Furnishing an empty Japanese apartment is one of the biggest one-off costs of arriving — and one where "just buy it new, it's easier" quietly overpays. Mio doesn't care about convenience. Here's the math for a stay with an end date.
A basic starter set means five things: a compact fridge, a washing machine, a microwave, a bed (or futon), and a desk. You have three paths:
| Path | Rough cost (starter set) | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| New | ¥80,000–150,000 up front | Staying 3+ years, or you value warranty & zero hassle |
| Secondhand | ¥30,000–60,000 up front, recover part on resale | 1–3 year stays — usually cheapest overall |
| Rental / furnished | ~¥3,000–8,000/month, no disposal | Very short stays (a few months) — no buy, no dump |
Figures are illustrative and vary hugely by city, item, condition, and season (spring/summer moving seasons flood the secondhand market with cheap goods). Rental set prices depend on the number of items and contract length.
The trick isn't just paying less up front — it's getting money back. If you buy a ¥40,000 secondhand set and resell most of it before you leave (Mercari, Jimoty, a Sayonara sale, or the recycle shop's buyback), your net cost can land well under the new-set price.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Secondhand starter set (fridge+washer+microwave+bed+desk) | ¥45,000 |
| Resold before leaving (Sayonara sale / Mercari) | −¥18,000 |
| Disposal fees avoided by reselling (fridge+washer recycling) | −¥6,000 |
| Net cost over the stay | ≈ ¥21,000 — vs ¥90,000+ if bought new and thrown away |
Same room, same five items, but the buy-secondhand-then-resell path can cost a fraction of the buy-new-then-dump path over a limited stay.
Here's the part almost nobody prices in. In Japan you cannot just leave big appliances at the curb. Four categories — fridges/freezers, washing machines/dryers, TVs, and air conditioners — are covered by the Home Appliance Recycling Law (kaden risaikuru), and you must pay a recycling fee plus a collection fee to dispose of each one (commonly a few thousand yen per item, varies by maker and retailer).
Other large furniture (beds, desks) counts as oversized waste (sodai gomi): you buy a disposal ticket from a convenience store and book a municipal pickup — again, a fee per item. So if you buy a fridge and washer new and then leave Japan, you can easily pay ¥5,000–10,000+ just to throw it all away, on top of what you paid to buy it.
The escape: plan your exit like a local. Sell or give the items away before you leave — Sayonara sales, Mercari, Jimoty, a recycle shop buyback, or a free curb-side / building-noticeboard giveaway (sotodashi-style, but follow your building and municipality rules — you can't just dump it). Recovering even a little resale value beats paying to discard.
Very short stay (a few months) → rental set or a furnished room. No buying, no reselling, no disposal fee — you just hand the key back. 1–3 years → buy secondhand and resell before you leave. 3+ years or you hate hassle → buying new can be justified, but budget for the disposal fee unless you'll resell. The "right" answer isn't about comfort — it's about how long your meter runs, and whether you plan your exit before you plan your entrance.