Full-time Housing Office

Option Comparison File

Whether you have considered it fully yet or not... your chances of successfully learning Japanese will depend very heavily on where you live. Most students in Japan cannot afford high rents. They often end up living in small substandard housing and spend long periods standing in congested trains, subways and buses during their commutes. If your accommodation is unsuitable, or crowded, or requires a long commute, or the duration of the contract cannot be altered easily and without fees, then you are going to find it more difficult to learn Japanese. If you have not lived in Japan before, please click here for information regarding leases and deposits.

For students at Yamasa, there are a number of options in Student Housing as well as the a Program. Not only is it possible to choose from a wide range of options, it is also possible to choose a combination of options, all of which are carefully managed by our full time Housing Office staff. To view each of the housing options currently available please click on the links below for full details of facilities, floor plans, maps, photographs and video:

Apartments:

Your own self contained and fully furnished apartment! - All are within walking distance of the campus, shops and recreational facilities. Offering full privacy, comfort and affordability. All have reverse-cycle airconditioning for heating & cooling, fast internet connectivity, and basic furnishings.

Studio Apartments:

Room in Villa 3

 Yamasa Villa 1 (12 Studio Apartments) - LAN internet access
 Yamasa Villa 3 & 4 (39 Studio Apartments) - LAN internet access
 Residence Hane (20 Studio Apartments) - LAN internet access
 Residence K (14 Studio Apartments) - LAN internet access
 Residence U (20 Studio Apartments) - LAN internet access

Larger Apartments:
Residence L has two different apartment sizes
 Residence L 2DK (Large 2 room + Dining/Kitchen Apartments) - WAN internet access
 Residence L 3DK (Large 3 room + Dining/Kitchen Apartments) - WAN internet access

Student Village / Dormitory style accommodation:

Using the pre-paid card to make an outside call

 Yamasa Student Village (modern 50 room residence) - LAN internet access

Our custom designed village has 50 rooms. In addition to two expansive kitchens there is cable TV and modern facilities including free access to computers and two subsidized coin laundries. Every room has a telephone and also 10BaseT jacks connecting to our LAN providing 24 hour free internet access.

 Villa 2 (8 dormitory rooms) - WAN internet access

Although it is older than the Student Village, the Villa 2 dormitory has been recently renovated and offers the closest single room accommodation available to the campus for short term male students.

 Yamamoto House (11 dormitory rooms) - LAN internet access

The newest accommodation at Yamasa, opened in 2006. This 11 room dormitory has the closest single room accommodation available to the campus for female students.

Homestay/Homevisit Program:

Experience a homestay with a Japanese family

Experience Japanese family life in Okazaki. Houses here are slightly larger than the Japan average which helps provide a more comfortable stay. You can combine homestays with other accommodation options. Homevisits are also possible for those who prefer an apartment or the student village.

Click here for Homestay page, Home visit page

Accommodation for families/Special/Alternative Accommodations

For students with families, we will usually accommodate you in apartments such as Yamasa Villa 1, Residence K or Residence L, or the guestroom at Yamasa Villa 4 (Room 109), since these apartments have separate rooms for the toilet and shower. For families and others with special needs, alternative private rental accomodation may also be arranged if preferred. Please note that for external accommodation (ie accommodation not owned by the Institute) we need to contract for a minimum of 6 months, and pay reikin/shikikin which usually costs about 4-6 months of rent. For external accommodation, we request at least 3 months notice. If insufficient notice is given, you would normally be accommodated in Yamasa Villa 1, Residence K or Residence L.

Off-Campus Accommodation

In recent years, there has been a gradual shift amongst Yamasa students to single accommodation. Yamasa often rents Off campus accommodation from outside realtors during peak seasons, or when demand for single apartments reduces overall capacity. This is usually done at a loss. To rent a small 1K studio apartment from vendors such as "Leo Palace" costs about 96,000-108,000 yen per month in Okazaki, but the student pays the same fee as for rooms in our student housing. An example of an off-campus room would be those in the building called

 Wakamatsu apartments - 1K studio apartments near Minami Park.

Yamasa's programs are not residential, and some students commute by train or bus from elsewhere in the city, or from Nagoya or Toyohashi. If you are interested in renting your own apartment (usually contracts are for 2 years), the Housing Office can provide you with translation assistance with your documentation on request. Please note that while Yamasa can provide assistance in this regard, we are not able to act as the guarantor.

For transport to other areas of the city or for weekend and holiday travel, there are bus stops located close to all of the accommodation options and the station (JR Okazaki Station on the main Tokaido line between Tokyo and Osaka) is a short bicycle ride away.

Questions regarding this file...

If any of the information in this file is unclear, or if you need more detailed information, please read the FAQ before contacting us. Best regards, Declan Murphy.