Job Discussion Forums

Miyazaki · Joined: 12 Jul 2005 Posts: 635 Location: My Father's Yacht

I hate the weather in Japan.

Too dry and cold in the winter.

Too humid and wet in the summer.

I kind of like Fall.

Did you know that Japan has 4 seasons?

Mahik · Joined: 12 Sep 2007 Posts: 89

But aren't they different from seasons elsewhere? Wink

flyer · Joined: 16 May 2003 Posts: 539 Location: Sapporo Japan

yes Japan certainly does have extremes in their weather

.... I still can't get over that 10,000yen electricity bill for 1 month in summer for a small apartment
Surprised

ironopolis · Joined: 01 Apr 2004 Posts: 379

slodziak · Joined: 17 Oct 2005 Posts: 143 Location: Tokyo

Quibby84 · Joined: 10 Aug 2006 Posts: 643 Location: Japan

You know, we live in a not so big town (around 122,000) people, I think we are being ripped off. Even when we were GONE for the entire month (well we were there for 4 days) our electricity bill was about 4,000 and the gas was like 1,500. The only thing plugged in while we were gone was our refridgerator.
Yeah, I know someone who pays about 15,000 a month for a two story house with central air and american appliances.
We have two big computers, 3 fans, tv, and other normal stuff plugged in. I think what really costs us is the SINGLE hotplate...but still...at home we could have an entire house easily with that much electricity money.
So yeah, our bills for one month is about 80,000 (apt, bills, car, cell phones). Crazy!! and we live in a literal shoebox! But I do love Japan so I guess it is worth it...

cornishmuppet · Joined: 27 Mar 2004 Posts: 642 Location: Nagano, Japan

Quibby, you are totally being ripped off. I lived in a shoe box for two years, and even at the worst of my a/c abuse the highest my elec bill got was about 4000yen. Average was about 2500. Do you have a gas water heater? On the other hand, my gas bills average about 7 - 8000 a month because its responsible for all the hot water and the cooker.

AndyH · Joined: 30 Sep 2004 Posts: 417

Agree with flyer. I lived in Hokkaido and the Tokyo suburbs (Chiba), and my apartment in Hokkaido was much warmer than my place in Chiba. As long as I was inside, the Hokkaido winters were much more bearable, odd as it seems.

gonzarelli · Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 5:22 am Post subject:

Quibby84 · Joined: 10 Aug 2006 Posts: 643 Location: Japan

I think the hotplate is electric. The 6,000 a month we pay is only for showers...it might be cheaper to go to an onsen twice a week...
So if I am being ripped off what do I do?

madeira · Joined: 13 Jun 2004 Posts: 182 Location: Oppama

You need to have someone check your meters. It sounds like you're being billed for another place or places... So, I'd call the gas company and electric company to look into it.

Unless you're on some kind of 'estimated usage' plan? Those are always whack. But then, you should see significant refunds a few times per year. And I've not heard of those being common in Japan.

flyer · Joined: 16 May 2003 Posts: 539 Location: Sapporo Japan

Apsara · Joined: 20 Sep 2005 Posts: 2142 Location: Tokyo, Japan

When I first came to Japan, I lived in an incredibly well-insulated building in Nagano. Minus 20 outside but we were always warm inside- double glazing and everything. Then I moved to Saitama where it was 25 degrees warmer but I damn near froze to death. Newer buildings in the colder prefectures tend to be well insulated, much better than in Kanto and further south.

Older buildings in Tokyo are absolute nightmares to live in- zero insulation, literally. I used to live in an old wooden house which had no air conditioning and only space heaters, (old in this case being about 30 years, meaning in Japan that the building is about derelict), and it was colder inside than outside in winter- we could see our breath and used to wear our coats and hats in the kitchen, and hotter than hell in summer. I swear it was over 40 degrees in my second floor bedroom between about 11am and 6pm- it was almost uninhabitable.

That house has just been pulled down, finally, and I now live in a 2 year old "mansion" which is such an improvement. It can get a bit chilly because we have one wall which is one third sliding door and window, one third glass bricks and only one third actual wall. Nice and light though! This summer though we had the a/c set at about 28 and only used it at night a few of the hottest days- neither of us like to be chilled though so I can't imagine setting the a/c for 19.

Coming from the north of New Zealand I am used to houses not being well heated or cooled- it mostly doesn't get that cold or hot in Auckland so we don't usually have central heating or cooling systems, but people from the US in particular sometimes complain that it's cold inside in winter- we are just used to toughing it out I suppose- we all wore uniform skirts or shorts to school in midwinter as well.

flyer · Joined: 16 May 2003 Posts: 539 Location: Sapporo Japan

I am from the south (of NZ)

I am used to the cold