· Updated
By the HalfKey team
Tokyo minimum stays: one month is not always 30 nights
A three-week trip can still mean paying a full month's rent. Here's how to compare that bill with a hotel quote, and what to check before committing to a longer stay for a discount.
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“One month” doesn't always mean 30 nights, and the advertised monthly rate may require a longer stay. Send the rental company your arrival and departure dates and ask for the total cost, including fees.
How the rental company counts a month
MetroResidences' Japan FAQ counts April 10 to May 10 as one month, but April 10 to May 9 falls short of its minimum. You can leave sooner, but you still pay for the full month.
Other companies may count their minimum differently. If you plan to leave before the contract ends, ask which date you'll pay through.
An extension needn't be another whole month. MetroResidences allows extra days, priced from its standard monthly rent. If your original booking had a discount, those extra days may cost more per day.
What the law says about monthly stays
Government guidance issued in 2018 helps booking websites and local authorities distinguish lodging from short residential rentals. It suggests using one month as a guide, while also checking the contract and how the home is managed. Authorities already using a different period can continue doing so.
Staying a month doesn't by itself make your booking a residential lease or exempt the property from lodging rules. The Ryokan Business Act explanation includes licensed lodging charged by the month. The agreement and how the home is managed matter too.
The guidance also addresses bookings made for a month on paper and then immediately shortened to disguise a few nights of lodging. That is different from paying for the full minimum period and choosing to use fewer nights. If you only need three weeks, give those dates in your enquiry and ask what can be booked and what you would pay.
A hotel can cost less for a shorter trip
For an illustrative twenty-three-night trip, suppose an apartment costs ¥200,000 for the minimum booking, plus a required ¥25,000 fee. You'd pay ¥225,000 even though you wouldn't use the whole month. A hotel at ¥9,000 per night would cost ¥207,000, before any extra charges.
For that trip, the hotel is ¥18,000 cheaper. Stay thirty nights and the hotel bill rises to ¥270,000. These are made-up prices to show the calculation; use full quotes for your own dates and the number of people staying.
Price may not settle the choice. Having your own kitchen, laundry or place to work could make the apartment worth the extra cost.
Read the terms of a longer-stay discount
Ask for a quote for each stay length you're considering. A lower monthly rate may require payment upfront, or you may have to repay the discount if you leave early. Read those terms before choosing the longer booking.
Booking a shorter stay first gives you time to decide, but the apartment may be booked by someone else when you want to extend, or the price may change. The 30-versus-90-night guide helps you compare the costs of those two options.