Most places still require a guarantor, which basically means you pay the estate agency to act as a guarantor. In light of the fact that key money and other depo

Most places still require a guarantor, which basically means you pay the estate agency to act as a guarantor. In light of the fact that key money and other deposit requirements have generally gone down over that past few years (nothing to do with foreigners here this is motivated by Japanese), I think it's a wash. Getting a place is definitely more a pain in the ass than it ought to be, for Japanese but moreso for foreigners, but I don't think it's quite as bad as you've painted it. edit: okay things have changed since you've left. I've been here since 2003 and I can confirm that, at least