Job Discussion Forums

[Glenski]

What is the best way you have found to save money in Japan? Just curious. What have you found is a good way to live cheaply here? I'm building a list.

food
gifts
phone
travel
sightseeing
daily needs
Internet

[As Das Fads]

- go to the supermarket about an hour before closing. They will have all prepackaged food (sushi, etc) marked down to half price
- LEARN the kanji for half price and %off!
- Some supermarkets have a discount day - a local one here has 5% off every Monday with a voucher
- take your own bags to the supermarket, many chains will give you a stamp sheet that once you have x purchases that you haven't needed a bag, you'll get x yen off your next purchase.
- if you have to see movies at the cinema, most will have a range of discount days that make the tickets half-price - Ladies day discount, Men's day discount, late show discount, first day of the month discount etc.
- refills aren't always the cheapest way to buy shampoo and soap
- Internet: If you are living nearby some friends, get yourselves a wireless set-up and both of you can access the Internet for the price of one connection
- make the 100 yen shop your friend for gifts back home. Your friends and family won't know the difference.
- buy frozen vegies where you can, much cheaper (and almost as nutritious) as fresh vegies. Same goes with fruit too. Always check the half price box of fruit and veg for some bargains. Watch out for obaasans battling you for the best bargains though.
- Phones: most companies have a family plan which provides massives savings on calls and rental costs. My husband and I got this plan, but they don't ask for a marriage certificate or any other proof, so go in with your boyfriend/other-sex friend and take advantage of it. Don't forget to use c-mail or company-specific short messaging services - always find out the name of your friends keitai provider, not just the number.
- If you have the Internet and want to call home, get yourself an Internet phone provider like www.callserve.com for international calls. Incredibly cheap (e.g. 3 yen per minute to call Australia) and reliable.

Hmm, a couple of these may be slightly immoral but I don't think illegal...

I'll probably think of more later. Good Idea Glenski!

[Celeste]

FOOD
I like to shop at restaurant supply places for things like meat. It is much cheaper.

I bought a prpoer sized fridge with a decent sized crisper and freezer from a second hand shop when I got here so that I wouldn't have to figure out the logistics of shopping only for things that would fit in the tiny beer fridge (about waist height) that was provided in my company housing. We kept the beer fridge- my husband is thrilled with it. He has never had a beer fridge before.

If we want to buy a bulk sized thing from costco or the local restaurant supply company that we can't consume quickly enough, we can often split the cost with a co-worker (for example, the fruit at costco is quite inexpensive, but we can't eat 3 kilos of grapes before they go bad)

ENTERTAINMENTWe rent a lot of dvds rather than go to movies. We also invite people to come to our house for parties rather than going out to the bars. Pot luck parties are a great way to socialize and it is cheaper for all concerned. I also like the added bonus thatyou get a wide selection of things to eat rather than the same old boring all you can eat set menus at a lot of bars.

My company provided the ohone line for me when I came here. FOr long distance calling, I use a long distance company called world link. With this company, I can call Canada for $0.18USD per minute. I think it is less to call the US.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS
I don't have a cell phone. I carry some 10yen coins with me in case I need to use a pay phone. I am not very happy about this. I had a cell phone in Canada when I was doing theatre and film work, and I miss the convenience of it. The plan I had back in Canada was about $30 CAD for 200minutes a month. I never used more than 100 minutes.

Question: Does anyone know of a similar plan in Japn? What is the cheapest cell phone plan anyone has heard of here?

I have my internet service through Asahi-net. I made the mistake of using thier dial-up service when I first came here. I ended up with some HUGE NTT bills. I switched to their ADSL service and it is 4200yen per month. This is about wahat I was paying for cable internet back in Canada, and it is equally fast.
GIFTS
When I want to give gifts to Japanese friends, I usually try to give baked goods that I make myself. This is a habit that I started back in Canada at christmas time when I would make Christmas hampers to give out to all of our relatives, because my husband and I couldn't possibly afford to give "nice" gifts to everyone. This is not for everyone. I am really good at baking and putting things together artistically(fine arts degree put to use at long last) and I enjoy doing this with my time.

For gifts to send home, I too get them from 100yen shops.

TRANSPORTATION

I try to use my bicycle as much as possible. My work is to far to cycle, so for that I use the subway and buses, but on the weekends, I take my bike everywhere. I have also lost weight because of this. In Vancouver, I didn't even own a bike. Here, I would be lost without it. My bike cost about10 000 yen after taxes. HINT: Get a good lock for your bike. I had my first bike stolen because of the flimsy lock I used.

MISC.

-Always eat before you leave the house, and avoid the temptation to buy overpriced coffe shop snacks.

-There always seems to be a group of people wanting to go out on the town and spend 10 000yen each in a night. You don't have to go out for the whole evening. You can arrange to meet them for a drink before or after the expensive parts of the evening.

-Have someone from home send you books from a used bookstore or get a Japanese person to help you get a library card. Books are terribly expensive here.

-Check the weather reports daily and find out whether or not you will need an umbrella. Don't waste money buying a new umbrella every time it rains. (I have a 500yen pocket sized umbrella that I take with me at all times- it works for the sun too!)

-Don't be embarrassed into buying something. I know that sometimes it is really difficult to go shopping in a new language and misunderstandings happen, but if something is not what you want, or the price is higher than you thought it was going to be, don't embarrasedly pay so that you can leave the store quickly. Merchants don't actually want to cheat you. They would rather you were a satisfied customer who comes back again and again.

[kamome]

Sorry but I have to laugh at that last post. Wow-what a miser!!!!!!

Speaking from experience the way to save money is not to spend it. Looking for food close to its sell-by date is sad ( and a drop in the ocean ) and "meeting people before/after the most expensive part of the evening" will only get you a reputation as tightfisted.

Drinking and internet shoping are the biggest drain on my resources. Cut down on drinking ( or find a good nomihodai) and leave that visa card at home when you go to the internet cafe!!!!!!

I've seen several people here who never went out and only ate at 100yen shops. One couple was here three years and didn't use a single taxi for their entire stay ( they also never went out and ate all the bargains at the supermarket). They saved a lot of cash but didn't make any friends at all, didn't learn any Japanese, didn't travel anywhere.......whilst I admire their willpower I have to ask "why?"............

[Josh]

For transportation, you can always get the half-price child ticket at the ticket machine for the subway. If you get caught, just play stupid gaijin. Can't say that it is something to do all the time though.

[Glenski]

kamome,

There are misers, and there are misers! I, too, know of a few people who saved money in the extreme while living and working in Japan. One couple actually brought toilet paper with them from their home country (US or Canada) for some reason, and then after a year or two tried to sell what they didn't use! They never went out, never did sightseeing, never saw movies or rented videos, etc. Their whole goal was to save money while here, and they did. However, when they left, they had not seen or done a single thing, nor had they made a single friend (foreign or otherwise). Pretty sad.

Everyone,
Keep them coming. I've had many of the same things on my own list as you have posted, but a lot weren't there! Thanks.

No one says you have to be an ultimate cheapskate, but some of these ideas are terrific, aren't they?

Boy, my info list is growing now!

[Shonai Ben]

In Sendai you can buy a skip-joy card that you can use both on the buses and the subway.If you spend 5000 yen you get 500 yen free on one type of card.
When it comes to transportation to and from class,I first try to walk or use a bicycle and use public transportation last.
Yamaya stores are great for buying cheap beer,wine etc.They also carry many types of food from around the world at cheaper prices than the supermarkets.

[As Das Fads]

- One of the great myths perpertrated in Japan is how far things are. Most (Japanese) find it incredible that I happily ride the 20-25 minutes to my school everyday. The trains might be the easy option, but often it's just as quick to ride (taking into account walks to and from the station).
- remember to turn off your hot water, urns, and all appliances before your leave the house. Leaving products on standby actually consumes considerable electricity.
- get a fan, and leave the aircon off.
- there are a gazillion ways to save money on transport if you use it. JR has heaps of special tickets, and all bus companies have discounts for tickets purchased in bulk before hand. Just make sure to charge your company for the full amount if you are claiming transport

[Glenski]

[bohinj]

A lot of those posts sounded like me in Japan. Hey, if you want to save money you've got to buy discounted food OR go on a major diet. And if you go out with a big group in Japan, it doesn't matter how little you drink or eat, the bill is split equally at the end of the evening. So instead of spending 10,000 yen on a night out, my wife and I had lots of parties at our apartment--potlucks and BYOB. We and made friends with many students and often invited them over for Mexican food. We bought tortillas and chips at the foreign grocery ($$$$) but everything else was purchased in a regular store. Believe me, they loved it because it was personalized and unique. We also went on groupl hikes and had beach parties.
On our vacations we usually went camping (we brought a tent from the U.S.), we took day trips almost every weekend, went to lots of festivals, etc.--you do NOT have to spend a lot of money in Japan to experience the country!! By the way, my wife and I saved about $30,000 per year, which enabled us to tavel after our contract for six months AND put a downpayment on a house when we got back home.

[oich]

[David W]

[Gordon]

Gomi days are terrific. Some people throw out some great stuff. I get most of my daughter's toys while going for walks on these days, have a great set of golf clubs (but will have to wait and use them in Canada cause its too expensive to play), a stereo.....
What are some great goodies that some of you have gotten on Gomi days?

Another way to save money is to buy a hose and pump and pump your bath water into your washing machine. The pump and hose can be purchased for about 3-4000 yen and you will save this in 3 months. You also can finally get those whites whiter with warm water

[CinD]

Though I'm not in Japan yet my poor friend who just got to S.Korea does "frugal" things such as grab extra paper napkins from say McDonald's to avoid having to pay for TP And likes to take extra condiment packets from fast food-restauraunt places as well to avoid the costs of this item LOL A girl has to do what a girl has to do

[Lee_Marrero]

Shameless!! Purchasing toilet paper in Canada bringing it to Japan then trying to sell the leftovers??? That is not frugal or even miserly that is psychotic. I got used to using the water pressure sprayer hose thingy that was in my bathroom, feels much cleaner! The idea about the potluck dinners is good, there is no better way to meet new friends both local and foreign as well as share culture. A good investment in decent cookware/dinnerware/glassware will allow you to cook diverse meals and entertain without looking like a refugee. A word to those who need advice on clothing: Get everything you need before going! went to Gap/Old Navy and bought simple khaki slacks, cotton oxfords in various colors to have clothes to wear to work. I noticed that anything that can be construed as profesional or business casual is expensive in Japan and Korea( not to mention sizes for a 6 ft 1 guy) . One difference between Japan and Korea is the going out as a group bit. In Korea one person picks up the bill for everyone, it is not acceptable for someone to reach into his/her pocket when the designee has been chosen. This actually works in your favor as you wont pay anything most times when you go out. In Japan spltting a bill is common and in my opinion not as nice. I enjoy going out and spending money and personally could not sit in a tiny apartment for months on end hording money to impress my countrymen on arrival back home. But on a lighter note I did know a girl in Seoul who tried to save momey by jumping the turnstyle at the subway. She got away with it for months until during the World Cup Games when there was increased police presence due to excessive drinking on the trains. She jumped as usual and got on the train, 4 stops later the cops were waiting for her on the platform ( it is not like she blended in with the locals) she was arrested and needed help from the school director and Canadian embassy.