Hikkoshi Binbo

Posted on April 17, 2007 by Angie Davis

Last week I just finished moving house in Japan, for the third time. It seems that despite the fact I have only been living in Japan for two years, I have accumulated quite a lot of stuff. How I managed to do this is beyond me, seeing as I’ve only been living in one-bedroom, matchbox-sized apartments….

Anyway, those who are living in Japan might know a thing or two about the pains associated with renting in this country, and you would definitely be familiar with the terms key money, deposit and cleaning fees. I have also rented many houses and apartments in my home country Australia, and I can assure you the hassles associated with renting at home are no way near as major as Japan.

This time round, I was fortunate enough to have a nice landlord, who agreed last year to let me pay 2 months deposit instead of key money. Lucky me. Out of the 9man I paid in deposits, I just got my refund….3man. I had only lived in the apartment for 10 months, and I assure you it was kept in very good condition. Turns out that the cleaning fee for the apartment that I had already cleaned perfectly myself for the initial inspection was significantly high, leading me to consider if in fact we are all in the wrong business…yes, I’m thinking of becoming a cleaner…Think about it, you go into a one-room apartment, which the tenant who is so concerned about getting every yen of their deposit back has scrubbed cleaned to the bone, spend about an hour giving it a shiny once over with some high-tech chemicals, and walk away with a lot more than an English teacher would ever make in an hour.

But, seeing as none of the cleaners I’ve ever met are rich, and all the landlords I’ve met are, it makes me wonder how much of the cleaning fee the dear old cleaning lady actually gets….

Regardless, moving in Japan for anyone, foreigner or Japanese is a costly task, and one that has even adopted the phrase, hikkoshi binbo, translated as the mover with no money, so to speak! Think carefully before you move, and be prepared to front around $2000 just to move in. Furthermore, expect to lose about 75% of your deposit in cleaning fees. Happy Moving!