I really want to not only break down the cost of living in Japan, but I'd like to share my game plan for those of you who are stubborn like me and don't have the time or money to save up for Japan properly but still want to make it here in Tokyo anyway.
For more useful information on Japan checkout my YouTube channel.
* Please note that these playlists aren't completed yet so there will be more videos added to them in the very near future.
Please read my blog post here on the student visa process for information about the student visa process.
Preparing Your Finances
It is very important that you have a budget in place and enough money to survive in Japan for at least 6 months, but preferably for 1 year without working. You will go through your money rather quickly upon arrival as you won't know the best ways to save money, you'll make mistakes and have to learn through and from experience, and you also won't be capable of qualifying for a lot of regular "Japanese priced" things due to a lack of experience, needed documents or a lack of having the required visa ( or visa duration). Try to have at least 2-3 credit cards (secured credit cards are just fine too) as well as 2 or more close friends or family members that are reliable people whom can loan you money or cover an emergency flight back home should you run into some problems, become very ill or experience homesickness and regret your decision to study or move to Japan.What You'll Need Before You Arrive
Credit Cards: 2-3 Credit cards should be enough. You don't need to have a high limit! $300-$1,000 per a card is more than enough.
Cash: If possible I'd suggest having a minimum of $5,000 cash (spending money that won't go towards your tuition or books) on hand to exchange at the airport or later on.
Loan(s): Apply for 1-2 loans a student loan will cover all of your housing and educational expenses. A loan can be used to meet the $30,000 USD visa requirement as well. Technically you only need 2$5,000 but most schools prefer that you have even more to ensure that your visa will get approved and that you will be capable of paying your tuition to the school as well.
Prepaid Debit Card: I highly recommend using NetSpend. You can purchase a card from Walgreen or Walmart and it can be reloaded by phone, online, or at a local currency exchange without having the physical card on hand. All you will need is the debit card number to load the card. This way you can physically keep your debit card and your friends and family (whom you trust enough to tell your number that is) can instantly load money onto your card for just $5 or of course you can also use this card via PayPal online. You can use NetSpend's prepaid debit card to make purchases at Japanese stores and restaurants as well as to withdraw yen at international banks such as those found at most convenience stores and train stations throughout Japan.
Money Transfer Accounts: PayPal is the easiest and most practical account to use. However there are several Western Unions throughout Japan so you can choose to sign up for an account through this well known reputable company or you can also get a card with 7-Eleven bank that can be used to transfer money back to your home country.
Emergency Contact: 1-2 financial stable people that you are close to and can trust to send help, care packages and money as well as get you back home should you have any trouble in Japan.
5 Tips
1.) Create a detailed budget listing all of your expenses and salaries.
2.) Find 2 part-time jobs that are located near your home or school.
3.) Create an emergency fund of $2,000-$3,000.
4.) Learn Japanese during your spare time (you can get a higher paying job in some areas and fields).
5.) Get an apartment or a private room that comes with free water and internet/wifi.
Where Should You Work in Japan?
You can legally work just about anywhere on a student visa except for entertainment and nightlife or sex related establishments. I would personally recommend that you get a job at a conversation school because they offer a higher hourly rate than an international school. While you usually will work less hours you can make the same if not close to the same amount of money as a full-time teacher at a private international school. The pay varies but is usually $20-$30 an hour compared to the $10-$17 an hour that English cafes and private schools pay.While being salaried guarantees a stable flow of income if you do the math you are often being paid much less per an hour. Pick your poison!
How Much Should You Save in Japan?
Take baby steps! Once you get to Japan try to set up an account that is strictly for savings. Consider depositing or transferring just $50-$100 to this account every month. While it isn't much it adds up over time and can be extremely helpful in the event of an emergency or an unplanned vacation. It seems pointless but when you're broke and nearly homeless would you rather have $50 or $0?
How Much Money Will You Need?
Because everyone will attend a different school and choose to live in a different place I cannot tell you exactly who much it will cost you. If you eat a lot, waste a lot of water and electricity, choose to get a private apartment or a private room, or live with your boyfriend then obviously your expenses will differ.
The lowest amount of money that you'll need for a year in Japan is about $20,000 USD or roughly $1,500 a month. If you are coming over with credit cards, loans, and you are a native English speaker, native fluent, or if you can speak Japanese then you can of course find a part-time job and even teach your own students to make more money. You can use financial aid and student loans to cover your tuition and living expenses so take advantage of this but do keep in mind that this isn't free money and must be paid back.
You don't need to have this all at once in cash but of course it would be ideal. Realistically if you have the will power to find a job and you have loans on the way you can come to Japan with as little as $2,000 cash (spending money NOT including your tuition and housing expenses etc.).
The Cost of Living in Japan on a Student Budget
Before you start panicking and freaking out keep in mind that once again you can build your own credit at home, apply for loans, apply for scholarships and request an increase in your loans to cover your housing and transportation while in Japan. If you are working in combination with your loans you won't need to have a ton of money before you arrive here. This is not meant to scare you rather this blog post is to help you budget realistically.
Housing
There are tons of different housing options in Japan but the two most practical ones are living in a share house and having your own apartment. Homestay are expensive long term and they aren't long-term or permanent housing solutions so we won't talk about these here. Please keep in mind that there are no college dorms, but there are share houses in Japan. Japanese apartments in Tokyo are mostly older homes that cost about $800-$1,200 USD a month. They;re very small but so is everyone else's place in Tokyo so you won't feel left out or embarrassed.Share Houses (which are basically "public dorms") cost about $500-$1,200 USD and these are the best choice for housing by far. You can check out My YouTube Videos and playlists for my information on housing.
Water & Electric
Utilities are free/included in your rent at most dorms and even some apartments otherwise you can expect to pay about $100-$150 for your utilities per a month for your water and electricity. Most homes in Japan don’t have gas. and instead use electricity for their plug in window A/C units. Do also keep in mind that most apartments in Japan don't REALLY have vents (there's usually just one really small one), This can be both a good and a bad things deepening on the season.You can save money buy bundling up during the colder months as well as buying heated blankets, tables, chairs, and rugs. During the summer consider wearing sheer loose fitting clothing around the house as well as using your A/C on it's lowest setting for short periods of time. Spend less time at home and more time studying at your school or hanging out at the mall, library, train station, park, or a convenience store to cool off and cut back on your water and electric bill during the hot and humid summer months which can be brutal when you have practically no ventilation. If you stay at Sakura House you won't have a utility bill so you can use as much as you want free of charge, but you shouldn't abuse their kindness or be wasteful!
Internet/Phone Service
It is extremely easy to get lost in Japan and with a lack of street names and virtually no address on buildings having your own wifi is a must. Most convenience stores and train stations offer free wifi in 15-30 minute increments which can be convenient in the event of an emergency situation but realistically you'll want to have your own device so that you can travel freely without a fear of getting lost. Your wifi is helpful at school, while on a long train ride and of course when you're on your way to work, an interview, date, or meeting with a new private student.
Pocket wifi is about $20-$60 USD a month depending on your plan. There is no need for a Japanese phone number as it will almost never be used unless you have a full-time job or a Japanese apartment. Your internet will double as your phone bill since most people in Japan used LINE as their phone number. As long as you have data you can access the LINE app which is super fun and easy to use. It's like SKYPE & Facebook combined.
Transportation
If you stay at a share house that is located near your school you can either be walking distance from or just a couple of train stops away from your school. I personally only spent about $70 USD a month on transportation because I lived 1 stop away from my school. If you can ride a bike (which I can't) then you can invest in a bicycle and ride it to school for free or consider learning how to ride.Let's just estimate that your living in a cheap and convenient location in Tokyo and paying $200-$300 USD for transportation per a month.
Groceries
Unless you're a picky eater or an extreme health nut then you won't find groceries to be all that expensive as long as you eat the proper portion size and aren't supporting anyone else such as your own children. You'll spend about $300-$400 USD for groceries per a month. Now of course you'll have to be strategic and plan your meals in advance. You will have to turn down going out to eat and partying to save money for your bills. You won't be eating yakiniku and sushi every night but at least you're still living in Japan with food in your stomach, clothes on your back and a roof over your head.Before you can worry about your monthly expenses you'll have to handle all of the one time fees...
Estimated Total Cost College & Language School Students in Japan
There is no one size fits all cost for moving to Japan for school. the amount of money that you will need entirely depends on you. Different schools cost different amounts (tuition varies greatly) and depending on where you are flying from or what accommodation you choose the amount for these things can vary greatly. This is simply meant to be a general outline of what you can expect to pay to help you with your savings plans for your big move to Japan. Everyone will start from a different place so you may already have a passport and your family might be willing to give up their only luggage set to help you out but if you don't have these things it will become an additional cost and all of these fees can add up to be a pretty large amount of money quite fast.
Application Fee: $100-$200 (some schools don't have a fee)
Passport & Visa Sized Photos: $10-$30 (you can print your own from home for less or go to a convenience store)
Passport: $150-$200 (you can pay more like I did for extra pages)
Luggage (optional): $200-$300
Admissions/ Visa Application Fee: $300-$500 ( some schools don't have a fee)
First Semester's Tuition: $6,000-10,000
Airfare (non-stop/1 stop): $1,000-$2,000 (with a good airline & baggage fees included)
Hotel (layover accommodation optional): $150-$300
Transportation From The Airport: $10-$200 (depending on if you take a bus, a train or taxi
Move in Costs/ Reservations/First Month's Rent: $800-$3,000 (depends on if your accommodation requires a security deposit, reservation fees etc.)
Bicycle (optional): $150-$600 (the more you spend the fancier and sturdier the bike just like a car)
You will basically need close to $10,000 in order to move to Japan as a student. The good thing is that unlike your monthly expense these are all one time fees. You can also pay for these things over a long period of time and some of these items you may either already have or you can simply ask your friends, family, or boyfriend/girlfriend to cover the cost for you. For example my brother paid for my flight and suitcase.and my mother paid my application fee. I also had my dad pay for my overweight luggage and some of my toiletries like makeup and skin care products.
I went a period of time where I only had $800 or less to spend due to poor planning, being unemployed and behind on my rent so don't freak out! You can most certainly survive here with much less than $2,500 a month, but it WILL feel like survival. Most of the foreigners that live in Japan are single (at least in my experience they have been) and they only make $2,000-$2,500 a month (before taxes). If you individualize your budget then you'll probably spend more money on somethings like your health insurance or laundry and less on groceries and transportation. The point is that you don't want to come to Japan just to survive (I mean do you really want to be poor in a foreign country?). You want to be able to live a quality life. Nothing's worse than having headaches from water fasting and diarrhea from being on an all curry with no rice diet.
Let's Do The Math
If you're coming to Japan on a survival budget then you probably won't be living comfortably, but you still need a game plan so let's round everything up to the nearest $10,000 to make things easier and to give you a budget with some wiggle room.You'll spend approximately $500 USD on your rent a month
Your utilities will cost you an additional $100 USD a month
Your internet will cost about $20 USD a month
You'll spend about $200 USD on transportation
You'll spend roughly $300 USD for groceries
That's $1,120 USD if you were to be frugal and save as much as possible you'd only have an extra $380-$500 a month (if you don't have pocket wifi or a utility bill and you ride your bike to work and school) which would then probably be used to cover miscellaneous expenses that vary each month such as toiletries, entertainment, clothing, laundry, cab fare, your emergency savings, an unexpected visits to a clinic due to illness etc..
We can estimate that to live in Tokyo, Japan while taking the most realistic yet cheapest route possible you'll still need about $1,500 a month, $10,000 for 6 months, or about $20,000 for 1 year (give or take a little).
Understanding Your Savings
Keep in mind that this $10,000 is NOT really meant to be lived off of but it can be. Think of it as an unemployment check to yourself. It won't last forever and is simply meant to help you get by until you can find another job. This is money strictly for you and not for paying your school's tuition or for your flight to Japan. You will need to make a separate budget for that.
You will spend this $10,000 very fast especially if you don't take job hunting seriously or if you decided to liv win Tokyo instead of Osaka, Kyoto, or Kobe.In all honesty it is indeed possible to live off of just this $10,000-$20,000 (a lot of teachers here only make $15,000-$25,000 a year), but your life will be miserable and you'll be living in poverty. YOU HAVE TO GET A JOB unless you have a spouse, friends, or family that have the money and love you enough to financially support you and your dreams 100%.
If you don’t get a job and just live off of your savings then you’ll be eating incomplete meals like just a riceball with nothing else and canned or boxed food 99% of the time if you have just this amount and aren’t working or using loans in combination with the money you have saved up.
Another Route to Take...
Reoccurring Monthly Expenses
If you are coming to Japan with more money and a bit more experience and will power then you can afford to live a more normal life here thus we will make your budget for groceries, rent, and utilities higher. Some of these expenses such as your utility bill will vary or simply be non-existent depending on where you were to live. This is simply an estimate of your expenses for each month that you're living in Tokyo, Japan with a more realistic budget.
Rent: $900
Utilities: $200
Pocket Wifi: $20
Transportation: $300
Groceries: $500
Toiletries: $100
Cleaning Supplies: $25
Laundry: $50
Entertainment & Clothing: $130
Health Insurance: $20
*Tuition $5,500-$8,000 per a semester (due every 3-4 months)
* You'll pay about $3,000-$6,000 one time only move in fees
$2,500 is about how much money you will need to live comfortably in Japan (not including your quarterly tuition fees). As a student you will probably have half of this to live off of because you aren't working full-time so you will have to be much more frugal. This means relying less on trains, eating meals that aren't so fancy, hand wash your clothing, conserving energy and water, and of course not going out for shopping, sight seeing, partying and dates so much especially if you're going to be the one paying.
The Importance of Employment
Because your money won't last forever and if you're human you are bound to make mistakes and splurge at time then you will need a somewhat secure and stable flow of incoming money.
You will need to get a part-time job BEFORE your money runs out. The $10k is cushion money ( again think of it like an unemployment check or emergency savings). You don’t want to wait until your savings is entirely gone before you start looking for a job and you don’t want to spend more than you have to, so the goal is to get employed ASAP but because that’s not easy for everyone you’ll never money to live off of in the event that you struggle to get a job for a few months (so you won’t be starving or homeless or having to drop out and go home). If you’re like most people you’ll find it a little hard to get your first job here especially if you’re on a student visa, you can’t speak Japanese at an N2 level, and if you aren’t a native English speaker.
Don't Get Discouraged!
I didn't come to Japan with $20,000 in cash in my pockets. I came here with several thousands dollars. I eventually got financial aid and student loan money as well. I also had credit cards too. After a few months I got my first part-time job, and then finally I began teaching my own private students. If you're smart you won't come to Japan with less than $10,000 cash. Keep in mind that when I say cash I mean your own spending money. Your tuition at a university here alone will be about $10,000 (not including your books) for the first semester and then you'll pay about $7,000 for each semester after that.
You need at least about $1,500 USD a month to survive in Tokyo. Your total costs for needs will probably be about $1,100 USD a month, that is if you can be extremely frugal and cut back on things, but because you will need to do laundry, go out to eat, purchase clothing or furniture, and enjoy some for of entertainment that isn’t free we can estimate that even with the lowest rent possible in Tokyo you’ll still probably spend an extra $400ish USD.
Get a part-time job at a cafe, convenience store, or an English conversation school ASAP. You CAN legally work part time with permission from immigration just fill out a short application.
In addition to this job teach your own private English lessons both online and in person for about 2,000 yen (roughly $20USD). Try to aim for at least 5 lessons per a week for 1 hour. That’s 10,000 yen ( or$100) a week which is almost enough to pay your rent each month!
Opt for living in a share house.
Choose a place that is close to your school (preferably 1-2 train stops away).
Invest in buying and registering a bicycle. Ride your bike whenever possible.
Stop over eating! Eat slowly. Cut back on your meat portions and eat more rice while drinking more tea and water. Exercise at the beginning and end of your day.
Purchase cheap groceries like rice, curry, ramen, bread, cereal, peanut butter and jelly, onigiri, eggs, salad, spaghetti, and stir fry to stretch your meat while also incorporating vegetables.
Bring your own lunch to work and school & eat breakfast at home.
Get a discounted monthly train pass ASAP with your student visa and ID.
Find your own private students to teach English lessons to during the weekend and weekday evenings.
Take advantage of "Sayonara Sells" and get free furniture, appliances, and clothing.
Purchase used books from your classmates or download a digital copy for free or for cheap online.
Let's Recap What We Talked About!
You need at least about $2,000 in cash (for survival money) if you have student loans and financial aid on the way, you're willing to be on your grind and find a job fast, and if you have credit cards. Remember this is NOT money for paying bills or rent, but it i money to survive BEFORE your direct deposit kicks in and you receive your check for your loans and your paycheck from your job.
Realistically you don't want to come here with less than $10,000 because you don't know how long it will take you to find a job, you might have issues with receiving your financial aid, and you may come across an unexpected expense. Don't take any chance and take your time saving money.
If you don't already have a job then consider learning how to buy or create things to be sold on Amazon, eBay, or Etsy. You can also babysit, offer lawn or repair services, drive for Lyft or Uber, or take a certification course to get a more skilled job and increase your salary/wages. Consider becoming a nurse aid or a pharmacy technician. There is a lack of much needed men so don't feel embarrassed! There are male nurses and techs too!
Thank you so much for reading! I wish you the best of luck and I hope that you'll be blessed with
Do you have any more tips and advice for creating a budget as a student in Japan? If so please leave a comment down below or send me an email.
Stay Tuned!
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