Where to live in Kobe

Japanese leases run two years and renew with a fee — kōshinryō, typically one month's rent — rather than rolling on. Tenants have strong protection against eviction and can normally leave on one month's notice. The Kansai difference is at the start: rather than a refundable deposit plus separate non-refundable key money, Hyōgo traditionally uses a single large hoshōkin deposit with a stated shikibiki deduction retained at the end. The Supreme Court has upheld shikibiki clauses that are clearly written and not excessive, so they bind you — read the number before you sign, not when you move out.

1. 1

   Establish which deposit system the listing uses

   Two conventions coexist in Kobe. The Kansai one takes a hoshōkin of anywhere from two to six months and returns it less a fixed shikibiki deduction. The Tokyo one takes a refundable shikikin plus a non-refundable reikin. Increasingly agents use the Tokyo format for newer stock and the Kansai one for older landlords. Ask which you are being offered, and get the shikibiki figure written into the contract as an amount rather than a formula.

2. 2

   Ask for the construction confirmation date, not the completion date

   Japan's shin-taishin seismic standard applies to buildings whose construction confirmation was granted from June 1981. A block completed in 1982 or early 1983 may well have been approved under the old code, so the year on the listing can mislead by two years in the direction that matters. For wooden houses there is a second line at the 2000 revision, which added ground survey, foundation and hold-down requirements. In Kobe, agents expect this question.

3. 3

   Check the hazard map for the specific address

   Kobe and Hyōgo publish landslide, flood, tsunami and liquefaction mapping down to street level. A great deal of the attractive hillside housing sits inside a designated sediment disaster warning zone, and the reclaimed islands have a liquefaction history from 1995. None of this necessarily rules a property out; not knowing does. Look it up before the second viewing.

4. 4

   Decide which of the three lines you want to live on

   Hankyu runs along the mountain side and is the affluent one, JR takes the middle and is fastest to Osaka, Hanshin runs nearest the sea and is the cheapest. In parts of Nada and Higashinada all three are within a ten-minute walk of each other, and the rent difference across that walk is substantial. Walk the gradient before deciding, because on paper it looks flat and it is not.

5. 5

   Expect a guarantor company, and know that refusal still happens

   Most landlords require a guarantor and, since you will not have a Japanese one, a guarantor company stands in for roughly half to one month's rent plus an annual renewal. Some landlords still decline foreign tenants, which remains lawful in Japan. Kobe's long foreign history means this is less common here than in most Japanese cities, but going to an agency that handles foreign residents routinely saves finding out property by property.

6. 6

   File the move-in notification within fourteen days

   Moving means a move-out notification at the old office and a move-in registration at the new one, both within fourteen days, with the residence card updated at the same counter. Moving between two Kobe wards still needs both. Where you are registered on 1 January also determines which municipality bills your residence tax for the whole following year.