Cost Of Living In Japan
Apr 29th, 2008 by Neil
It would probably be more accurate to say “The Cost Of Living In Tokyo” considering that’s where my figures are derived but i’m sure you can make the necessary adjustments for cheaper, less inhabited areas.
It’s a question i had to research prior to making the decision to live in Japan and in important question to have some answers to when you’re trying to establish what sort of coin you need to earn in Japan to live a similar or better existance to what you’re used to at home. Finding meaningful figures before come here was hard, i have included an example at the bottom.
The factors affecting where i chose to live in Japan were considerably different for me than those in Australia, for anyone reading this and thinking of moving to Japan you will need to consider these also.
My work is in Hon-Atsugi, and currently not negotiable, which is 50 kms South of Shinjuku on the Odakyu line. Working back from Hon-Atsugi it takes me 15 minutes in a Bus or Taxi and 43 minutes on the Limited Express from Shinjuku station so already i am up for 2 hours travel each day.
First decision, i need to live on or as close to the Odakyu Line as possible, adding another train to get to and from Shinjuku each day would add unneccessary time to my already long day.
I could have chosen to live in Hon-Atsugi, but considering there’s not a whole lot there that appeals to me, the opportunity to meet like minded Friends and the lack of English assistance down that way compared to up the hill in Shinjuku it was out of the question. Holding down my job was priority 1 when i got here, not making my life any tougher than it already was.
So what does it really all cost? Before i moved here i had an idea seeing as i’d been here twice before in the years previous. The idea i had of cost was reasonably skewed considering i was here for work, living and eating out of a hotel and all expenses paid, i still knew it was going to be a little pricey. I had no idea of actual living expenses with regards to dry cleaning, monthly amenities and groceries etc …
My story, i found an apartment in Yoyogi, it still means catching the local train back up the Odakyu Line 1 stop but it’s as painless as i could ask, it does mean a total of 3 hrs travel each day, at a minmum.
Living in Yoyogi means i’m going to have to pay some bucks, especially seeing as i wanted to live in Western Style accomodation, something similar to what i was used to back home, something i could fit a Queen size bed and seperate room for TV and entertaining and somewhere i wanted to come home to each night.
One reason why Tokyo is so busy every night is people don’t want to go home, they live in 1 room apartments, inward facing with no windows, no room to entertain and pretty much only a place to roll out a floor bed … again, not for me.
This monthly breakdown is good for someone wanting to live a comfortable existance and not have to watch their spending too much. It’s based on my story above, delete and add other expenses as required.
Rent - 200,000 Yen. Plus upfront 2 months bond and 2 months key money 800,000.
Amenities - Gas, Water, Electricity - 15,000 Yen. Averaged over the year so seasonally there will be differences.
Mobile Phone - 7000 Yen. Lots of emails, not too many calls.
Internet - 3500 Yen. Unlimited and quick as all get out.
Pay TV - 4000 Yen. 70 channels, 5 i regularly watch though.
Travel to Work - 65,000 Yen. Includes Local Train, Limited Express Ticket and Taxi in the mornings and Bus in the evenings. Japan labour law means employers pay basic cost of travel from home to work. In my case 31,000 of the cost is covered by my employer.
Travel Weekends - 10,000 Would get me to all the places i go on the train during the days including my tour of the JR Yamanote Line.
Dry Cleaning - 5000 Yen gets all my work shirts done for the month.
Groceries - 20,000 Yen. Every meal of every day i eat out, with the exception of the occasional toasted sandwhich for breakfast on weekends. This allowance covers incidentals, cleaning goods, snacks etc ..
Lunch - 45,000 Yen. Includes snacks during the day and weekends too.
Dinner - 90,000 Yen. Many nights i eat on my own, straight from work, sometimes i eat with Friends, i allow for this in the entertainment budget.
Entertainment - 100,000 Yen. It’s pretty easy to drop 25,000 a week in Tokyo when you add a few meals with Friends, getting out and about on Friday and Saturday night and enjoying a pretty social existance. Includes Taxis after last train.
I think that’s about it, if i were to tallky that up it comes to about 500,000 give or take. Like i said in the beginning, working a long way away, living in a larger apartment in an area to limit travel time as much as possible and eating out increase my costs. If you’re prepated to live in a small apartment or you want to live 50 kms south of Tokyo you can shave another 100,000 Yen off the rent bill.
If you think the above prices are high you need to consider i don’t have a car in Japan which means there are no associated costs either. Add petrol, insurance, registration, repairs, parking costs and all other costs to owning a car and it’s amazing how much more money you have each week.
As stated in the beginning, i did this breakdown after not being able to find anything accurate and appropriate to my circumstance, Example of a previous Cost of living in Japan article i had read .. most of which i care little about but the misleading rent expense is the one that amazes me! I can’t calculate how big my apartment might be by per sqm?!
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Way to get real Neil! You didn’t cover taxes though, that might be in interesting to some because the expense may be significantly different than in other countries. It also adds to what you need to earn to live a comfortable life and hopefully save some money towards retirements day…in your case 4 years, 7 months, 16 hours and 16 minutes as I write!!!
Interesting numbers and sooo different that what else is out there on the net.
Good point Shane re the taxes. As it was getting long already i thought it would come up in the comments ….. and it has, early.
Taxes in Japan are ridiculously low compared to what i’m used too … another benefit for living in Japan, it’s amazing how much difference it makes when you’re putting an extra 20 to 3o cents in your pocket for each dollar.
Then there’s health insurance too … in Australia i used to pay it post tax ….. and it was quite expensive for full cover. In Japan it comes out of my salary before i get it so i never see that as an expense, another example of less outgoings for me in Japan.
Fascinating!. I’m blown away by your rent. Our mortgage repayments for a 5LDK house are about 60,000 yen a month, and I can get a haircut for 1,500 yen! You wouldn’t think we lived in the same country! I work from home so even though I have a car, I rarely use it. Also, since we’ve got a baby, we hardly ever go out so our entertainment and dinner expenses are tiny. The biggest strain on my earnings is paying for both our pensions, health insurance and life insurance. And I’m struggling to save anything at the moment.
The rent is the killer Nick, if i were to live near work i’m sure i could halve my rent and double my apartment size. Like i mentioned, i’d also be halving my fun in Japan by living there!
thanks for sharing, i had to use a currenctly converter to remember what these prices mean in cheap us dollars.
Its tuff to afford 60k a year to run an internet business in japan. So for now i’ll have to just read your blog to connect on whats going on.
This is interesting - thank you! I’ve love to move to Japan but I assume I would take a big salary hit, and we could never afford a house in Japan the size of the one we have in the US.
You wouldn’t necessarily take a hit on your salary, depends on what you do, the tax benefit is very much in our favour here. Buying a house on 2% interest is also much better than the 9%+ it is in Australia. There are other considerations with buying in Japan awell, inheritance tax and appreciation … all things to weigh up in the mix when deciding to move.
Nick - Neil doesn’t look like he needs to worry about hair cuts! More money to save for his retirement
My current haircut is part voluntary part compulsory …. and the bit i did have there when i first moved here cost 5000 yen each hair cut each fortnight. Another reason to take matters into my own hands and whip it off!
You’re a high roller in Japan Neil
-Mike
Not at all Mike, far from it …. but i’m no bottom dweller either.
You gotta pay if you wanna play!!!
Good for you Neil!! Very good post by the way.
Thank you for that very informative article!
I’m just really shocked with how transportation costs are greater than those of grocery expenses.
Well they are for me due to heavy a heavy commute to work, this week i’m working out of an office 10 minutes walk from home …. transport costs are next to zero.
After living in Japan for ten years and then moving back to Australia, I was completely blown away by how expensive the cost of living has become in Australia. I used to bitch and moan about how much cheaper things were ‘back home’ then I really came back home and now I’m bitching and moaning about how much cheaper things were ‘back in Japan’. Lol…
But I do have to say, you are living on the high side of Tokyo. I lived in an apartment with my partner 10mins walk from the west side (the happening side!) of Yokohama station and paid 75,000 a month. With our other living expenses, our monthly outgoings totalled up to well under 200,000 so we lived on one salary and banked the other. While living in Hon-Atusgi would be a bummer, you could always go for Machida or somewhere else that still had some life, but was a bit cheaper. I mean, really, why would anyone want to spend 2+ hours commuting on the Odakyuu line from hell? (I once lived in Kakio, so I know what it’s like…) But as you say, you like a certain quality of life and that’s your choice. I just don’t think your description of ‘living expenses in Tokyo’ is a truly accurate one for the average joe blow.
I agree, on a recent trip to Australia last year i was surprised at how often i would be back at the back after churning through more money that expected.
Yep, the 3 hrs a day is a pain ….. i do like it when i’m back near home each night and on the weekends. I have always made the choice, live where you want and do the travel to work, rather then live near work and do the travel for the good times.
When it comes to “living expenses in Tokyo” i’ve just tried to represent someone who (although my branch office is in Hon-Atsugi, our head office is in Shinjuku) comes here to work in the “CBD” of Tokyo … aka a Businessman or Woman. Everything i found on costs was always relating to how cheap you could get by, where you could cut corners and save, that’s wasn’t what i wanted to know.
Wow … and I thought I had it rough with 2 hours of travel on Tuesday and Saturdays, with three hours on Wednesday through Friday
Tokyo is certainly an expensive place to live if you want to have it all. I’ve considered (briefly) moving up that way to make use of my database administration experience and certifications … but, depsite the cash some companies offer, I can’t bring myself to live in such a crowded place. My wife wouldn’t allow it, either
This is a great Article, Neil. I’m sure thousands of people will appreciate the info.
I’d still say you do your fair share of Travel Jason!
But prices don’t go up in Japan. Not anywhere as they do in the U.S. A post I made on this recently on J-List.
Which actually concerns me … the lack of inflation that is. Prices don’t go up, nor do salaries …. i get a standard 1% payrise each year …what does that mean if i stay here for 10 years? I’m no accountant or money expert but if my pay and cost of living isn’t going up in Japan like it is in Australia, approximatly 4 to 5% then am i a compound 10 years @ 5% behind … that would make it pretty expensive to holiday or return back there.
I’d be interested to know other opinions on this … maybe from someone with a little more education in this area.
9 years in Kyushu, Japan - I have done the 2 hour commute and I hated it. Moved cloesr to the job, and life is much better.
Great post Neil, with more details than one could ask for. I think you are doing the right thing. The commute might be a killer right now, but pretty soon you’ll be working near where your living, and you’ll be doing fantastic.
I would only say, make sure you are staying healthy, getting the right balance of exercise and healthy food - and some rest too. Haha, I sound like your dad, right. Anyway, if you love your job you’ll be fine.
great breakdown post. may come in useful one day
Great post! I think paying more for rent to get closer to your optimal location is worth it if you don’t own a car. I considered getting a car but a parking space in my apartment costs 20,000 yen a month. I don’t think it’s needed if you live in a busy area near public transportation and for the long trips you can always rent a car.
I’ve heard before that the living cost in Japan is high…My parents have travelled to Japan. They tell me that the price of fruits and vegetables are 20 times expensive than my country. I could understand this as those goods are planted using hydrophonics technologies.
Would anyone have an idea about the cost of living in Kyushu island? Since I am applying for a job there
Thanks
Neil, you pay alot of money man! That 200,000 yen a month you pay on rent must really burn a whole in your retirement money. Osaka is much less expensive than Tokyo, but I guess you get what you pay for sense Tokyo has 10% of the population and more job opportunities.
Here’s my theory though, if i was to say halve the rent down to 100,000 per month i’d be living in something far less than what i find comfortable and i’d end up spending more and more time away from the house which in turn would cost money. So saving a 1000 per month up front i’d probably put another few hundred a week back on through additional expenses. It’s how i justify it anyway.
Show us the inside too!
Thought about it, that would have meant cleaning up first though! ….. will get some pics up at some stage …. certainly not a patch on the offices of Mirai though Danny.