Living in Roppongi
 

FlyerTalk has always been a good source of advice so here is an "off the wall" question. I am in the process of moving to Tokyo. I am looking for an apartment. I have focused on expat areas of Azabu, Hiroo, and Roppongi. We have found an apartment in the Aoba Building which is also home to Hobgoblin which I am sure many FTers are probably familiar with. I have a very simple question:

Would you live in this area of Roppongi or would you opt for the quieter areas of Azabu or Hiroo?

thanks,

Marc

PS Tokyo Hilton has been a wonderful place to stay for last week; I will see how it is after a month.

As a long time resident of Roppongi, I would not move there. The street hustlers/pimps are constantly on the prawl in that area.

There is no way I would live in Rapongi.

Take the advise of the of the other poster. In addition to the excitement, it can be dangerous there.

Sure, if you like being hounded every day on your way to the station by the LivePerson equivalent of the 419 scam. If I were to live in the Roppongi area, I'd live on the other side, the Akasaka/Nogizaka side, further down the slope towards Nishi Azabu, or behind Roppongi Hills in Moto Azabu or Azabu Juban.

Especially if you get lost and find yourself at Heartland :p!
Live where it is most convenient to your job. And if you are in a real pinch for a place I am sure someone on this board can hook you up with a great place!

Again, in regards to Roppongi, I’m another of the ‘no-way!’ brigade.

You can walk to Roppongi from Azabu Juban, but it’s miles away in other respects.

One of the reasons that Azabu Juban and Hiroo have their fair share of expats is the amount of Embassies and Consulates in the area. One of the reasons that this concentration came about is because this part of Tokyo has particularly solid foundations and has traditionally remained less prone to earthquake damage. This also made it a sound choice for affluent Tokyoites (there are a good few members of the Japanese Aristocracy in the ‘Juban.)

As an address, Minami Azabu seems to provoke the same kind of reaction from Japanese people as somewhere like Chelsea or Fullham would from Brits. Roppongi is more like Leicester Square… it might be alright for a night out, but you wouldn’t want to live there.

Hiroo has a lovely park and very good stores for International foods, but I'm more familiar with Azabu Juban as that's where my husband's family home is. (He used to play in the park in Hiroo as a child... and he taught me how to make sailing boats out of bamboo leaves there)

Welcome to Tokyo! I just (finally) got settled about a month ago in Yoyogi-Uehara, which is a bit off the expat beaten path but still plenty expat. I've heard it described as the area for expats who want a bit more Japanese experience.

That having been said, I'd second the other posters who said where you live really should depend on where you work. I like that I can walk to Shibuya where I work in a pinch, such as this morning when there was bad construction on the road. Hiroo and Azabu-Juban are also good places that I considered but ended up finding better housing in Uehara; colleagues at work live in both places and really enjoy it (they have kids, I don't, but I'm not sure that'd adjust the preferences between these neighborhoods).

Since moving here, some other areas that I've found and would consider living in are Naga-Meguro, Shimo-kitazawa, and Sangenjaya. Then again, those are all much busier neighborhoods and are also further out from the Yamanote. I did look in the latter two areas, however, and couldn't find what I considered to be high-quality housing. As it is, I ended up on a major street, which has its upsides and downsides (a bit noisy).

But I'd agree with all the posters above that the area of Roppongi that you're looking at right now is good to visit, but not a great place to live.

hamburgler

A good question and one which deserves a good answer. That building is across the street from an American School in Japan (ASIJ) bus stop so not too bad by the standards of the folks that send their kids there. It is also next to a spot where a new supermarket is opening soon. That part of Roppongi is just fine in many respects. If you are walking from the crossing to the Hob, you will indeed encounter the seedy side of Roppongi at night. There are pluses and minuses that will be increased or decreased depending on where you are walking to/from and whether or not you will be driving.

Will you be working in Roppongi? In Roppongi Hills perhaps? If so I would look closely at the areas of Nishi Azabu which is entirely different from both Minami and Higashi Azabu areas. Or even Moto-azabu for that matter. I would consider Hiroo for sure as it is quiet but rather boring. What you really need to do is establish what your budget is, how close you want to be to work/play/food shopping/restaurants/subway/etc. Then you would be well advised to contact both KEN Corporation and Plaza Homes. Both of these have extensive experience in the areas you describe and with non-Japanese tenants. They will be able to prepare a spreadsheet showing a comparison of available units at your price in all areas. They will then take you to each in their car and make sure you have all paperwork handled appropriately. They will also be able to intelligently discuss the merits and demerits of each place they show you. I can do this with you also, but as I work for a single developer my views of what is good and not may be slightly biased. I do however have 10 years in the field at Tokyo’s biggest private developer so you are welcome to ask questions here or via e-mail. I have a fair bit of information and I am always happy to help a fellow FTer.

Mike

Thanks for all the inputs. I will primarily be working in Fuchu but want to live in the Hiroo, Azabu, Roppongi areas. We want to live in a midrise or highrise so we can have a bright apartment and some form of a view. In addition to the Aoba building, we are considering Azabudai Towers, Homat Viscount, Roppongi Arents, and Hiroo Gardens. None of them have near the space for the money as Aoba. In addition, the commute from Roppongi using Toei Oedo to Keio New Line to Keio is the shortest from any of the areas.

We also looked in Daikayama and Ebisu. We haven't looked in Uehara but the commute ends up not being that easy as I would either have to go back into Shinjuku on Chiyoda or take the Odakyu and then connect to Keio.

We have a good realtor. We are trying to stay under 750,000-en. Obviously, the reason I originally posted was a concern about the neighborhood. We have looked at so many first or second floor dreary apartments that the Aoba building really shines. It doesn't hurt that Legends shows USC football games each Sunday when they are on.

Again, thanks for all of the help.

Marc

For that kind of dough you should talk to mjm, he can put you somewhere nice instead of some nice building above a second-rate bar down the street from Tokyo's answer to the 3rd World. 750K goes a long, long way in Tokyo.

Also, if I was working in Fuchu, hypothetically speaking of course (man, did you draw the short end of the stick, or what? I would rather not come to Japan than work in Fuchu and have to commute from central Tokyo), I'd live somewhere more west, maybe somewhere in Minami Aoyama or Akasaka, where I could get on the Oedo line at Aoyama Ichome or Kokuritsu Kyogijo.

I will second the Pickles on this.....750K a month.....I wonder what you could get for that in Fukuoka? :p

http://www.moriliving.com/residence/index.html.en

Thanks for the link to moriliving. Unfortunately, for our budget, there was not a single property with 1.5 baths; one of our hard requirements. 750,000 doesn't go as far as many think in Central Tokyo. One further question, though; how low can you negotiate with Mori Living or Homat....any?

thanks,
Marc

That's why you really should look outside the Hiroo/Roppongi area... I had a 1500 sq. ft. 3 bed, 1.5 bath out in Komazawa Daigaku for 550,000 (and it's cheaper now). I'm not saying you should go to Komazawa, because it's farther out and the commute would be tricky, just that there are nicer newer buildings for less money than the buildings you've described. Really, Homats are nasty and overpriced, as is that Azabudai building. Please take a look at Pickles' recommendations of places--there are high-rises in Akasaka in your budget.

Edited to add: What about Kudan-shi-ta or Ichigaya? (No, there aren't really any hyphens in that word, but I have to get around the software somehow.) Much nicer neighborhoods, still plenty of expats (although more European) so there's still expat housing and OK grocery stores, but I think cheaper than where you're looking. Toei Shinjuku Line goes straight into the Keio Line if I remember correctly.

A couple of data points: I live in a 1,000 sq ft 2 bedroom 1-bath a 5 minute walk from Omotesando and a 10 minute walk from the Oedo line Aoyama Itchome. I pay 400K a month in rent. Friend of mine in Nogizaka lives in a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath split-level duplex, about 2,000 sq ft, pays 800K. I think finding a 1.5 bathroom in a nice area for 750K should not be a major deal these days.

My unit is in a 20 year old building that went through extensive exterior renovations a couple of years back, and my unit went through a gut rehab before I moved in. My friend's place is no more than 3-4 years old.

Another question, Marq--have you actually done the transfer at Shinjuku from the Oedo Line?

Personally, that would be a deal-breaker for me if it were part of my daily commute. Actually, the Oedo Line in general would be a deal-breaker, but that transfer is particularly bad (the Oedo platform is very far below ground at that point and it takes many escalator rides to get anywhere).