There are numerous Gaijin Houses in Tokyo and once the shock of how hard it is to find housing in Japan hits you, you may find yourself first starting off at a gaijin house. Gaijin Houses range from decent to poor, so you still may need to search around a little.

The benefits of the gaijin house
- monthly rent is cheaper
- no guarantor necessary
- no key money necessary (yay!)
- a small fully refundable deposit, usually 1/2 months rent
- utilities is generally included in the monthly rent
- you can meet many different people and find out what other foreigners have gone through living in Japan
- great place to start making some friends

The cons of the gaijin house. (This is applicable to many, but not all)
- many are dirty. If you are a clean friek, you may not last long in there
- shared washroom, showers
- shared kitchen
- sometimes shared bedrooms
- guests staying overnight will need to pay
- noisy, less privacy

If you can deal with sharing a few things, starting off at a gaijin house is a good idea. It is comparable to living in a university dorm.
Here are some other things to consider.

- Internet access, some have, some don't
- Television, some have private TVs, some just have a TV in the lounge
- Cleanliness, pricing, noise, location etc.
- Commitment. Most places are generally monthly.

Foreign Real Estate Agents
Considering most Japanese real estate agents don't speak English, or any language other than Japanese, you can consider going through a foreign real estate agent. Foreign real estate agents already have a good understanding of the difficulties of finding housing, and will assist you in finding a place with ease. Generally, the only con is that foreign real estate agents do not have as many apartments to choose from as Japanese agents.

Pros
- less or no key money (what is key money? Click here)
- less deposit
- less or no agency fee
- often no guarantor required (what is a guarantor? Click here)
- English and sometimes other language support

Cons
- less apartments to choose from
- when the key money is free, often this means that building is either older and not as clean. But don't worry, some foreign real estate agents maintain their buildings quite well.

Roomsharing - Roommates / Flatmates
In the recent years, finding roommates has become more and more popular. Usually someone will rent a large apartment and a few people will chip in to cover the bills. Finding the right roommate(s) can be challenging as each person may have different expectations when it comes to throwing parties at the apartment, leaving friends unattended in the house, giving copies of keys to other people, and having long-term guests. Before you move in with other people, or vice versa, communicate your expectations openly and encourage your prospective housemate(s) to do the same. In the end, it will save both you and them from a lot of avoidable conflicts or misunderstandings.

Upscale Housing
If money is something that does not have to be considered, then you can start looking at apartments that are quite close to apartments back in the west. Beautiful, large apartments in Central Tokyo, but costs about 2 or 3 times more than back home (unless you came from NYC or SF).

Here are some links for upscale housing: