Office search, alternatives, and Business Manager visa requirements

Finding office space in Tokyo: chain office agencies (Able, Tensho, Regus, Hello Office) are often fully booked and require queuing; private listings (house.goo.ne.jp) are rented out to foreigners reluctantly, and realtors may refuse outright once foreign nationality plus student status is mentioned. Useful search sites: able.co.jp (specializes in working with foreigners), house.goo.ne.jp, athome.co.jp/rent_office, suumo.jp (use the map at suumo.jp/map/tokyo/sc_shibuya with the 事務所利用可 "office use permitted" filter turned on), rentaloffice-search.jp, and tenant-shop.jp. Ordinary residential property (an apartment or house) can be rented as an office if a prestigious address isn't required — the realtor must be told explicitly about the commercial use, and the landlord's permission will be requested; the conversion rate is low (up to 90% refusals), but there are more options than through office agencies alone. UR (都市機構) rents housing with no key money and no agent's fee, though it sometimes requires 12 months of rent paid up front; there are few pet-friendly options and almost none in the centers of major cities. Some ground-floor units can be rented for non-commercial or office purposes (e.g., a politician's reception office) — ask UR directly whether commercial use is permitted. Popular listings get taken within an hour, and contracts are sometimes signed without a viewing. Real examples of office rents for a BM visa: 23 sqm for 90,000 yen/month in Chiyoda via Able; 18 sqm for 20,000 yen through the Adachi municipal office (long application review); a 5 sqm serviced office near Yoyogi Park for about 90,000 yen (overpriced but fast). In central Tokyo, a minimum office from about 50,000 yen/month is the unofficial standard; cheaper options exist in outlying areas or through municipal business-support programs (figures of 40,000-60,000 yen were mentioned for Hachioji). Office parameters discussed for the BM visa include an area up to 25 sqm, location within the 23 special wards, proximity to a station, and having a dedicated bathroom/kitchen, but no clear consensus on the "ideal" office emerged in the chat. In one case, terminating an office lease before actually moving in resulted in the deposit plus 3 months of rent (about 300,000 yen) not being refunded. Source: https://www.able.co.jp/ — Able agency site specializing in office rentals for foreigners. Source: https://house.goo.ne.jp/ — Private-listing property search site. Source: https://www.athome.co.jp/rent_office/tokyo/map/list/ — Office rental section of the athome.co.jp portal. Source: https://suumo.jp/map/tokyo/sc_shibuya/ — Suumo property search map for the Shibuya area. Source: https://rentaloffice-search.jp/ — Rental office search site. Source: https://www.tenant-shop.jp/ — Commercial property rental search site. Source: https://www.ur-net.go.jp/chintai/sp/counter/ — Official UR (都市機構) housing rental site — no key money.