Why Japanese Apartments Come Unfurnished

You’ve signed the lease, paid the key money, picked up the keys — and walked into an apartment with no lights, no stove, and bare wires hanging from the ceiling. For many new arrivals in Japan, this is the first genuine shock of moving day.

In many countries, an apartment for rent comes with at least basic lighting and a working kitchen. In Japan, a standard unfurnished rental often comes with neither. Understanding why — and what to do about it — makes the first week in a new Japanese apartment far less stressful.

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The Blank Slate You’re Renting

A typical Japanese rental, listed as “fukou” (unfurnished), is closer to a genuinely empty shell than what “unfurnished” implies in many other countries. Beyond the built-in kitchen counter, closets, and bathroom fixtures, tenants are frequently expected to supply almost everything else themselves — including things that feel more like fixtures than furniture.

This comes as a real surprise to people arriving from markets where a rental unit, even an unfurnished one, comes with ceiling lights and a stove as a baseline. In Japan, those are treated as tenant-supplied items in a large share of listings, particularly older buildings.

No Light Fixtures? Why Ceiling Roses Come Bare

Perhaps the single most disorienting discovery for new arrivals is the ceiling. Many Japanese apartments are handed over with nothing but a bare electrical rosette (a hikko-kanagu) where a light fixture should be — no bulb, no shade, sometimes not even a switch cover.

The reasoning is straightforward once you understand Japanese moving customs: light fixtures are considered personal property, not part of the building. A departing tenant is entitled to take their ceiling lights with them, the same way they’d take a lamp or a bookshelf. The next tenant is expected to bring their own.

In practice, this means a trip to a home appliance store (Yamada Denki, Bic Camera, or similar) is often the very first errand after picking up the keys, since spending the first night in a pitch-dark apartment isn’t a great start. Ceiling light fixtures in Japan are designed for tool-free installation specifically because of how often they change hands between tenants — most simply click onto the ceiling rosette without an electrician.

No Stove, Sometimes No Air Conditioner

Light fixtures aren’t the only surprise. Many rentals, particularly older or more budget-oriented ones, are listed without a stove or cooktop at all — just an empty countertop space and a gas or electric hookup waiting for the tenant to supply their own unit.

Air conditioning follows a similar, if less consistent, pattern. Some apartments come with a wall-mounted unit already installed; others have only the exterior hose port and expect the incoming tenant to purchase and install one. Given how central air conditioning is to surviving a Japanese summer, checking this specific detail before signing a lease is worth doing carefully.

Where This Custom Comes From

The custom traces back to a mix of practical and legal habits that built up around Japan’s rental market over decades. Because move-in and move-out costs in Japan are already governed by detailed customs around what belongs to the landlord versus the tenant, fixtures like lighting and cooking appliances settled into a clear category: personal items, owned by whoever installed them, removable and transferable at will.

It also reduces landlord costs and disputes. A light fixture the landlord never owned can’t become a maintenance liability or an argument over depreciation when a tenant moves out — a meaningful simplification in a rental system already built around detailed rules for restoring a property to its original condition.

What’s Actually Included

Despite the bare-shell reputation, most Japanese rentals do include a consistent baseline: a kitchen counter and sink, a bathtub and toilet (often in separate rooms), built-in closets (oshiire), and window screens. Newer buildings, especially those built or renovated in the last decade, increasingly include a stove, an air conditioner, and sometimes even lighting as standard, since developers have recognized how much friction the old system created for tenants.

Listing sites like SUUMO and HOME’S clearly indicate which appliances are included with icons for each unit, so checking listings carefully before viewing saves both money and last-minute scrambling.

Furnished Options for Newcomers

For anyone who doesn’t want to deal with any of this, furnished apartments (kagu-tsuki) do exist in Japan, particularly in serviced apartment buildings and share houses aimed at foreign residents and short-term stays. These typically cost more per month than an equivalent unfurnished unit, but they eliminate the setup cost and effort entirely — lighting, appliances, and often basic furniture included from day one.

This trade-off is worth considering carefully for a first apartment in Japan, especially for anyone still navigating the broader apartment-hunting process for the first time without a strong grasp of the language or local shopping options.

Setting Up Quickly: What to Buy First

For anyone moving into a standard unfurnished apartment, a short priority list makes the first few days manageable: ceiling light fixtures for every room, a stove or portable induction cooktop, a refrigerator, a washing machine, and curtains, since Japanese apartments rarely include window coverings either. Large appliance retailers often offer same-day or next-day delivery on these essentials, and many sell secondhand “starter sets” bundling a fridge, washing machine, and microwave at a discount specifically for new arrivals.

Don’t Forget the Utilities

Furniture and fixtures aren’t the only things that don’t come automatically switched on. Electricity, gas, and water in Japan each need to be registered separately with the relevant provider, and in many buildings the previous tenant’s contract ends the day they move out — meaning a new arrival who doesn’t register in advance can find themselves with no power on move-in day.

Electricity and water can usually be set up online or by phone within a day or two, but gas is the exception: Japanese gas companies require an in-person appointment for a technician to turn on the supply and check the connection, and these slots can book up during the busy spring moving season. Scheduling the gas appointment as early as possible, ideally before moving day itself, avoids the awkward situation of having a stove but no way to light it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do Japanese apartments come with light fixtures?

Often not. Many rentals, especially older ones, are handed over with only a bare ceiling rosette, since light fixtures are treated as personal property the previous tenant takes with them. Buying and installing your own is usually one of the first tasks after moving in.

Do Japanese apartments come with a stove or air conditioning?

It varies by building. Older or budget listings often exclude both, requiring the tenant to purchase their own, while newer buildings increasingly include them as standard. Rental listing sites mark which appliances are included for each unit.

What do you need to buy when moving into an apartment in Japan?

Common first purchases include ceiling light fixtures, a stove or cooktop, a refrigerator, a washing machine, and curtains. Appliance stores often sell discounted secondhand starter sets aimed specifically at new renters.

Are furnished apartments available in Japan?

Yes, particularly serviced apartments and share houses marketed to foreign residents and short-term stays. They cost more per month than unfurnished units but include lighting, appliances, and often furniture from move-in day.

Do you need to set up gas separately when moving into a Japanese apartment?

Yes, and it requires an in-person appointment, unlike electricity and water which can typically be set up online or by phone. Booking the gas technician visit as early as possible, ideally before move-in day, is the best way to avoid a delay.

What This Custom Reveals

The empty-shell apartment is a small but telling example of how Japan’s rental market draws sharp, consistent lines around ownership and responsibility — lines that can feel arbitrary to newcomers but that make sense once you understand the logic holding them together.

It’s also a market slowly adjusting: as more landlords compete for tenants in a country with a shrinking population, the fixtures that used to be a given hassle are increasingly becoming a selling point when they’re included. For now, though, the safest assumption for anyone renting in Japan is to check exactly what’s in the apartment before moving day, not after.

Why Japanese Apartments Rarely Come With Furniture or Light Fixtures