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

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.

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.

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

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;

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.

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.....

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.

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.

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.

In my experience, all supermarkets that close for a day each week did that. And there's a smaller version of it every night within the last 45 min - 1 hr before closing... perishable things get marked down, though not as much as the day before they're closed. So always shop just before the market closes, either for the night or for the next day, in order to save money.

about the perishables,.... japanese shoppers standards are so high that a slight blemish on a banana will consign it to the discount bin. in many cases you'll find stuff there just because it arrived at the shop the day before, or in the case of fish/meat it was put out during the day, but has been perfectly packed and chilled.

so alot of the stuff in the discount bins are incredibly fresh for anyone without the ridiculous standards of the japanese.

i just picked up 8 bananas for Y100, and that wasnt even in the discount bin, but they werent as pretty as the Y200 per banana ones.

the worst thing for your wallet is to start shopping like them and be suspicious of the discount bin. the old ladies know whats what.

and on another note, no way is it cheaper to eat out in tokyo than to cook yourself. if you shop like a moron then maybe yes.

but an average relatively cheap meal will cost you atleast 600-700 yen, and sometimes closer to or above the Y1000 range at a sit down joint. this is fast food ramen, where you get your own water.

conbini food is cheaper but not by that much,... youre talking 400-800 per obento plus a drink. but you could go the onigiri route for 90-150 per piece. it is incredibly good food though, and could be compared to japanese restaurant quality outside japan, but at a fraction of the cost.

one last shopping tip,... dont get everything from one place, thats how they get you. most decent sized cities are basically one big village, and theres bound to be a little market in every area, sometimes 5 minutes away from each other,.... certain things you can find much cheaper at those places.

check out the way the local housewives work here,... you'll find that they dont normally do a big shop once a week, but rather, you'll find that they shop and plan meals daily depending on whats fresh and cheap.

I second everything Trunker has said. That's really useful, common-sense stuff. Ten to one the fridge won't be big enough for a week's shop anyway. :)

Noted!

Thanks guys :D

I am glad to see this thread title hahaha u know, it depends
summary
the minimum allowance should be around 8-10 man/month :D
that is for house renting and food. To my case I ask for 14-18 for house rental and eating because I don't want to share room with anyone anymore
I want to have everything installed. then I need 6-7 man for oyatsu and soft drinks. 4-5 man to hang out with friends.
So totally I need 24-30 man/month. (22+30)/2=28 man/month
I still not count money to feed gals

It is a big shame for a business runner who "never" knows how "the other gal's lips in a bar taste" << this is just for young businessman. If someone is a businessman, he "should try this out" from time to time. His wife may not look as young anymore :)

as a student some years ago (ok, so it was quite awhile ago), i spent 80,000 yen/month. subtract 39,000 yen/month for rent and you have 41,000 yen/month left.