A good place to stay for a few months?

[Troo]

Hey folks

I've been giving some thought to upping sticks and living in Japan for a few months (UK citizen, so we get a 6 month visa, rather than the 3 month version), mostly to get some decent immersion practice with the language and possibly do a few hikes or cycling tours.

Can anyone recommend a relatively decent place to stay for, say, 4-5 months? I know of the Sakura House apartments, but are there other suggestions?

Also, if you were going to base yourself somewhere for that length of time, unemployed, where would you choose to be?

[Nyororin]

Forget Sakura House or any of those gaijin communal places - in the end you`ll find yourself with lots of friends... But probably very few who speak Japanese which seems it would defeat the entire purpose of your stay. Plus, they`re expensive for what they are (very much so).

Look into Leopalace. You can find them ANYWHERE in Japan - not just major foreigner areas - and they are very cheap. You can usually rent a private apartment that is quite nice and clean - and that is furnished and includes all utilities and unlimited internet access - for around 50,000/month. You can stay in one for the entire length of your tourist visa but will just need to pay ahead in cash. (Something that shouldn`t be a problem if you`re not planning to work anyway)
They also often have good deals to change locations midway to another apartment of the same price rank in another city. You could move to a few different areas during your time.

[GoNative]

If you're into the outdoors then I can't imagine why you would want to spend much time in Tokyo. I've been here 5 years and have only spent 3 days in Tokyo, I can't stand the place!
Since you're from the UK I would suggest Hokkaido as the summer weather here is much milder than down on Honshu which is incredibly hot and humid. I'm from Australia and I still find it almost unbearable down south in the summer months. For hiking and cycling in somewhat comfortable conditions I don't think you can go past Hokkaido.
Furano would be a great place to base yourself. It's a beautiful little town and you have easy access to some stunning mountains with plenty of hiking trails and it's an awesome region for cycling. Plenty of places up there you should be able to organise mid term rentals. Maybe even look at wwoofing it up north here.

[samokan]

I've lived in Sakura house for a couple of months, if not for my irrating roommate i would not have left. Yes I opted for a shared room. It was a nice experience. There were only 5 of us , all girls and our major language was Japanese so my Japanese was actually improving rather than degrading.

It will definitely depends which sakura house you choose. But as Nyororin suggested, LeoPalace is a good choice too.

and although this is a shameless plugging i would suggest also that you check out villasaranda.

Villa Saranda