March 23, 2026· Updated May 14, 2026
By the HalfKey team
Tokyo furnished listings: the six fees the page often hides
A Tokyo furnished listing shows ¥X/night and not much else. The cleaning fee, utilities, deposit, and a few other line items only show up after you commit. Here are the six to ask about before you do.
A Tokyo furnished listing puts the rent on the page. ¥6,800 a night, 30-day stays from ¥204,000. Click through, send a booking enquiry, and a fuller picture lands in your inbox a day or two later. The cleaning fee. The utility flat-fee. Maybe a kyōekihi line. Maybe a refundable deposit. Maybe an agent commission. Maybe mid-stay cleaning. A 90-day stay can look like ¥612,000 on the listing page. The full bill usually lands between ¥640,000 and ¥780,000 once the rest of the fees come in.
Six fees are usually missing from the page. This is what to ask, an email you can send, and what a fully-disclosed fee table looks like for comparison.
Six fees to get in writing before you sign
No matter where you find the listing, get these six in writing before you commit. Email is fine. A reply that names a number on each line is a paper trail the operator can't walk back later.
1. Cleaning fee. A one-time charge after you move out. Tokyo range for a furnished studio: ¥18,000–¥35,000. Higher for a one-bedroom and up. Ask whether it's included in the rent or charged separately, and whether you can knock it down by cleaning to a checklist yourself. Most operators won't refund it either way.
2. Utility flat-fee or cap. Most mid-term operators charge a flat 共益費 (kyōekihi — common-area service charge), plus a utility flat-fee covering electricity, gas, water, and internet. Tokyo range for a studio: ¥6,000–¥15,000 a month for the utility flat-fee, on top of ¥3,000–¥8,000 in kyōekihi. If they meter utilities instead of flat-charging, ask for the average bill on a similar unit. Last winter and last summer.
3. Refundable deposit. 敷金 (shikikin — security deposit, refundable minus damages and unpaid charges) is rare on furnished mid-term stays but not gone. When it shows up, the range is zero to one month's rent. Ask what gets it withheld and how long the refund takes after move-out. There's a legal ceiling on cleaning deductions from shikikin. Tokyo Metropolitan Government sets that ceiling, not the operator.
4. Key money. 礼金 (reikin — "gratitude money," non-refundable payment to the landlord at signing) should be zero on a real mid-term furnished stay. If an operator quotes reikin on a 30–180 day booking, you're being routed onto a long-term residential lease. Not a mid-term stay. Ask for the contract type in writing.
5. Agent commission. 仲介手数料 (chūkai tesūryō — agent commission) is usually zero if you book direct with the operator. It shows up when there's a broker between you and the apartment. Range when it applies: half a month to one month's rent, plus 10% consumption tax. Ask whether you're booking direct or through a broker, and who keeps the money.
6. Mid-stay cleaning. Operators who run weekly or bi-weekly cleaning sometimes include it in the rent and sometimes charge separately. There's no standard. When it's charged separately, ¥4,000–¥8,000 a visit for a studio. Ask whether mid-stay cleaning is mandatory, optional, or already bundled in, and what happens if you cancel a single visit.
An email you can copy
Send this before you book. Copy and paste, fill in the unit reference and dates, send.
Hello, I'm considering booking [unit reference] for [start date] to [end date]. Before I confirm, please confirm in writing:
- The full cleaning fee, when it's charged, and whether it's refundable.
- How utilities are handled: flat-fee with the monthly amount, or metered with a typical winter and summer bill on this unit.
- Any refundable deposit, what gets it withheld, and how long the refund takes after move-out.
- Whether reikin or any non-refundable signing payment applies, and the contract type (mid-term lodging or standard residential lease).
- Whether I'm booking direct or through an agent, and any commission charged to me.
- The cancellation policy as a grid by days-out, and whether the cleaning fee is refundable on cancellation.
Thank you.
If the reply names numbers on all six lines, the operator is being straight with you. Book with confidence. Watch for hedges: vague references to "the contract," no yen amounts, a push toward a phone call before they'll quote you anything. Either walk away or budget for the hidden costs you can already see them setting up. The reply is your check on the listing page, and if anything goes sideways later it's your evidence.
What a complete fee table looks like
A complete fee table for a furnished studio in Setagaya, 4 minutes from Sangenjaya station, 90-day stay, reads like this:
- Rent: ¥6,800/night, billed monthly at ¥204,000 for a 30-day month
- Cleaning fee: ¥24,000, one-time, charged at booking, non-refundable after move-in
- Utility flat-fee: ¥9,000/month, no overage clause
- Kyōekihi: ¥4,500/month
- Deposit: zero
- Reikin: zero
- Agent commission: zero (direct booking)
- Mid-stay cleaning: optional, ¥5,500 per visit, 48-hour cancellation
- Cancellation: 30+ days out, full refund minus cleaning fee. 14–29 days, 50% refund. Under 14 days, no refund.
Add it up before you email anyone: ¥671,500 for a 90-day stay, plus optional mid-stay cleaning. Now you can put that next to another operator's number and compare them directly.
A listing that just says "¥6,800/night, all other fees per agreement" can't be compared to anything without a 30-minute call. That's the gap the email is for.
— HalfKey publishes the full fee table on every unit. Use it as a benchmark when you read other operators.