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Living Cheaply in Japan
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teacheratlarge



Joined: 17 Nov 2011
Posts: 192
Location: Japan

PostPosted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 7:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Cheap, but not so healthy. as the additives they serve on top of it are not so good as well as the quality of the rice leaves something to be desired. The beef, well you can't expect much.

Personally I need two of those servings to feel full. That and the atmosphere in their restaurants reminds me of a fast food factory.
I sometimes might go to Ringer Hut (a fast food champon place (Nagasaki seafood ramen) if I want a quick cheaper meal.
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Mr. Leafy



Joined: 24 Apr 2012
Posts: 246
Location: North of the Wall

PostPosted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 1:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

This may be obvious but another way to save money is to not waste groceries.

I was bad for this when I lived in Japan. I'd buy vegetables on the weekend with plans to cook and then I'd work overtime (through dinner) or be too tired to cook during the week and they'd go soft and try crawl out of the refrigerator. Money wasted. I learned to adjust my cooking expectations for a Tokyo work culture.
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Pitarou



Joined: 16 Nov 2009
Posts: 1116
Location: Narita, Japan

PostPosted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 9:38 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mr. Leafy wrote:
This may be obvious but another way to save money is to not waste groceries.

I was bad for this when I lived in Japan. I'd buy vegetables on the weekend with plans to cook and then I'd work overtime (through dinner) or be too tired to cook during the week and they'd go soft and try crawl out of the refrigerator. Money wasted. I learned to adjust my cooking expectations for a Tokyo work culture.
In short: do as the locals do. Individually, they're not dumb. (Collectively is another matter....)
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TokyoLiz



Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1548
Location: Tokyo, Japan

PostPosted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 1:22 am    Post subject: Do as the locals do Reply with quote

100 yen Lawson quality dinner - broccoli and chicken stir fry over brown rice, cabbage salad, wakame soup and a chuhai.

I make my own yoghurt June through October. It doesn't work well in the winter because I can't keep it warm.

Going out? I'm cute and attract guy who will buy me drinks and dinner and accept graciously Wink
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Pitarou



Joined: 16 Nov 2009
Posts: 1116
Location: Narita, Japan

PostPosted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 1:30 am    Post subject: Re: Do as the locals do Reply with quote

TokyoLiz wrote:
100 yen Lawson quality dinner - broccoli and chicken stir fry over brown rice, cabbage salad, wakame soup and a chuhai.
100 yen?! Is that something you can buy pre-packaged?

TokyoLiz wrote:
Going out? I'm cute and attract guy who will buy me drinks and dinner and accept graciously Wink
But who pays for the Love Hotel and taxi home?
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TokyoLiz



Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1548
Location: Tokyo, Japan

PostPosted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 6:31 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

100 yen, as in each item, except the chuhai, is 100 yen. And I usually feed my both me and my roommate. That works out to about Y300 a person.

Ok, I'm not so stingy. I usually split the hotel costs with my date. We have four wheels on two bicycles. No taxi. Yep, we're pretty kechi, cheap.
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kah5217



Joined: 29 Sep 2012
Posts: 270
Location: Ibaraki

PostPosted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 9:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

KECHI DA NAAAAA... Smile

I probably spent about 400 on the ingredients for my dinner at the supermarket, and it made enough to freeze two more servings. 7-11 bentos are about the same price for one serving. So some times it does pay to roam around the supermarket instead of grabbing a bento.
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Black_Beer_Man



Joined: 26 Mar 2013
Posts: 453
Location: Yokohama

PostPosted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 11:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Keep your phone calls short - max. 3 minutes. Better yet, use text or email instead. Give a friend a missed call when you have arrived at a meeting place.

I have noticed that using phones be it cell or landline is outrageously expensive. It's just voice communication and very old technology at that. Technology is supposed to get cheaper over time. In many countries, cell phone charges have decreased. In Japan, very little decrease if any. Don't let the phone companies snatch your hard-earned money.
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Black_Beer_Man



Joined: 26 Mar 2013
Posts: 453
Location: Yokohama

PostPosted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 9:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

A cheap and productive way to use your time is to check with your city office and see if there are cheap or free Japanese language courses.

My city has free courses. We just have to pay for materials. I'm thinking of signing up. I can meet new people too.

Do check and see.
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Pitarou



Joined: 16 Nov 2009
Posts: 1116
Location: Narita, Japan

PostPosted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 12:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Black_Beer_Man wrote:
A cheap and productive way to use your time is to check with your city office and see if there are cheap or free Japanese language courses.

My city has free courses. We just have to pay for materials. I'm thinking of signing up. I can meet new people too.

Do check and see.
But be careful about using well-meaning amateurs.

Japanese grammar as it is taught in Junior High Schools, and Japanese grammar as it is actually used and spoken, are very different things. A professional Japanese teacher will have a much clearer idea of how the language actually works than a typical native speaker.

I'm not saying that you should never use them -- they're excellent value for money! -- but a little professional input can make a big difference.
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qwertyu2



Joined: 13 Mar 2012
Posts: 93

PostPosted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 6:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I could understand if this advice was meant for poor college students. But the fact that many here who think of themselves as "professionals" have to resort to 300 yen meals or limit their phone conversations to 3 minutes or less is just sad.
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TokyoLiz



Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1548
Location: Tokyo, Japan

PostPosted: Mon Jul 29, 2013 2:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Who uses their smart phone for calling any more? When I can't have my friends or colleagues live, I depend on SMS, Line, or email to talk to them.

100 yen shop meat, carrots, broccoli and some oyster sauce, served over rice. Presto! 300 yen dinner for two.
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milkman



Joined: 12 Jul 2013
Posts: 29

PostPosted: Mon Jul 29, 2013 5:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pitarou wrote:
Black_Beer_Man wrote:
A cheap and productive way to use your time is to check with your city office and see if there are cheap or free Japanese language courses.

My city has free courses. We just have to pay for materials. I'm thinking of signing up. I can meet new people too.

Do check and see.
But be careful about using well-meaning amateurs.

Japanese grammar as it is taught in Junior High Schools, and Japanese grammar as it is actually used and spoken, are very different things. A professional Japanese teacher will have a much clearer idea of how the language actually works than a typical native speaker.

I'm not saying that you should never use them -- they're excellent value for money! -- but a little professional input can make a big difference.


Yeah, I used to go to local community Japanese classes which were cheap, but I didn't get much out of them. The teacher taught just like the English teachers do here, I saw the same tactics used and I knew that they weren't that good for English teaching. I guess I found that kind of amusing, but professional classes can be extremely expensive so I guess if you just want to talk for a few hours then they're not a bad choice.
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nightsintodreams



Joined: 18 May 2010
Posts: 558

PostPosted: Mon Jul 29, 2013 6:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

We live in the country of our target language. Why on earth would you need lessons?
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ssjup81



Joined: 15 Jun 2009
Posts: 664
Location: Adachi-ku, Tokyo, Japan

PostPosted: Mon Jul 29, 2013 6:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

nightsintodreams wrote:
We live in the country of our target language. Why on earth would you need lessons?
Some people learn best in a classroom setting or either don't have many opportunities to learn despite living here.

I know for me I rarely use Japanese since I'm surrounded by English about 90% of the time because of my job. I go to the supermarket but how often would you hold a conversation with the cashier, for example? I'm the same. I'm doing lessons. For me, a classroom setting where I get to hear and use Japanese and thinking of scenarios to use said target language and asking about it works for me.
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