Fast forward a few decades, and I'd managed to accumulate a nice little savings stash. I thought, "Hey, I can live anywhere on this planet and be comfortable." Spoiler alert: I was very, very wrong.

Enter the chaos of COVID, political shenanigans, and a global economy that decided to throw a tantrum—sending housing prices, food costs, healthcare, contractors, and basically everything in life into a frenzy. Suddenly, that "healthy savings" felt about as useful as a chocolate teapot.

After 20 years of globe-trotting in education—teaching, leading, training, and generally being an international education ninja—my wife and I decided it was time to retire and live our best semi-retired lives. The plan? Simple: settle in Japan with our 12-year-old rescue cat, Chama, a feline adventurer whose backstory is as wild as Borneo's rainforests she was rescued from.

So, with visions of tranquillity, we made our move. Chama got settled into a fancy cat hotel (because, of course, she deserved the best), and we jetted from Hanoi to Fukuoka on April 19th. Our master plan? Spend a week in my wife's neighborhood, find a rental, and then relax for the rest of our days. Easy peasy, right? Nope.

The Japanese Rental Saga Begins

Here's where the fun begins. In Japan, renting an apartment isn't just about finding a place with a good view or enough space. Nope. It's a full-blown cultural saga:

• Location: Check

• Budget: Check (or so we thought)

• Size & Layout: Check

• Building Age & Condition: Check

But wait… there's more. Enter the magical world of "shikikin" (refundable deposit) and "reikin" (non-refundable key money). Shikikin is basically a security blanket for landlords—one to two months' rent that you hope to get back if you don't trash the place. Reikin? Think of it as a "thank you" fee to the landlord—usually two to three months' rent, paid upfront, and gone forever. It's like paying for a VIP ticket to a rental that might still reject you.

So, we're already staring at five to six months' rent in dead money before we even get the keys.

The Pet Predicament

Then, I thought, "Let's filter for pet-friendly places." Simple, right? Nope. Turns out, pet-friendly in Japan mostly means dogs accepted. Cats? Not so much. Our list shrank from roughly 1,000 options to just three. Three! And those three? Not exactly prime real estate. Oh and by the way, a cat incurs a one monthly penalty fee!

The Financial Reality:

Now, add in the real estate agent's fee—a hefty one-month slice of rent—and a whole bureaucratic layer where property management companies hold the final say. And guess what? They don't want me. Why? Because I'm 'retired'. Apparently, in Japan, not working is almost as bad as being a serial bank robber.

Even though we're independently and financially secure, ready to pay two years' rent upfront in cash, and could buy a house outright, nope. No dice.

After a week of traipsing around buses, trains, and taxis, we faced rejection after rejection. It felt like trying to get into an exclusive club where the bouncer is stuck in the Meiji era, waving us away with a sneer. Meanwhile, many Japanese retirees are facing the same system—unable to rent, no matter how much money they have, and ending up homeless.

The Strategic Retreat

So, we did what any logical people would do: we went back to Hanoi, tail between our legs, hearts heavy. But we're not quitters. My wife is heading back to Japan soon for a few strategic moves:

Our New Game Plan:

• Secure employment (because that apparently makes us acceptable tenants)

• Enlist family support to lobby some agents

• Transfer enough money to buy a house outright (just in case)

And here I am, sitting back and thinking: "How far we go in life to succeed!"

Join me on this wild ride at thepositivelearner.com, where I share lessons learned from a lifetime of teaching, traveling, and now, trying to rent a Japanese apartment without losing my mind.

Because if there's one thing I've learned, it's that sometimes, life's most unexpected adventures come with a hefty dose of disbelief—and a good story to tell.