Cost of Living in Japan

Someone once told me the other day that I should blog about the cost of living in Japan. From researching the cost of living, I noticed that it is actually really high. It's expensive to live in Japan. There are three factors that have to be considered in the cost of living in Japan: housing, food, and transportation.

Like New York City, the housing situation in Tokyo is very expensive. Since Japan is very populated, there aren't enough housing accommodations for just everyone. Therefore, even the smallest apartments are very expensive. They can be as cheap as 39,000 yen and as high as 125,000 yen. In United States dollars, this is anywhere from $418 a month to $1339 a month, for just a small apartment. That, in my opinion, is outrageous. However, houses in the suburbs are less expensive. We rent our house in Palm Harbor and only pay $1000 a month, but it's a house, not an apartment. However, even though housing is cheaper in the suburbs, the commuting costs to work can supplement the saving.

With food, it isn't so bad if you actually eat Japanese food like vegetables and rice. If you eat at a small restaurant, you can get a full meal for 500 to 1000 yen which is a little more than $5 to a little more than $10. However, at a more average restaurant, the meal would cost anywhere from 1000 to 3000 yen, which is about $10.70 to $32. As usual, the prices would be much higher if it was at a more "nice" restaurant. With supermarkets, it is advised by "Japan Guide" to get food at night right before closing to get discounts on perishable items.

With transportation, it is really expensive to own a car. The cars themselves are inexpensive, especially with them being made close to own. However with the safety regulations, it makes it expensive. Train tickets are what most Japanese use to travel from day to day. However, usually Japanese workers invest in an unlimited travel train pass, which saves them money from buying tickets every day.

Now you know how much it costs to live in Japan, so if you are interested in Japan, or you might like to visit, you have a brief overview on how expensive.

Sources

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2202.html
http://www.all-about-teaching-english-in-japan.com/Tokyoapartment.html