FREA Co., Ltd.

What FREA Co., Ltd. does

FREA Co., Ltd. is a privately held, Tokyo-headquartered real estate agency founded in 2015 by Nana Yamakawa that specializes exclusively in housing and relocation services for non-Japanese residents of Japan. Its core offering is bilingual (Japanese/English) residential leasing brokerage, augmented by a corporate housing solution that bundles property search, lease negotiation, utility setup, bank account opening assistance, furniture/appliance leasing (happilease), airport pickup, and ongoing post-move-in support — delivered through a small team of bilingual agents rather than a self-service platform. The company is licensed as a second-class real estate broker by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (Tokyo Governor (2) No. 98412) and operates from a single head office in Chiyoda-ku, with service coverage spanning central Tokyo and Kanagawa prefecture.

FREA's revenue model is multi-stream: transaction-based brokerage commissions on both lease and purchase deals (standard Japanese rate of one month's rent as agency fee, with no surcharge for English support), recurring subscriptions for business start-up support (JPY 40K–150K/month tiered plans), recurring furniture/appliance leasing subscriptions (happilease), and professional services engagements for corporate HR outsourcing. GTM is a hybrid of digital inside sales (SEO-driven bilingual website, blog, Facebook, and chatbot for inbound lead capture from individual foreigners) and enterprise field sales targeting HR departments of Japanese companies hiring foreign staff. Notable disclosed enterprise customers include Shiseido Group and a foreign airline, with case studies citing ~90% reduction in HR onboarding workload per foreign employee. The company has received multiple industry awards (Real Estate Japan Best Agent 2016, Women Entrepreneurs Grand Prix 2017, Mitsubishi Estate Accelerator Special Award 2017, Keikyu Accelerator Excellence Award 2018) and partnered with 01Booster in July 2018 to form Startup Embassy Japan, a joint venture extending the wedge into foreign entrepreneur support services. A proprietary housing mobile/web platform was in initial development as of March 2019.

Name

FREA Co., Ltd.

Legal name

FREA Co., Ltd.

Website

https://tokyo-apartments.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Short description

FREA is a Tokyo-based bilingual real estate agency founded in 2015 that provides residential leasing, corporate housing relocation support, furniture leasing, and business establishment services exclusively to non-Japanese residents and foreign entrepreneurs in Japan.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Real Estate Brokerage and Relocation Services

NAICS

Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers (5312)

SIC

Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Housing Providers & Operators (Direct Lease / Master Lease) (THAMAHAI)

Keywords

• Foreigner real estate services
• Bilingual housing agency
• Corporate relocation support
• Foreign employee housing
• Business startup support

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Real Estate Brokerage (Leasing): FREA earns commissions as a licensed real estate intermediary for both personal (individual) and corporate lease contracts. Fees follow standard Japanese real estate industry rates (typically one month's rent as agency fee). No additional charges for interpretation services.
2. Real Estate Brokerage (Purchasing): FREA assists foreigners with property purchasing in Japan and earns brokerage fees on transactions. Foreigners can buy property regardless of visa status.
3. Business Support Services: Bilingual business startup support including flexible office space leasing, telephone support, meeting interpretation, translation, paperwork support, and consulting. Offered in tiered plans (Standard, Intermediate, Advance) with monthly fees ranging from JPY 40,000 to 150,000.
4. Furniture and Appliance Leasing: Coordinated furniture and appliance leasing for residential and office use. Prices include delivery, assembly, and disposal fees plus insurance. Scaled according to contracted length, making it cost-effective for both short-term (under 2 years) and long-term corporate housing arrangements.
5. HR Outsourcing / Corporate Housing Support: FREA offers comprehensive foreign staff housing and relocation support services to Japanese companies' HR departments, covering the full lifecycle from arrival to departure. The company claims significant time savings for corporate clients (approximately 50 hours reduced to ~5 hours per employee onboarding).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

FREA Co., Ltd. is a bilingual (Japanese/English) Tokyo real estate agency that brokers residential leases and property purchases for non-Japanese residents and provides full-lifecycle corporate relocation support for foreign employees of Japanese companies. Its offering extends to bundled business startup support (flexible office, translation/interpretation, paperwork) for foreign entrepreneurs, plus furniture and appliance leasing and property management for foreign owners.

Product overview

FREA Co., Ltd. operates as a bilingual real estate agency platform specializing in housing services for non-Japanese residents in Japan. The core offering is the Real Estate Leasing service, complemented by Corporate Housing Solutions for enterprise clients seeking foreign employee relocation support. Additional modules include Business Start Up Support for entrepreneurs, Property Purchasing Assistance, Furniture and Appliance Leasing, Property Management for foreign owners, and the automated Housing Concierge Chat. A newer service called happilease was introduced for comprehensive foreign employee housing support. FREA provides these services primarily through bilingual staff rather than automated technology platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Real Estate Leasing (Property Leasing for Foreigners) Bilingual (Japanese/English) real estate agency service dedicated to apartment leasing for non-Japanese residents, handling consultation, property search, viewings, lease negotiation and contract signing end-to-end. Target users are individual foreign nationals and corporate clients needing housing for foreign staff in Tokyo and Kanagawa.
• Corporate Housing Solutions (Foreign Employee Housing Support) End-to-end relocation service for Japanese companies hiring foreign talent, covering property search, viewings, move-in coordination, utilities (electricity, gas, water), bank account opening assistance, furniture/appliance leasing, airport pickup, and post-move-in through departure support. Target buyers are HR departments at Japanese enterprises.
• Business Startup Support Services Bilingual business concierge for foreign entrepreneurs, including flexible office space rental, business mentoring, telephone answering, visitor reception, translation/interpretation, paperwork support, furniture/equipment leasing, and connections to legal and accounting partners. Sold as tiered monthly subscriptions (Standard, Intermediate, Advance) with an optional low-cost trial.
• Property Purchasing Assistance Bilingual brokerage service for foreigners purchasing property in Japan, covering property search, budget planning, site visits, application support, housing loan guidance, and closing procedures. Available to foreigners regardless of visa status.
• Furniture and Appliance Leasing (Happilease) Customizable furniture and appliance leasing plans delivered in partnership with established Japanese leasing providers, with English-language support, delivery, assembly, installation, insurance coverage, and disposal included. Plans scale with contracted length and are available for residential and office use, targeting foreign residents and corporate relocations.
• Property Management for Foreign Owners Fully bilingual property management service for non-Japanese property owners who want to lease out Japan-based properties, including tenant inquiry handling, screening, and ongoing management.
• Housing Concierge Chat (Website Chatbot) Automated bilingual chat service on the FREA website that gives instant feedback on recommended housing search approaches based on user responses, qualifying leads and answering common questions before human contact.

Quantifiable outcome

• HR workload reduced from approximately 50 hours to about 5 hours (~90% reduction) per foreign employee onboarding
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and supporting.

• 01BoostercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 July 2018FREA and 01Booster partnered to formally establish Startup Embassy Japan, a joint venture company specializing in foreign entrepreneur support in Tokyo. 01Booster coordinates corporate accelerator programs and in-house incubator programs supporting over 100 startups. FREA contributes its bilingual foreigner-specialized real estate and relocation services. The joint venture aims to provide business concierge, mentoring services, and eventually establish a coworking and co-living space for foreign entrepreneurs in Japan.
• Apple Moving CenterminorOthersFREA recommends Apple Moving Center to its clients for comprehensive moving services in Japan. Apple Moving Center offers fast, friendly, and affordably priced services including washing machine setup and large item disposal. They have English-speaking staff and are ranked No. 1 on the major Japanese review site KAKAKU.com.
• Startup Embassy JapancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA joint venture company (01Booster + FREA) providing comprehensive business support for foreign entrepreneurs in Japan. Provides business concierge services, mentoring, coworking space planning, and combines FREA's housing expertise with 01Booster's accelerator network.
• Visa Specialist FirmssupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerFREA has established relationships with visa specialist firms to consult on Business Manager visa and company registration procedures for foreign entrepreneurs. FREA assists entrepreneurs in preparing Japanese-language application components for visa and business registration processes.
• Legal Counsel and Accounting SpecialistssupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerFREA has partnerships with bilingual or English-accessible administrative scriveners (gyouseishoshi) and tax accountants (zeirishi) for company registration, business formation, and ongoing backend services. These specialists are available at varying tiers of competitive prices as part of FREA's business support service packages.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Actus: Japanese housing services provider offering fully furnished apartments and relocation support for expatriates and their employers. Actus competes with FREA on the corporate housing solution, including furniture/appliance-inclusive packages.
• Lex House: Tokyo real estate brokerage serving the foreign community with English-speaking agents for rental, sale, and property management. Lex House competes head-to-head with FREA for expatriate tenants and corporate relocation contracts in central Tokyo.
• H1 (Housing Japan): Tokyo real estate agency focused on property sales and rentals for foreign buyers and tenants, with English-speaking staff. H1 competes with FREA's purchasing assistance and leasing lines, particularly among inbound professionals.
• Asia Pacific Relocation (APR): Tokyo-based full-service relocation and immigration support firm for foreign assignees moving to Japan. APR overlaps directly with FREA's corporate housing and relocation support packages sold to Japanese HR departments.
• Sakura House: Tokyo-based provider of furnished monthly apartments and share houses targeted at foreign residents and short-term visitors. Sakura House overlaps with FREA on the short-stay, fully-furnished, foreigner-friendly housing offering.
• PLAZA HOMES: Tokyo-based real estate agency specializing in rentals, sales, and relocation services for foreign residents and expatriates in Japan. Plaza Homes directly competes with FREA in the bilingual foreigner-housing segment, with comparable corporate housing offerings.

Broad incumbents

• Oakwood: Global serviced-apartment and corporate housing operator with Tokyo properties. Oakwood represents the scaled, internationally branded alternative to FREA's corporate housing solution and competes for the same HR department buyers.
• GaijinPot: Largest English-language housing and jobs portal for foreigners in Japan, listing thousands of foreigner-friendly apartments and partner agencies. GaijinPot is both a marketing channel and an indirect competitor to FREA's brokerage.
• Ken Corporation: One of Tokyo's largest luxury real estate brokerages with established English-speaking services for expatriates and multinationals. Ken Corporation competes with FREA for premium-segment foreign tenants and corporate relocation mandates.

Others

• 01Booster: Japanese corporate accelerator and incubator supporting 100+ startups, and FREA's JV partner in Startup Embassy Japan. While not a direct real estate competitor, 01Booster is an ecosystem participant that shapes the foreign-entrepreneur segment FREA is pursuing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/frearealestate

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about FREA Co., Ltd.