Needless to say, so many chances to get jobs where people concentrate. However, instead of that, demand of living place highly increases from the aspect of people’s supply and demand. This relation between job chances and living places is really trade-off.
The only people who can settle in the place where is walking distance from their work places are the ones who have quite sufficient assets that can much afford to pay very expensive rent that reflects demand hight even after deducting another expenses of every day living costs.
The other people who live modestly every day depending on monthly regular salary is driven to outside of the range of metropolitan and mostly to the neighboring prefectures.
However, in fact, there are also so many people who want to reduce commutation burden as much as possible every day in order to give priority to long-hour hard working. Responding this demand, share residence type apartment has increased on the outskirts of Tokyo. But even in this case, it is very difficult to keep paying rent unless whether you have have sufficient savings or you earn regular salary monthly.
In this article, I want to simulate how much costs you to live in Tokyo.
Contents
- 1 Living cost in Tokyo No1 “Rent”
- 2 Living cost in Tokyo No2 “utility expenses”
- 3 Living cost in Tokyo No.3 “Food expenses”
- 4 Living cost in Tokyo No.4 “Communication expenses”
- 5 Let’s make sure how much it costs you monthly to live in Tokyo (for living by yourself)
Living cost in Tokyo No1 “Rent”
You can see the average rent of each city of Tokyo from the following link
Market price of apartment rent in Tokyo (2019)
You can understand the tendency between room rental rate and residential location by the following rankings.
Basically, the closer to the metropolitan area where there are House of Parliament and Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office your apartment is located in, the more expensive the apartment rent becomes.
Here is evidence that rent in Chuo-ku where there are Ginza, Bank of Japan and Tsukiji market is most expensive in studio type room, which costs you 82,000 yen, which is the same rate of 3 bedroom type in Aoses-shi located in northern part of Tokyo.
The further away from the metropolitan area to both ends of east and west of Tokyo, apartment rent tends to become much cheaper. If you want to live in one of 23 wards of Tokyo by all means, you should choose where you live from Adachi-ku, Katsushika-ku, Edogawa-ku. Rental rate in those three wards are much cheaper than any other wards in even any room type.
Anyway, if you want to live in one of 23 wards of Tokyo, you should estimate monthly rent as 60000 yen to 70000 yen, which is minimum rate.
For those of who come from western countries, room size that you can rent at 60000 yen to 70000 yen is even quite small, I think. Its size is like 7 to 8 Tatami mat width.
This is one room type. Maybe, the same or smaller than the entrance hall of your house.
If you want to live in a wider room than this type room at 60000 yen to 70000 yen, you should contract with shared residence. Its public space is relatively wide enough to relief you from oppressive feeling at least. However, your private room becomes smaller than studio type room.
There are some people who think that some shared residence rental rate is possibly lower than regular single room in Tokyo. However, unfortunately, monthly rental rate is not really different between a shared residence and a regular apartment because a coupe of percents of monthly rent includes consumable articles for public use in the name of public miscellaneous expenses, which boosts the monthly rent. But considering expenses of consumable staffs are included in rent, your money is saved anyway….
Rankings of cheapest rent room in Tokyo
Studio type
| City | Rent | |
|---|---|---|
| Tama-shi(多摩市) | 43,000yen | |
| Hamura-shi(羽村市) | 43,000yen | |
| Akiruno-shi(あきるの市) | 43,000yen |
One bedroom type
| City | Rent | |
|---|---|---|
| Akiruno-shi(あきる野市) | 46,000yen | |
| Oume-shi(青梅市) | 47,000yen | |
| Hamura-shi(羽村市) | 47,000yen |
Two bedroom type
| City | Rent | |
|---|---|---|
| Akiruno-shi(あきる野市) | 57,000yen | |
| Oume-shi(青梅市) | 59,000yen | |
| Nshitama-gun(西多摩郡) | 59,000yen |
Three bedroom type
| City | Rent | |
|---|---|---|
| Akiruno-shi(あきる野市) | 67,000yen | |
| Oume-shi(青梅市) | 69,000yen | |
| Nshitama-gun(西多摩郡) | 70,000yen |
Four bedroom type
| City | Rent | |
|---|---|---|
| Akiruno-shi(あきる野市) | 77,000yen | |
| Oume-shi(青梅市) | 80,000yen | |
| Hamura-shi(羽村市) | 83,000yen |
Rankings of cheapest rent room in 23 wards in Tokyo
studio type
| City | Rent | |
|---|---|---|
| Edogawa-ku(江戸川区) | 56,000yen | |
| Katsushika-ku(葛飾区) | 57,000yen | |
| Adachi-ku(足立区) | 58,000yen |
One bedroom type
| City | Rent | |
|---|---|---|
| Katsushika-ku(葛飾区) | 62,000yen | |
| Edogawa-ku(江戸川区) | 62,000yen | |
| Adachi-ku(足立区) | 63,000yen |
Two bedroom type
| City | Rent | |
|---|---|---|
| Katsushika-ku(葛飾区) | 80,000yen | |
| Adachi-ku(足立区) | 83,000yen | |
| Edogawa-ku(江戸川区) | 84,000yen |
Three bedroom type
| City | Rent | |
|---|---|---|
| Katsushika-ku(葛飾区) | 96,000yen | |
| Adachi-ku(足立区) | 101,000yen | |
| Edogawa-ku(江戸川区) | 103,000yen |
Four bedroom type
| City | Rent | |
|---|---|---|
| Katsushika-ku(葛飾区) | 113,000yen | |
| Adachi-ku(足立区) | 119,000yen | |
| Edogawa-ku(江戸川区) | 124,000yen |
Various expenses when you rent a room in Tokyo
Fees to rent house and insurance are naturally considered prior to renting an apartment in Tokyo. The followings are general expenses when you rent an apartment in Japan.
- Deposit(0 to 3 month rent )
- Gratuity fee (0 to 2 months rent)
- Brokerage fee (1 month rent)
- Advance rent payment (1 month rent)
- Fire insurance (around 20,000yen)
- Key changing expense(around 20,000yen)
- Guarantor agency fee (30% of one month rent)
Deposit (敷金 “Shikikin”)
Deposit (security deposit) is called “Shiki-kin” in Japan. This expense is the one that carries return obligation which is given from a lessee to a lessor for the purpose of securing obligation on a lease contract when renting an apartment.
Lately, There are so many apartment owners that charge no deposit in order to attract more people to raise room occupancy rate. If you visit a major real estate agency, you could find so many apartments that propose 0 yen deposit as its selling point.
You may think you can save money without paying deposit when renting a room but generally, this deposit is assigned to clearing and reparation fee when you leave a room.
If you contract with an apartment that changes you no deposit, you need to pay cleaning and reparation fee depending on how much dirty your room is when you leave your room.
Generally, deposit rate is equivalent to 1 month rent. If you rent an expensive apartment, deposit rate goes to be expensive in proportion to its rent price. Basically, deposit rate is to fluctuate between 1 month rent to 3 month rent
Gratuity fee (礼金 “Reikin”)
This fee is to pay to an apartment owner with your gratitude. This is originally gratuity to an apartment owner providing a room for you to express your thankfulness and greeting prior to using a room from now.
In the first place, this fee was not included regularly in initial costs when an apartment owner rents an apartment to someone because this used to be paid voluntarily by lessor to an apartment owner’s favor.
These days, this gratuity fee has not been charged because renting apartment market is quite intense.
If gratuity fee is charged, its rate is generally equivalent to one month rent.
Advance rent payment
Advance rent payment is paying rent for the next month in advance when making rental contract. In Japan, it is very general to pay advance rent along with deposit and gratuity fee when concluding contract.
If you move into an apartment during the month you made a contract and rent is generated you should generally pay on a per diem basis rent from moving day to end of the month and advance rent for the next month.
Fire insurance
There are roughly two types of compensation in fire insurance, which are “building” and “household goods”. If you rent an apartment, you are the position of a lessor. Compensation for a lessor by fire insurance is applied to “household goods” if turning into a fire.
Moreover, just in case you room is on fire while you live in an apartment, if you are recognized to have no gross negligence about causing a fire, you are not liable for the damages according to Law Concerning Responsibility for Fire by Negligence.
If you have a mind giving up all your things damaged by fire, you may decide not to open a fire insurance.
However, you have obligation to restore room to its original condition when making a contract. If you are not liable for damages legally, you need to burden reparation fee for the damaged room by a fire. For that reason, even though this is voluntary insurance opening, this is a must insurance for you to take out. Generally, its price is 20,000.
Key changing expenses
As you can notice, it is totally security purpose to prevent your room from being trespassed by changing a key hole from the previous resident’s one to new one.
For regular type door, it costs you about 15,000 yen at the cheapest
For type of door with auto lock function, it costs you from 20,000yen to 40,000yen
Guarantor agency fee (保証金 “Hoshokin”)
The first difficulty that foreigners who start living in Japan for the first time face is to find someone who is willing to be a guarantor of your lease contract of an apartment. Almost all the apartments in Japan are required you to prepare a guarantor to avoid risks from moonlight flirting with overdue rent.
If you come to Japan for business purpose, your company will take care of your residence but if your are a student or working holiday maker who can’t count on anyone else to be a guarantor, you just try to take this issue to a senior of your workplace or to a teacher of your school
Even with the above trials, if you can’t find no one who is willing to be a guarantor, you just make sure if a guarantor company will handle this problem. A grantor company receives guarantor fee from a lessor and when you fall into solvency to your overdue rent, a guarantor company will pay your rent instead of you.
Market price of guarantor fee is 30 percent of one month rent and the same amount payment is generated when you renew the contract. There is generally screening to register a guarantor company. Lately, you have variety of guarantor companies which is very cooperative to foreigners who live in Japan for the first time.
You can get information about a guarantor company from rental apartment agencies.
Simulation of initial cost of an apartment in Tokyo
I want to simulate how much it costs you for the initial cost of an apartment in Tokyo. This time, I will calculate its total cost in case you rent a studio type room costing 70,000 monthly in Tokyo.
| Deposit(2 months) | 140,000yen |
|---|---|
| Gratuity fee(1 month rent) | 70,000 |
| Advance payment (1 month rent) | 70,000 |
| Brokerage fee (1 month rent) | 70,000 |
| Fire insurance | 20,000 |
| key changing expense | 20,000 |
| Guarantor fee | 21,000 |
| Sum | 411,000yen |
It is said that initial cost of an apartment is 6 times more than 1 month rent. If you rent 70,000 yen room, you need to prepare 420,000 yen at least, which means you have to prepare 6 month rent in other words.
You can of course find cheaper apartment than this simulated apartment, which charges you no gratuity fee and deposit and other expenses.
This is quite standard apartment initial cost.
Living cost in Tokyo No2 “utility expenses”
If you live alone, total monthly utility expenses are said to be about 10,000yen. You just check how much are the following utility expenses.
Water expense
Water expense standard for single person per month is about 3000 yen. Utility expense’s basic cost differs depends on the region but there is no big gap. It costs you 4000 yen per month at the most.
Basically, if you are single, water expense is charged within its basic rate unless you use water too luxuriously.
The most amount of water occupying its total amount is water used to your bathing. If you love taking shower, you just pay attention to how you use shower.
If you leave shower flowing, water expense will raise up in a flash.
Gas expense
Single person’s monthly gas expense is averagely from 3,000yen to 5,000yen
If contracting with two gas, it is much cheaper, which costs you 1,500 yen per month. However, an apartment owner has already contracted with a propane gas company, it costs you 7,000 yen per month at the most.
You should understand propane gas expense is closely two times more expensive than city gas expense. Just before deciding an apartment, you must make sure what kind gas you will use.
If your apartment bath type is the one heating up cold water saved in bathtub by gas, it costs you too much. If you want to save gas expense, you just make sure if your apartment’s hot water supply utility is a gas powered hot water heater or electronic water heater before contracting.
Electronic expense
Electronic expense differs depending on the season because the most electronic consuming appliance is an air conditioner. In the spring and autumn season that we have mild temperature and are not in need of an air conditioner, it costs you about 3000 yen.
But in summer and winter season whose temperature becomes extreme to either hot temp or cold temp, it costs you about 7,000 yen unless you have perseverance.
Going over 10,000 yen is pretty rare case but you can understand how much you will be charged if you leave an air-conditioner ON.
The point of saving your electronic expense is setting temp bit higher than usual in summer season and setting temp bit lower than usual in winter season.
Simulation of one month utility expenses
The following simulation data is based on my utility expenses. These are actual charged expense in January, 2019.
If you are a woman, it will cost you more expensive on gas and water expenses because of bathing time. Anyway, you should estimate 10,000 yen for utility costs per month.
| Water expense | 1,950 yen |
|---|---|
| Gas expense | 3,000 |
| Electronic expense | 2,200 |
| sum | 7,500 |
Living cost in Tokyo No.3 “Food expenses”
The following data expresses how much people spend money for food per month without eating out and buying alcohol. If you live in Japan steadily without yielding to temptation of dainty food and your favorite alcohol, you can save food expenses within 30,000 yen per month.
| Number of people per household | Food expenses (excepting eating out and alcohol costs) |
|---|---|
| Single | 26,425 yen per month |
| Two to three people | 47,135 yen per month |
| Average whole households | 56,717 yen per month |
However, there is no one in the world who expect amusement to everyday dietary life. Even if you are a protestant, you should occasionally make yourself happy with alcohol or luxury foods. So the following data is food expenses including that of eating out and alcohol.
| Number of people per household | Food expenses (excepting eating out and alcohol costs) |
|---|---|
| Single | 40,202 yen per month |
| Two to three people | 61,833 yen per month |
| Average whole households | 71,844 yen per month |
These surveys here is based on average household’s food expenses in entire regions all over Japan. So these are not an indicator showing household’s food expenses in Tokyo.
However, I live in Tokyo now and my food expenses per month is quite close to the single case of the second table data. By the way my food expenses are 39,500yen per month.
For those who plan to live in Tokyo, this data is quite useful to calculate your everyday expenses.
Living cost in Tokyo No.4 “Communication expenses”
| Land line (annually) | 24,086 yen |
|---|---|
| Mobile (annually) | 96,306 yen |
Communication expense in Japan is said to be the most expensive in the world. People around me who have a smart phone cost them mostly 10,000 yen per month.
Most of them contract with one of three communication giant in Japan, which are “SoftBank”, “AU”, “DOCOMO”. These three companies dominates 80 to 90 percent of base stations all over Japan and control its price to become higher.
10,000 yen for communication expenses per month is reflected to this background.
When you see the data of “Average household’s communication expenses per year in 2016”, mobile communication cost is 96,306 yen. If fixing it to monthly cost, it comes to be 8025.5. If you contract a plan costing you 8000 yen per month, you can use your mobile very comfortably.
There are some people who buy SIM provided by small to medium communication venture in order to reduce very expensive communication expense. However, instead of its cheapness, its communication condition is way worse than that of communication giants. Becoming disconnected while you talk to someone on the phone is quite frequent occasion depending on the communication venture.
If you want to use your mobile in the condition that you can pick up voice of someone you talk to clearly and web-surf without frustrating, you have no choice but contract with one of three communication giants.
If you want to save your communication cost by all means, you’d better buy a feature phone sold by these communication giants. It costs you around 3000 yen per month.
Internet expenses
I chose randomly three monthly internet data quotes of major internet communication companies. Flets Hikari is managed by NTT. SoftBak Hikari is a communication giant in Japan.
| House | Apartment | |
|---|---|---|
| Flets Hikari(East Japan) | 5,700 yen | 3,350 yen |
| Flets Hikari(West Japan) | 5,400 yen | 2,600 yen |
| SoftBank Hikari | 5,200 yen | 3,800 yen |
Monthly internet expenses is averagely from 2,500 yen to 4,000 yen if you live in an apartment. Of course, its price is changeable depending on the amount of data you use per month.
If you apply for internet connection to your apartment, you have to make sure if an internet connection line is already prepared in your apartment. If not in your apartment , an internet connection line needs to be installed from a utility pole outside. So this installation expense will be charged as an initial cost.
If you apply for wireless LAN, you need to buy a LAN receiver and other devices.
Let’s make sure how much it costs you monthly to live in Tokyo (for living by yourself)
| Rent (including management fees) | 70,000 yen + 5,000 yen | 75,000 yen |
|---|---|---|
| Utility expenses | 1950 yen (water) + 3000 yen (gas) + 2200 yen (Electronic) | 7,500 yen |
| Food expenses | If you don’t eat out or drink beer | 30,000 yen |
| Internet connection | 3000 yen | |
| Mobile communication expenses | 8,000 yen | |
| Insurance | National Health Insurance | 1,5000 yen |
| Diary things | Shampoo, detergent, tissue, etc | 5,000 yen |
| clothes | 5,000 yen | |
| Medical expenses | 2,000 yen | |
| Social expenses | Going on pub crawl, Karaoke etc… | 5,000 yen |
| Transportation expenses | for your commutation or going for an outing | 5,000 yen |
| Sum | 160,500 |
In addition to this, you also have payment of direct taxes such as residence tax, income tax, visa renewal fees, contract renewal for insurance you opened in your country before coming to Japan. These are not regular expenses costing you monthly on regular basis but you are obliged to pay some day.
Living cost is needed limitlessly as long as you find a reason to use. In Tokyo, there are so many temptation that attracts you to spend money. You might want to eat delicious food. You might want to buy nice clothes. So actually, living cost estimation is not really of use as a reference to your lifestyle in Japan.
The most important thing is how you can devise saving your living cost to survive in Tokyo. Even Japanese people living in Tokyo face a hard battle against how they can save their money somehow to survive.
There is no way to stop outgoings if you start living in Tokyo. Stable revenue from your work is the only way to ease your life in Japan anyway.