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We constantly update this blog post so the rent figures for Tokyo stay close to what buyers and landlords are seeing in 2026.
Tokyo rents in 2026 are being pushed up by tight occupancy, strong demand near train stations, and limited modern rental supply in the best wards.
For a simple rule of thumb, most investor-owned apartments in the Tokyo 23 wards rent around ¥4,900 to ¥5,100 per square meter per month in 2026.
And if you’re planning to buy a property in this place, you may want to download our pack covering the real estate market in Tokyo.
What are typical rents in Tokyo as of 2026?
What's the average monthly rent for a studio in Tokyo as of 2026?
As of 2026, the average monthly rent for a studio in Tokyo is about ¥95,000, which is roughly $590 or €510 using rounded mid-2026 exchange assumptions.
For most studios in Tokyo in 2026, a realistic monthly rent range is about ¥75,000 to ¥115,000, or roughly $470 to $720 and €405 to €620.
This range changes a lot because a small studio in Adachi, Katsushika or Edogawa does not rent like a newer studio close to the station in Minato, Shibuya, Chiyoda or central Shinjuku.
What's the average monthly rent for a 1-bedroom in Tokyo as of 2026?
As of 2026, the average monthly rent for a 1-bedroom apartment in Tokyo is about ¥155,000, which is roughly $970 or €840.
For most 1-bedroom apartments in Tokyo in 2026, a realistic monthly rent range is about ¥140,000 to ¥180,000, or roughly $875 to $1,125 and €755 to €975.
The cheapest 1-bedroom rents in Tokyo are usually in outer wards like Adachi, Katsushika, Edogawa and Itabashi, while the highest rents are usually in Minato, Shibuya, Chiyoda and premium parts of Chuo.
What's the average monthly rent for a 2-bedroom in Tokyo as of 2026?
As of 2026, the average monthly rent for a 2-bedroom apartment in Tokyo is about ¥245,000, which is roughly $1,530 or €1,325.
For most 2-bedroom apartments in Tokyo in 2026, a realistic monthly rent range is about ¥160,000 to ¥305,000, or roughly $1,000 to $1,905 and €865 to €1,650.
The cheapest 2-bedroom rents in Tokyo are usually in outer wards such as Adachi, Katsushika, Edogawa and Nerima, while the most expensive 2-bedroom rents are in Azabu, Hiroo, Roppongi, Ebisu, Daikanyama and Kojimachi.
By the way, you will find much more detailed rent ranges in our property pack covering the real estate market in Tokyo.
What's the average rent per square meter in Tokyo as of 2026?
As of 2026, the average rent per square meter in Tokyo is about ¥5,000 per month, which is roughly $31 or €27 per square meter per month.
Across Tokyo neighborhoods in 2026, a realistic range is about ¥3,500 to ¥5,900 per square meter per month, or roughly $22 to $37 and €19 to €32.
Tokyo rents per square meter are much higher than most Japanese cities, because Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka and Sapporo do not have the same mix of corporate jobs, global demand and scarce central land.
Tokyo apartments rent above average when they are close to a station, newly built, in a central ward, earthquake-resilient, secure, bright, and easy to lease to higher-income tenants.
How much have rents changed year-over-year in Tokyo in 2026?
As of 2026, average asking rents in Tokyo are up about 4% year-over-year, with central and family-sized units often rising faster than small outer-ward studios.
The main reasons are tight occupancy, more people concentrating in central Tokyo, higher construction costs, stronger wages, and limited new rental supply near the best train lines.
This rent growth in Tokyo in 2026 is similar to the strong trend seen in 2025, but the pace is starting to feel more limited by tenant affordability in cheaper outer wards.
What's the outlook for rent growth in Tokyo in 2026?
As of 2026, projected rent growth in Tokyo for the rest of the year is about 2% to 4%, with the strongest pressure in central and family-friendly neighborhoods.
The main forces behind Tokyo rent growth are population concentration, corporate hiring, expat demand, high building costs, and the limited number of modern apartments near major stations.
The neighborhoods expected to see the strongest Tokyo rent growth include Azabu, Hiroo, Ebisu, Daikanyama, Kachidoki, Tsukishima, Toyosu, Bunkyo and parts of Meguro.
The main risk is affordability, because Tokyo tenants may move farther from the center if rents rise faster than salaries, especially for small units aimed at young workers.
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Which neighborhoods rent best in Tokyo as of 2026?
Which neighborhoods have the highest rents in Tokyo as of 2026?
As of 2026, the top three high-rent areas in Tokyo are Azabu and Hiroo in Minato, Ebisu and Daikanyama in Shibuya, and Kojimachi and Ichibancho in Chiyoda, where good apartments often rent from about ¥250,000 to ¥500,000 per month, or roughly $1,560 to $3,125 and €1,350 to €2,700.
These Tokyo neighborhoods command premium rents because they combine short commutes, strong schools, embassies, luxury services, high-grade buildings, walkable streets and very limited new supply.
The typical tenant in these high-rent Tokyo neighborhoods is a senior professional, expat family, executive couple, corporate assignee or wealthy local household that pays for comfort and convenience.
By the way, we’ve written a blog article detailing Sources and methodology: we used Savills, Tokyo Kantei and foreign resident statistics. We treated central five wards as the premium Tokyo rental core. We also used our own district-by-district leasing notes.
Where do young professionals prefer to rent in Tokyo right now?
The top Tokyo neighborhoods for young professionals in 2026 are Ebisu, Nakameguro and Kiyosumi-Shirakawa, with strong demand also in Sangenjaya, Shimokitazawa, Nakano, Koenji, Ikebukuro and Kita-Senju.
Young professionals in these Tokyo neighborhoods usually pay about ¥110,000 to ¥210,000 per month, or roughly $690 to $1,310 and €595 to €1,135, depending on size and station distance.
These areas attract young professionals because Tokyo renters value train access, cafes, restaurants, nightlife, gyms, coworking options, riverside walks and a neighborhood identity they can enjoy after work.
By the way, you will find a detailed tenant analysis in our property pack covering the real estate market in Tokyo.
Where do families prefer to rent in Tokyo right now?
The top Tokyo neighborhoods for families in 2026 are Bunkyo, Setagaya and Meguro, with strong family demand also in Minato, Koto and parts of Shinjuku.
Families in these Tokyo neighborhoods usually pay about ¥220,000 to ¥450,000 per month for 2-bedroom and 3-bedroom apartments, or roughly $1,375 to $2,810 and €1,190 to €2,430.
Families like these Tokyo areas because they offer larger layouts, good schools, parks, calmer residential streets, stroller-friendly buildings, storage, and easy access to central jobs.
Well-known educational options near these family areas include Nishimachi International School, The British School in Tokyo, Aoba-Japan International School, International School of the Sacred Heart, and the strong public school reputation of Bunkyo.
Which areas near transit or universities rent faster in Tokyo in 2026?
As of 2026, the fastest-renting areas near transit or universities in Tokyo are Takadanobaba and Waseda, Hongo and Nezu, and Ochanomizu and Jimbocho.
Correctly priced rental apartments in these high-demand Tokyo areas often stay listed for about 14 to 25 days, while overpriced units can still take more than 45 days.
A Tokyo apartment within easy walking distance of a major station or university can command a rent premium of about ¥10,000 to ¥40,000 per month, or roughly $60 to $250 and €55 to €215.
Which neighborhoods are most popular with expats in Tokyo right now?
The top Tokyo neighborhoods for expats in 2026 are Azabu and Hiroo, Roppongi and Akasaka, and Ebisu and Daikanyama.
Expats in these Tokyo neighborhoods usually pay about ¥200,000 to ¥600,000 per month, or roughly $1,250 to $3,750 and €1,080 to €3,245, because many want larger, newer or furnished apartments.
These Tokyo neighborhoods attract expats because they offer international schools, embassies, English-friendly services, premium supermarkets, serviced apartments, easy office access and a smoother leasing experience.
The most visible expat communities in these Tokyo areas include American, British, French, Australian, Chinese, Korean, Indian and other international professionals, especially around Minato and Shibuya.
And if you are also an expat, you may want to read our Sources and methodology: we compared official foreign resident statistics, Savills and AREALTY. We matched expat demand with higher-end central Tokyo rental stock. We also used our own expat-focused neighborhood analysis.
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Who rents, and what do tenants want in Tokyo right now?
What tenant profiles dominate rentals in Tokyo?
The top three tenant profiles in Tokyo rentals in 2026 are single Japanese workers, dual-income couples and young professionals, and corporate or expat families.
A simple estimate is that single renters represent about 45% of demand, couples and young professionals about 35%, and corporate or expat families about 20% of the investor-relevant Tokyo rental market.
Single renters usually want 1R, 1K and small 1DK units, couples usually want 1LDK units, and families usually want 2LDK or 3LDK units near schools, parks and reliable train lines.
If you want to optimize your cashflow, you can read our Sources and methodology: we used Housing and Land Survey, Tokyo statistics and foreign resident statistics. We grouped tenants by unit size and leasing behavior. We then compared those groups with our own Tokyo tenant profiles.
Do tenants prefer furnished or unfurnished in Tokyo?
In Tokyo in 2026, about 80% to 85% of long-term tenants prefer unfurnished rentals, while about 15% to 20% prefer furnished rentals.
A furnished Tokyo apartment can earn a premium of about ¥15,000 to ¥60,000 per month, or roughly $95 to $375 and €80 to €325, when the location truly fits expats, students or corporate tenants.
Furnished rentals in Tokyo work best for foreign professionals, students, corporate assignees and short-stay tenants, while most local Japanese tenants prefer to bring their own furniture.
Which amenities increase rent the most in Tokyo?
The top five rent-boosting amenities in Tokyo in 2026 are being within 5 to 7 minutes of a station, separate bath and toilet, auto-lock security, delivery box, and newer earthquake-resilient construction.
In Tokyo, station proximity can add about ¥20,000 to ¥60,000 per month, separate bath and toilet about ¥5,000 to ¥15,000, auto-lock about ¥5,000 to ¥20,000, delivery box about ¥3,000 to ¥10,000, and newer construction about ¥20,000 to ¥80,000.
In our property pack covering the real estate market in Tokyo, we cover what are the best investments a landlord can make.
What renovations get the best ROI for rentals in Tokyo?
The top five rental renovations in Tokyo in 2026 are fresh wallpaper and flooring, new lighting, air conditioning upgrades, kitchen refreshes, and bathroom or washlet upgrades.
In Tokyo, these works can cost about ¥80,000 to ¥1,200,000 in total depending on scope, or roughly $500 to $7,500 and €430 to €6,490, and can add about ¥5,000 to ¥40,000 per month when the unit was clearly outdated.
Poor-ROI renovations in Tokyo usually include luxury finishes in tiny units, expensive furniture for local long-term tenants, unusual design choices, and upgrades that do not fix station distance or weak natural light.
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How strong is rental demand in Tokyo as of 2026?
What's the vacancy rate for rentals in Tokyo as of 2026?
As of 2026, the vacancy rate for professionally managed rental apartments in the Tokyo 23 wards is about 3% to 4%.
Across Tokyo neighborhoods in 2026, vacancy can be close to 2% in prime central areas and closer to 5% or more for older, poorly located, or overpriced outer-ward units.
Tokyo’s current market vacancy is lower than the broad official vacant-home rate, because official vacant-home data includes homes that may be old, empty, unavailable or not really competing in the rental market.
Finally please note that you will have all the indicators you need in our property pack covering the real estate market in Tokyo.
How many days do rentals stay listed in Tokyo as of 2026?
As of 2026, correctly priced rental apartments in Tokyo usually stay listed for about 21 to 30 days.
In practice, good studios near stations can move in about 14 to 25 days, while overpriced, older or inconvenient Tokyo apartments can stay listed for 45 days or more.
Compared with one year ago, Tokyo days on market in 2026 looks slightly tighter in central areas, because strong demand and limited good supply have made well-priced units disappear faster.
Which months have peak tenant demand in Tokyo?
The peak months for tenant demand in Tokyo are January, February and March, with many move-ins happening in March and April.
This Tokyo rental season is driven by Japan’s academic year, corporate transfers, new graduates, job changes, and the fiscal-year calendar used by many companies.
The weakest months for Tokyo rental demand are usually June, July and sometimes early August, when fewer households are willing to move before the late-summer and autumn mini-season.
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What will my monthly costs be in Tokyo as of 2026?
What property taxes should landlords expect in Tokyo as of 2026?
As of 2026, a typical Tokyo landlord should expect annual property taxes of about ¥100,000 to ¥300,000, which is roughly $625 to $1,875 and €540 to €1,620.
For Tokyo apartments in 2026, a realistic annual property tax range is about ¥80,000 to ¥600,000, or roughly $500 to $3,750 and €430 to €3,245, depending on assessed value, building age and location.
Tokyo property taxes are mainly based on fixed asset tax and city planning tax applied to assessed values, not market prices, and residential land reductions often lower the final bill.
Please note that, in our property pack covering the real estate market in Tokyo, we cover what exemptions or deductions may be available to reduce property taxes for landlords.
What utilities do landlords often pay in Tokyo right now?
In Tokyo in 2026, landlords most commonly pay condominium management fees, repair reserve contributions, building insurance, fixed asset tax and city planning tax, rather than everyday tenant utilities.
When landlords bundle costs in Tokyo, internet may cost about ¥4,000 to ¥6,000 per month, water about ¥3,000 to ¥5,000, and capped electricity or gas support can vary widely by use and season.
The common Tokyo practice is simple: tenants usually pay electricity, gas, water and internet, while landlords pay building-level costs, taxes, insurance and repairs that are tied to ownership.
How is rental income taxed in Tokyo as of 2026?
As of 2026, rental income from Tokyo property is generally taxed in Japan as real estate income after deductible expenses, while some non-resident landlords face 20.42% withholding before final filing.
Tokyo landlords can usually deduct management fees, repairs, insurance, property taxes, loan interest, depreciation, cleaning, agent fees and some professional costs linked to the rental activity.
Common Tokyo tax mistakes include confusing withholding with final tax, forgetting a tax representative as a non-resident, ignoring depreciation rules, and treating owner association fees too casually.
We cover these mistakes, among others, in our Sources and methodology: we used National Tax Agency Japan, Tokyo Metropolitan Taxation Bureau and Japan CPI data. We focused on landlord tax treatment, not personal tax planning. We also used our own investor checklist for common Japan filing issues.
We did some research and made this infographic to help you quickly compare rental yields of the major cities in Japan versus those in neighboring countries. It provides a clear view of how this country positions itself as a real estate investment destination, which might interest you if you’re planning to invest there.
What sources have we used to write this blog article?
Whether it’s in our blog articles or the market analyses included in our property pack about Tokyo, we always rely on the strongest methodology we can, and we don’t throw out numbers at random.
We also aim to be fully transparent, so below we’ve listed the authoritative sources we used, and explained how we used them and the methods behind our estimates.
| Source used | Why this source is reliable | How we used this source |
|---|---|---|
| Tokyo Kantei monthly rent report, May 2026 | Tokyo Kantei is one of Japan’s most established real estate data and valuation firms. | We used this source as the main Tokyo 23-ward condominium rent benchmark for May and June 2026. We treated its per-square-meter data as especially useful for investor-owned apartments. |
| Savills Tokyo Residential Leasing Q1 2026 | Savills is a major global real estate consultancy with transparent Tokyo rental market research. | We used this source to cross-check Tokyo rents, year-over-year growth and occupancy. We used its 23-ward and central-5-ward split to separate wider Tokyo from the premium core. |
| Statistics Bureau of Japan, Housing and Land Survey | This is Japan’s official national housing survey. | We used this source for housing stock and vacancy context. We did not treat broad vacant-home data as the same thing as active rental vacancy. |
| e-Stat Housing and Land Survey database | e-Stat is Japan’s official government statistics portal. | We used this source to verify that the housing tables came from official government data. We used it for structure and context, not live asking rents. |
| Tokyo Metropolitan Government Statistics | This is Tokyo’s official statistics bureau. | We used this source for population, household and local economic context in Tokyo. We used Tokyo’s 2026 population backdrop to understand rental demand. |
| Tokyo City Profile and Government 2026 | This is the official English city profile from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. | We used this source to describe Tokyo as a dense, rail-based global city. We used it to avoid comparing Tokyo too directly with car-based Western rental markets. |
| Statistics Bureau of Japan, Consumer Price Index | This is the official CPI source for Japan and the Tokyo ku-area. | We used this source to separate slow existing-lease inflation from faster asking-rent growth. We did not use CPI alone because CPI can understate new-let pressure. |
| LIFULL HOME’S Market Report | LIFULL HOME’S is one of Japan’s largest property portals and publishes rental market trend reports. | We used this source to cross-check listing-rent pressure for small and family-sized units. We treated it as private-sector listing evidence, not as an official rent index. |
| AREALTY Tokyo rent analysis, May 2026 | AREALTY gives layout-level Tokyo apartment rent figures from a live rental agency perspective. | We used this source to size studios, 1LDK and 2LDK units where official layout data is limited. We discounted it slightly because foreigner-friendly listings can skew toward easier-to-rent stock. |
| Tokyo Metropolitan Taxation Bureau, fixed asset and city planning tax | This is the official Tokyo tax authority. | We used this source for landlord holding-tax mechanics. We converted the official fixed-asset tax and city-planning tax framework into simple annual landlord ranges. |
| National Tax Agency Japan, real estate income of non-residents | This is Japan’s national tax authority. | We used this source for rental-income taxation, especially non-resident withholding. We separated tax withheld at source from the final taxable position after filing. |
| Ministry of Justice and e-Stat, foreign residents in Japan | This is the official foreign-resident statistics source for Japan. | We used this source to frame expat rental demand in Tokyo. We paired it with neighborhood-level rental knowledge to identify expat-heavy areas. |
| Tokyo Statistical Yearbook | This is Tokyo’s official annual statistical compendium. | We used this source for longer-term urban, household and infrastructure context. We used it mainly to support neighborhood and demand interpretation. |
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