does anyone know where nerima-ku is? i am guessing it is a hole but i figured i'd ask on here. when i was in tokyo last time i had never heard of the place.

basically i'm moving to tokyo in two weeks for a year or so. ideally i wanted to live in either shibuya, koenji or nakano but shibuya gaijinhouses are either always fully booked or a bit over my budget. their seems to be hardly anything in koenji, only apartments which i can't afford (90,000 yen a month or more).

i have a friend from england who offered me a place in his apartment for a month or two for a really affordable price. he is going back to the UK for a course or something during that time. the only downside is i'd have to sleep on the floor (hardcore kids are used to that shit though ), he has no internet (any idea how much this would cost to setup?) and he lives in this nerima-ku place.

he says its like 20mins from ikebukuro but i can't seem to find much information about it at all on the net.

any ideas? this place a dump/in the middle of nowhere? even if it is i'll probably go for it anyway, even if it is just for a little bit to save some yen.

i have found one place in shibuya that i can afford but it is double what i'd have to pay my friend.

Here's a start:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&g ... .2211&z=12

google maps has always crashed firefox for me, i have no idea why. thanks anyway.

i've asked around elsewhere and think i've got the answers i was after anyway. mods feel free to delete.

It's not exactly the same, but my first two trips to Japan were spent with my friends from Tokyo Buyers at their place in nearby Itabashi. Personally, I loved it. Sure, it was a bit out of the way, but not too far (only 7 stops from Ikebukuro on the Tobu Toju line) and it was really quiet and quaint. Quite comforting after a crazy day in the city actually. Nerima may be a bit different, but if you're looking at half the price of Shibuya...I wouldn't think twice about it.

A good few of my wife's friends live in Nerima.
I guess it'd be fair to say it's mainly residential,
but it's not a dump.
A 'ku' is a city in it's own right within the Tokyo metropolitan area
and Nerima's pretty big.
It depends exactly where you're going to be
but both Nakano and Koenji are within easy reach
and Shinjuku wouldn't be that far either -
though most Nakano-kuns (IS there such a word?)
seem to prefer Ikebukuro.
And with Ikebukuro looking set to be the new Akihabara
as hardcore Otaku tire of all the 'tourists' there,
I'd say you're onto a good thing.

Nerima-ku is pretty happening... That's where Toei Studios is! Nerima Ward is off the beaten track of all of the drooling gaijin hordes who raid Tokyo to plunder it's wealth of toys... It's a great respite from all of the savages you left your own country to avoid. But, with all of the the wonders that the internet provides, doesn't anyone Wiki? Wikipedia offers a nice overview of Nerima Ward and some of its' highlights... including being the base of the Self-Defense Forces -- which would come in handy during a giant monster attack.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerima,_Tokyo

i think that's a bit condescending. don't you think asking people who live in Tokyo about a certain neighborhood might provide more insight than reading a page on the internet that could be authored by anyone with a keyboard?

I do.

I don't find it condescending to bother posting and pointing someone to information... If I were condescending, I would say to myself, "Amateurs," and not offer any help. So, sorry if taking out time on a day where I am grieving over a friend who just passed away, has offended you.

As a matter of fact, I lived in Tokyo for four years and visit annually, so I'd say that I'd know more than most who post here. So I'm sorry that I even bothered trying to help.