No way I'd live in Roppongi. What about living a little closer to Fuchu, to make the commute easier? Perhaps Shinjuku or maybe even somewhere out on the Keio line?

I lived near Chitose-Karasuyama for a couple years and liked it, but that's probably a bit further out than you're looking for

I have taken the Oedo like to Toei Shinjuku station then came up to where Keio line entrance is located. One thing I haven't tried is catching the Keio New Line directly at Toei Shinjuku station and then connecting to Keio at Sasazuka. Given I can still connect to Express train, this doesn't add any time in the morning and removes that walk in Shinjuku station.

In addition to working at Fuchu, I will occassionally work out at Iruma and at Ichigaya. Also, our mail will be at Hardy Barracks in Nishi Azabu 1 and we can use New Sanno Hotel in Minami Azabu. Azabu, Roppongi, or Hiroo will be most convenient. Getting close to Aoyama Itchome station does save some time; so we have started looking there, too. Also, Akasaka does not seem to add much time on commute and we can easily get to Roppongi and Nishi Azabu by bus when we want.

To be able to have both a guest room and an office, we are starting to look at three bedrooms as many two bedroom units don't have space for desks, too. The requirement for 1.5 bath is also limiting. Finally being "bright" is also limiting our choices.

I do really appreciate all the help I am getting on FlyerTalk. We are going to check out Akasaka today and Roppongi tonight. We are going to see yet more apartments on Monday so I will probably have more questions then.

Again, thanks,

Marc

For access to Fuchu, Iruma, Ichigaya and Azabu I might look for somewhere in Ichigaya. They're building a few new tall-ish developments on the North side of the moat (South facing slope) which might be "bright."

What is 1.5 baths? Does it mean one bathroom and one shower room?

I have visions of a bath cut in half and I worry that you will flood the apartment if you ever try to fill it. :D

(Now we know how many baths it takes to fill the Albert Hall).

One advantage of avoiding the transfer at Sasazuka and walking the extra distance in Shinjuku station is that Sasazuka does not get Special Express or Semi-Special Express service - if your schedule is such that you can catch one of those from Shinjuku it can save quite a bit of time on the trip out to Fuchu.

The half part of 1.5 baths refers to the WC (i.e just a toilet) usually located outside of the area where the bedrooms or other living area is. It is often off the hallway near the front door in Japanese apartments. The idea is that guests needing the facilities would not need to go into your own personal area and also you would not have to share a seat used by someone other than you or your S.O.

Sasazuka does get Commuter Express trains in the morning. For example, the trains that leave Shinjuku at 0645, 0700, and 0715 all stop in Sasazuka and take just 21 minutes or so from there to Higashi Fuchu without requiring a change of trains in Chofu. All of these trains are nonstop from Chofu to Higashi Fuchu. True, living in Meidaimae would be more convenient to Higashi Fuchu; however, we would like to live in Central Tokyo.

As for Ichigaya, I thought the expatriate community was primarily French versus American or other English speaking countries. My Japanese is already better than my French has ever been.

As for the half bath, mjm stated it perfectly. Actually, if we have guests and have to live with just one toilet for four people, it could get pretty dicey.

Tonight we walked all around Akasaka and then down to Roppongi (after a wonderful dinner at Lawry's). A Guiness at Legends topped off the excursion. Both locations are wonderful. However, grocery shopping in Akasaka seemed a bit hard. We found a Food Express by Akasaka Station but that is a long distance to the Homat Viscount. Having a Food Express opening just next door to the apartment in Roppongi may be the deciding factor on our choice of apartments. However, we will be going out on Monday looking at both Moto Azabu and Aoyama.

Again, thanks for all the help.

Marc

Those are Express / Commuter Rapid trains, not Special or Semi-Special Express trains. These will stop at Sasazuka, Sakurajosui, Chitose-Karasuyama, and Tsutsujigaoka, where as the Special and Semi-Special Expresses will all skip those stations. IIRC, the Special and Semi-Special Expresses are about 7-9 minutes faster for the Shinuku-Chofu section of the route than the Expresses / Commuter Rapids.

At the intersection where Minami-Aoyama, Kita-Aoyama, and Jingu-mae line up there's a Peacock supermarket. Plus a Tokyo super across on the Kita-Aoyama side and a the Kinokuniya further down towards Shibuya.

The only advantage of Roppongi is that it's so close to Japan. :p

Seriously, though, I had to pull out my Tokyo Metropolitan Atlas to remind myself where Fuchu is (aside from "out west of the city somewhere"), and even if I could afford to live in Roppongi, I would not subject myself to the commute. Actually, one of the best locations for access to both Fuchu and Iruma would be Tachikawa, and Ichigaya wouldn't be bad either, given that you could take the Chuo-sen into town and transfer to the Sobu-sen at Yotsuya.

If you had 750,000 yen a month to spend on housing, you could probably buy an estate out in Tachikawa...

However, it sounds as if you may be U.S. military, and in that case, your needs may differ. However, for a civilian whose job was in Fuchu with regular ventures to Iruma and Ichigaya, I'd say Tachikawa for minimum commuting hassle.

I've been living in Roppongi for over a year now. Safety is a non issue. Sure the hustlers look intimidating, but they don't bother you. The issues for me have been 1. Expensive groceries 2. Lack of midpriced restaurants serving non Japanese food . I would also recommend looking outside of the Mori buildings. You get at least 20 - 30% more space for the same price. Amenities remain the same. The added advantage is smaller the dwelling the better you get to know your neighbours. I like the Homats. In fact there is a brand new Homat near where the american embassy staff live. It does not have a view but the interiors are fantastic.

I second the other poster's opinion. Anything that takes away the morning commute should be priority number one. That IMHO is the toughest deal of living in this mega city.

One other mega project coming up - the Roppongi midtown project will almost certainly result in a glut of housing around Roppongi. So (based on the opinion of my real estate agents) prices could actually reduce in Roppongi and thereabouts beginning early next year.

Good luck.

Well, we ended up with a wonderful apartment in Roppongi 5 near Azabu Juban station. Just heard back this afternoon that our application was accepted. Only a few blocks from all the action on Gaien Higashi Dori but quieter and closer to all the shopping in Azabu Juban. Thanks for all the advice from FTers.

Marc

PS Never heard back form Aoba Building landlord; his loss, our gain.

Congratulations!

May you enjoy many many pieces of warm, freshly baked, Hokkaido Milk bread.

That was a score. Maybe even a slam dunk! Nice one. Let me know when you want to toast your new home.

Congratulations!

Mike

Hmm..... Couple of things here.

Have a peek at both bento.com and eatpia.com as they have several good listings. If you would like to e-mail me I would be pleased to try and point you in the direction of a place or two that would be good and good value at the same time.

This one is in fact not true. Outside of the Mori Buildings you do not get the same facilities (Homat spas?), construction (in house developed anti-seismic dampers), safety care in the event of a disater (1200 staff on hand to tap owner run wells for water), and so on. There is a very good reason they are highly regraded throughout the property world. You pay more, but as the housing mini-bubble seems to be going full swing, the market seems willing to bear it.

This project is fully let as is the "On the Hill" project behiond it. Prices are rising not dropping and the new supply coming on line is being pre-let before it is complete. You will see some movement within the area as the people looking fopr the latest or greatest move, but with three year fixed term leases, you will not see casual leessees doing this. I would caution against having expectations for a glut in the Roppongi area anytime soon and certainly not one caused by Midtown, which is for all intents and purposes Roppongi Hills in another location.

As I re-read my post I note that it sounds a bit argumentative. Not trying to be so, just trying to add to the discussion from a property professional's standpoint.

Mike

Congrats.
With all the folks trying to encourage you to move out to the boonies, I was expecting to hear that you'd bought a farm on the Izu islands from which you could commute via Chofu ....