Nakano. Ten square meters, where one student's life in Tokyo began.

From filling out the form in Hangzhou to my son's keys in his hand in Tokyo: 19 days. Our agent stayed in the chat the whole way; both my husband and I could follow every step.

My son started Waseda University last September. From April, when he settled on a direction, through the end of July, I was researching Tokyo neighborhoods on my own — Nakano, Ikebukuro, Sugamo, Oji, Kita-Shinjuku. I read every Chinese-language forum guide I could find. The more I read, the more confused I got.

At the end of July, Mustard Study Abroad introduced us to YUJU. Our agent, Mr. Sato, spoke fluent Chinese. On our first video call he laid out four candidate neighborhoods, with budget and commute times in a clean table. On August 5, with my son still in China, Sato walked us through three studios in Nakano on video — every faucet, every air-con unit, every closet. On August 12 we chose an 80,000-yen used apartment, fifth floor, south-facing, 25 minutes to Waseda by train.

On the day of signing, my son was still in Hangzhou. Our agent worked with our scanned IDs and an SF Express courier for the originals. The contract was signed on August 18, the guarantor company approved on August 20, and we had the keys on August 23. My son landed in Tokyo on September 5 and moved in the same day — utilities and internet were already on. Nineteen days, from my decision to my son living there.

This case is shared anonymously with the client's authorization. Specific timelines vary by season, listing availability, and visa processing — they do not represent the typical handling period for every client.