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Set Up in Japan Plain answers. Real life. Moving in · Updated October 2026
Sakura House rents furnished rooms to non-Japanese residents, mostly in Tokyo, with a few in Kyoto. There is no deposit, key money, agency fee or guarantor. You reserve with 30% of the first month's stay fee, and you sign the lease and collect your keys at its Shinjuku office.
From Sakura House's own pages, read on October 3, 2026, and four Reddit comments by residents. Each point is sourced further down.
Our view: a good fit for your first months in Tokyo if you want one fee, no guarantor and a room that is already furnished, and you can reach Shinjuku in office hours. Ask for the lease and the refund rule before you pay more than the 30%, because neither is on the website.
Search Sakura House rooms and book in English
sakura-house.com (we are not paid for this link)
Share-house private bedrooms start from ¥75,000 a month, and the stay fee already includes utilities, internet and furniture (share houses, what the fee includes). We did not sample room prices: its room pages load them by script.
| Room type | What you get | Rent range |
|---|---|---|
| Guest house (dormitory) | A shared room and shared facilities, the budget option. | ¥60,000 to ¥75,000 |
| Share house | A private room with a shared kitchen, bathroom and common spaces. | ¥75,000 to ¥150,000 |
| Semi-apartment | A private room and kitchen, with shared bathroom facilities. | Not stated |
| Apartment | A fully private unit with its own kitchen, bathroom and living space. | ¥127,000 to ¥520,000 |
From the rent row of Sakura House's room-type comparison table, read October 3, 2026. The table lists three ranges under four column headings and does not say they are monthly, so we gave them in the order of the guest house, share house and apartment columns, which matches the ¥75,000 start on the share-house page.
You pay 30% of the first month's stay fee to reserve, or the full amount for a stay of one month or less (reserving). Its how-to-rent page says the reservation payment can be anywhere from 30% to 100% of the first month or of the whole stay (how to rent). You pay the rest of the stay fee when you check in (FAQ).
For the cheapest share-house room, ¥75,000, that is ¥22,500 to reserve and ¥52,500 at check-in. That is our arithmetic on two of its figures, not a quote for a real room.
There is no deposit, key money or agent fee (fees). Past the first month, a stay of more than one month but less than two is charged pro rata for the remainder (partial months). Online you pay by credit card or from a Japanese bank account. An international bank transfer or PayPal needs notice in advance and costs extra (payment).
Not covered by the stay fee: towels and toiletries, and, in some buildings, coins for the washing machine, typically ¥200 a load (laundry). Its FAQ names no limit on electricity or water, so ask before you book if you plan to run the air conditioner all summer.
You do not need a Japanese visa to rent, and tourists and temporary visitors can stay (Sakura House FAQ). It does not sponsor visas, so keeping your stay legal is your job (visa sponsorship). It asks for no guarantor (FAQ).
At check-in, bring your passport, the rest of the stay fee and your residence card if you have one (documents). The reservation can be made online from overseas (reserving). You can view a vacant room first (viewings), and same-day check-in is possible (services).
Registering your address: its FAQ says you can register the Sakura House address on your residence card. The lease you sign at check-in carries the property address, which you take to the city office (Sakura House FAQ). If you need the address for your residence card or a bank account, that lease is the document to show.
Putting its how-to-rent page and FAQ together, the steps are (how to rent):
What its website does not say: how long the lease runs and its type, whether the 30% is refunded if you cancel before you arrive, and what happens if you give less than one month's notice. Its website terms cover the website only and say that the terms of a deal are set separately (terms). Ask for these in writing before you pay more than the 30%. It also does not say whether Sakura House can turn an applicant down.
It runs more than 90 locations and about 1,000 rooms in Tokyo and Kyoto (room types). Its FAQ names four types: share houses (a private room, shared kitchen and bathroom), guest houses or dormitories (a shared room), semi-apartments (a private room and kitchen, shared bathroom) and apartments (fully private) (FAQ). Every room is furnished and has air conditioning (rooms), and most have a single bed of 100 by 200 cm (beds).
The Tokyo buildings are in Shinjuku, Shibuya, Minato, Chuo, Chiyoda, Meguro, Itabashi, Toshima, Kita, Bunkyo, Setagaya, Shinagawa, Ota, Koto, Edogawa, Sumida, Taito, Arakawa, Katsushika, Adachi, Suginami, Nakano, Kokubunji and Nerima (Stay in Tokyo). Kyoto has select locations (FAQ). A resident on Reddit says the locations are fantastic and suggests the smaller houses; that comment is below.
Its FAQ names no guest policy, so ask if you plan to have visitors stay.
Give notice at least one month ahead, through My Page, by email or by signing a notice at the office (move-out notice). On the last day, leave the key inside the room, vacate by 11:00, clean the room and take your belongings (check-out). A staff member inspects the room afterwards (how to rent). The pages we read do not say what happens if the inspection finds a problem, so ask before you move in.
We found four comments on Reddit from 2022 to 2026. One resident calls it fine but slightly pricey. Another says it is fine for under a year because of the locations, and recommends the smaller houses over large buildings. A third describes a dirty house, and a fourth had no issue with it or with another operator's monthly studios. Each comment is about one stay, not about Sakura House as a whole.
“I’m living in a Sakura house share for a month at the moment and it’s fine. Slightly pricey.”
“Sakura house is fine for under 1 year since they do have fantastic locations”
“I highly recommend the smaller houses (under 6 people) versus the large buildings (like in Sendagaya. Too many people!)”
“The house was dirty, trash overflowed, and the bathrooms were unsanitary.”
“I used both Sakura House and Fontana Tokyo City Apartments for monthly studios in 2025-2026. Similar apartments and didn't have an issue with either.”
Both rent furnished Tokyo rooms from 1 month with no deposit, key money or guarantor. Sakura House charges no deposit, key money or agent fee, and sets no maximum stay. Oakhouse charges a ¥50,000 contract fee for a private room, not refunded (Oakhouse contract fee), runs leases of 1 to 6 months (contract length), and gives you your keys at the house on move-in day rather than at an office (booking from abroad).
The two side by side, with bedding, address registration and moving out, are in Oakhouse vs Sakura House. More about Oakhouse's fees and rules is in our Oakhouse review.
Every fact comes from sakura-house.com: its FAQ, how-to-rent, service, room-type and area pages, read in a browser on October 3, 2026 (a script gets a security page instead of the site). Each fact above links the page it comes from. An archived copy of its FAQ from January 2025 said utilities were capped at ¥10,000 a person and that notice shorter than a month cost a month's rent; neither is on its pages now, so we did not use them, and you should ask whether either still applies. Resident quotes are from Reddit, each linked to the comment. We have not lived in a Sakura House, so there is no star rating here.
We have no agreement with Sakura House, and its link earns us nothing. This page has no ads or affiliate links. Read our editorial policy.
No. Its FAQ says Sakura House does not require a guarantor, and it charges no deposit, key money or agent fee. You pay the stay fee, and you reserve with 30% of the first month.
You pay 30% of the first month's stay fee to reserve, or the full fee for a stay of one month or less. The rest is due when you check in. Its how-to-rent page says the reservation payment can be anywhere from 30% to 100%.
Yes. Its FAQ says you do not need a Japanese visa to rent a room and that tourists and temporary visitors can stay. It does not sponsor visas, so keeping your stay legal is your job.
Yes. Its FAQ says you can register the Sakura House address on your residence card. The lease you sign at check-in carries the property address, which you take to the city office.
At its office in Shinjuku, where you sign the lease. Every check-in happens there, and checking in at the building is not available. The office is open 8:50 to 17:50 every day.
From 1 month in general, with no maximum stay. Its FAQ says short stays of 2 to 3 weeks may be possible in limited cases, depending on the building and the season, so ask Sakura House before you plan one.
Set Up in Japan is an independent guide, not Sakura House's site.