Over the past week i’ve had a great mate of mine from Australia in town. Motts has made the most of his time here in Tokyo and has also managed to get a few days down to Kyoto mid week and a day in Nagoya Sunday for the Sumo.
Motts has been a massive supporter and regular reader of this site since it’s launch and it was great to show him somethings i love about Japan first hand. On the weekend It was too hot to do the next installment on the JR Yamanote Line although he was angling for it … instead we spent a lazy Saturday down at Shonan Beach, Enoshima.
Shonan Beach is about an hour away on the Odakyu line if you take the Limited Express Romance Car, the hour is made easy with a few cans of the local brew.
It was hands down, one of the best days i’ve had in Japan, sitting in a bar on the beach is something i’ve done in many many countries and Saturday was the first time i’d done it in Japan.
It’s a different side of Japan down that way, and the memories of past holidays in Ilha da Itaparica in Brazil and Jomtien Beach in Thailand came flooding back.
The beach isn’t exactly the golden sand of the Gold Coast and the water isn’t the bluest in the world, there’s also plenty of shite that’s been washed up on the shores.
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 existence 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. Check it out on a Map Of Japan.
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 unnecessary time to my already long day.
It’s a big year for Odakyu Railways this year with a new Romance Car and other additions to the fleet. To celebrate the 80th Anniversary of the good guys down at Odakyu Railways held a competition for primary school kids to come up with a winning train design.
I’m lucky, or unlucky enough depending on which way you look at it, to spend a lot of time on the Odakyu line as i commute to work and the other day i saw one of the winning entries. I must say i was glad to find out the train was decorated by primary school kids rather than adults.
The Odawara Line (小田原線, Odawara-sen) is a main line in Japan operated by the private railway operator Odakyū Electric Railway.
It stretches 82.5 km from Shinjuku in central Tokyo through the southwest suburbs to the city of Odawara in Kanagawa Prefecture, the gateway to Hakone.
It is a heavy commuter line and is also known for its “Romancecar” “limited express” train. From Yoyogi-Uehara some trains continue onto the Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line and beyond to the East Japan Railway Company Jōban Line.
Now that i’ve seen the train once, it seems i see it all the time. Makes for a nicer view than the boring old gray numbers.
The designs the kids came up with are featured on the Local, Semi-Express and the Express Trains. For more of the winning designs and other entries you can visit the Odakyu website here.
