A novice seeks advice

What's your preferred accomodation budget? In addition to the "weekly mansions" and "gaijin houses," there are quite a number of places in Tokyo where you can rent a flat for a month and up, complete with kitchenette and washer/dryer, but they tend not to be that cheap -- more like upscale and nice. For example, at the high end, check out Oakwood apartments http://www.oakwood.com/ . There are other companies not as pricey or as fancy: Tokyu rents out serviced apartments at a slightly lower price and quality level than Oakwood. And so on, try a web search. For this type of units, no guarantor or key deposit is required.