Getting an apartment in Japan is a complex and byzantine process. Most problems back in the states can be solved by spending more money, but that doesn't apply here. Unless you're proficient in Japanese, DIY is not going to save you money. You'll probably see no fee apartments on the classified pages and think you can Google translate the whole way. You need a professional. I was nonchalant about the apartment search, then ran into crunch time, and Kaz saved the day.
I'm an engineer and I really appreciated how effective Kaz was. He iterates quickly. You show up for a 1-1 consultation, specify some parameters for your apartment, and he will quickly narrowly down relevant entries. The next day he will give you a tour of a few of those places. It's rare to find a real estate agent that is as fluent in English, and the small talk is a nice bonus. That said, the process is no frills.
I'm a tech savvy person, but again, don't waste time going to the classified and thinking you can filter and curate yourself. For starters, some buildings in more local neighborhoods aren't thrilled to onboard a foreigner. Even if they did, the language barrier is huge. There's dozens of paperwork in the process, the risk with Google translation is not worth it. Finally, a professional real estate agent has the latest up-to-date rental availability on a special database whereas the public classified pages are likely stale and not updated. The market moves quick here, things can be gone in a few days, so that delayed / old data is huge. Conversely, Kaz can show you properties not yet on those sites.
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