how expensive is japan ?

[Gaberdeen]

Welcome to rip off Britain folks, where your GBP goes further.

Japan is slightly less expensive than the UK, with regards to food, clothing transport etc etc - At least those were my impressions after living in Aberdeen, one of the most ridiculiously overpriced cities in the western hemisphere.

As for housing - Pass, my girlfriend lives in Urayasu which isn't strictly Tokyo - it's expensive though. I wouldn't like to guess what it cost to buy

[MMM]

It really depends on where you are. I found London to be more expensive than most of Kansai.

[ccc]

are electronic goods like notebooks cheaper in GB than in Japan ?

[Gaberdeen]

Originally Posted by ccc

are electronic goods like notebooks cheaper in GB than in Japan ?

Here's a rule of thumb in case you missed it.

Nothing is cheaper in GB. If you buy a sony vaio, macbook, toughbook or any sort of electronic equipment including guitars and games consoles you will typically pay 10 to 15% more for it in the UK than anywhere else in the world.

Why? Because VAT, import duty and a greedy government conspire to make the UK the most expensive country to shop in the western hemisphere.
Don't believe me? next time your in the high street write down the price of a product you fancy, travel abroad and compare it.

Heathrow is also the biggest "duty free" rip off ever - i tried to buy some cuban cigars before travelling to Japan and they were DOUBLE the price of the same brand in duty free in CDG, Paris - absolutely ripping the arse out of it.

[ChisaChi]

I found everything quite a lot cheaper than here in Perth, Australia due to our strong dollar at the moment - accommodation, food, drinks and alcohol were about 50-75% of the price they are here, clothes slightly cheaper, some electronics and camera gear were quite a bit cheaper too.

I guess it all depends on what you're comparing it to eh?

[SSJup81]

Originally Posted by samurai007

No, it wasn't subsidized, that was the full rent. It was a small place, though. But still, most places outside the big cities are not very expensive. The small towns and cities in Japan have actually been losing population as the younger generations move off to the big cities. That makes the small towns a "renter's market", with relatively few people competing for apartments. I'd be shocked if the place I lived in then was more than $550 a month now, considering it's 10 years older.

If you want to live cheaply in Japan, get out of the big cities. The same place in Tokyo probably would have been $900-1000 a month.

Make sense. I was told that the smaller places are cheaper too. I really hope I can get into JET and get some studying in to better myself with Japanese. I'm still terrible with it. I took a practice test for lvl 4 JLPT, and I got like 58% right, and passing is a 70%. I was hoping to try for lvl 3 this year, but I still have a ways to go if I can't even score decently on a practice test.

Well, at least one good thing, that is if I do get into JET for next year, I would be able to change my mailing address at cdjapan, and won't have to worry about import fees if I decide to buy something through there.

I should make up a list of cds I'd like to purchase ahead of time. lol

[hypekstatic]

HELL YEAH it's more expensive than the US!
Economically Japanese is at a peak and everything is expensive there.
Plus their YEN is worth more than the US dollar.
Well i don't really know for sure lol all I know is that everything was
expensive when I went there. Luckily if you have relatives who are rich
they can help you. If you don't, make friends with old artistic rich guys
in Shibuya. You'll be fine. (;

[chachava]

Originally Posted by hypekstatic

Plus their YEN is worth more than the US dollar.

doesn't mean much, monopoly money has more value these days than the USD lol

[samurai007]

Originally Posted by hypekstatic

HELL YEAH it's more expensive than the US!
Economically Japanese is at a peak and everything is expensive there.
Plus their YEN is worth more than the US dollar.
Well i don't really know for sure lol all I know is that everything was
expensive when I went there. Luckily if you have relatives who are rich
they can help you. If you don't, make friends with old artistic rich guys
in Shibuya. You'll be fine. (;

Yen are comparable to US pennies, not dollars. It takes over 100 yen to equal $1. And where in the US are you comparing to Japan (and where in Japan for that matter?) Several US big cities (especially SF) are MUCH more expensive to live in than 99% of Japan.

[chachava]

Originally Posted by samurai007

Yen are comparable to US pennies, not dollars. It takes over 100 yen to equal $1. And where in the US are you comparing to Japan (and where in Japan for that matter?) Several US big cities (especially SF) are MUCH more expensive to live in than 99% of Japan.

by 'worth more', I think they meant it was stronger than the USD. This also explains why most of the US is more expensive than Japan - weak currency = bad rates of exchange = expensive imports = higher prices for consumers