Job Discussion Forums

[CPA]

How hard will it be to live on 250k yen in Tokyo? Is Tokyo a good city to live in?

Would I be able to afford the following things with a life in Tokyo?:

(1) work full time
(2) have a nice enough private room of any size with a small kitchen (shared bath is OK).
(3) explore the local culture and sight-see at night and on the weekends by using local transit and walking.
(4) study martial arts and Buddhism with Japanese teachers a couple times per week.
(5) travel somewhere interesting in Japan for a weekend at least once or twice.
(6) eat out as much as I can afford (how often can I do this? I really like Sushi and Hibachi). Cook at home regularly.
(7) Join a fitness club.

[rxk22]

For a gym 10,000 is about the monthly cost.
What martial arts do you do? That is a big factor is cost and level here. BJJ IS 10,000+ and the skill level is lower thanthe uUSA

[TokyoLiz]

Martial training costs yen - training fees, equipment, and train fare to get to dojos. Also, you need quality food to sustain yourself while you're training hard on top of a full time job. I'd say budget about ¥20,000/mo for training related expenses.

Quality teishoku, set meals, will cost you about ¥1000. Many martial arts students I train with complain that, when they eat out, they can't get portions that satisfy, or that are adequately nutritious. Because they don't speak or read Japanese, their choices are limited. I take visitor students to cheap, good places they couldn't find otherwise.

Weekend trips cost a lot of money because of train fares. Budget on ¥10,000 for a weekend. If you are literate in Japanese, you can take advantage of discount tickets. There is some English information about discounts for trains, but nothing like the huge volume of info about hotel deals, onsen discounts available in Japanese.

A room for a "gaijin" will start at ¥60,000.

You'd need to earn a lot more than ¥250,000 a month to sustain the lifestyle you are describing.

[nomad soul]

[Nemu_Yoake]

"How hard will it be to live on 250k yen in Tokyo? Is Tokyo a good city to live in? "

HELL NO.

[TokyoLiz]

My guy and I moved in together about a month ago. We're still worKing on a budget, but we estimate our expenses at ￥1500 a day for two people. We eat simple Japanese home cooking and we are omnivores - whatever we can put in the nabe hot pot, brown-white rice mix, salads, pickles, etc. We also make some exotic foods, such as Thai or Chinese dishes, with pricier ingredients. I make breakfast every morning, and bento box lunch 3-4 times a week for both of us.

If you make exotic western food, expect to have a much higher grocery bill.

My guy cycles to work daily, and has a huge appetite for food. I cycle, walk and train in the dojo 2-3 times a week. We eat a lot so we are expensive.

We dine out once a week. Dinner and drinks at izakaya is about ¥2000 -3000 per person.

If you rely on takeout bento and teishoku dinner for a day, I'd estimate ¥1500-2000 for satisfying and healthy food.

About apartments in Tokyo - you can get a 1 room apartment for ¥100,000 (multiply that by three for the first month).

[CPA]

Thanks for the advice. I want to take in as much culture as possible while I am there, so I think Tokyo might provide more chances to interact with people and learn versus living in a rural area. When I lived in Manhattan I loved to finish work for the day and just walk for hours around the city and use the subway to see live music, visit bars, and go to restaurants.

So if I can make 250K yen a month, less 60k for a room, less 60k for bento and teishoku daily, less less 20k for martial arts, less 10k for a gym membership, less 10k for a weekend trip a month, less 40k for drinks and nightlife, that leaves me with 50k remaining.

How much for transit costs around Tokyo?
Does the 60k a month for a room include utilities? How much would those cost?

What other costs am I missing?

[currentaffairs]

Savings would be zilch. Start up costs in Tokyo are really high. Are you happy to stay in a gaijin house for 2-3 years? If not, then the key money and deposit for a very basic shoe box apartment would be a month's salary.. I enjoyed living in Tokyo but you would need to get a better job to live more comfortably. Transport and hotels are also very expensive (most are 8-10,000 yen minimum for a night).

[rxk22]

Dude. I'm not going to help untilyou aanswer my question already

[TokyoLiz]

Your budget doesn't include utilties and phone. Utilities for a small apartment will likely cost between ¥10,000 and ¥15,000 depending on the season. You'll need a phone. That's about ¥6000.

In your first year, social insurance etc. are cheap, but on the second year, you have to pay around ¥20,000.

And then there is transportation, cycle parking. That can eat a lot of your budget.

And then there is screw up money. Every newcomer loses money because of ignorance - liberating a bicycle from impound will cost you ¥3000-5000. You can end up paying too much for something because you don't know where to get it cheaper. You may have to replace or repair something you damage due to ignorance or neglect.

I second what currentaffairs says. No way you could save.

What about rxk22's question - which martial art?

I asked you what Buddhism.

[rtm]

[CPA]

Sorry I missed those questions! Those area areas I would really like advice in too.

I really like Shaolin Kung Fu. Its fun to practice and graceful, but not as practical as other forms in a street fight. Brazilian Ju Jitsu and Muay Thai together can be argued to be one of the most practical combinations for effective fighting skills, and I could find teachers in Tokyo in these disciplines, but while in Japan I would want to study native forms. I can always study non-Japanese forms in the US.

I am interested in Jujutsu/Aikdo, swordsmanship/Kendo, and Karate/Kempo. I would like to learn staff/cane forms (I had a Hapkido teacher teach me that a cane is a weapon you can take with you anywhere, anytime to defend yourself and the people you are with). I think the main challenge will be finding a quality instructor in an affordable dojo that speaks English, right?

As far as Buddhism is concerned, my experience is mostly with Tibetan teachings. I have found some really good wisdom from US born Zen teachers and I would be interested in learning more. I am open to exploring any form of Japanese Buddhism. If I get to Japan, I would likely visit multiple temples and listen to the teachings of each, then decide which suits me best. Is this realistic? Do you have any suggestions?

[fluffyhamster]

The one thing that hasn't been addressed is how the type of work you're doing will affect wishlist things like 'explore the local culture and sight-see at night and on the weekends by using local transit and walking'. If you're working in an eikaiwa from around midday until about 10pm at least 5 days a week (including Saturdays, and very possibly without two consecutive days off in lieu), you won't be doing much sightseeing of a night or even day for that matter, ditto martial arts practice and so on (the only time I was really able to practise was as a JET, I simply didn't have the time or inclination when eikaiwaing or dispatch AETing and commuting etc. FWIW I trained at say the local municipal sports center, which housed among other things a weights room and judo dojo, and it was only 100 yen entry. Even at local dojo there are very skilled guys who can teach you a lot!). And depending on where the work (and any future work) is located, you may have quite a journey to get in to anywhere more central (unless you intend to pay a fair bit commuting out to work just to live more centrally in a place of your choosing LOL...and bear in mind that eikaiwa may well have an apartment that they expect you to take over). All that being said, I think Tokyo (though perhaps not much travelling beyond it) is perfectly doable on 250K (just make sure the pay is fixed and not at all pro-rated though, as that could see it dip down to a struggling 170K say!).

[currentaffairs]

There really is very little going on Buddhist-wise in Tokyo. Not many English speaking sermons/gatherings although there are a few. There was one chap organising a weekly Zen meet up in his apartment but it wasn't so well attended. The temples in Japan are more orientated towards social cohesion and well-defined functions rather than spiritual discovery.

The beating heart of Buddhism is to be found elsewhere like in Nara, Kyoto or some of the mountains where you can find some Shingon or Zen centres..

[rxk22]

Ok, so you want to do traditional Japanese MA? As was also said, working at an Eikiawa will make that very difficult. Unlike the US, most MA schools here don't have a morning/early afternoon class. That makes doing MAs here a bit tricky unless you come over as an ALT.

As for MAs in general here. I find that they more of an old man hobby here. While in the US, if you went to a BJJ school you'd you a lot of young men and women. Here, it's mostly old men aka retirees, as college kids train at their own college. WHile most salarymen plain just don't have the time.
When I did BJJ(I don't now, as I have little kids) most the guys who did it were blue collar guys.

I also find that western Japan, such as Kyushu, they tend to be less girly, and people actually do MAs there, as compared to Kanto.

I have done Tien Shan Pai. Shorin-ryu and Uechi-ryu Karate. I never found Japanese JiuJitsu, nor Aikido to be that effective. I wouldn't mind trying for a few weeks or months. But they aren't reality based systems imho
Also, Japanese JiuJitsu has mostly died out here. I think Judo consolidated them, and most gave it up. In the west Judo and JiuJitsu were interchangeable at the time. Up til post WWII, they were basically the same word. I think many people just blended some Karate and KF with some Aikido and said it was JiuJitsu. It's a weird history, so sorry for the ramble