Tokyo lodging: minpaku, hotel permits and rental leases

Before booking a Tokyo apartment, find out which permission or rental agreement covers your stay. It may be registered private lodging, accommodation with a hotel permit or a residential rental. Similar rooms can be offered under different arrangements, and labels such as “monthly apartment” or “serviced apartment” don't tell you which applies.

A 30-night minimum is especially easy to misread. It may be the company's booking rule; it isn't a universal exemption from lodging regulation. A hotel can host someone for a month. Calling an apartment a long stay does not, by itself, make the booking a residential rental.

Notified private lodging

Under the Private Lodging Business Act, the host registers the residence with the local authority by submitting a document called a notification. The host must also meet the law's conditions for running the lodging. The government overview explains that each registered lodging can host guests for no more than 180 days in a counting year that runs from April to April.

Local restrictions may also affect when it can operate. Ask the host to confirm that local rules allow every night of your stay and that it has enough of its annual allowance left. The 180-day guide explains the calendar in more detail.

Match the notification number to the room

Shinjuku publishes a list of notified residences. Its 31 August 2026 list includes separate fields for the street address, building or room description, notification number and notification date.

The list shows separate entries for rooms 101 and 201 at the same building address, with different notification numbers. Check the entry for your particular room, not just the building address. Use the current list or ask the ward for help if you cannot find a match. An older list cannot tell you whether the room is still available or whether the host currently meets all the rules.

If you want to stay for a full month, check which days the host is allowed to accept guests. Shinjuku’s local rules restrict this type of lodging in exclusively residential zones from Monday noon to Friday noon. That zone-specific rule can prevent a continuous stay even when the annual 180-day allowance has room left. It is not a ban on every lodging or apartment across Shinjuku.

Accommodation under the Inns and Hotels Act

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare explains the Inns and Hotels Act framework. Under this law, a business applies for a lodging permit instead of submitting a private-lodging notification.

The 180-day cap for registered private lodging does not apply to a property operating under this permit. Check the permit and booking terms for the property you're considering.

A hotel-style name or daily housekeeping is not proof of a permit. If the listing says it has a permit, ask for the permit number and the name of the authority that issued it. The local public health office may be able to answer questions about the permit.

Special-zone private lodging

In areas that use the National Strategic Special Zones scheme, hosts can apply for local approval to offer rooms under a special exception to the Inns and Hotels Act. MHLW’s lodging information lists this separately from hotel permits and private-lodging registration.

In Tokyo, Ota ward’s comparison of the schemes says its special-zone lodgings require stays of at least two nights and three days and have no annual operating-day cap. The host must have the ward’s approval; simply being in Ota does not qualify a property. Ask for the approval details for the address you are booking and check the minimum stay in its terms.

Residential rental agreements

To distinguish a residential rental from lodging, MHLW considers whether the person uses the apartment as their home. Its guidance also considers how the property is managed. Duration alone doesn't settle that distinction.

For a residential rental, read the lease rather than looking only for a lodging licence. Check who is renting the apartment to you, its address, how long you can stay, who can live there, the house rules and what happens if you leave early. For a fixed-term lease, check when it ends and whether you would need a new agreement to stay longer.

Compare the full price for your dates

Once you know the apartment can legally host your stay, compare its full price with other suitable places. If you need 27 nights and the company charges for at least 30, include all 30 nights in the cost.

If a host cannot explain which permission it has or the documents do not match the address, pause the booking and ask the booking platform or local office responsible for lodging to clarify. Save that answer with the agreement before paying.

For an illustrative price comparison, a suitable 27-night booking at ¥8,000 a night totals ¥216,000. A 30-night minimum at ¥7,000 totals ¥210,000, including ¥21,000 for the three nights you do not need. The longer booking is ¥6,000 cheaper in this example, assuming no other fees. Divide ¥210,000 by the 27 nights you actually need: that is about ¥7,778 per night. Compare cancellation terms too, especially if your dates might change.