Top 5 Real Estate Agencies around Kadena Air base | Housing in Okinawa

Misodog:

Miso Dog

Misoko-Sensei, I am looking for an apartment around Kadena Air Force base in Okinawa. So I googled it, but there are a lot of real estate agencies in this area…

Yes, many real estate agencies in that area. Unfortunately, not every agency has good properties. Because of the number of agencies, It is hard to find nice and professional agencies that offer great services.

Misoko

Miso Dog

What should I do… I don’t speak Japanese, so it makes the finding process harder. Help me Sensei!

Okay! All you need to do is read this article. The agencies in this article are professionals. They speak both English and Japanese, understand the lifestyle of people around the base, and have good reputations.

Misoko

Are you looking for real estate agencies around Kadena Air Base?

When looking for a place to live, the best way is to use real estate agencies. Real estate agencies help you narrow down your options and find the right place just for you. This article focuses on the best real estate agencies that offer English support around Kadena Air Base in Okinawa. If you do not speak Japanese, but are still looking for a house or apartment for rent, this article will have all the information you need.

Top 5 real estate agencies for English speakers around KAB

Here are the top 5 real estate agencies around Kadena Air Base. These agencies were chosen based on Facebook and Google reviews, the number of properties they have, and office location. They are the best 5 out of more than 30 real estate agencies around Kadena Air Base that offer English support. They have nice offices, good properties, and professional attitudes. You are sure to not regret visiting them.

Sunrise Housing

Sunrise Housing is one of the best English speaking real estate agencies around KAB. The office is located close to Kadena Airbase gate 2, about 7 minutes on foot. It offers both apartments and houses for rent. Properties are listed on their website or Facebook page. LINK Sunrise Housing has 16 reviews on Google and a rating of 4.6 stars. The reviews on Google are all good; they mostly mention how great the customer service is. There is only one bad review saying the price is not affordable. They offer a special campaign where you can get 10,000 yen by introducing a friend to Sunrise Housing.

Sunrise Housing

Tokuzato Housing

Tokuzato Housing is also one of the best English speaking real estate agencies. It is located in the north area of KAB. Tokuzato Housing offers apartments and houses for rent, and some of them are listed on the website. A good aspect of the website is that they offer videos and 360-degree tours of properties. Thanks to these services, you can take a good look at the properties without actually having to visit them in person. The number of reviews on Google is 19, and the rating is 4.3 stars which is very high. Most of the reviews are posted by satisfied customers. Some people even say that this is the best real estate agency you can find! Tokuzato housing offers a campaign in which you can get 20,000 yen by introducing a friend.

Tokuzato Housing

Joy Housing

Joy Housing offers a variety of properties for both short and long term rent around the base. The office is only a 10 minute walk from Gate 1. The properties are listed on the website and Facebook page. On Facebook, 3 to 5 apartments and houses are newly listed every month. Joy Housing has a high rating on Google of 4.1 stars. There are 21 reviews left on Google and most of them are from satisfied customers. Most of the customers who left reviews said the staff at Joy Housing was professional and familiar with the process of military families, but a few people left reviews that Joy Housing did not respond to their calls and emails. 

Joy Housing

Star Housing

Star Housing is another highly rated real estate agency on Google. Its office is located close to KAB, but a little bit far from both Gate 1 and 2; it is about a 30 minutes walk or 5 minutes by car. Properties available can be found on their website or Facebook page. One good thing about Star housing is that the houses and apartments not available anymore are still listed on the website; thanks to this, you can check what kind of properties they used to offer for how much. Another good thing is that most of the properties are listed with many pictures.  Star Housing only has 9 reviews on Google, but they are mostly positive and include only 2 bad ratings. The reviews mentioned that their friendly and supportive staff was very helpful.  

Star Housing

Robinson Housing

If you are looking for real estate agencies that offer properties around the base, Robinson Housing will definitely show up on the top. Because Robinson Housing is run by a former military family, they are familiar with the process of finding houses for military families. The office is located very close to Camp Foster on the west side. Robinson Housing offers a wide variety of properties for rent, which include both apartments and houses. You can check them out on their website or Facebook page. On Google, they have 11 reviews with 4.5 stars. There is only one bad review saying that the prices are not affordable. 

Robinson Housing

Final step for renting a house: Japanese phone number

With a good real estate agency, you will be able to find the right place to live. However, there is one thing you need to keep in mind. In order to rent an apartment or house in Japan, it is often the case that your Japanese phone number is required. As the US has AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile, there are also some big mobile phone companies in Japan: NTT DOCOMO, SoftBank, and au. Among these companies, NTT DOCOMO would be the most common network provider. 

NTT DOCOMO

NTT DOCOMO. https://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/. [Accessed 27 January 2021].

NTT DOCOMO offers the most reliable network service in Japan.

The summary of basic NTT DOCOMO Data + Voice plans are the following.

*Tax is not included

This is the pricing if you sign up for non-fixed-term plans with NTT DOCOMO. These are the most affordable plans. The good thing about NTT DOCOMO is its internet quality. It has the most stable connection in Japan as well as providing coverage to most cities. With the plans above, you do not need to keep using them for years. If you need fast internet connection for gaming, streaming videos, and so on, NTT DOCOMO might be the answer.

Some negative aspects about NTT DOCOMO is that pricing is a little bit high. This plan does not include the calling fee; domestic calls cost 20 yen per 30 seconds.

To sign up, you need to go to an actual NTT DOCOMO store or order online, but online applications are only able to be completed in Japanese. Most of the staff at the actual shops do not speak English, so it makes it harder if you do not speak Japanese. Monthly fees get lower if you sign up for a fixed-term contract, but you will be required to use the service for at least 2 years. 

As another option, you can go with MVNO. MVNO refers to the mobile phone companies that offer mobile phone related services at a low cost. The difference between MVNO and the regular companies is whether they have actual stores or not. So, the registration process is done online; you do not need to go visit the store. There are a bunch of MVNO companies in Japan: mineo, Rakuten Mobile, UQ mobile, etc. I will introduce Sakura Mobile as an option for a MVNO company. 

Sakura Mobile

Sakura Mobile.https://www.sakuramobile.jp . [Accessed 27 January 2021].

Sakura Mobile is a MVNO company that offers network service at a low cost. 

The summary of Data + Voice plans for Sakura Mobile is the following.

*Tax is not included

One of the best aspects of Sakura Mobile is that unlike NTT DOCOMO, the monthly fees are more reasonably priced. Your plan comes with a Japanese phone number and 3GB of data. Another good thing is that the minimum contract period is only 3 months. You are expected to use the service for at least 3 months, but then are free to cancel whenever you would like. The network speed is fast because Sakura Mobile shares some of the NTT DOCOMO network. English support is also available at Sakura Mobile. You can talk to English speakers via phone or email when you encounter any trouble. Other mobile phone companies do not have this type of customer support, so it is a big plus if you do not speak Japanese.

However, there are also some cons. Most of the MVNO companies do not have actual stores. Sakura Mobile has a store, but only one in Shinjuku, Tokyo. If you would like to visit the actual store, then you will need to be in Tokyo. Unlike NTT DOCOMO, not that many plans are available at Sakura Mobile. In addition, Sakura Mobile uses some of the NTT DOCOMO network, but depending on the timing and location, the connection may be unstable.

Summery

The chart above is a quick comparison of NTT DOCOMO and Sakura Mobile. For people who want to enjoy continuous high-quality videos and playing games on the phone regardless of the cost, NTT DOCOMO is recommended. 

NTT DOCOMO

Sakura Mobile is recommended for those who consume little to moderate amounts of data and want to keep the cost low. Sakura Mobile is also recommended to those who need English support.

Sakura Mobile