Job Discussion Forums

[E. Singer]

Shop at the 99 yen supermarket!!

[worlddiva]

1. cook at home

2. send home half your money, on payday, so you can't spend it

3. bittorrent

[tomjones7]

You can still afford western items if you shop right.
Try Ameyoko, or Akihabara Department store (inside the JR station complex). Prices here are a fraction of what you'd pay in the 'fancy' international supermarkets. You can also get some good food at the 100Yen shops (see Akihabara). Good quality pasta sauces for example, you can get 2 serves for 100 Yen ! How cheap is that !?
Also, apart from cooking at home, make your own lunch. It costs me as little as 100 yen per day, whereas my co-workers spend up to 600 Y on bentos. That's 10,000Yen a month saved already.
Otherwise, cook with rice. Make soups (spicy asian) using a few tbsp of sauce with vegies and chicken (which is usually the cheapest meat) and pour over a wad of rice. Tasty AND cheap. Mostly my dinner costs 200Yen max. per serve. These are large serves mind, and the end result is at LEAST as good as store-bought meals, arguably better!
Good luck.
Generally I spend around 30,000Yen a month on food and booze (incl. wine everyday and scotch etc). That's eating and drinking very well. It's not budget lifestyle, it's just smart. A little thinking goes a long way.

[markle]

[markle]

[ndorfn]

Don't go out drinking. get blind at home first. this will save you huge amounts.

don't buy expensive things like fruit. drink fruit juice instead.

don't use hookers.

don't buy a car.

it's not rocket science.

don't buy rockets.

[sidjameson]

I used to dread the summers here. My apartment was like an oven for endless months it seemed. Two things changed all that though. First those straw blinds. I even hang one up in the doorway so when I leave the door open for the breeze the sun doesn't get in. Second, and this didn't occur to me for years. I take cold showers when I get home from work. This keeps me cool even when the inside temp is 30 degrees. Now I dont even put the fan on until well into July. The air con even later.

Oh and lastly. Get a job where you get a nice long summer holiday like mine. July 23rd I'm outa here until the second week of September.

[Eleckid]

Got myself a decent fan (powerful) for less than 1300yen, & open up all my windows for max air flows. If the weather is TOO hot to stand, I'd run into a shopping mall & just spend the afternoon there window shopping, reading magazines, or sample cds at the music store.

Try to bike to places as far as you can, instead of taking the train or subway.

My computer serves as a tv, music player, movie viewer etc. And yes, bittorrent.

Eat at home. Take cold showers during hot summer days.

Shop wisely, either at 99yen shop or small local supa is great.

Here's a recipe for pasta sauce:

Bought from 99yen shop:
- black pepper
- soy sauce
- basil
- oregano
- onion
- 1 can of tomato chunks with juice
- cheddar cheese (1 block)
- ketchup
- sugar & salt
- canned mushroom slices
- bread crumbs (for meat sauce)
- eggplants & your fav veggies (for vegetarian sauce)
- your fav pasta
- oil
- garlic or garlic powder
- Japanese cooking wine

(with the herbs & spices, you can use them for next time, so you won't have to buy them again for a long time)

At the local supa:
- minced meat (I don't wanna buy meat from the 99yen shop...)

1. heat & oil pot in medium heat (use pot when the serving is large, use pan if the serving is small)

2. finely chop 1 onion.

3. stirfry the onion in the pot, adding a bit of blackpepper.

4. after about 3min, add in chopped garlic or garlic powder.

5. cook onions until it's golden.

6. while the onion is cooking, add the following to your minced meat (for meat sauce): black pepper, a bit of soy sauce, cooking wine, a little bit of sugar, basil, oregano (just a little), & bread crumbs (optional: mirin or sugiyaki sauce, also from 99yen shop). Mix well.

7. when the onion is done cooking, add in your meat (or veggies for vegetarian sauce). Stir fry til it's cooked.

8. drain the can of mushroom slices, add into the pot.

9. stir well, then add in your whole can of tomoto chunks, juice & all.

10. add a bit of ketchup. Add in cheese, salt/soy sauce & sugar to taste.

11. simmer for 5min.

Serve with rice or your fav pasta.

This is for about 3-4 servings, takes about 30min to prepare & cook. It tastes great & it saves you a lot of money (if you cook pasta sauce occasionally)!

Hope it helps~

[JimDunlop2]

One quick tip too... the 100 yen shop ISN'T always the best deal in town.... It pays to look around. For example, if you go to D2 or Cainz (hardware stores) you might find that you can buy items (for example garbage bags) where you get double the amount than in the 100 yen shop, for not quite double the price.

100 yen shop items are sometimes small, and you get less than if you buy a bit more (for less than double the price) at a different store. Do the math. Compare. It took me a while to figure this out. Woohoo! 100 yen! cheap! But then I started to realize that there's even better deals to be had out there.

[uticsperkins2004]

last year when i was teaching in japan, my company provided me with a car for both work and social use. this year, with my new position, i will not have a vehicle. in terms of cutting costs, i'm sure you would all agree that the cheapest way would be to walk everywhere or ride a bike. but for my own curiousity, what is less expensive taking taxis or buses. and how does the japanese local bus service work?

i've read alot of posts about these bamboo sheets to cover the windows to block out the sun as well, how much do these usually cost?

[Glenski]

Taxis by far are more expensive, because you pay for the convenience of going exactly where you want, and you are the only passenger. Starting fares are around 600 yen.

Buses may take cash (coins) or special passes that you can buy in many places like supermarkets or other stores (and the bus station, of course). You usually take a ticket when you get on (or insert your pass in the scanner near the door), and when you get off, you either deposit the ticket first, then coins, or you run your pass through the scanner near the driver. To know in advance how much you will have to pay, look at the ticket's number and watch the fare on the electronic screen at the front of the bus, corresponding to that ticket number.

If your pass doesn't have enough money left on it, you can either run a second pass through, or you can put coins in the till. There is a change maker near the driver, so you can break 1000 yen bills or large coins as needed.

Many buses' initial fare is around 160-200 yen.

[Vince]

Don't buy all your books at Kinokuniya. Here's my pecking order for obtaining reading material (other than borrowing from friends):

1. A local library with an English section. The bulk of the books will be about Japan or translations of Japanese books, so you can learn a lot about the country for free. Many libraries with English sections also have a modest selection of modern classics (Hemingway, Twain, etc.) and mass market bestsellers (Koontz, the Harry Potter books, etc.). You can also rent movies and DVDs at some libraries.

2. Some Book Off branches have used English books, most of which are between �100 and �500. The selection isn't very big, but I've scored some great reads. They've unfortunately taken the name too far, and I once saw a place that sold used PC hardware called Hard Off. I've come across similar English shelves at neighborhood used bookstores.

3. In Tokyo, there's a used English bookstore called Good Day Books. It isn't as cheap as Book Off, but it's a significant savings over buying a new copy anywhere in Japan. They have a great selection.

4. Order through Amazon.jp or Amazon.com. If going with the latter, I'd try to include a few friends to defray the shipping cost.

5. Tower Records in Shibuya has the best English magazine rack I've found in Japan. Both magazines and books are cheaper than at Japanese stores like Kinokuniya or Yurindo, probably because they don't go through middlemen. I've seen Japanese come off the escalator, look at the floor of English books and all the foreigners, and say with that kowai tone that it was like being in a foreign country.

6. Whereas Tower Records' book selection leans toward art and pop culture, Kinokuniya feels more academic and professional. It probably has the best variety of English books in Tokyo, but it's expensive. If I go back to Tokyo, I'll avoid going there just to browse. But it is the place to go if you need a certain academic or professional title. There's also Yurindo, but their selection isn't very big and is geared toward the Japanese crowd; I stopped bothering to look.