If you are going to be in Tokyo for a month or longer, the way you book matters more than the neighborhood you pick. A hotel prices by the night. Airbnb adds a cleaning fee and a service fee on top of the nightly rate. A share house gives you a private room and a shared kitchen. A furnished monthly apartment prices by the month with utilities and Wi‑Fi already inside the number.
This guide compares the four on the questions people actually ask: what will I pay for 30 nights, what do I get for it, what paperwork is involved, and when does each option make sense.
The short answer
- Under two weeks: a hotel is generally the most flexible on dates and arrival times.
- Two to three weeks: Airbnb is often the best fit, as long as you check the cleaning and service fees before comparing nightly rates.
- 30 nights or more: a furnished monthly apartment usually wins on every line: one all-in price, a real kitchen and washing machine, a home address, and no per-night arithmetic.
- On a tight budget and happy to share a kitchen: a private room in a share house is generally the lowest monthly price, with the kitchen and bathroom shared.
What 30 nights costs in 2026
These are the ranges to expect for a 30-night stay in Tokyo. The apartment figures are median all-in monthly prices by ward from our August 2026 snapshot of 100+ live furnished listings; individual listings sit above and below them.
- Furnished monthly apartment (OHAYO Stay): median monthly price about ¥100,000 in Suginami, ¥150,000 to ¥160,000 in Edogawa, Toshima, Minato and Taito, and about ¥240,000 in Sumida and Shinjuku, all-in. Electricity, gas, water and Wi‑Fi are included in the monthly price.
- Business hotel: roughly ¥8,000 to ¥13,000 per night for a 12 to 15 square metre room, which is ¥240,000 to ¥390,000 for 30 nights before any breakfast or laundry.
- Airbnb: typically ¥180,000 to ¥350,000 for 30 nights, plus a cleaning fee and the platform service fee. Monthly discounts exist but depend entirely on the host.
- Share house, private room: generally the lowest monthly price of the four, with the kitchen, bathroom and living room shared with other residents.
A furnished monthly apartment is not always the cheapest line item; a share house room is generally cheaper. Of the four, it is the only way to get an apartment with its own kitchen, bathroom and washing machine at one flat monthly price that already includes utilities and Wi‑Fi. Check each listing's facilities: some of our budget rooms share a shower. The one-time cleaning fee, the refundable deposit and the platform fee are listed before you pay.
What you get for the money
- Kitchen and laundry. A monthly apartment has both, in your home. A hotel rarely has either. Airbnb usually has a kitchen, sometimes compact, and laundry depends on the listing. A share house has both, shared.
- Space. A monthly apartment is a real apartment, from studios to two-bedroom units. A business hotel room is 12 to 15 square metres. Airbnb varies from a bunk in a shared flat to a whole house.
- Utilities and Wi‑Fi. Included in a monthly apartment and in a hotel. Included on Airbnb, but the cleaning fee is extra. Usually included in a share house's fixed monthly charge.
- An address. A monthly apartment gives you a home address for deliveries. A hotel gives you a front desk. Airbnb depends on the host.
Paperwork and money
This is where the four options differ most for anyone who is not a Japanese resident.
- Furnished monthly apartment: book online with a passport or residence card and a credit card. No guarantor, no key money, no Japanese bank account, no agency visit. Minimum stay is 30 nights. Most listings take a refundable security deposit of ¥30,000, returned at check-out, and a one-time cleaning fee, typically ¥15,000. A 5% platform fee applies at checkout. The checkout page shows the exact amount for your dates before you pay.
- Hotel: none. Passport at check-in.
- Airbnb: none beyond the platform account, but cleaning and service fees are added on top of the nightly rate, so compare totals rather than nightly rates.
- Share house: an application and terms that vary by operator.
A worked example
Take a furnished monthly apartment listed at ¥189,000 per month. For a 30-night stay the amount due at booking is the room charge of ¥189,000, plus a one-time cleaning fee of ¥15,000, plus a refundable ¥30,000 security deposit, plus the 5% platform fee on those three items, which comes to ¥245,700. The ¥30,000 deposit is returned at check-out, so the cost of the month is ¥215,700, with electricity, gas, water and Wi‑Fi already inside it.
A business hotel at ¥10,000 per night for the same 30 nights is ¥300,000, in a room a fraction of the size, with no kitchen and no washing machine.
When each option makes sense
- Choose a hotel for a short trip, a conference, or when you need to change dates freely.
- Choose Airbnb for two or three weeks, or when you want a whole house for a family and the total after fees still beats the alternatives.
- Choose a share house when budget is the priority and you are comfortable sharing a kitchen and bathroom.
- Choose a furnished monthly apartment when you are staying 30 nights or more, want your own kitchen, laundry and address, and want one price you can plan around.
Where to look in Tokyo
Prices depend on the ward. By median monthly price in our August 2026 snapshot, Suginami around Koenji is the lowest at about ¥100,000. Edogawa, Toshima around Ikebukuro, Minato and Taito around Asakusa sit between ¥150,000 and ¥160,000. Shinjuku around Shimo-Ochiai, where our two-bedroom units are, and Sumida around Ryogoku and Oshiage are about ¥240,000. Ota near Haneda has larger units at about ¥300,000, and Shinagawa's whole-house rentals are about ¥350,000.
Every OHAYO Stay listing shows the all-in monthly price, live availability, and a 30-night estimate of the amount due at booking; the checkout page shows the exact amount for your dates. See the full list of furnished monthly apartments in Tokyo, the monthly rent data by ward, and the no guarantor, no key money explainer.