Long Term Apartment Resources in Japan or India?

[alexpham]

I may have a year long break before my full time job start date. I have previously spent a year and a half in college studying abroad and thought it was one of the best experiences of my life. With the year of free time I have now, I wanted to go abroad again for a bit.

Instead of just taking a gap year to travel, I wanted to spend 6 months - 1 year in Tokyo, Delhi, or Sao Paulo to experience the culture and maybe learn a little of the language. Are there any good resources to use for finding long term, relatively inexpensive, apartments for expats in Japan, India, or Brazil?

 

[ratboycom]

Japan is tough. There are gaijin houses like Sakura House, and other places but its basically a shared house you rent a room from and they are expensive. Your other option is a weekly mansion, which is basically a hotel sweet with weekly rates. Also very expensive, Sakura house is cheaper. Just plain renting a furnished apartment is probably out, since most leases are 2 years and you have to pay about 3-4 months rent up front (key money, gift money, damage deposit, guarantor company pay, agent fee, first and last month's rent) to get the keys.
You could try Leo Palace. Cheap places for students and I dont think they do lease contracts.
Final option might be to find someone who is subletting or renting out their place while they are out of town. Check Gaijinpot's classifieds or about.japan.com