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The Unlikely Airbnb Hosts of Japan

79 points by damian2000 12y ago

Loic 12y ago
If you are into meeting people while travelling, I highly recommend you Servas[0]. It is a more than 70 year old peace association with chapters in every country. You can be traveller or host. I travelled all over the world with Servas, from Norway to Japan and we are now a "host family". Happily getting visitors from everywhere. [0]: http://servas.org/ http://servas.org/
- wingerlang 12y ago
  So it is like couchsurfing?
Ronsenshi 12y ago
Marvelous piece of writing. I've been to Tokyo in past December and was renting an apartment in Shibuya via Aribnb. While searching for a good place to stay I noticed that a lot were listed either by foreigners living in Japan or by people who have close ties with the west (work with western companies or travel a lot). I've also met new friend from the US there (via reddit) and unlike me, he did stay with the Japanese family in a guest room. But it seems like they too were more open in the matter of sharing living space because they also had another guest staying with them and she was from Australia (can't remember now, but I think she's a relative of said family - so that too could be attributed to closer ties with the "west").
- damian2000 12y ago
  I had the same experience last year in July - we stayed in a 5 bedroom apartment in Nakano, Tokyo which was run by a Phillipino lady who was a Japanese citizen. She spoke good English along with Mandarin Chinese. She caters for a niche market of large families - the 5 bedrooms can hold 10 people comfortably - each has a bed. It was a great neighbourhood - very close to the Shin-Nakano station on the Marunouchi line.
emodendroket 12y ago
I can't decide if this would have been better or worse if they'd chosen someone to write it who knew more about Japan, but it was interesting. Japanese people have done homestays for some time, though, which is arguably a similar phenomenon, except you're stuck with a foreigner for way longer. That might be something to think about.
blueskin_ 12y ago
De-paywalled: https://archive.today/UFtBa https://archive.today/UFtBa
ThePhysicist 12y ago
To anyone going to Japan who is reluctant to use AirBnB but still does not want to stay in an "ordinary" hotel, I can recommend going to a Ryokan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryokan_%28inn%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryokan_%28inn%29 Ryokans are Japenese guest houses and can be found in many cities around the country. I once stayed in one close to the Hongo campus of the University and had a fantastic experience. Sleeping in a traditional Japenese room and waking up to a traditional Japanese breakfast before going to the bathhouse or having a walk in the garden is just awesome, even more so because you can do this while being in the center of a city with 11 million inhabitants :D http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g1066442-d320548-Reviews-Homeikan-Bunkyo_Tokyo_Tokyo_Prefecture_Kanto.html http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g1066442-d320548-Rev...
- dukerutledge 12y ago
  Hostels are also pretty great in Japan.
chairmankaga 12y ago
"Like a lot of Airbnb listings, it was rented as “entire place” rather than “private room,” which meant no host was in residence. But in this case, I’m not sure any host was ever in residence. The listing was run by some sort of conglomerate or management company, and checking in involved no human interaction whatsoever. To get there, I carried my luggage up a neon-lit hill — past something called Hotel Fifteen Love, past places called Pub Slow Jam, Adult Shop Joyful and Baby Doll and a pet store that sold fluffed-up puppies and kittens and still somehow managed to look seedy — to the concrete apartment building where it was located. The door was unlocked. A key had been left inside. I had no idea where I’d landed." That's wild, is there really such a low expectation of crime over there?
- patio11 12y ago
  Anecdote: I once left an iPad on top of a table at a McDonalds in the 3rd busiest train station in Japan during rush hour. Realized my mistake and came back 30 minutes later. Neither iPad nor table taken. Sentiment among Japanese folks is that it isn't as good as the old days but objectively speaking if a major US city reported Tokyo's victimization rates they'd be laughed out of the room. "At least lie competently!"
  - toomuchtodo 12y ago
    Can you offer any insight based on your experiences in Japan as to why the crime rate is so low?
    - cyorir 12y ago
      One can only speculate, but here are some possible factors : 1) Firearms are not widely available, and must be registered. Violent crime usually involves knives rather than firearms. 2) Japan has little in the way of slums or ghettos. Low-income communities are not as prone to problems with crime. 3) Low availability of drugs. With less reliance on drugs, drug trafficking and associated crimes are less prevalent. 4) Homogenous society. There is little in the way of ethnic tension, with only a few notable minorities. 5) Gang culture. Organized criminal groups like the yakuza are more business oriented than violence oriented. They are more likely to go after the crimes that provide more money, including white collar crimes and crimes like extortion. They also prefer to lay low, avoiding violent activity which would draw the attention of the police and politicians. 6) Police culture. The police only move forward with an investigation if there is enough to go on, leading to a high conviction rate. 7) Low unemployment. Most people who want work have it. Otherwise there are usually enough welfare programs to keep others content and out of trouble.
dukerutledge 12y ago
I stayed at an amazing airbnb in Nara. I would recommend airbnb for smaller cities in Japan.
ameister14 12y ago
This article was fascinating to me. They found unified characteristics amongst power users, but because of how Japan works, it may be far more difficult to find potential hosts like the ones they have using anything other than word of mouth or traditional advertising. What a cool problem to solve. Does anyone know if retirees are major Airbnb hosts elsewhere in the world, particularly retired widows?
wodenokoto 12y ago
When browsing couchsurfing and AirBnB it seems to me it's mostly foreigners or companies renting/lending.
pdknsk 12y ago
Tip for NYT tech: try the page on rotated monitors. The notes and the picture don't match — people are cut off left and right.
- magic_beans 12y ago
  The page even starts to break when you reduce the browser window size. Very annoying. Otherwise, NYT is wonderful.

79 points by damian2000 12y ago

Loic 12y ago

If you are into meeting people while travelling, I highly recommend you Servas[0]. It is a more than 70 year old peace association with chapters in every country. You can be traveller or host. I travelled all over the world with Servas, from Norway to Japan and we are now a "host family". Happily getting visitors from everywhere. [0]: http://servas.org/ http://servas.org/

wingerlang 12y ago
So it is like couchsurfing?

Ronsenshi 12y ago

Marvelous piece of writing. I've been to Tokyo in past December and was renting an apartment in Shibuya via Aribnb. While searching for a good place to stay I noticed that a lot were listed either by foreigners living in Japan or by people who have close ties with the west (work with western companies or travel a lot). I've also met new friend from the US there (via reddit) and unlike me, he did stay with the Japanese family in a guest room. But it seems like they too were more open in the matter of sharing living space because they also had another guest staying with them and she was from Australia (can't remember now, but I think she's a relative of said family - so that too could be attributed to closer ties with the "west").

damian2000 12y ago
I had the same experience last year in July - we stayed in a 5 bedroom apartment in Nakano, Tokyo which was run by a Phillipino lady who was a Japanese citizen. She spoke good English along with Mandarin Chinese. She caters for a niche market of large families - the 5 bedrooms can hold 10 people comfortably - each has a bed. It was a great neighbourhood - very close to the Shin-Nakano station on the Marunouchi line.

emodendroket 12y ago

I can't decide if this would have been better or worse if they'd chosen someone to write it who knew more about Japan, but it was interesting. Japanese people have done homestays for some time, though, which is arguably a similar phenomenon, except you're stuck with a foreigner for way longer. That might be something to think about.

blueskin_ 12y ago

De-paywalled: https://archive.today/UFtBa https://archive.today/UFtBa

ThePhysicist 12y ago

To anyone going to Japan who is reluctant to use AirBnB but still does not want to stay in an "ordinary" hotel, I can recommend going to a Ryokan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryokan_%28inn%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryokan_%28inn%29 Ryokans are Japenese guest houses and can be found in many cities around the country. I once stayed in one close to the Hongo campus of the University and had a fantastic experience. Sleeping in a traditional Japenese room and waking up to a traditional Japanese breakfast before going to the bathhouse or having a walk in the garden is just awesome, even more so because you can do this while being in the center of a city with 11 million inhabitants :D http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g1066442-d320548-Reviews-Homeikan-Bunkyo_Tokyo_Tokyo_Prefecture_Kanto.html http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g1066442-d320548-Rev...

dukerutledge 12y ago
Hostels are also pretty great in Japan.

chairmankaga 12y ago

"Like a lot of Airbnb listings, it was rented as “entire place” rather than “private room,” which meant no host was in residence. But in this case, I’m not sure any host was ever in residence. The listing was run by some sort of conglomerate or management company, and checking in involved no human interaction whatsoever. To get there, I carried my luggage up a neon-lit hill — past something called Hotel Fifteen Love, past places called Pub Slow Jam, Adult Shop Joyful and Baby Doll and a pet store that sold fluffed-up puppies and kittens and still somehow managed to look seedy — to the concrete apartment building where it was located. The door was unlocked. A key had been left inside. I had no idea where I’d landed." That's wild, is there really such a low expectation of crime over there?

patio11 12y ago
Anecdote: I once left an iPad on top of a table at a McDonalds in the 3rd busiest train station in Japan during rush hour. Realized my mistake and came back 30 minutes later. Neither iPad nor table taken. Sentiment among Japanese folks is that it isn't as good as the old days but objectively speaking if a major US city reported Tokyo's victimization rates they'd be laughed out of the room. "At least lie competently!"
- toomuchtodo 12y ago
  Can you offer any insight based on your experiences in Japan as to why the crime rate is so low?
  - cyorir 12y ago
    One can only speculate, but here are some possible factors : 1) Firearms are not widely available, and must be registered. Violent crime usually involves knives rather than firearms. 2) Japan has little in the way of slums or ghettos. Low-income communities are not as prone to problems with crime. 3) Low availability of drugs. With less reliance on drugs, drug trafficking and associated crimes are less prevalent. 4) Homogenous society. There is little in the way of ethnic tension, with only a few notable minorities. 5) Gang culture. Organized criminal groups like the yakuza are more business oriented than violence oriented. They are more likely to go after the crimes that provide more money, including white collar crimes and crimes like extortion. They also prefer to lay low, avoiding violent activity which would draw the attention of the police and politicians. 6) Police culture. The police only move forward with an investigation if there is enough to go on, leading to a high conviction rate. 7) Low unemployment. Most people who want work have it. Otherwise there are usually enough welfare programs to keep others content and out of trouble.

dukerutledge 12y ago

I stayed at an amazing airbnb in Nara. I would recommend airbnb for smaller cities in Japan.

ameister14 12y ago

This article was fascinating to me. They found unified characteristics amongst power users, but because of how Japan works, it may be far more difficult to find potential hosts like the ones they have using anything other than word of mouth or traditional advertising. What a cool problem to solve. Does anyone know if retirees are major Airbnb hosts elsewhere in the world, particularly retired widows?

wodenokoto 12y ago

When browsing couchsurfing and AirBnB it seems to me it's mostly foreigners or companies renting/lending.

pdknsk 12y ago

Tip for NYT tech: try the page on rotated monitors. The notes and the picture don't match — people are cut off left and right.

magic_beans 12y ago
The page even starts to break when you reduce the browser window size. Very annoying. Otherwise, NYT is wonderful.