A serviced apartment is a furnished, fully equipped home for long stays that comes with housekeeping, linen changes and front-desk support included. It is designed mainly for stays of 30 nights or more, and comes in two contractual forms: the hotel type, where you stay under accommodation terms, and the rental type, where you sign a fixed-term lease (定期借家契約). The decisive difference from a monthly mansion (マンスリーマンション) is whether domestic services are included and how the contract is structured. If your family is staying in Tokyo, Kyoto or Osaka for around a month, three questions — how many bedrooms you need, how often you will cook, and how long you are staying — will get you most of the way to the right answer. This article sets the four product types side by side in a single table, then covers the leading brands city by city and what 30 nights costs (OTA listed prices, August 2026, tax included).
- — A long-stay residence that is furnished and equipped, with housekeeping and a front desk. Contracts split into the hotel type (accommodation terms, bookable from one night) and the rental type (fixed-term lease, resident registration possible).
- — The decisive difference from a monthly mansion is whether domestic services are included. Whether the operator or the resident handles cleaning and laundry changes how both money and time are spent.
- — Thirty nights in a Tokyo business hotel runs about ¥570,000, and about ¥1,194,000 in a city hotel (OTA listed price, August 2026, 2 guests per room, tax included). A family of four in two standard rooms comes to about ¥1,140,000 in Tokyo.
- — An apartment-style room with a kitchen sleeps 4 to 6 people in a single unit, which usually keeps the total below two standard hotel rooms. In Kyoto, where rental-type stock is thin, this is the practical option.
- — Choose on four axes: number of bedrooms, how often you cook, whether you want to hand off the chores, and length of stay plus whether you need resident registration. Under 30 nights or with dates still in flux, go hotel type; if you need resident registration, go rental type.
What a Serviced Apartment Is — Hotel Type and Rental Type
A serviced apartment is a genuinely livable unit — kitchen, washer-dryer, right down to the tableware — layered with hotel-style operational services. The format grew out of housing for expatriate staff on overseas assignment, and in Japan it has spread from central Tokyo out to Kyoto and Osaka. Three elements are common to all of them.
- Furniture, appliances and a kitchen are built in, so you can start living there with nothing but a suitcase
- Cleaning, linen changes and front-desk service are included in the rate (frequency varies by property, from weekly to daily)
- Utilities and internet are bundled into a flat rate, and as a rule there is no security deposit, key money or agency fee
There are two contractual forms. The hotel type means staying at a property licensed under the Hotel Business Act (旅館業法); you can book from a single night, and rates typically switch to long-stay pricing at 30 nights or more. You cannot register your residence there, but you can move in the day you decide to and extend or shorten the stay freely. The rental type means renting under a fixed-term lease, usually with a one-month minimum, and it allows resident registration and mail delivery. If you need to establish an actual base of living — relocating with your family, or bridging a move — the rental type fits; for travel or a short stay, the hotel type needs nothing more than a booking. The major extended-stay hotel brands operating in Japan are set out city by city later in this article.
How It Differs from Monthly Mansions, Monthly Hotels and Weekly Mansions
All four products look alike in that they offer furnished rooms you can stay in for anywhere from a week to over a month, but they differ in domestic services and contract structure. The table below sets out the typical specification of each; individual properties will vary.
| Item | Serviced apartment | Monthly hotel (extended-stay hotel) | Monthly mansion | Weekly mansion |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contract form | Hotel type (accommodation terms) or rental type (fixed-term lease) | Accommodation terms (consecutive-night or monthly hotel plan) | Mostly fixed-term lease | Fixed-term lease or accommodation terms |
| Typical length of stay | Mainly 30 nights or more (hotel type bookable from one night) | From one night; rate tiers change at 7 and 30 nights | One month or more | One week to under one month |
| Kitchen and laundry | Full kitchen and washer-dryer as standard | Growing number of properties with a kitchenette and washer-dryer; standard rooms use a shared laundry | Kitchen and washing machine as standard (residential fittings) | Mostly a simple kitchenette |
| Cleaning and linen | Cleaning and linen changes included, weekly to daily | Daily to several times a week (some long-stay plans let you choose the frequency) | Resident handles it (with a separate move-out cleaning fee) | Resident handles it |
| Front desk and shared facilities | Staffed front desk; some properties have a lounge, gym or kids room | 24-hour front desk; hotel facilities such as breakfast and a large communal bath | Generally none (the management company handles calls) | Generally none |
| Utilities and internet | Included in the rate | Included in the rate | Usually included at a flat rate (some properties settle overages) | Usually included at a flat rate |
| Resident registration | Possible on the rental type; not on the hotel type | As a rule not possible | Possible (depends on the property) | Normally not transferred, given the short stay |
| How a family of four sleeps | Everyone in one unit, from 1 to 3 bedrooms | Apartment-style units take 4 to 6 people; standard rooms mean splitting into two | Everyone in one unit, 2DK to 2LDK | Mostly studio or 1K layouts, up to 2 or 3 people |
| Who it suits | Families and accompanied assignments who want to stay a month or more without the chores | Stays of one to four weeks, for people who also want breakfast and a communal bath | Families keeping costs down and handling their own cooking and chores | Solo travellers or small groups staying one to three weeks |
Source: compiled by the HotelBank Editorial Team from publicly available information on each company’s official website (as of August 2026)
It comes down to two questions. First, who does the cleaning and the laundry. Serviced apartments and monthly hotels put that on the operator; monthly and weekly mansions put it on the resident. Second, whether you book by the night or contract by the month. The former is the hotel type, the latter the rental type — and if your family’s plans are not yet fixed, the hotel type gives you more room to move. For a closer look at the hotel-type arrangement that lets you stay a full month with no lease, see Monthly Hotels in Japan: No Lease, 20% Off at 30 Nights (Aug 2026), which covers the differences from monthly mansions in detail.
What Does It Actually Cost? 30 Nights in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka
To get a feel for the money, start with what 30 nights in a hotel comes to. The figures below are OTA listed prices (August 2026 check-in, 2 guests per room, tax included, averaged across all plans) multiplied by 30 — a straight product that excludes consecutive-night discounts and dedicated 30-night-plus plans.
| Prefecture and hotel type | Listed price per night | Straight product for 30 nights | Properties in sample |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo — business hotel | ¥18,988 | approx. ¥570,000 | 989 |
| Tokyo — city hotel | ¥39,785 | approx. ¥1,194,000 | 120 |
| Kyoto — business hotel | ¥16,356 | approx. ¥491,000 | 362 |
| Kyoto — city hotel | ¥33,592 | approx. ¥1,008,000 | 65 |
| Osaka — business hotel | ¥14,490 | approx. ¥435,000 | 549 |
| Osaka — city hotel | ¥23,797 | approx. ¥714,000 | 98 |
Source: HotelBank Editorial Team analysis (public OTA data, August 2026 check-in, 2 guests per room, tax included)
Source: HotelBank Editorial Team analysis (public OTA data, August 2026, 2 guests per room, tax included, all-plan average × 30 nights)
A family of four in standard business-hotel rooms needs two of them, which puts 30 nights at roughly ¥1,140,000 in Tokyo and ¥870,000 in Osaka. An apartment-style hotel with a kitchen, by contrast, takes 4 to 6 people in a single unit: across one property each in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, listed prices for September 2026 check-in ran from about ¥28,000–¥39,000 per unit at the cheapest to about ¥49,000–¥67,000 on the all-plan average (835–1,444 plans observed per property, over 28–30 days). Because the whole family fits in one unit, the total is easier to hold down than with two separate standard rooms.
Rental-type serviced apartments are quoted monthly. Published rates for several central Tokyo properties (as of August 2026) started from around ¥330,000 a month for a studio, around ¥600,000 for a one-bedroom and around ¥720,000 for a two-bedroom. In central Kyoto, studios are listed from the ¥370,000s. Since those figures include cleaning, linen, utilities and internet, they land in much the same band as 30 nights in a city hotel. For monthly mansions, industry sources put urban studio and 1K units in Tokyo and Osaka at around ¥120,000–¥180,000 a month and family-sized 2DK-and-up units at ¥150,000–¥250,000, with central 2LDK listings from the ¥390,000s. On top of that come the move-out cleaning fee and the hours of housework you do yourself.
■ Basis of the estimate
- The per-night hotel figure is the listed price — selling prices published on OTAs, averaged monthly by prefecture and hotel type (August 2026 check-in, 2 guests per room, per room, tax included, all-plan average). It is close to what a guest actually pays, not a tax-exclusive estimate
- The 30-night figure is the per-night price × 30, a straight product. It excludes consecutive-night discounts, long-stay plans of 30 nights or more, and early-booking discounts. Picking the cheapest plan for each date brings the total down: for Tokyo business hotels (2 guests per room), the median at the cheapest-plan level is ¥15,200 a night, about ¥3,800 below the all-plan average (see our estimate of the total for 60 nights)
- Apartment-style hotel prices cover one property each in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka for September 2026 check-in (per unit, tax included), with room capacity of four or more. Prices at individual properties swing widely by season, so they are shown as a range
- Figures for rental-type serviced apartments and monthly mansions are quoted directly from monthly rates published by the operators and listing sites; they are not our own aggregates. They change with the contract date, the term and any campaigns
If a month in a hotel strikes you as expensive, it is worth comparing against rent, including move-in costs and utilities — see Is Hotel Living Cheaper Than Rent in Tokyo? Break-Even at 24 Nights. The relationship holds here too: the shorter the stay the better hotels look, the longer the stay the better the rental type looks.
Leading Brands by City — Where Families Can Stay in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka
The list below is limited to brands and properties whose current offering could be confirmed on their official websites as of August 2026. Because hotel-type and rental-type properties are mixed together, the contract form is noted for each.
| City | Brand / property | Contract form | What works for a family stay (per official website) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo | Oakwood (オークウッド) — Hotel & Apartments Azabu, Residence Aoyama and others | Mainly rental type (some properties also offer hotel type) | Every unit has a full kitchen and washer-dryer. The Azabu property has Japanese-Western style rooms with tatami, and layouts from one to three bedrooms |
| Tokyo | Citadines Shinjuku (シタディーン新宿) | Hotel type | 160 rooms. The 50 sqm connecting type sleeps three to four and suits families. Daily cleaning, and stays of 30 nights or more accommodated |
| Tokyo | Fraser Place Roppongi (フレイザープレイス六本木) | Hotel type | A serviced apartment in Roppongi, with kitchen-equipped rooms for long stays |
| Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka | MIMARU (apartment hotel) | Hotel type | About 29 properties across the three cities. Rooms are 40 sqm and up for 4 to 10 guests, all with a kitchen and cookware. Many family-oriented layouts, including bunk beds and Japanese-style rooms, plus a dedicated desk for weekly and monthly plans |
| Tokyo and elsewhere | Tokyu Stay (東急ステイ) | Hotel type | A “hotel you live in,” with a washer-dryer and kitchenette in the room. Suits one or two people staying consecutive nights, or a parent moving in first and the family joining later |
| Kyoto | Oakwood Hotel Kyoto Oike (オークウッドホテル京都御池) | Hotel type | Steps from Kyoto Shiyakusho-mae Station. Alongside hotel rooms it has studio units with a full kitchen and washer-dryer, and takes stays by the month |
| Kyoto | MIMARU Kyoto (Nijo Castle, Shinmachi Sanjo, STATION, SUITES Shijo and others) | Hotel type | Several properties across the city, in locations near Kyoto Station or Nijo Castle that balance sightseeing with daily life. Suite types let you separate the bedrooms |
| Osaka | Fraser Residence Nankai Osaka (フレイザーレジデンス南海大阪) | Hotel type | 114 rooms, a three-minute walk from Namba Station. Every unit has a kitchen, from studios to two-bedrooms. A gym and sauna on site, and a dedicated contact for long stays |
| Osaka | Citadines Namba Osaka (シタディーンなんば大阪) | Hotel type | 313 rooms, from studios to two-bedrooms. Family rooms for four to five guests and a kids play room, with daily cleaning. Stays of 30 nights or more accommodated |
| Osaka | MIMARU Osaka (Shinsaibashi, Namba) | Hotel type | Several properties in the Shinsaibashi and Namba area. MIMARU Osaka Namba STATION has 40 sqm-class rooms, well suited to two people being joined later by family |
Source: compiled by the HotelBank Editorial Team from publicly available information on each company’s official website (as of August 2026)
Kyoto has little rental-type serviced apartment stock, so for a family staying a month the realistic option is to book an apartment-style hotel with a kitchen on a monthly basis. Osaka has 300-room-class serviced residences clustered around Namba, which makes family layouts easy to find. Tokyo has both rental and hotel types, so the efficient first cut is whether you need resident registration. If you want to look more broadly at hotel options, the checklist in Business Hotels for Long Stays: 6 Checks and ¥16,722 a Night in Tokyo works off the same price basis. City hotels’ own long-stay plans are also worth considering: the Imperial Hotel Osaka (帝国ホテル 大阪), for one, offers a 30-night-plus plan at a monthly rate that includes cleaning and laundry.
How Families Should Choose — Four Deciding Factors
Once the product differences and the cost picture are clear, working through these four points in order narrows the field on its own.
- Do you need separate bedrooms? If you have school-age children, or want to keep a younger child’s nap apart from an older one’s play, choose a one-bedroom or larger (or a two-bedroom apartment-style unit). A studio works up to about the infant and toddler stage
- How many times a week will you cook? Close to daily, and a full kitchen with tableware and cookware is essential — which points to a serviced apartment or an apartment-style hotel. If you only handle breakfast in the room and eat out at night, a kitchenette with a microwave, fridge and kettle is enough. This comparison of properties with kitchenette-equipped family rooms (in Japanese) works through where to draw the line between cooking in and eating out, from a parent’s point of view
- Do you want to hand off the cleaning and laundry? On a dual-income accompanied assignment, or a stay packed with sightseeing, cleaning several times a week and an in-room washer-dryer convert directly into time. If cost comes first instead, take a monthly mansion and run the household yourself
- How long is the stay, and do you need resident registration? Under 30 nights, or with any chance the dates shift, the hotel type is the more flexible choice. If you need resident registration for a school transfer or municipal paperwork, take the rental type (fixed-term lease). If the stay runs over a month and the dates are settled, get quotes for both monthly long-stay plans and the rental type, and compare them on a per-night basis
Children add their own checklist: cot and bed-rail loans, whether there is a kids room or a bathroom with a separate washing area, and how far it is to the nearest supermarket and paediatric clinic. Confirming those on the official website or by enquiry saves rework after you arrive. The basics of keeping consecutive-night prices down are the same across every product — weight the dates toward weekdays, and choose early-booking or prepaid plans. For where the discounts actually start, Japan Hotel Long-Stay Discounts: 15% at 7 Nights, 20% at 30 Nights gives the observed market rates at 7, 14 and 30 nights.
Where to Look Next
For concrete property comparisons, these articles go deeper.
Five properties with family rooms and a kitchenette you can cook in — three nights with children aged 4 to 10, a light breakfast in the room and the property’s own dinner at night, for a long summer stay (kazokustay, in Japanese)
Five properties compared through a parent’s eyes — whether four to six people can sleep in separate bedrooms, and how to switch between cooking in and eating out. They include MIMARU Tokyo Ikebukuro, with IH kitchens in every 39–58 sqm unit for up to eight guests; MIMARU Kyoto STATION, with large Japanese-Western rooms near Kyoto Station; and Wisteria Condominium Resort in Motobu, Okinawa, with an IH kitchen and washing machine in every unit.
Past three nights, drop the hotel — the top five apartment-style properties with a kitchen and washer-dryer, for living rather than staying (HotelPicks, in Japanese)
Five properties compared on consecutive-night pricing for two guests per room and on in-room living equipment: Tokyu Stay Hakata, with a washer-dryer and kitchenette in all 216 rooms; Tokyu Stay Shinjuku Eastside, three minutes’ walk from Higashi-Shinjuku Station; MIMARU Osaka Namba STATION, whose 40 sqm-class rooms also suit family joining a stay midway; and MIMARU Tokyo Ueno EAST, with a kitchen and dining area for four to eight guests.
Methodology and Sources
The per-night hotel figure is based on listed prices, which the HotelBank Editorial Team compiles continuously from public OTA data. For August 2026 check-in, the average across all plans on sale at each property (2 guests per room, per room, tax included) was averaged by prefecture and hotel type. The sample comprises 989 business hotels and 120 city hotels in Tokyo, 362 business hotels and 65 city hotels in Kyoto, and 549 business hotels and 98 city hotels in Osaka (aggregated as of 30 August 2026). Apartment-style hotel prices were compiled from the plans on sale (835–1,444 of them) for check-in between 1 and 30 September 2026, at one property each in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. Monthly rates for rental-type serviced apartments and monthly mansions, and the facilities and room counts of individual properties, are quoted from the figures published on company websites and public rate listings (as of August 2026); they are not our own aggregates. No individual guest reviews are quoted.
Related Reading
- Monthly Hotels in Japan: No Lease, 20% Off at 30 Nights (Aug 2026)
- Business Hotels for Long Stays: 6 Checks and ¥16,722 a Night in Tokyo
- Hotel Living for Two in Tokyo: ¥8,361 a Night, ¥251,000 a Month
- Hotel Long-Stay Meals in Japan: 3 Patterns & ¥565–2,174 Breakfast Gap
- Japan Hotel Long-Stay Discounts: 15% at 7 Nights, 20% at 30 Nights
- 6 Downsides of Hotel Living in Japan: ¥502,000 per 30 Nights & Fixes
- How to Start Hotel Living in Japan: 5 Steps, ¥479,000 for 30 Nights
- 60 Nights in a Japanese Hotel: ¥790,000 in Tokyo, ¥488,000 in Osaka