Not taking rent into account,how much money could you survive off per month in Japan?

[Ronin4hire]

I just want to get a basic idea as I'll be going there soon as a student.

I will be receiving student living allowances from the New Zealand government and have also saved a lot of money. But I don't know what sort of budget I'm going to have. I'm also allowed to work 10 hours a week on my student visa apparently.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Firebird]

That off course highly depends on you, how you consume,....

when i lived in Tokyo i spend around 1000 to 1300 a day for food (i did some cooking) and around 350 a day for transportation (that will depend how far away from school you live).
10 hours will maybe get you 10000yen (before tax) if you are lucky, more if you teach/give private lessons.

If you are drinking you will have to safe some money, beer isnt cheap (around 500yen). Cigarretes are cheaper than in Europe (300yen). A night out with food and a few drinks can be 5000yen very fast.

I spend between 30000 and 40000 a month on other things like playing games at the arcade, sending some stuff home, buying a shirt, Shampoo, doing the washing,...... you can off course minimise that to maybe 10000 but you would want to have some fun as well!

My accomodation was 1850 a night wich included Internet, Electricity,.... I lived in a Guesthouse with shared Bath and Kitchen.

Also remember, the more free time you have, the more you will spend on the other things. I worked Monday to Friday 8 hours, so i didnt spend alot during the week.

[Tsuwabuki]

If you do nothing but eat and sleep and pay utilities, I would say that you could be safe with an income of $1000, or roughly ¥100,000 a month. Probably a little more than you need, but trust me, you will want that slack in case you screw up. Always put a few hundred bucks off to the side for "incidentals" or a "rainy day."

[godwine]

Originally Posted by Tsuwabuki

If you do nothing but eat and sleep and pay utilities, I would say that you could be safe with an income of $1000, or roughly ¥100,000 a month. Probably a little more than you need, but trust me, you will want that slack in case you screw up. Always put a few hundred bucks off to the side for "incidentals" or a "rainy day."

Totally agree with the slack part. But if you really live on a budget, then you could very well go through a day with about 2000 yen (1500 for food, 500 for transportation)... but you will hate it after 2 weeks

[Nyororin]

The biggest question is going to be WHERE in Japan will you be?
Even if we remove rent from the equation, food costs, transportation, etc are going to change based on where you live.

Back when we were poor students, we lived - the two of us - on 120,000/month. If I take rent out of that around 70000....

I hunted down the old post I made about it;

Depending on what you are doing, I`d say you can get by with only about 120,000/month - for two people.

We`ve been there, done that, and were quite happy and comfortable at the time. (Although I can`t say I`d choose to do it again.)

48,000 for rent
12,000 for utilities
20,000 for food
20,000 for train passes

and... whatever was leftover was spending money. There were months in which we only used 10,000 for food, and months when we went way over. But it was more than enough to survive and be quite content.

I think what makes the biggest difference is taking the effort to what is cheap and easy to make in Japanese food, cook it yourself, and not be wasteful. Eating out is WAY too expensive, even if you stick to cheap places. You can make three different meals out of a 300yen pack of pork/chicken, a big bag of moyashi for 80yen, a 60 yen pack of tofu, and 1/4th a daikon for 50yen. Eat out, and you will spend 800 or so at almost every meal.
A lot of people kill themselves in the food department because they don`t realize that what was cheap to make back home is probably not cheap to make in Japan.

[Ronin4hire]

I'll be in Osaka.

Thanks for the help people.

70000-100000 is something I can deal with. I have university accomodation so the rent is not much.

Nyororin- I guess I'll be learning to cook cheap then.

Josh- I'll be a busy student but if I have time I'll do something of the sort. At the very least I'll still be posting on here.

[godwine]

Originally Posted by Ronin4hire

I'll be in Osaka.

Thanks for the help people.

70000-100000 is something I can deal with. I have university accomodation so the rent is not much.

Nyororin- I guess I'll be learning to cook cheap then.

Josh- I'll be a busy student but if I have time I'll do something of the sort. At the very least I'll still be posting on here.

I don't know about Osaka, but according to my Uncle and cousin, its cheaper to eat out around Tokyo than to cook.....

[Nyororin]

Originally Posted by godwine

I don't know about Osaka, but according to my Uncle and cousin, its cheaper to eat out around Tokyo than to cook.....

That depends on what you`re eating, and where you buy ingredients to cook.
Some things are going to be cheaper to eat out... And some things will be "cheaper" in broader terms because you don`t have to spend the time to prepare them.
But eating out all the time is going to be more expensive in the end unless you never bother to find a decent supermarket/grocery/butcher/etc. There is a huge price difference between them - go to some huge chain and you can expect to pay 3 or 4 times as much for some things as you would at a tiny little grocer on a back street.
Nagoya certainly isn`t low on the scale when it comes to the cost of living (Scored #2 in Asia, below Tokyo and above Yokohama!) but if you know where to shop you can definitely live for much cheaper and immensely healthier than if you were eating out every day.

[Nathan]

As far as I recall, soba noodles and natto were fairly cheap. I was doing a natto/rice breakfast for a while when the cash was being stretched out.

Osaka has a lot of restaurants. You'll be sorely tempted to go out a lot.

I never had much experience with the smaller grocery stores, but Donki Houte (ドンキホーテ) seemed to be a decent place to pickup non-perishables. There was another grocery chain, I think it was called Life (had a clover for a sign) that was a bit on the pricey side.

For getting around, the JR lines are decently priced.

[Columbine]

I don't know if it's the same for all supermarkets, but my local one had a 'sale' on wednesday afternoon when basically almost everything perishable was sold off (usually nothing wrong with it, but they shut Thursdays) and prices dropped. You had to fight off the old ladies for the good stuff but if you timed it right you could shop a week's stuff for half or only 2/3rds of the usual cost.