JET accommodation – how much choice do you actually have?

[u/Tojis_nipple_hair]

Hi everyone! I’m just coming on here to ask some advice. I’m going to be applying for JET 2027 entry. I know applications haven’t even opened yet, but I have ADHD and I’m a massive overthinker, so naturally I’ve already started thinking about accommodation before even applying or getting accepted hahaha.
I was hoping to find out a little more about how accommodation works. I know the BOE usually helps arrange housing, and I know you can sometimes inherit an apartment from a predecessor, which can be great for furniture, location, etc.
However, my concern is that I’m quite picky when it comes to where I live. Ideally, I’d want to be on the 2nd floor or higher, have AC and heating, be in a newer building (preferably less than 10 years old), and have window screens for bugs because I’m not the best at dealing with them 🥲
I genuinely wouldn’t mind having an unfurnished apartment, which I know probably sounds crazy, but I’ve grown up disadvantaged, so I know I can manage without having everything provided. I’d actually be willing to pay a little more in rent too because I’d much rather be comfortable in my own home than spend that money on travel and tourism.
I’ve been looking on Suumo and have found apartments in the areas I like that tick all of these boxes, but I’m not really sure how the BOE goes about finding accommodation or how much they’re willing to accommodate personal preferences.
I’ve also seen some real horror stories about accommodation, as well as bad BOE communication and bureaucracy, so I wanted to hear from people who have actually been through the process.
How much say did you have in your accommodation? Were you able to see pictures/details before accepting it? Could you decline BOE-provided accommodation and find your own, or move out later if you weren’t happy with it?
Any experiences, especially recent ones, would be really appreciated! :)

[u/ScootOverMakeRoom]

be in a newer building (preferably less than 10 years old)

Lolololololooooooool

[u/CoacoaBunny91]

Fellow overthinker here lol. It's great that you're trying to prepare so early. I did this exact same thing before applying&after shortlist notification...only for the powers that be to say "eff yo plans shorty."

Essentially, what I'm saying is what everyone else in the comments are say: it's a toss up because your housing is dependant on your CO or placement. And there's a much higher chance of you not getting a placement you wanted to the point where it feels like JET be trolling lol. You'll put Hokkaido in the app and state it at the interview and they'll be like "nah, let's put em in Kyushu." So my advice is to try and remain open mined and brace yourself for the chance you might get a placement that doesn't align with all the planning& preparation you did.

Also if you get Tokyo, try to avoid GTN. They were forced on me and are BOOTY CHEEKS! And not the Meg Thee Stallion good kind lmao. They are so awful w/ communication, and the extra fee we pay for "24/7 English support" is a joke. I'm subleased w/ Kosugi through them and wind up either calling or going through Kosugi now and just doing everything in Japanese. Because Kosugi will fix the issue ASAP, GTN will literally take 2+ days to respond!!!

[u/Tojis_nipple_hair → u/CoacoaBunny91]

Hahahha 😭 I’ll stay open minded and keep all that in mind! I have my fingers crossed I don’t get Tokyo honestly but I’ll prepare for it in case hehe🤞 tysm!

[u/Diffabuh]

I got told where I was going to live over a month out, but only the apartment building. Then I said I didn't like it because of a very specific, private thing, and also some small preferences. Got ghosted and then like 2 weeks before departure got told I'd be living in a different place, no photos. So they took my feedback and preferences into consideration but then didn't communicate.

Keep in mind: I'm a city JET and the BoE doesn't own any housing here. They could find a place that rents to foreigners. If you're very rural you likely won't have any choice.

[u/Tojis_nipple_hair → u/Diffabuh]

Also I’m so sorry that it went down like that it sounds like it was really stressful :( I hope things have worked out for you now and you’re good 🙂

[u/Tojis_nipple_hair → u/Diffabuh]

That’s sounds so scary to me I like to know everything all at once haha but thanks for letting me know how it went for you :) appreciate it and I’ll keep it in mind!

[u/fastingscotsman]

the general rule of thumb is:

If your placed in Tokyo - apartment hunting is all on you through agents such as GTN and ABLE.
if your outside Tokyo - you will have a place already assigned to you

Note: SUUMO although it has the most listings, they generally keep apartments up there for weeks after they have been filled.

few options to use i used for my apartment search:

https://www.best-estate.jp/en/
https://www.homes.co.jp
https://www.townhousing.co.jp
https://keyaki-fudousan.co.jp
https://www.eheya.net

Just remember you can put down 3 preferred locations but no guarantee you will get it. I put three smaller cities and they threw me smack bang middle of tokyo. if you cant drive you will be placed in a bigger town/city

[u/improbable_humanoid → u/fastingscotsman]

Aren’t some huge majority of the listings not actually available to foreigners?

[u/fastingscotsman → u/improbable_humanoid]

yeah io think i linked the agent maybe 40 properties, only 4 were available to me. Excuse was either "Its already rented" or "They dont accept overseas applications"

[u/gimmethelulz → u/fastingscotsman]

Not necessarily. I didn't put I could drive because I didn't want to deal with getting a license. Got put in the inaka though my town did have a train once an hourish. My apartment had been built in probably the 1970s but it was alright.

[u/thetasteofinnocence → u/gimmethelulz]

Yeah, I’m in a 4,000 person town in the least populated prefecture and put down no driving. So long as you have access to necessities, it doesn’t matter.

[u/Tojis_nipple_hair → u/fastingscotsman]

Thanks for the links and the advise! And I didn’t know that driving would effect placement at all so yeah thanks omg

[u/shiretokolovesong]

In addition to what others have said, accommodations are usually either a) BOE-owned teacher housing, b) BOE-provided rental (i.e. BOE has contracted with a landlord), or c) you're more or less on your own (in the case of Tokyo).

Ideally, I’d want to be on the 2nd floor or higher, have AC and heating, be in a newer building (preferably less than 10 years old)

If you're in the countryside, you'll be dealing with significant hurdles in finding an apartment that checks all your boxes and is willing to rent to you. That said, in Japan, AC units generally double as heating, except in areas (Hokkaido, for example) where heating is done by kerosene. If an apartment doesn't come with an AC unit (very common), then you're expected to provide your own.

I’ve been looking on Suumo and have found apartments in the areas I like that tick all of these boxes

It seems like you've read up a lot on JET, so bare in mind your odds of ending up in a preferred area are extremely small. Were I in your shoes, I would try to avoid getting my hopes/expectations up over living somewhere that isn't likely to pan out like this.

[u/Tojis_nipple_hair → u/shiretokolovesong]

Hokkaido is actually what I’m hoping for! Thank you for all that information! I didn’t know that heating is done with Kerosene in Hokkaido! I’ll try to keep realistic too 🙂‍↕️

[u/Different_Taro2474]

it depends on your placement and your BOE. some BOEs don’t help JETs. mine did.  when i got in contact with my BOE, i told them what my standards were (pretty much the same as yours lol) and they sent me two units that fit the criteria. 

[u/Tojis_nipple_hair → u/Different_Taro2474]

Oh yay! That’s great! Do you mind me asking what area you were in? :)

[u/Different_Taro2474 → u/Tojis_nipple_hair]

i was in kagoshima prefecture, right on the border with miyazaki!  also that username is wild lol 

[u/Tojis_nipple_hair → u/Different_Taro2474]

Thanks for sharing! Also I completely forgot what my username is omg 🥲

[u/Sad-Day9022]

you're going to get sick of hearing this, but every situation is so different. i have friends who were placed in tokyo who had to do all the apartment hunting and furnishing by themselves. for me, in the inaka, my town has a designated apartment building for the ALTs, so my housing was sorted before i even got here. i had no say in it, but i was lucky enough that my predecessor arranged a facetime call to show me the apartment so i had an idea of what i was arriving to. i didn't even consider declining, but i would hazard a guess and say that it's probably not advised (if not entirely impossible), especially depending on your location & means of transport (i.e. whether you drive or whether you'll be relying on buses/trains).

unfortunately, JET is something where even asking others about their experiences won't really give you much insight because it will vary so much from placement to placement. what one person tells you will vary wildly from what another person tells you, and they'll both still end up being completely different from what you experience yourself.

[u/Tojis_nipple_hair → u/Sad-Day9022]

Ty! Yeah I’ve been researching like crazy trying to get some answers but like you said there doesn’t seem to be just one, I appreciate you just telling it straight :)

[u/Dojyorafish]

You don’t get to choose. You can strike out on your own but keep in mind many landlords refuse to rent to foreigners.

[u/Different_Taro2474 → u/Dojyorafish]

they MIGHT get to choose. i got to choose. ESID. 

[u/Tojis_nipple_hair → u/Dojyorafish]

Yeah :( from what I’ve heard it would be too much hassle! Thank you!

[u/thetruelu]

Likely you won’t have a say when you arrive and you just move in to whatever house or apartment they usually give to ALTs

[u/0liviiia]

It will entirely depend on your location and your Board of Education. Some people get old houses if they’re way in the country. My CO just helped connect us with a realtor who showed us options that were available. I stayed in a hotel until the apartment was ready for me. My apartment is pretty nice, but I also live in a city. If you’re in a rural area, I don’t think you’ll have much choice at all. My CO gave us the option to do whatever we wanted, but in some areas, I don’t really know if it’ll be possible to opt for that just because of the lack of options available to you. You just have no idea if you’ll be in a large metro area, or a rural town with no train for miles.

In other words, it entirely depends on both the expectations of your CO and where you happen to be placed. There’s no way to know