[Sangetsu]

When I arrived three years ago my teaching salary was 300,000 yen per month. Considering that I worked an average of 24 hours per week, that wasn't bad at all. I lived in the countryside, and I lived nicely. The rent for my new house was only 60k yen per month, and the house even included parking for 2 cars.

Not long ago I transferred to a new school in Tokyo. My pay remained the same 300k yen, but my cost-of-living expenses doubled. Rent is higher, as is the cost of food/transportation/entertainment. In Tokyo 300k yen doesn't go far. My current rent is nearly 200k yen per month, and a single parking space costs as much as my house in the countryside cost. Add food, phone, utilities, taxes (my residency tax is nothing to laugh at), and everything else, 300k doesn't come close to covering it.

But moving to the city motivated me to look for/make other opportunities, and allowed me to go into business for myself. My income is now approaching triple what it was a year ago, if I had enough time (I still teach 5 days a week) I could probably swing 1 million yen per month, but I get tired even thinking about how much work that would be.

Let us know where you will live if you work for Rakuten, It would make it easier to advise you.