Living place for 2 years in Tokyo?

I'm looking for an apartment in Tokyo for 2 years living as an expat. I have no idea for the place that I should to stay.
My office located in Marounochi area and I have budget for my apartment around 250,000 yen/month. Could you please kindly advice some attractive places near by my working place where I can spend every weekend relaxing (with park, temple, market or any famous place...)

i recommend around Shinagawa.
because you can go to your office, shinjyuku, shibuya, yokohama, kamakura and haneda (domestic hub airport) easily.
and shinkansens stop at shinagawa, so you can go to even Kyoto and Osaka easily.

Shinagawa is a fine place but be warned that rent for apartment catering to expatriates are quite expensive all over Tokyo..check http://www.housingjapan.com for an eye opener (and these aren't even furnished)
have a look at this studio for just under your budget at
http://www.furnished-apartment-tokyo.com/apartments/shibuya_west.html#...

Instead of looking for a special area, first, most people look first at something within their budget then decide amongst several possible areas.... Yen 250 000 per month doesn't go far in Tokyo for a furnished place.. you can find cheaper and bigger ones but you will have to go in the suburbs.

I would like to suggest that you take a look at Gotenyama, an area famous for cherry blossom and mt. fuji viewing back in the edo era of Tokyo. It is featured in a number of woodblock prints done by Japanese artists and is surrounded by a number of public gardens. The neighborhood is eclectic offering galleries, restaurants, shopping, and hotels as well as being located close to Shinagawa station and the Tokyo American Club. It's definitely worth taking a look at this area while you are looking. Best regards and happy apartment hunting!

There's a lot of places that fit that description.

But rent in Japan varies greatly depending on location within Tokyo, distance from train station, age of building, included fixtures, etc. There's specific formulas used to determined an apartment's worth.

So you need to know what type of commute suits you (how far to the train, how many changeovers), how much space you need, etc.

You also need to know whether or not your company will pay for the deposit and key money. (a total of 4-6 times the monthly rent: so for a 250,000 apartment you will need up to 1,500,000 just to get the key).

A 10 minute walk to the station is considered good/close.

If you're concerned about earthquakes, building standards, etc. you should look for a building built within the last 5-10 years. Before the Kobe earthquake, building standards really only existed in theory.

If you're someone that can't stand the idea of living in a small studio (imagine smaller than New York midtown studios), then you should look to have at least 50m2 for your living space.

You also need to know that Japanese can and will flat out refuse to rent to you simply because you are a foreigner. Japan's Xenophobia is most felt during the apartment hunt experience. It can be a depressing and humiliating experience for some so, if you don't speak Japanese, it's best (almost mandatory) to have a Japanese person that can help you through the experience.

All that said, I personally recommend the area between West Shinjuku and Hatsudai.

West Shinjuku is quite expensive but there are some gems to be found. There's not too much there but it's quite, clean, and pretty at night.
Hatsudai is the neighborhood immediately to the west of West Shinjuku.
Everything is always walking distance. Yoyogi Park, Opera City, Shinjuku station, the Shibuya area, etc. Every major neighborhood is almost a straight shot or 1 train changeover: Akihabara, Roppongi, Marunouchi, Chiyoda, etc.
And, everything after that is a reasonable cab ride.

Again, there's a dozens of great neighborhoods in Tokyo, so you first have to figure out how the process works and what your needs are.

facts of life..I don't know where you live now and how you go to work.. but in the major towns in Japan, just as in the bigger European and North American towns, many people commute 40 minutes to 1 hr 1/2 ONE WAY by a combination of walking, rapid transit or commuter trains, and buses...or a car.

I used to live in Europe, now live in Canada, have friends in Osaka, and this is the price we pay for having a cheaper home (rented or owned) if one works downtown.
A landlord asking for several months worth of rent as key money and not liking foreigners is not unique to Japan.. This is common in some Euro countries too (even if you are a citizen of that country but were born in another region..) and even in North America, if you try to rent from an individual rather than through a rental agency..

Hello
Please just be aware that most likely, you will be paying for gas and water (which are often included in rent in USA), insurance, monthly maintenance cost, guarantor fee, and you may soon discover the dreaded 'key money', or gift money to landlord which can be months of rent, not including the cleaning or security deposit.

It is possible to find apts without some of these fees in Japan for foreigners, but frequently that means that the apartment is not taken care of and not that nice

Just be patient in the search, and make sure you use English speaking, foreigner friendly agents.

I take it your company will not simply provide you with a place to live?

Thank you very much for all kind suggestion.
Finally I decided to live near Hamamatsucho station where I can see Tokyo tower and bay view at the same time..