How to Read a UR Listing — Every Japanese Rental Term Decoded

A UR room listing packs a lot of information into a small space — almost all of it in Japanese, much of it in shorthand that even fluent speakers had to learn once. If you've ever stared at a listing wondering what 「2DK / 52㎡ / 5階」actually means for you, this is the decoder.

We'll go field by field, in the order you'll usually see them, and flag which numbers actually come out of your bank account.

The layout code: 1R, 1K, 1DK, 2LDK… (間取り)

The 間取り(madori, "floor plan") code is the single most important field. The number is how many bedrooms; the letters describe the shared living space.

• R = Room. One single room where the kitchen is along a wall (no separation). 1R = studio.
• K = Kitchen. A small separate kitchen area. 1K = one room + a galley kitchen.
• DK = Dining + Kitchen. Room big enough to eat in. 2DK = two rooms + an eat-in kitchen.
• LDK = Living + Dining + Kitchen. A proper living room. 2LDK = two bedrooms + a living/dining/kitchen great room.

Rough rule of thumb: 1R/1K = single person, 1DK/1LDK = couple, 2LDK+= family. The bigger the letters, the more communal square meterage you're paying for.

Size: ㎡ and 帖/畳 (jō)

Floor area is given in ㎡ (square meters) for the whole unit. Individual rooms are often sized in 帖 or 畳(jō) — the "tatami mat" unit. One jō ≈ 1.62㎡. So a "6帖" bedroom is about 9.7㎡.

For reference: a comfortable single's 1K is usually 25–30㎡; a 2LDK family unit is typically 55–70㎡.

The money fields — what you actually pay

This is where UR's advantage shows up. Here's every cost line you might see, and whether UR charges it.

So on a private listing, your move-in cost is often 4–5 months' rent. On the same UR unit it's typically just shikikin (2 months, refundable) + first month's rent. We broke the full math down in what UR actually saves you.

Building & access fields

• 階 (kai) — floor number. 5階 = 5th floor. 所在階 is the unit's floor.
• 築年数 / 築○年 — building age. 築40年 = built 40 years ago. UR has many older danchi — see the trade-offs below.
• 徒歩○分 — walking minutes to the station. Calculated at 80m/min, so it's usually optimistic by a bit.
• バス・トイレ別 — bathroom and toilet are in separate rooms (considered a plus in Japan). ユニットバス = they're combined.
• エレベーターなし — no elevator. Common in low-rise danchi; matters a lot on the 4th–5th floor.

Listing status: 募集中, 先着順, 抽選

How you can apply is itself a field:

• 募集中 — currently available / accepting applications.
• 先着順 — first-come, first-served. Whoever applies first gets it. This is most vacancies.
• 抽選 — lottery. Apply within a window; a winner is drawn. Used for the most in-demand units.

The difference matters for strategy — we cover it in lottery vs. first-come. For 先着順 units, speed is everything: popular rooms can close within hours of appearing.

Putting it together

So 「2LDK / 58㎡ / 8階 / 家賃128,000円 / 共益費2,500円 / 先着順」reads as: a two-bedroom-plus-living-room unit, 58 square meters, on the 8th floor, ¥128,000/month rent plus ¥2,500 common fee, available first-come. Move-in cost: roughly ¥256,000 deposit + ¥128,000 first month — no key money, no agent fee, no guarantor. And because it's 先着順, the person watching for it gets it.