Move-In Costs: Tokyo vs Osaka (and the Kansai Deposit System)

Two different systems, one confusing bill

If you've rented in Tokyo and then start apartment hunting in Osaka, Kobe, or Kyoto, the move-in cost sheet can look unfamiliar. The line items have different names, different amounts, and — most importantly — a different split between money you get back and money you don't. Understanding the regional convention before you sign is the only way to compare offers honestly.

This is not a quirk of one landlord or one listing site. It's a well-documented regional practice covered by Japanese real estate industry associations and prefectural consumer-affairs guidance, and it shapes move-in budgets differently depending on where in Japan you're renting. Our move-in cost calculator includes a Kansai preset so you can model either system without doing the arithmetic by hand.

The Kanto/Tokyo model: shikikin + reikin

In Tokyo and most of the Kanto region, move-in costs typically separate two payments that serve different purposes:

• 敷金 (shikikin, "deposit") — usually about 1 month's rent. It's held against unpaid rent or repair costs beyond normal wear and tear, and any unused portion is refundable when you move out.
• 礼金 (reikin, "key money") — usually about 1 month's rent. It's a payment to the landlord as a condition of the lease and is non-refundable from day one, regardless of how long you stay or the condition you leave the unit in.

So a standard Tokyo unit at 100,000 yen/month rent might ask for roughly 100,000 yen refundable (shikikin) and 100,000 yen gone for good (reikin), on top of agency fees, insurance, and the first month's rent. For more detail on why reikin exists and how to negotiate or avoid it, see our guide to key money (reikin) explained, and for the full picture of everything stacked on top, read why moving in Japan costs 5x rent.

The Kansai model: hoshokin with shikibiki deducted

Osaka, Kobe, and much of the wider Kansai/Hyogo area traditionally use a different structure built around a single, larger payment:

• 保証金 (hoshokin, "guarantee money") — typically 3 to 6 months of rent, paid at signing as one lump sum.
• 敷引 (shikibiki, also read shikihiki, "deposit deduction") — a portion of the hoshokin, commonly around 1.5 months' rent (sometimes ranging from 1 to 3 months depending on the property and contract length), that the landlord keeps automatically at move-out. This part is non-refundable no matter how clean you leave the apartment.

The rest of the hoshokin — after shikibiki is subtracted — is refundable, functioning much like a standard deposit against damages or unpaid rent. In effect, hoshokin bundles a deposit and a key-money-like fee into a single number, with shikibiki playing the role reikin plays in Tokyo.

Why the two systems are roughly equivalent

The easiest way to see the overlap is to convert Kansai's single figure into Tokyo's two-part language:

The practical upshot: don't assume "hoshokin" is automatically more expensive than "shikikin + reikin" just because the headline number looks bigger. You have to break the hoshokin figure into its refundable and non-refundable pieces before comparing it to a Tokyo-style quote.

Kyoto: a hybrid, and often the priciest of the three

Kyoto sits geographically in Kansai but tends to follow Tokyo's naming convention rather than Osaka's hoshokin/shikibiki structure. Most Kyoto listings quote separate 敷金 (shikikin) and 礼金 (reikin) — but with a catch: Kyoto reikin is frequently on the high side, often around 2 months' rent rather than Tokyo's typical 1 month.

On top of that, Kyoto contracts commonly include a 更新料 (koshinryo, lease-renewal fee), charged when you renew your lease (typically every one or two years) — a cost that's less universal in Osaka. Between the higher reikin and the renewal fee sitting in the background of the lease, all-in Kyoto costs can end up higher than a comparable Osaka unit, even though Kyoto's move-in paperwork looks more like Tokyo's than Osaka's.

Tokyo vs Osaka vs Kyoto at a glance

How common is each system?

Shikibiki isn't a rare exception in Kansai — it's the norm. Industry surveys cited by real estate associations put shikibiki clauses in the large majority of rental contracts in Hyogo Prefecture, with figures commonly reported above 90%. In Tokyo, by contrast, shikibiki clauses show up in only a small minority of contracts, often cited around 5%, since the Kanto shikikin/reikin structure dominates there instead. This is a real regional convention, not something a particular landlord or agency invented, and it's worth asking your agent directly which system a given listing follows before you assume.

The practical takeaway

When you're comparing a Tokyo listing to an Osaka listing, don't just compare the total move-in figure. Break each quote into two questions:

1. How much of this comes back to me when I move out?
2. How much is gone the moment I sign?

A Kansai unit can genuinely require more cash at signing because hoshokin is a bigger lump sum than shikikin — but if a larger share of that lump sum is refundable, your real cost of renting may be lower than a Tokyo unit with a smaller headline number but a higher non-refundable portion. Always ask your agent (or check the contract) for the exact shikibiki or reikin amount in months of rent, not just the total.

Because guarantor company fees, agency commission, and insurance stack on top of whichever deposit system applies, it also helps to understand who else is likely to require a fee before you sign — see our guide to guarantor companies for foreign renters. If minimizing upfront cash is your priority regardless of region, it's also worth checking listings tagged as no key money, no deposit apartments, which are increasingly available in both Kanto and Kansai. And if a term on your contract doesn't match anything described here, our FAQ covers more of the vocabulary you'll run into during the application process.

Whichever city you're renting in, plug the numbers into our move-in cost calculator — it has a Kansai preset built in — so you can see the refundable/non-refundable split side by side before you commit to a lease.