VibeTokyo: Gaijin Guarantor, Key Money, Deposit, Housing

And here's the worst part:

Alright, saving the WORST for last. The reasons why foreigners cannot stand the Japanese real estate system. Absolutely ridiculous.

Does the place allow foreigners?
"Nope, sorry, no foreigners." "Nope, we don't deal with foreigners."
Yes, this happens ALL the time. Approximately 90% of apartments in Tokyo do not accept foreigners. Racism, but that's the way it goes... Most of us foreigners have gone through the same thing, and you probably will too. You'll need to dig around for places that allow foreigners.

Requirement of Guarantor
Most, about 95% of apartments will require a co-signer. Now here's the other problem. Your father - Japanese father - with an income - living in Japan - is the most preferred guarantor. Of course, most of us foreigners don't have a Japanese father, creating another problem. And even if your father WAS Japanese, a rich lemonade tycoon, but retired with no current income, some places won't accept him. Some places will accept mothers, siblings or even cousins, but most places don't accept friends or boyfriends/girlfriends as co-signers and if you don't have any relatives here, your choices are further limited.

Some places do accept your company as your guarantor, but you will need your company's permission.

Pricing
And lastly, we shall discuss pricing. Pricing of Apartments in Tokyo is ridiculous, so be prepared...

To rent an apartment, you will need to pay up front(on average).
2 months of your monthly rent for key money (reikin)
2 months of your monthly rent as deposit (shikikin)
1 month of your monthly rent to the real estate agent (chukai tesuuryou)
and your 1st months rent.

So if your apartment's monthly rent is $600, you will require $600 x 6 = $3,600 to get started.

What the heck is key money???
It's a gift to the owner. To show your appreciation for allowing the owner to let you live in their building. A tradition which started after World War 2 when there was a lack of homes has now become a ridiculously stupid custom.
And as for your deposit, when you leave the apartment, you generally receive only one month back. The other month goes into cleaning and damages - damages you didn't even... oh well, whatever.
And for the money to the real estate agent? In Tokyo, it is extremely difficult to bypass the real estate agent, unless you have connections.

Just to give you a general idea:
A $600 (60,000 yen) apartment will get you a 15 meters squared apartment about 20-30 minutes away from downtown Tokyo.

An $800 (80,000 yen) apartment will get you a 20-25 meters squared apartment about 20-30 minutes away from downtown Tokyo.

A $1000 (100,000 yen) apartment will get you a decent place.

HOWEVER, there are places where the key money is 1 month or free and the deposit is 1 month or free. These apartments generally are not in as good shape, or far from the station (over 15 minutes walk). If you dig around, you may get lucky.

Maintenance fee ranges from 0 yen to 10,000 yen a month. Don't forget to consider this in your monthly rent.
You also need to pay for insurance which is about 10,000-20,000 yen applicable for 2 years.

In summary
Finding appropriate housing is a pain. Look at 2-3 weeks before settling into a place. Welcome to Tokyo!