Tokyo living?

PsyGuy
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Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:51 am
Location: Northern Europe

Comment

Post by PsyGuy »

@porter1

No, thigh high boots remain very popular, especially in Shibuya on Fashion Friday.
notyouraverageturd
Posts: 10
Joined: Sat Feb 21, 2015 8:36 pm

Re: Tokyo living?

Post by notyouraverageturd »

Salaries can be misleading. I've worked at a couple of IS's in Tokyo and the benefits package can really change things. Stuff like health care, loyalty bonuses, housing allowances, etc. For instance, one school with a lower salary took care of my residence tax, which can be several thousand dollars a year. It was also outside of the "downtown" so my rent was a lot less. My next job provided a larger salary with a housing benefit, but left me on the hook for a more expensive health care package and my residence taxes, as well as not paying for the whole summer. I wanted to live near the school and had to pay way more in rent, plus the dreaded key money and deposits. In the end, despite a bigger number, my salary had only increased marginally. In the end, it's worth calculating actual yen amounts so you can compare more accurately. Even now, I have friends who make half the salary with great benefits and we basically break even. FWIW, my first couple of years in Tokyo were on about 250,000 a month, and I still banked half if I was frugal. It's very easy to blow it all though, with just a few big weekends. I know of more than a few IS's in Tokyo now that offer a 400,000-600,000 yen a month gross. A few, more, many less.

If you do get in there, St. Mary's isn't that far out, especially if you bike, and the area is nice, while still being reasonably convenient. I personally hate public transit and ride my bike or scooter everywhere. It's usually faster for journeys under 5km as well.I lived in Ebisu and couldn't stand it. Too noisy, busy and crowded for my liking. Futako Tamagawa, where the school is located, is a great neighborhood; good shopping, easy connections to Shibuya, but remote enough that you probably won't have drunks throwing up outside your window every friday.

Have you considered any other options? If you are a relatively new teacher, it might be tough to get in at SMIS, but there are plenty of lower grade schools that still provide a decent living.

The bit about the boots is 100%. The ladies here truly care about their appearances, and although brown sack fashion has been popular in the last couple of years, there are still loads of gorgeous women about.
jeremiah2016
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Feb 08, 2016 2:56 am

Re: Tokyo living?

Post by jeremiah2016 »

Slight off topic headline...but I was wondering if anyone knows how's the cost of living like in Hiroshima, specifically Fukuyama?
Is 300kyen a doable salary, if I'm not too extravagant?
Thanks folks.
Blazer
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Feb 06, 2016 11:36 am

Re: Tokyo living?

Post by Blazer »

jeremiah2016 wrote:
> Slight off topic headline...but I was wondering if anyone knows how's the cost of
> living like in Hiroshima, specifically Fukuyama?
> Is 300kyen a doable salary, if I'm not too extravagant?
> Thanks folks.

For me Hiroshima is one of the best cities to live in in Japan. There is a lot of young culture there and it is not the dark and depressing place that many people imagine it must be.
Once you are set up there i would imagine that 300k would be sufficient to live OK. You won't save too much but you will be able to live just fine. Do you have a specific package on the table? If so is there anything included?
jeremiah2016
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Feb 08, 2016 2:56 am

Re: Tokyo living?

Post by jeremiah2016 »

Blazer wrote:
> jeremiah2016 wrote:
> > Slight off topic headline...but I was wondering if anyone knows how's the cost
> of
> > living like in Hiroshima, specifically Fukuyama?
> > Is 300kyen a doable salary, if I'm not too extravagant?
> > Thanks folks.
>
> For me Hiroshima is one of the best cities to live in in Japan. There is a lot of
> young culture there and it is not the dark and depressing place that many people
> imagine it must be.
> Once you are set up there i would imagine that 300k would be sufficient to live OK.
> You won't save too much but you will be able to live just fine. Do you have a
> specific package on the table? If so is there anything included?

Thanks Blazer!
Pretty much that, along with some subsidy for housing that's dependent on the rental amount and a fraction of the month transport costs.
I'm hoping to be able to save at least 100k each month, possibly through attempting to live frugally but not ruling out travelling though.:p
PsyGuy
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Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:51 am
Location: Northern Europe

Response

Post by PsyGuy »

@jeremiah2016

¥300K is the upper end of EE and the bottom end of IT. Hiroshima has lower costs than say Tokyo or Kyoto, but you wont be rolling in coin. ¥100K your first year is doable, and just barely. Some basic costs a 1K will go for about ¥60K depending on how close it is to the CBD. ¥20K for utilities, and another ¥10K for mobile (assuming you want a smart phone and data plan). Another ¥5K for metro. Figure on eating out, for breakfast you stop off at a bakery at the station and get something plus a drink box from home your looking at ¥300, figure middle of the work day you get a combini meal thats about ¥500, cheap sushi at ¥100/plate is ¥500-¥1000 yen. Thats about ¥1500/day or about ¥50K a month to include weekends. Sundries and dry goods bring the total to about ¥150K. Your first year your NHI is very cheap (since its based on previous years which will be zero your first year, you will pay the minimum). Thats your first year when you pay prorated taxes, you could save 100K if you didnt do anything other than work, and mostly low/no cost activities locally. After your first year your tax rate will average about 20% which based on the previous expense estimates brings you to just under ¥100K, if all you did was work, eat and sleep you could come pretty close to ¥100K, but youd be doing nothing else.

Understand that many ETs live fine on ¥250K/month or less and in Tokyo. You can either enjoy JP life and culture or be a homebody and save a little.
jeremiah2016
Posts: 7
Joined: Mon Feb 08, 2016 2:56 am

Re: Response

Post by jeremiah2016 »

PsyGuy wrote:
> @jeremiah2016
>
> ¥300K is the upper end of EE and the bottom end of IT. Hiroshima has lower
> costs than say Tokyo or Kyoto, but you wont be rolling in coin. ¥100K your
> first year is doable, and just barely. Some basic costs a 1K will go for
> about ¥60K depending on how close it is to the CBD. ¥20K for utilities, and
> another ¥10K for mobile (assuming you want a smart phone and data plan).
> Another ¥5K for metro. Figure on eating out, for breakfast you stop off at
> a bakery at the station and get something plus a drink box from home your
> looking at ¥300, figure middle of the work day you get a combini meal thats
> about ¥500, cheap sushi at ¥100/plate is ¥500-¥1000 yen. Thats about
> ¥1500/day or about ¥50K a month to include weekends. Sundries and dry goods
> bring the total to about ¥150K. Your first year your NHI is very cheap
> (since its based on previous years which will be zero your first year, you
> will pay the minimum). Thats your first year when you pay prorated taxes,
> you could save 100K if you didnt do anything other than work, and mostly
> low/no cost activities locally. After your first year your tax rate will
> average about 20% which based on the previous expense estimates brings you
> to just under ¥100K, if all you did was work, eat and sleep you could come
> pretty close to ¥100K, but youd be doing nothing else.
>
> Understand that many ETs live fine on ¥250K/month or less and in Tokyo. You
> can either enjoy JP life and culture or be a homebody and save a little.

Wow. Thanks for giving such a detailed breakdown. It would be useful to bear what you've shared in mind and possibly use it as a gauge for my expenses then. :)
wrldtrvlr123
Posts: 1173
Joined: Sat Feb 06, 2010 10:59 am
Location: Japan

Re: Response

Post by wrldtrvlr123 »

jeremiah2016 wrote:
> PsyGuy wrote:
> > @jeremiah2016
> >
> > ¥300K is the upper end of EE and the bottom end of IT. Hiroshima has lower
> > costs than say Tokyo or Kyoto, but you wont be rolling in coin. ¥100K your
> > first year is doable, and just barely. Some basic costs a 1K will go for
> > about ¥60K depending on how close it is to the CBD. ¥20K for utilities, and
> > another ¥10K for mobile (assuming you want a smart phone and data plan).
> > Another ¥5K for metro. Figure on eating out, for breakfast you stop off at
> > a bakery at the station and get something plus a drink box from home your
> > looking at ¥300, figure middle of the work day you get a combini meal thats
> > about ¥500, cheap sushi at ¥100/plate is ¥500-¥1000 yen. Thats about
> > ¥1500/day or about ¥50K a month to include weekends. Sundries and dry goods
> > bring the total to about ¥150K. Your first year your NHI is very cheap
> > (since its based on previous years which will be zero your first year, you
> > will pay the minimum). Thats your first year when you pay prorated taxes,
> > you could save 100K if you didnt do anything other than work, and mostly
> > low/no cost activities locally. After your first year your tax rate will
> > average about 20% which based on the previous expense estimates brings you
> > to just under ¥100K, if all you did was work, eat and sleep you could come
> > pretty close to ¥100K, but youd be doing nothing else.

> >
> > Understand that many ETs live fine on ¥250K/month or less and in Tokyo. You
> > can either enjoy JP life and culture or be a homebody and save a little.
>
> Wow. Thanks for giving such a detailed breakdown. It would be useful to bear what
> you've shared in mind and possibly use it as a gauge for my expenses then. :)
-----------------------
Do yourself a favor and actually shop. In a grocery store. Japanese grocery stores are amazing and offer a wide range of reasonably priced food if you shop wisely. And cook once in a while.

Although to be fair, the 711's also offer a surprisingly high quality of ready to eat meals and range of bread products etc.
cstone
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Joined: Tue Oct 23, 2012 12:49 pm
Location: North America

Re: Tokyo living?

Post by cstone »

I lived in far West Tokyo (near Musashi Sakai off the Chuo Line) for 11 years. I recently retired from what is considered THE top IS in Tokyo, and can say that without a doubt, you can live well AND save money in Tokyo. It all depends on your priorities and lifestyle.

I was a mature IT, married with a husband, and with 30 years of experience under my belt when I moved there, so you have an idea of my age then and throughout my tenure. We did NOT go out and ". hearty" on the weekends and spend the equivalent of $300 on one night's drinking at loud bars. We did have membership to a local gym with several natural onsen and swimming pools + all the usual gym amenities.

We did buy quality liquor and ate/entertained quite well at home, shopping in local markets. On our street in the neighborhood was a fishmonger, a French bakery, a dry cleaner, 2 English speaking MDs, 3 dentists, a chicken shop, a beef and pork butcher, a dairy store, a "little bit of everything " grocery store and a "little bit of everything" sundries store. One train stop away was Ito Yokado, one of the largest chain stores in Japan, with a UNI-GLO store on one level.

I agree that the 100Y or 300Y store is your friend. Furniture in Japan is $$$, but there is an English Craig's List for used items. The Japanese, as a culture, do not like to buy used items and the "gaijin" population takes full advantage of that. Each local ward also has furniture and miscellaneous item resale shops that have amazing buys on refinished and refurbished furniture: bed frames, dressers, armoires, lamps, dining tables and great bikes ! If I had known about this as a newbie I could have saved myself thousands of dollars in apartment furnishing expenses .

IKEA is now in Japan, as is CostCo. Seiyu is another store to be aware of, as it is the Japanese equivalent of WalMart. They even use the same smiley face "Prices are Falling" adverts. Great bargains to be had there, as well, especially on alcohol and inexpensive home gadgets and not too $$ clothing.

We often enjoyed many of the high end restaurants that Tokyo has to offer, went to Broadway touring plays, the symphony, movies (especially on 1/2 price days, saw Cirque du Soleil,The Stones, Clapton, The Who, and I missed out on Sir Paul because I had tickets the day he cancelled due to illness. Japanese museums have amazing exhibitions for little or nothing, but get there early ! The world comes to Tokyo, and Tokyo takes advantage of that.

One of my bigger recurring expenses was transportation. We lived out in the "boonies" and were close enough to our school to walk to work each morning, but far enough away so we did not feel like we were always at school. I used approximately 10,000 to 15,000Y monthly on my Suica Card ( a prepaid swipe card good for everything from the trains and bus to Starbucks to 7-11). I used it with abandon, because I enjoyed the transportation and freedom of access to everywhere.

I agree with previous posters that you want your traveling to school to be in the opposite direction of "crush hour" and I DO mean CRUSH. What an unpleasant way to start your day as a sardine. Once you learn the system, you can sometimes circumvent it with a minimum of time and effort and a little creativity.

Many times I was in Shinjuku and wanted to take the Chuo Line home at CRUSH hour. I would get on the train going towards Tokyo Station (opposite the majority of travelers), get off in 11 minutes, and walk across the platform to board the next departing train so I would have a seat for the 40 minute ride home. It was either that or stand up the entire way with my face in some office workers armpit or under his chin. Luckily the Japanese are very clean folks, so trains were not unpleasant, but it can be uncomfortable and difficult to maintain your balance with packages while standing in the middle of commuters and have nothing to hold on to when the train lurches.

Can't speak much to the thigh high boots, as I do not pay much attention to young girls. I was, however, often somewhat embarrassed by the very poorly dressed, loud, apparently clueless foreigners that made bad impressions on everyone. Not to say there weren't some crass Japanese, but there were very few.

Don't give up on Japan. You can have a great time in one of the most wonderful cities in the world and be frugal and save some
$$$ if you approach it in the right way. Get a small place, but one that is comfy. Be sure you bring warm clothing for the winter and an electric blanket if you can. Japanese homes are notoriously uninsulated and it gets really cold in winter. It also gets miserably hot in the summer and you will need AC and cross ventilation. Careful where the windows and big glass sliders are located.

Don't just look at all the new highrises. Check out the City/Ward housing developments. Usually bigger places, less $$ and better locations near train or bus lines.

Hope this hasn't been too long, and I hope it helps. I left just last year, so my experience is fairly recent. Best of luck to you !
PsyGuy
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Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:51 am
Location: Northern Europe

Reply

Post by PsyGuy »

Be weary of 'where' you shop in Tokyo, places like "Food Show" in Shibuya station can make coin disappear faster than dining out in many restaurants.

Daiso really is your friend in the ones that have a food floor. You can through together pasta and sauce for 2 days on 500¥ and still have some ingredients left over.
The biggest shock is the produce department as a food market. A green pepper or onion can be a couple dollars for one. Fruit can also be pricy especially citrus, during the spring you can get a kilo of small oranges for about 500¥ and thats considered a very good deal. Another oddity is staples like Japanese tea and rice which have dizzying standards and grades, etc. all make for expensive purchases.

If your from the states you will be astonished what you can and usually must accomplish at 711. They are cafes, impromptu pubs, the place you pay all your bills, do your banking, post your mail, accept/receive packages. A lot of ETs and ITs grab their lunch and iced coffee (very popular) from them. They have everything from sandwiches to pasta and steak cutlets with mash.
Even more essential is how important train stations are in JP (usually with a 711 and McDs near by), some of them like Shinjuku station are malls and small cities. Some of them are shopping complexes with everything from salons, and department stores to electronic repair shops with a vast array of eateries from Starbucks to Sushi and Steak. Some of them are very humble with maybe a small conbini and a bakery cafe (all the commercial bread is the same size, small little home bread machine loaves, the difference is how thick or thin the slices are cut).
It should also be noted that JP is the vending machine capital, you can get a lot of items (yes including intimate apparel) from vending machines.

You can easily spend $300 on a nights evening festivities, cover at top venues in Rop averages $20-$50 and even higher to ticketed events for New Years, etc. They arent just bars though, these are multi level venues with 7 dance floors and everyone dresses to impress,. That cover gets you a couple beverage coupons though as well, but well selections and tap (if they have it) will be about $10, and top shelf can go for $25, with the cellar and bottle service several hundred to $1000.
The more economical option is the nomihoudai which is all you can drink option for a set price and fixed amount of time. This is how many company and Uni impromptu events are scheduled. The host calls a venue and schedules a private . or private room and then depending on the offer (usually spirits and domestic brew) they can have as many beverages as they wants for 1-3 hours. The objective to consume very fast and very quickly to get your coins worth and then nurse a beverage for the remainder of the time after the all you can drink. This practice isnt just limited to reserved events, many izakaya have a nomihoudai option for as little as 30 minutes in some business districts.

Golds Gym and several other JP chains have facilities in JP. They are pricy though about $100-$150 a month. The differences come down to pool and how high tech the equipment is. Though if you have tattoos you will either have to cover them at ALL times or more likely you wont be allowed to join.

You can find many basic appliances and furniture on Craigs list in Japan, the hardest part is getting it delivered or picking it up. A lot of it is actually just given away to however picks it up first. Your ward will also have one day of the week (different trash is collected at different times depending on the type, land fill and differnet types of recyclable) or every other week that large items such as furniture is collected, you can walk around your neighborhood and take whatever is out to be picked up. Though you should always buy new Tatami and futon pads.

COSTCO offers delivery in Tokyo, and Amazon JP has same day delivery (4 hours), you can pay or online purchases at a conbini (711). The Ikea is nice, but like the COSTCO its out of the way, but its become very popular. They even have the traditional restaurant if you need your Swedish meatballs and lingenberry sauce. Personally the floor plan is a pain to walk though, but thats Ikea in general, you just cant get in and get out.
AEON is another chain thats much like Carrefour, thoiught doesnt have the selection you would expect.

Movie theaters are VERY expensive in JP, going on student day is still about $20, and thats going out to Kanagawa.

Ueno is the touristy museum ward in Tokyo. Yeah the museums and zoo are nice, but you cant take photos at the museum. The biggest problem with Ueno is all the tourists.

I can understand travel expenses living out in the 'prefectures' or the country folk as Tokyoites refer to them as. Their are two main rail options in Tokyo JR (Japan Rail, the Above ground trains) and TM (Tokyo Metro, the underground, subway trains). Suica is the prepaid card for JR and Paismo is the prepaid card for TM. Though you can use either for both. You use various machines outside of train stations and a few other places (like your IS) to add funds to it and then use the card to enter the train platform, when you exit and leave it deducts the fare from the card. You can also but individual tickets for point to point departures and a life hack if you dont know how much a ticket or fare will cost is to simply by the cheapest ticket you can and then at your destination before you leave the platform gate is another ticket machine that you put your ticket in and it tells you what the additional fare is and you pay that then exit.
Many residents though use purchase a commuter pass, which is a month long fee to travel anywhere between two points, typically between where you live and where you work. You can make a ny number of trips between those points or anywhere in between without additional charge with your commuter pass (which is really stored on your suica/paismo card).
You can also use the cards to make purchases like a debit card at many businesses.

I dont agree so much with the opposite direction of travel during rush hour. I can certainly agree if you have a long commute like an hour or so and you want to sit and be left alone (many Japanese are glued to their phone, and they dont generally talk to one another when on the train). However as a single guy crush time between two or three college girls can easily lead to a number of 'conversations' you would not otherwise be able to have. Really though, if you ahve a concept of personal space, rush hour on the Yamanote is not for you, stop at HUB relax a bit have something to eat or stay at your IS and go home later.Many ITs join a gym local to their IS and workout afterwards during rush hour. They just keep pushing people into the train cars until your literally pressing your intimate parts into other peoples intimate parts.

I would concur on the warm clothes, not so much on the electric blanket, they are heavy and you can get one at COSTCO reasonably, and it will work better since JP voltage is 100V as opposed to 110. Most new construction is better insulated now, if its really an issue for you get an apartment in the middle of a high rise so that the floors below and above you will insulate your floor and ceiling from the elements.
I would strongly recommend ward block apartments, they usually are bigger and better built (higher building codes), but they do not often have the amenities you hind in high rise buildings.
COst for a flat is highly dependent on how close or far you are from a station. There is a group of run down flats across from Harajuku station right at the start of Takeshita street that looks like a slum/prison, but its a ridiculously expensive property.
overseaslifer
Posts: 18
Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2015 11:55 pm

Re: Tokyo living?

Post by overseaslifer »

I would recommend living in the suburbs over trying to be closer to town. It's cheaper and you'll have a higher quality of life; suburban Tokyo is full of parks and green spaces, great little restaurants, mom and pop stores and best of all, no crowds. You'll get around by bike and your local train station will connect you to the JR (major train lines) within 20-30 minutes.

Tokyo is an unbelievable city. If you live in the suburbs, getting to downtown centres like Shibuya or Roppongi can take 60 minutes or more. But you don't NEED to go all the way downtown to have a great day shopping, eating out or enjoying nightlife. There are so many neighbourhoods, each with its own unique character. You will find a go-to "spot" that's close enough for weeknights or lazy weekends but without having to drag yourself all the way downtown.
PsyGuy
Posts: 10789
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:51 am
Location: Northern Europe

Discussion

Post by PsyGuy »

I wouldnt live in Saitima and Chiba, I would never live there. Yokohama is about as suburban as I get. Confirmed Tokyoite. If you miss last train you have to stay the night, and everything is so much better in Tokyo.
wrldtrvlr123
Posts: 1173
Joined: Sat Feb 06, 2010 10:59 am
Location: Japan

Re: Tokyo living?

Post by wrldtrvlr123 »

Suburban Tokyo is still Tokyo enough for many of us. I've lived 30 and 60 minutes west of Tokyo and there is PLENTY to do, see and experience. The Chuo line is a great way to get around and the stations/surrounding areas offer a ridiculous variety of shopping, restaurants, amusements etc.

We still enjoy getting into Tokyo proper once in a while but we also enjoy living in our nice medium sized house and having the viable option of driving or taking the train. It works for us.
PsyGuy
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Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:51 am
Location: Northern Europe

Discussion

Post by PsyGuy »

@WT123

If you dont live along the Yamanote you dont live in the CBD and you dont really live in Tokyo.

The Chou is so provincial. West Tokyo is Ikebukuro.
wrldtrvlr123
Posts: 1173
Joined: Sat Feb 06, 2010 10:59 am
Location: Japan

Re: Tokyo living?

Post by wrldtrvlr123 »

Luckily, my happiness does not require your approval and/or need to fit in your narrow definition of living in Tokyo. Plus, I get the feeling I am one hell of a lot closer to living in Tokyo than you are. :D
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