Moving in · Updated October 2026Ad · Affiliate links
Apartments in Osaka for foreigners: what four operators list, and what it costs
Median asking rents in Osaka were ¥60,000 for Leopalace's furnished 1K and 1R rooms, ¥49,000 for Oakhouse's rooms, ¥43,350 for Village House's unfurnished layouts and ¥63,000 for XROSS HOUSE's furnished apartments. The rooms differ, so the figures are not one scale. Leopalace's Osaka median is 38% below its Tokyo median. None of the four asks for a Japanese guarantor as a rule.
On this page
Apartment rent in Osaka, operator by operator
Alphabetical, not ranked. Each tile is the median asking rent of one operator's Osaka listings, for the kind of room named in its label. The rooms are not alike, so the figures are not a price league table. The dates are under how we checked.
- Leopalace ¥60,000 Median rent, furnished 1K and 1R rooms ¥49,000 to ¥71,000 for the middle half of 4,017 rooms, plus a ¥7,000 common fee
- Oakhouse ¥49,000 Median rent, rooms of mixed types in one house 39 rooms in 1 house, plus a ¥20,000 median common fee (¥69,000 together)
- Village House ¥43,350 Median rent, unfurnished 1DK to 3DK layouts 22 of 69 layouts show a rent, in 29 buildings; lowest ¥37,800, 29 to 58 m²
- XROSS HOUSE ¥63,000 Median rent, furnished apartments 146 units, from ¥46,000, plus a ¥1,500 support fee
We hold no average rent for Osaka as a whole from an official survey, so we do not give one, and no Osaka share-house rent (XROSS HOUSE has 10 share houses there: share houses in Osaka). Operator-by-operator figures for other cities are on furnished apartments, and the national comparison of landlords that take foreigners is on apartments for foreigners in Japan.
Is Osaka cheaper than Tokyo for rent?
In the same operators' listings, yes. Leopalace's Osaka median is 38% below its Tokyo median, and XROSS HOUSE's is 18% below. Both pairs come from one method on one date, so the gap is not an artifact of comparing different sources.
- Leopalace median rent Osaka¥60,000, 4,017 furnished 1K and 1R rooms Tokyo¥96,000, 2,678 rooms
- Leopalace room size Osaka20.3 m², built 2006 on average Tokyo20.8 m², built 2008 on average
- XROSS HOUSE median rent Osaka¥63,000, 146 furnished apartments Tokyo¥77,000, 919 apartments
- Leopalace 30-day charge Osaka¥190,000 median on a monthly contract Tokyo¥288,000 median on a monthly contract
A lower rent is not a lower total: move-in and exit fees come on top, and the next sections show them.
Where are the cheaper rooms in Osaka?
Outside Osaka City: Leopalace's 2,809 rooms there had a median of ¥56,000, against ¥67,000 for the 1,208 rooms inside it. The ward and city table is on Leopalace in Osaka.
Village House has 29 buildings in the Osaka directory and 2 are in Osaka City: Village House in Osaka.
How much do you pay when you sign for an apartment in Osaka?
At each operator's Osaka median rent, signing costs ¥218,830 at Leopalace, ¥101,200 at Oakhouse and ¥114,500 at XROSS HOUSE. We hold no Village House total. Each total adds the fees paid at signing to the first month's rent. It leaves out the items named in its tile, so treat it as a minimum.
- Leopalace ¥218,830 At signing, furnished room at the ¥60,000 median One month's key money (¥60,000), ¥52,250 cleaning, ¥19,890 fire insurance, ¥16,500 key exchange and the first month. Left out: the rent-guarantee company's fee, ¥67,550 to ¥81,060
- Oakhouse ¥101,200 At signing, private-room contract fee, rent at the ¥49,000 median ¥50,000 contract fee, the first month's rent if you move in on the 1st, and a ¥2,200 bed pad. Share rooms pay ¥20,000 to ¥40,000 as a contract fee. Left out: the first month's common fee (checking whether it is billed at move-in)
- Village House Checking At signing We hold no signing total for Village House. It may ask for a deposit after screening.
- XROSS HOUSE ¥114,500 At signing, furnished apartment at the ¥63,000 median ¥50,000 standard move-in fee, the first month's rent and the ¥1,500 support fee. The current campaign takes the fee to ¥30,000, ¥94,500 in all. Left out: the rent-guarantee company's first fee (checking)
Leopalace's fee-by-fee bill is on Leopalace in Osaka. The other operators' fees and exit costs are on Oakhouse, XROSS HOUSE and Village House costs.
Which Osaka landlords take foreigners, and what do they ask for?
All four take foreign residents. What differs is the guarantor, the contract length and the age limit.
| Operator | Guarantor | Documents | Contract | Osaka help |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leopalace | Rent-guarantee company fee of 100% to 120% of the monthly charge at signing, then ¥15,000 a year | Residence card, a Japanese bank account in your name, and two emergency contacts | Lease for a year or more; monthly contract from 30 days | International Front Center Osaka, 2 minutes from Tenjinbashisuji 6-chome Station, closed Sundays; book a visit |
| Oakhouse | No guarantor or guarantee company. An emergency contact, normally a parent, who can live abroad | Passport or residence card, any valid visa | 1 to 6 months, no renewal; sign again to stay longer | Online help center in English, Japanese, Korean, Chinese and French; Osaka has 1 house |
| Village House | None as a rule. A deposit or joint guarantor may be asked after screening | Residence card as photo ID, proof of income, a bank account for rent debit | Two-year lease | International support staff in five languages and a site in seven (Village House for foreigners) |
| XROSS HOUSE | No personal guarantor. A rent-guarantee company is required, and its first fee is not stated | Passport plus residence card if you have one, and an emergency contact | 1-year fixed term, ends early with 1 month's notice; stays from 1 month | Staff languages include English, Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese and Nepali; open 10:00 to 18:30 daily |
Age limits at XROSS HOUSE: 18 to 59 for apartments and 18 to 39 for share houses. Oakhouse takes 18 and over. Leopalace and Village House state no age limit in what we hold (checking). Each operator screens every applicant and does not give reasons for a refusal. Full terms: Leopalace, Oakhouse, Village House, XROSS HOUSE. Guarantor companies as a group: guarantor companies in Japan.
Is there a monthly apartment in Osaka?
Yes. Leopalace had 2,621 Osaka rooms open to stays of 30 days, at a median 30-day charge of ¥190,000 (middle half ¥166,000 to ¥213,000). In Tokyo the median was ¥288,000, 34% higher. Oakhouse takes 1 to 6 months, and XROSS HOUSE lets you move out after 1 month. Totals for stays of 1 to 12 months are on monthly apartment or lease in Tokyo, and Leopalace's monthly rules are on Leopalace monthly apartments. We have not built an Osaka total for each stay length, so the Osaka figures above are rents and charges, not totals.
How do I register my address in Osaka?
At the ward office for your new address, within 14 days of moving in. The City of Osaka says: "Foreign residents are required to register their residence. Please conduct procedures for resident registration at your local ward office." The 14 days run from the move (International House, Osaka). The general steps, and what happens if you are late, are in your first 14 days in Japan.
What to bring to the Osaka ward office
- Bring Residence card The card, or the special permanent resident certificate. International House, Osaka
- If you have it My Number card Card holders only. City of Osaka
- If it applies Passport When your residence card has not been issued yet. City of Osaka
- If it applies Pension handbook Category 1 National Pension insured people. International House, Osaka
- If it applies Proof of relationship to the head of household For a member of a household whose head is a foreign national other than you. A document in another language needs a Japanese translation that names the translator. City of Osaka
- Not needed Moving-out certificate Not required when you come from abroad. City of Osaka
How we checked
Rents are medians of each operator's own Osaka listings, counted by us: Leopalace October 9, 2026, Oakhouse October 9, 2026, XROSS HOUSE October 9, 2026, Village House buildings October 5, 2026 (47 of 69 listed layouts had no rent shown, so the Village House median uses the 22 that did, and 5,111 is the number of homes in the 29 buildings, not vacancies). They are asking rents, not what tenants paid. Leopalace and Oakhouse count furnished or shared rooms and Village House counts unfurnished layouts, so do not read the tiles as one scale. Operator terms come from each operator's own pages on the dates in their guides. The registration steps were read on October 26, 2026 from the City of Osaka and International House, Osaka. Sources for the rents: Leopalace Osaka search, Oakhouse house list, XROSS HOUSE apartments, Village House Osaka directory. Signing totals: Leopalace is our estimate from its fee list, and XROSS HOUSE and Oakhouse add their own move-in fees to the first month's rent at the Osaka median; an item we could not price is left out and named. We have not rented from any of these companies.
Leopalace, Oakhouse, XROSS HOUSE and Village House have affiliate programs we joined. Their buttons on this page are A8.net affiliate links: we may earn a commission if you sign up through them. The figures are the same either way. Read our editorial policy.
Apartments in Osaka for foreigners: FAQ
How much is an apartment in Osaka?
We hold no market-wide average. In the operators' own listings, median rents were ¥60,000 for Leopalace's furnished 1K and 1R rooms, ¥49,000 for Oakhouse's rooms, ¥43,350 for Village House's unfurnished layouts and ¥63,000 for XROSS HOUSE's furnished apartments. These are asking rents on October 9, 2026 (Village House October 5, 2026), not what tenants paid, and the rooms are not alike.
How much do I pay up front to rent an apartment in Osaka?
At each operator's Osaka median rent, Leopalace comes to ¥218,830, Oakhouse to ¥101,200 and XROSS HOUSE to ¥114,500, before the items we could not price: Leopalace's guarantee-company fee, XROSS HOUSE's guarantee-company first fee and Oakhouse's first-month common fee. We hold no Village House total. The breakdown is under what you pay at signing.
Can a foreigner rent an apartment in Osaka without a Japanese guarantor?
Yes, at these operators. Oakhouse takes no guarantor and asks for an emergency contact. Leopalace and XROSS HOUSE use a rent-guarantee company instead of a person. Village House does not ask for a guarantor as a rule but can after screening. The terms are in the table under who takes foreigners.
Is Osaka cheaper than Tokyo for rent?
In the same operators' listings, yes. Leopalace's median furnished rent was ¥60,000 in Osaka against ¥96,000 in Tokyo (38% lower), and XROSS HOUSE's was ¥63,000 against ¥77,000 (18% lower). The rooms are about the same size at Leopalace: 20.3 m² against 20.8 m².
Where do I register my address in Osaka?
At the ward office for your new address, within 14 days of moving in. Bring your residence card, and your My Number card if you have one. The steps are under registering your address.
How much is a monthly apartment in Osaka?
On a Leopalace monthly contract, the median 30-day charge was ¥190,000 in Osaka against ¥288,000 in Tokyo. Oakhouse and XROSS HOUSE take stays from 1 month. The comparison is under monthly apartments in Osaka.