[NekoNekoChan]

Originally Posted by Vesperd

House rent, electric bills, food, i spent 2 weeks there and we spent over 2 mill yen doing not much. and sorry i take that back 150,000 could pay of your rent and bills, food for a month i guess.. +100,000 free cash? But dont ask me.. i havent been in Japan longterm.. yet

You also have to remember that spending two weeks(aka, visiting japan) would be a lot more expensive than actually living there. Just like visiting america would. Because, you don't have stoves in hotels, for one. So, eating out is almost a necesity. Also, the hotels themselves wouldn't be cheap. Also, a lot of people I've known to go to japan end up buying a ton of stuff. I mean, they go CRAZY! bringing back tons of manga, video games, and a bunch of other assorted trinkets. It's no wonder why so many people think it's SO expensive in japan.
Another thing about japan people think is expensive is food costs. While that may be true, generally japan eats much less than western folk do. Also, if you live in japan, you might want to just eat the nations food. Because other foods for foreigners, (or so I've heard) tend to cost a lot more than the country's own food.
So, learn to eat with a japanese diet, actually live there, and you should be fine.