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Moving to Tokyo as an American ?
Any tips for where to begin on finding a place ? Such as websites similar to Craigslist, FB Market place, or apartments.com but for Tokyo? I went on vacation around Japan in March and absolutely fell in love with the country. I don't speak Japanese but I did find translation software to be useful enough for me to communicate simplistically with people so I'm not too worried about the language barrier. Any advice helps!
yeah the exchange rate thing is real, but dont overthink it, 290k yen a month is honestly solid for a single guy. sangenjaya itself is kinda pricey for what you get, so id suggest looking at the tokyu toyoko line further out, like gakugei-daigaku or toritsu-daigaku, both are like 10 min to shibuya and rents drop noticeably. for finding spots, skip the big portals and go straight to a bilingual agent at a place like tokyo nest or plaza homes, they handle foreign tenants all the time and know which buildings skip the guarantor headache. you'll need a guarantor service anyway, budget like 50-60k yen for that, plus key money and deposit, so your first month might eat 400k+ before rent. on the laundry thing, in-unit is rare in older buildings, but newer ones around komazawa park have it, and that area's a nicer walk to campus anyway. also, your visa status as a student might get you into leopalace's longer term stuff, but their walls are paper thin, so if you care about quiet, find a concrete building from the 90s, theyre actually better built than the new cheap stuff. one more thing, set up a japanese bank account and phone plan within your first week, you'll need both for almost every apartment application, and temple's office can walk you through it.
Sangenjaya is a great base for Temple, but if you want in-unit laundry on that budget, you might have to look at newer builds around Chazawa or Ikejiri-Ohashi, which are both a short walk or one stop away. Those areas have more post-2000 concrete apartments aimed at young professionals, and they often include washer-dryers as standard. For listings, try athome.co.jp instead of Suumo, it has a better filter for "indoors washer space" and you can switch it to English, though you'll still want an agent to submit the application.
One thing nobody's mentioned yet: your military separation might actually qualify you for a US base housing office referral, even as a civilian student. Yokota Air Base is about an hour out, but their housing office sometimes has lists of off-base landlords who've worked with Americans before, and those owners are usually more open to GI Bill income. Also, since you're a veteran, check if Temple's veterans office can hook you up with a Japanese guarantor company at a discount, some of them have partnerships with universities and charge half the usual 50k fee.
For the lease itself, most Japanese apartments are two-year contracts, but a one-year lease is doable if you ask upfront, it's called "ichinen shokai" and some owners will accept it for students. Just know you'll pay a slightly higher monthly rent for the shorter term, maybe 5
the GI bill paying out in USD is nice but watch the exchange rate, it's been swinging hard lately. your 2k is roughly 290k yen now, which is plenty, but if the yen strengthens you'll feel it. for finding places, suumo is the big one but the foreigner filter is a pain, and gaijinpot has a housing section that's more english friendly, though listings skew shorter term. honestly your best bet is to hit up a local agent once you land, not before, because they'll want to meet you and see your visa status, and temple's international office might have a list of landlords used to students. in unit laundry in sangenjaya is gonna be a stretch at that price point, most older buildings there put the washer on the balcony or share a coin laundry, so maybe loosen that requirement or look at komazawa or yutenji, one or two stops out, where rents dip a bit. also, forget facebook marketplace for apartments, that's mostly furniture and sublets, and craigslist tokyo is thin, you'll waste time there. one thing nobody mentions: bring a copy of your separation orders or DD214, some landlords want proof of income stability beyond just a bank statement, and your military history actually helps with trustworthiness in their eyes.
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Where can I find crispy, pan-fried bacon similar to a certain international style?
if u have a costco membership the kirkland thick cut is the move, 4 packs of 500g for around 2500 yen and it crisps up proper in a cold pan. for smaller runs, precce in azabudai hills & the basement at isetan shinjuku both carry imported US & danish brands in the chilled case, just read the label for "thick cut" or "smoked" and not "loin". also worth knowing japanese bacon is often wet-cured so pat it dry before frying or it steams instead of crisping
kaldi coffee farm is hit or miss but their smoked bacon from denmark shows up pretty regular, the 200g pack runs about 600 yen. what actually works better for me is asking the butcher counter at peacock or life to slice the block bacon thick, like 5mm, they do it for free and it crisps way better than the pre-packed stuff. also fwiw cheap bacon crisps faster, the fatty supermarket kind at 300 yen a pack works fine if u cook it from cold in a dry pan and pour off the fat as it renders.
tbh the gyomu super store brand bacon is surprisingly decent for crisping up, its not thick cut but if you cook it low and slow it gets pretty crunchy. the key is the dry cure vs wet cure thing, wet cure steams. also check hanamasa if you have one nearby, they sell big packs of american style bacon thats actually smoked and firm.