Rent in Tokyo

[bennettp23]

Hi Everyone,

I'm thinking of moving to Japan for work.

I have the following budget:

Accommodation 1million Yen per month
Living expenses (everything) 600,000 per month (thats what will be left of my wages after the accommodation million yen.

I have no idea if this is enough for a married couple with a 4 year old child!!!!!

Can anyone help me out with an opinion as to what my lifestyle would be like???


Thank you!!

[Thrownaway]

1,000,000 JPY per month, solely for accommodation?

Depending on the exchange rate, that's ~$10k USD. Per month. Just for rent.

That's enough for several married couples with 4 year old children. You'll be fine.

[MMM]

Criminies, you can live in a luxurious place for that kind of money. Tokyo is expensive, but not THAT expensive.

[samurai007]

I've got to wonder if he put an extra 0 after those numbers. If not, this job is the equivalent of nearly $200,000 per year, there's no way anyone earning that much should worry about being able to afford an apartment anywhere in the world.

Now, if he actually meant that the job pays about $20,000 per year, and he's budgeting the equivalent of $1,000 for rent, $600 for food and expenses, then that's a fair question. You should be able to rent an apartment for that much, especially if you aren't right in the heart of Tokyo. The $600 for food and expenses for a family of 3 may be cutting it close, though if you are very careful, I think you could make it. If your wife got a part-time job tutoring English or something, it'd help.

[Thrownaway]

Good point. You're probably right. People with $10k/mo expat packages don't know how to check email, much less register and post to a forum. Also, $6k/mo as the rest of his "wages" (his words) wouldn't mesh with that kind of housing allowance. I know the military contracts around that salary level (Yokosuka area, south of T-town) get ~$1.7k-2.4k/month for the housing allowance.

...on second thought, I just checked the charts and it's not that much of a stretch. A guy on a USG contract (or corp contract that takes cues from gov housing rates, which is common) using military rates at just above his salary level (with dependents) gets ~$8k/mo for rent and $1k/mo for utilities.

That's not a typo. That's also just the military rate. Private corp would likely beat that.

Apparently the survey folks who do the housing cost studies for Tokyo either like gold-plated bathtubs, or are surveying only American-style single family homes or something.


Quote from military housing rate chart around that pay grade for Tokyo, Japan:


Allowances
Effective: 20080901
Local Currency US DOLLARS
OHA Rental Allowance 766667.00 $ 7903.78
Utility/Recurring maintenance/miscellaneous Allowance 93452.00 $ 963.42
Move-In-Housing Allowance (MIHA) 68322.00 $ 704.35

[blimp]

my friend, that kind of money will get you a big house.
if you work for a fairly big company, finding a flat on your own is no problem. plenty of real estate agents that cater to foreigners.

just to put 1,000,000 yen in perspective and i thought this was funny. one of the bigger sites for flats chintai, has only one (1) flat that is more expensive than 1,000,000 yen in central tokyo. now chintai doesn:t in any way cater to the rich and wealthy, but i reckon it is still a pretty good measure on how far 1 mil yen will get u.

then again, it is said that EU ambassador to japan, has a house that costs 40,000 euro a month so it is possible to blow as much money as you please in this little town of ours.

[Sangetsu]

Your income should allow you and your family to enjoy an upper-middle-class lifestyle in pretty much any district in Tokyo. Vacancy rates are high, and rent prices are falling, so you should have no trouble finding an apartment you like.

You should be talking to the HR department of your company, they should have a list of vendors who supply services to expat personnel.

[bennettp23]

Hi,

My numbers are correct and now I feel embarressed, like I was showing off, but sincerely I was not! I only just got my contract and was not sure about exchange rates and cost of rent out there. The salary is a hike in my wages!

I didn't think they would give me that much for accomodation, its a huge Japan company I work for though. I think they place a lot of emphasis on my family being happy and so want to make sure my place is ok.

I have had a quick look online and initially I like the look of Hiroo, what do people think of round there, sounds good for expats (schools etc). Online it looks like what you get for my budget is a 3 bed apartment?

For Rent Residence in Hiroo, Tokyo - Hot Properties | Rental Apartments & Houses | realestate-tokyo.com

Thanks for your replies! I'm a little sorry I went about it this way now!

Thanks

[MMM]

Don't be sorry. You found a good source. More than that, you found a great employer. Nothing to be embarrassed about.

At that price, you should have some pretty swanky digs. If not, start asking questions.

[Sangetsu]

Originally Posted by bennettp23

Hi,

My numbers are correct and now I feel embarressed, like I was showing off, but sincerely I was not! I only just got my contract and was not sure about exchange rates and cost of rent out there. The salary is a hike in my wages!

I didn't think they would give me that much for accomodation, its a huge Japan company I work for though. I think they place a lot of emphasis on my family being happy and so want to make sure my place is ok.

I have had a quick look online and initially I like the look of Hiroo, what do people think of round there, sounds good for expats (schools etc). Online it looks like what you get for my budget is a 3 bed apartment?

For Rent Residence in Hiroo, Tokyo - Hot Properties | Rental Apartments & Houses | realestate-tokyo.com

Thanks for your replies! I'm a little sorry I went about it this way now!

Thanks

Yes, you should be able to find a good 3 bedroom apartment in your price range. Make sure to keep in mind other expenses, such as monthly maintenance (which can be high, depending on the building), and parking (which will be expensive anywhere in Tokyo).

Remember that move-in costs can often equal 5 months worth of rent, as there are a ridiculous number of deposits which are often required. Many of these deposits will be non-refundable, but keep in mind that with the current housing market being what it is, you might be able to get some of those deposits waived. Make it clear to your agent that you don't want to be ripped off.