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American businesses might increasingly find cause to say "konnichiwa" to Japanese serviced apartments.
"Konnichiwa" is the Japanese way to say "hello" in a formal setting. American business owners might find good reason to learn this phrase as the United States and Japan have recently pledged to continue to be trading partners and to work together on a range of economic issues in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the U.S.-Japanese Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security.
The U.S. Department of State recently announced that America will encourage an expansion of trade and investment between the two countries. Expanding on the current cooperative policies between the two nations will be quite a feat. Last year, Japan and the United States exchanged the equivalent of $400 million in goods every day and Japanese companies employed 665,200 American workers in 2007.
Many American businesses might find themselves sending executives to Japan soon. In fact, VOANews.com reports that many U.S. agricultural businesses have already entered partnerships with Japanese leaders, and American tech companies - often striving to maintain a lead - might benefit from forming partnerships with leading Japanese tech firms.
No matter the type of business that leads American executives to Japan, all of these entrepreneurs will find common ground on one issue: the need for short-term housing.
It seems that a number of serviced apartments in Japan are anticipating American visitors in the near future. A recent report in the Japan Times caters to English-speaking business people who might soon be moving to Tokyo.
The source recommends that visitors who don't way to pay high hotel prices for notoriously small Japanese rooms invest in fully furnished corporate apartments. Oakwood is one supplier of these serviced residences.
Founded in 1960, Oakwood is known in Tokyo as one of the premier providers of comfortable living spaces for professionals and their families who find themselves in Japan for extended periods.
There are seven Oakwood corporate apartment locations throughout the city, making it easy to cut down the daily work commute - a nice feature as American executives would have already traveled hundreds of thousands of miles to work abroad.
All of the Oakwood extended-stay hotels offer spacious apartments with a bathroom, living room and kitchen. They also offer visitors the option of high-speed broadband connections and plasma televisions.
Many of the Oakwood sites are pet-friendly so the whole family can move in. Some of the sites also provide private gym facilities, bars and lounges, libraries and meeting faciltities in case professionals want to conduct business without leaving their temporary home.
Moreover, the reporter for the Japan Times suggests the staff were very friendly, and offered nice insights on where to visit in the city.
Some Oakwood residences - like Oakwood Residence Akasaka that offers easy access to Roppongi and Akasaka districts - start for as little as around $250 a day. The typical contract for Oakwood corporate housing runs for one month or longer.
For business owners who might not have quite as extended a stay in extended-stay hotels, there are plenty of other options.
For instance, the newly renovated Marriot Courtyard Toykyo Ginza hotel offers temporary housing with no minimum stay requirements. It also offers a high-speed internet connection and central location in the city to make work travel easy.
The new renovations provide Americans with the same signature mattresses and bedding they are accustomed to when they stay at Marriots in the United States. Still, business people should be forewarned that these rooms come with a living room, but lack kitchen facilities - which may be fine for those who want to enjoy the native cultural cuisine.
Business executives who do their homework on extended stay hotels will likely find serviced apartments that fit their needs. Before they know it, they'll be able to say "sayonara" (that's "goodbye" in Japanese) to short term housing stresses and feel at home in Japan. 
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Extended Stay News
