Average rent for an apartment in Japan by Prefecture

The average monthly rent for an apartment in Japan varies widely by location and size of the property, but on average, the rent for a one room studio apartment is about ¥70,000 in a big city and about ¥50,000 nationwide.

Rent is most costly in Tokyo, its surrounding prefectures and Osaka. The most expensive place to rent an apartment in Japan is Tokyo, with the citywide average rent coming in at ¥91,000 ($700) for a 1R apartment. The second, third, and fourth most expensive prefectures are Kanagawa, Saitama, and Chiba, which surround the capital. Osaka comes in fifth, with average monthly rent of  ¥61,000 for the typical 1R studio apartment. Here are the top five most expensive prefectures to rent a studio apartment in Japan:

Prefecture Average rent for a 1R / 1K /1DK apartment in JPY
Tokyo 91,000
Kanagawa 68,000
Saitama 63,000
Chiba 61,000
Osaka 61,000

Rural areas and Japan’s northern prefectures have the lowest average rent in the country. Tochigi, for example, a mountainous prefecture located north of Tokyo known for its hot springs resorts and Nikko National Park, has some of the lowest rents in the country, with the average rent for a studio apartment of about ¥33,000, or about 36% of the average rent in Tokyo.

Average rent also varies a lot within a city. In Tokyo, for example, rent is highest in the central six wards of Minato, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Bunkyo, Chiyoda, and Chuo. Lower rent options can be found in Tokyo’s northern wards and outside the Yamanote train line. For detailed data on Tokyo, please see this post: What is the average rent in Tokyo?

The number of rooms is another major factor affecting rent levels. Apartment layouts in Japan are described by the number of rooms + the living/dining/kitchen area, if any.

In the charts below:

  • 1R = 1 Room: One room studio apartment. Usually between 13-sqm and 20-sqm in size.
  • 1K = K stands for kitchen. One-room studio apartment with a kitchen that is usually separated from the other room by a wall. Usually between 13-sqm and 25-sqm of floor space.
  • 1DK = D stands for dining, K stands for kitchen. Two-room apartment with a kitchen and dining space that is separated from the other room. Usually between 25-sqm and 30-sqm of floor space.
  • 1LDK = L stands for living, D stands for dining, K stands for kitchen. One-bedroom apartment with a living/dining room and a kitchen separate from the living/dining area. Usually between 23-sqm and 35-sqm of floor space.
  • 2LDK = Two-bedroom apartment with a living/dining room and a kitchen separate from the living/dining area. Usually between 40-sqm and 80-sqm of floor space but can be bigger in the case of higher-end apartments.
  • 3LDK = Three-bedroom apartment with a living/dining room and a kitchen separate from the living/dining area. Usually at least 70-sqm of living space but can be bigger in the case of higher-end apartments.
  • 4LDK = Four-bedroom apartment with a living/dining room and a kitchen separate from the living/dining area.

Average rent in Japan by prefecture

The chart below shows the average rent for each of Japan’s 47 prefectures as of April 30, 2022. The data is compiled from Homes (a Japanese real estate website), the National Association of Real Estate Transaction Associations of Japan website, and Real Estate Japan‘s in-house data.

Prefecture 1R / 1K /1DK 1LDK / 2K / 2DK 2LDK / 3K / 3LDK 3LDK / 4K / 4DK
Hokkaido 39,000 51,000 62,000 84,000
Aomori 33,000 49,000 52,000 72,000
Iwate 48,000 44,000 56,000 70,000
Miyagi 39,000 49,000 56,000 82,000
Akita 34,000 46,000 47,000 64,000
Yamagata 38,000 45,000 53,000 64,000
Fukushima 42,000 45,000 54,000 78,000
Ibaraki 35,000 45,000 51,000 73,000
Tochigi 33,000 41,000 51,000 76,000
Gunma 45,000 60,000 63,000 137,000
Saitama 63,000 87,000 102,000 138,000
Chiba 61,000 84,000 99,000 123,000
Tokyo 91,000 157,000 221,000 240,000
Kanagawa 68,000 100,000 117,000 157,000
Niigata 44,000 64,000 85,000 106,000
Toyama 41,000 56,000 68,000 76,000
Ishikawa 47,000 62,000 65,000 125,000
Fukui 57,000 65,000 64,000 86,000
Yamanashi 39,000 71,000 70,000 108,000
Nagano 48,000 61,000 72,000 96,000
Gifu 46,000 59,000 60,000 83,000
Shizuoka 47,000 63,000 69,000 84,000
Aichi 56,000 79,000 93,000 118,000
Mie 43,000 58,000 63,000 82,000
Shiga 47,000 65,000 73,000 104,000
Kyoto 57,000 95,000 109,000 126,000
Osaka 61,000 97,000 114,000 119,000
Hyogo 56,000 77,000 82,000 112,000
Nara 43,000 71,000 69,000 84,000
Wakayama 43,000 55,000 60,000 84,000
Tottori 39,000 56,000 63,000 N/A
Shimane 45,000 55,000 61,000 68,000
Okayama 46,000 64,000 70,000 101,000
Hiroshima 55,000 71,000 78,000 97,000
Yamaguchi 41,000 56,000 59,000 84,000
Tokushima 43,000 50,000 56,000 77,000
Kagawa 43,000 55,000 57,000 82,000
Ehime 42,000 57,000 66,000 89,000
Kochi 43,000 59,000 78,000 85,000
Fukuoka 48,000 70,000 79,000 102,000
Saga 41,000 56,000 78,000 84,000
Nagasaki 47,000 64,000 86,000 96,000
Kumamoto 47,000 58,000 66,000 83,000
Oita 41,000 62,000 67,000 115,000
Miyazaki 40,000 52,000 55,000 N/A
Kagoshima 44,000 60,000 80,000 94,000
Okinawa 51,000 89,000 130,000 156,000

Average rent for a 1R apartment in Japan by Prefecture

Prefecture Average rent for a 1R / 1K /1DK apartment in JPY
Tokyo 91,000
Kanagawa 68,000
Saitama 63,000
Chiba 61,000
Osaka 61,000
Fukui 57,000
Kyoto 57,000
Aichi 56,000
Hyogo 56,000
Hiroshima 55,000
Okinawa 51,000
Iwate 48,000
Nagano 48,000
Fukuoka 48,000
Ishikawa 47,000
Shizuoka 47,000
Shiga 47,000
Nagasaki 47,000
Kumamoto 47,000
Gifu 46,000
Okayama 46,000
Gunma 45,000
Shimane 45,000
Niigata 44,000
Kagoshima 44,000
Mie 43,000
Nara 43,000
Wakayama 43,000
Tokushima 43,000
Kagawa 43,000
Kochi 43,000
Fukushima 42,000
Ehime 42,000
Toyama 41,000
Yamaguchi 41,000
Saga 41,000
Oita 41,000
Miyazaki 40,000
Hokkaido 39,000
Miyagi 39,000
Yamanashi 39,000
Tottori 39,000
Yamagata 38,000
Ibaraki 35,000
Akita 34,000
Aomori 33,000
Tochigi 33,000

Average rent for a 1LDK apartment in Japan by Prefecture

Prefecture
Average rent for a 1LDK / 2K /2DK apartment in JPY
Tokyo 157,000
Kanagawa 100,000
Osaka 97,000
Kyoto 95,000
Okinawa 89,000
Saitama 87,000
Chiba 84,000
Aichi 79,000
Hyogo 77,000
Yamanashi 71,000
Nara 71,000
Hiroshima 71,000
Fukuoka 70,000
Fukui 65,000
Shiga 65,000
Niigata 64,000
Okayama 64,000
Nagasaki 64,000
Shizuoka 63,000
Ishikawa 62,000
Oita 62,000
Nagano 61,000
Gunma 60,000
Kagoshima 60,000
Gifu 59,000
Kochi 59,000
Mie 58,000
Kumamoto 58,000
Ehime 57,000
Toyama 56,000
Tottori 56,000
Yamaguchi 56,000
Saga 56,000
Wakayama 55,000
Shimane 55,000
Kagawa 55,000
Miyazaki 52,000
Hokkaido 51,000
Tokushima 50,000
Aomori 49,000
Miyagi 49,000
Akita 46,000
Yamagata 45,000
Fukushima 45,000
Ibaraki 45,000
Iwate 44,000
Tochigi 41,000

Average rent for a 2LDK apartment in Japan by Prefecture

Prefecture
Average rent for a 2LDK / 3K /3DK apartment in JPY
Tokyo 221,000
Okinawa 130,000
Kanagawa 117,000
Osaka 114,000
Kyoto 109,000
Saitama 102,000
Chiba 99,000
Aichi 93,000
Nagasaki 86,000
Niigata 85,000
Hyogo 82,000
Kagoshima 80,000
Fukuoka 79,000
Hiroshima 78,000
Kochi 78,000
Saga 78,000
Shiga 73,000
Nagano 72,000
Yamanashi 70,000
Okayama 70,000
Shizuoka 69,000
Nara 69,000
Toyama 68,000
Oita 67,000
Ehime 66,000
Kumamoto 66,000
Ishikawa 65,000
Fukui 64,000
Gunma 63,000
Mie 63,000
Tottori 63,000
Hokkaido 62,000
Shimane 61,000
Gifu 60,000
Wakayama 60,000
Yamaguchi 59,000
Kagawa 57,000
Iwate 56,000
Miyagi 56,000
Tokushima 56,000
Miyazaki 55,000
Fukushima 54,000
Yamagata 53,000
Aomori 52,000
Ibaraki 51,000
Tochigi 51,000
Akita 47,000

Average rent for a 3LDK apartment in Japan by Prefecture

Prefecture
Average rent for a 3LDK / 4K /4DK apartment in JPY
Tokyo 240,000
Kanagawa 157,000
Okinawa 156,000
Saitama 138,000
Gunma 137,000
Kyoto 126,000
Ishikawa 125,000
Chiba 123,000
Osaka 119,000
Aichi 118,000
Oita 115,000
Hyogo 112,000
Yamanashi 108,000
Niigata 106,000
Shiga 104,000
Fukuoka 102,000
Okayama 101,000
Hiroshima 97,000
Nagano 96,000
Nagasaki 96,000
Kagoshima 94,000
Ehime 89,000
Fukui 86,000
Kochi 85,000
Hokkaido 84,000
Shizuoka 84,000
Nara 84,000
Wakayama 84,000
Yamaguchi 84,000
Saga 84,000
Gifu 83,000
Kumamoto 83,000
Miyagi 82,000
Mie 82,000
Kagawa 82,000
Fukushima 78,000
Tokushima 77,000
Tochigi 76,000
Toyama 76,000
Ibaraki 73,000
Aomori 72,000
Iwate 70,000
Shimane 68,000
Akita 64,000
Yamagata 64,000
Tottori N/A
Miyazaki N/A

Sources:

Lead image: Tokyo aerial street view via iStock 483097726


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