In that price range you should have no problems finding a comfortable place. I'm currently paying 160,000/month for a two-room apartment - fairly central Tokyo location - nice neighbourhood - 20 year old building but recently rennovated. The negative points are that my place was totally unfurnished (which might not be suitable in this case) and I had to pay several months up-front for various deposits (some are non-refundable and others are theoretically-refundable but I'm expecting a tough negotiation when the time comes to leave).

If you rent through LeoPalace or Tokyo-weekly-mansion you will avoid the non-refundable deposits and the essential furnishings are included (fridge, TV, bed, microwave oven, etc.).

Mr. Pickles' friend looks like a very good place to start a search. And he seems to be in the right neighbourhood for your school... so perhaps the following information is redundant, but here goes anyway.

The following companies are listed in order of price (cheapest first). Price increases and quality improves as you go down the list.

(1) Tokyo Room Info
http://www.tokyoroominfo.com/index.htm
[email protected]

This company manages several apartment buildings, mainly in the East of Tokyo. The company is run by an Austrian guy called Anton Scherer. He can help you in English:

I rented an apartment from this outfit many years ago when I was here in a semi-legal limbo (I had to wait a couple of months for the official approval of my resident status). It was ideal for me at that time, because I could make all the arrangements before arriving in Japan, lack of visa was not a problem and it was cheap.

My experience is that I found Anton to be a straight-shooter and the apartment was fine, if somewhat old. There was only one month's deposit to pay (which was refunded in full after I left) and the apartment was equipped with the essential furnishings - in a rather chaotic mix of styles (rather like my rooms at college).

However, I feel I should mention that I have a couple of friends (English teachers, renting very cheap apartments) who are less enamoured of this company. My friends say that the company is slow to perform repairs and they suspect that Anton has entered their apartments without prior request to check that they're keeping the place OK.

(2) Sakura House
http://www.sakura-house.com/

This company is best known for the cheap and cheerful Sakura Hotel in Jinbocho (quite clean and pleasant when I stayed there many years ago).

However, they also rent a variety of accommodation - including some two-room apartments which might suit you. Their website is completely in English and allows you to see exactly what accommodations are available now. They can handle inquiries in English.

(3) Burex Serviced Apartments
http://www.bureau.co.jp/en/index.html

This company manages several serviced apartments and serviced office spaces in central Tokyo. They seem to be more modern and "stylish" than Sakura or Anton's places. (The furniture actually seems to have been bought in the same store - probably equivalent to IKEA - but it all matches).

Again - the site is all in English and they are used to dealing with foreign clients.