Mid-Term Rentals
Mid-term rentals in Tokyo
Furnished apartments for stays of one to six months. One monthly price that covers rent, utilities, and Wi-Fi, with English support from your first message to move-out day.
A mid-term rental is the housing category between a hotel and a standard Japanese lease. It is a furnished apartment you book for one to six months, sometimes longer, at one flat monthly price.
If you are staying in Tokyo for two or three months, neither of the usual options fits. A hotel is priced by the night, and hotel logic breaks past a few weeks: you pay a premium for daily cleaning you do not need, and you still have no kitchen and nowhere to put your life. A standard Japanese lease runs two years and asks for key money, an agent fee, a Japanese guarantor, and an unfurnished apartment you must fill yourself. That is a heavy setup for a stay measured in months.
Mid-term rentals exist for exactly this gap. The apartment comes furnished, the contract runs in months instead of years, utilities and Wi-Fi are part of the price, and the paperwork works for someone who has just landed in Japan. You move in with a suitcase and start living the same day.
The category goes by several names, and they all describe the same thing. Japanese operators say monthly mansion or monthly apartment. English-language listings say mid-term rental, medium-term rental, or furnished monthly. At the one-to-two-month end of the range the same product is sold as short-term rentals in Tokyo. If you have been searching under one of these terms and finding thin results, search the others too. The product is identical: a furnished apartment, a contract in months, one inclusive price.
HalfKey operates furnished mid-term apartments across central Tokyo. Every unit is one we manage ourselves, which is why we can skip the guarantor, answer in English, and hand you keys within days of your inquiry.
The Comparison
Mid-term vs a standard lease vs a hotel
The three options solve different problems. Here is how they compare for a stay of one to six months.
| Mid-term rental | Standard lease | Hotel | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum term | 1 month | 2 years | 1 night |
| Key money / deposit | None; small refundable deposit on some units | Key money plus 1 to 2 months of deposit | None |
| Guarantor | Not required | Required, or a paid guarantor company | Not required |
| Furniture | Fully furnished | Unfurnished; you buy everything | Furnished room only |
| Utilities / Wi-Fi | Included in the monthly price | You open accounts and pay separately | Included |
| Monthly cost shape | One flat monthly payment | Rent, plus 4 to 6 months of move-in costs upfront | Nightly rate; usually 2 to 3 times a monthly rental over a full month |
| Exit process | Leave on your agreed end date; cleaning is handled | Notice period, restoration fees, deposit negotiation | Check out any time |
The pattern is simple. A hotel wins under a month. A standard lease wins past a year, if you have the paperwork and the patience. For everything in between, a mid-term rental is the option actually built for the job.
The move-in math is where the difference shows most. A standard Tokyo lease commonly asks for key money, an agent fee, a deposit, and the first month upfront, then leaves you to buy a bed, a fridge, and a washing machine before you can sleep there. On a mid-term rental you pay the first month and, on some units, a small refundable deposit. That is the entire setup cost, and the apartment already works.
What You Get
What medium-term furnished apartments include
"Furnished" means different things across Tokyo operators. Some medium-term apartments come with a bed and little else; you discover on day one that the kitchen has no knife and the desk has no chair. Before you book anywhere, ask exactly what is in the room.
HalfKey furnishes every apartment itself, to one standard. A studio or a one-bedroom arrives ready to live in: you cook dinner the night you land, do laundry the same week, and take a video call without buying a single thing.
The monthly price is designed to be the whole price. Rent, electricity, gas, water, and Wi-Fi sit in one number, so a ¥200,000 apartment costs about ¥200,000 a month to live in. Compare that against a bare lease where the advertised rent is the starting point and the utility accounts, internet contract, and furniture spend come on top.
- Double bed with bedding, sofa, dining table and chairs
- Working kitchen with cookware, plates, and cutlery
- Washing machine and air conditioning
- Electricity, gas, and water included
- Wi-Fi from day one
- Free monthly cleaning and English-speaking support
Who Books Mid-Term
Four situations where mid-term is the right call
Mid-term guests are not tourists. They arrive with a job to do, a decision to make, or a gap to cover, and the stay has a shape before it starts. If one of these four sounds like your situation, this is the housing built for it.
You are relocating for work
Your company moved you to Tokyo, or you moved yourself for a new job. You need somewhere real to live from day one, but signing a two-year lease before you know the city is a bet you do not have to make. A mid-term apartment gives you a base for the first few months while you learn which neighborhoods fit your commute and your life.
You are on a digital nomad visa
Japan's digital nomad visa allows a six-month stay, and a six-month stay is exactly the length standard leases refuse and hotels punish. A mid-term rental matches the visa: a furnished apartment with fast Wi-Fi, booked from overseas, that ends when your permitted stay does.
You need bridge housing
You are between apartments, your renovation ran long, or your permanent lease starts in March and you arrive in January. Bridge stays are awkward everywhere, and Tokyo is no exception. A month-by-month furnished apartment covers the gap without forcing you into a hotel or a rushed lease.
You are on a project posting
A three-month client engagement, a research term, a production shoot, a secondment. The project has an end date, so your housing should too. You book for the length of the posting, extend if the project extends, and leave without exit fees when the work wraps.
How It Works
Booking a mid-term rental with HalfKey
There is no viewing circuit and no application packet. Most bookings go from first message to confirmed apartment in a few days.
Tell us your dates and budget
Message us on WhatsApp or email with your arrival date, stay length, and monthly budget. You can write from overseas, before you have a visa stamp or a Japanese phone number.
Pick your apartment
We reply in English with the available apartments that fit, including photos, exact locations, and the full monthly price. Ask us anything about the unit or the neighborhood before you decide.
Sign and move in
You sign digitally and pay the first month. On arrival day you get the keys and the Wi-Fi password, and the apartment is already cleaned, furnished, and running.
Picking a neighborhood, and a stay length
Where you stay shapes the whole stay more than which unit you pick. A quiet residential ward twenty minutes from the office beats a famous district you only know from travel videos, and the difference only becomes obvious after you have lived in one. Our guides cover how to choose an area, a stay type, and a booking length before you commit to any of them.
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Tokyo monthly apartments: a foreigner's overview
The full map of the category: what a monthly apartment is, how it is priced, and where the traps are.
Read guide -
Start with 30 days, not 90, on your first Tokyo stay
Why a shorter first booking beats a long one, and how to extend once you know the neighborhood fits.
Read guide -
Choosing a 1-6 month Tokyo stay: which kind to book
Furnished apartment, sharehouse, hotel, or Airbnb: how the four options trade off for your stay length.
Read guide
Available Now
HalfKey apartments you can book today
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Studio in Chitose-Funabashi
Setagaya · 15 min walk to Chitose-Funabashi · 17 m²
From ¥110,000/month
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1 Bedroom in Shirokane
Minato · 9 min walk to Shirokane-Takanawa · 30 m²
From ¥240,000/month
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1 Bedroom in Yotsuya
Shinjuku · 6 min walk to Akebonobashi · 42 m²
From ¥280,000/month
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3 Bedroom in Nakameguro
Meguro · 12 min walk to Yutenji · 62 m²
From ¥360,000/month
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1 Bedroom + Study in Nakameguro
Meguro · 8 min walk to Ebisu · 61 m²
From ¥390,000/month
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2 Bedroom in Nishinippori
Arakawa · 2 min walk to Shin-Mikawashima · 40 m²
From ¥230,000/month
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What is a mid-term rental? +
A mid-term rental is a furnished apartment leased for roughly one to six months. It sits between a hotel and a standard two-year Japanese lease: you get a real apartment with a kitchen and a washing machine, without key money, a guarantor, or furniture shopping. The same product is also called a medium-term rental or a monthly apartment.
How much does a medium-term apartment in Tokyo cost? +
Most furnished medium-term apartments in central Tokyo rent for around ¥150,000 to ¥250,000 per month for a studio or one-bedroom, depending on the ward, the size, and the season. HalfKey pricing includes utilities and Wi-Fi, so the listed rent is close to your real monthly cost.
Is a guarantor required? +
No. HalfKey mid-term rentals do not require a Japanese guarantor or a guarantor company. Standard Japanese leases usually do, and that requirement is one of the main reasons newcomers struggle to rent. Mid-term operators screen tenants directly instead.
Can I book for 2 months? +
Yes. Two months is one of the most common mid-term stay lengths. HalfKey homes are available from one month, and you can often extend in one-month steps if the apartment is free after your original end date.
What is included in a mid-term rental? +
A HalfKey mid-term rental comes fully furnished: bed and bedding, sofa, dining table, a working kitchen, washing machine, and air conditioning. Electricity, gas, water, and Wi-Fi are included in the monthly price unless a specific listing states otherwise, and English-speaking support is available throughout your stay.
Can I book a medium-term apartment before arriving in Japan? +
Yes. You can contact HalfKey from overseas, confirm availability, and arrange the stay before you land in Tokyo. No Japanese bank account or residence card is required to inquire, and you confirm the payment method with our team before your stay.
Can I extend my stay? +
Usually, yes. If the apartment is free after your end date, you can extend month by month. Tell us two to three weeks before your end date so we can confirm. If the apartment is already booked, we will offer another available HalfKey unit.
Ready for your Tokyo stay?
Tell us your dates and budget. We will send the apartments that fit, in English, usually within a day.