[Nyororin]

I think that a lot of people misunderstand what a "high cost of living" is.

It isn`t simply the amount of money you need to survive - it`s the amount needed to live a normal life at the same standard as everyone else.

Sure, of course you can live in Tokyo, just paying your rent and your utilities, living alone.

But that`s not the "norm". You have to take into account whatever it is you are going to do and the fact that MOST people in Japan are working toward actually having a family. Of course most foreigners aren`t - most work for a while and go home. No need to save up or worry about the future.

But the average Japanese man in Tokyo has a future of paying for a family and all the included costs on that "average" salary. The cost of living IS high because it includes more than just rent, utilities and food. Try making ends meet with a wife and two kids at home (which has to be big enough to house them) on that 250,000/month salary. Oh, and don`t forget, one of the kids will need 35,000/month for kindergarten. Oh, and the other kid is still in diapers - 12,000 a month.

Yes, the cost of living is quite high. They don`t calculate that on single cheapy life. It is a figure from the standard level.