Is Japan Really Expensive?
I'm having fun in Las Vegas, getting plenty of relaxing time in by the pool as I slowly recover from having three major conventions in one month. I just love being able to send out our little J-List updates no matter where I am in the world -- this Internet thing is great.
Is Japan an expensive country? It's a difficult question to answer. While Tokyo is famous for its $50 melons -- which are actually sold in gift boxes to give to others on special occasions, not just eaten by average families -- it's difficult to say whether or not the cost of living in Japan is high or not. When I first arrived in Japan I carefully checked the prices I was paying at supermarkets, making a concerted effort to catalogue the various stores around me so I could figure out the best places to shop. It wasn't always easy comparing Japan to my home country, however. Often I felt the prices I was paying to be high, like $15 for a bottle of shampoo, but then I realized that the bottle was much larger than the $6 bottles I had been buying back home. A loaf of bread or a container of milk costs about the same in Japan as in San Diego, but the unit sizes are smaller -- bread in Japan is sold in half-loaves, because a full loaf would go stale before it could be eaten. One interesting feature of Japan is the near total lack of inflation, and only a few products cost more now than they did when I arrived in Japan in 1991, such as when Coca-Cola went from 100 to 120 yen per can. This isn't true of the U.S., of course, and going back home once a year or so enables me to see how prices crawl upward, something that almost never happens in Japan.
Prices in Japan can be high or low, depending on what you're buying.
posted by Peter in Japan at 7:02 PM
5 Comments:
Is it difficult to find work in Japan (in any area other than English teaching)?
2:14 AM
When I compare prices in Japan to here in Australia, I tend to find that prices in Japan are a lot more cheaper. Things from eating out, everyday groceries to even public transport. But I think one thing you would have to consider is the salary of a Japanese salaryman compared to one in the Western world. In most cases I find myself earning more than the average salaryman hence why when things in Japan seem so cheap, but perhaps for a Japanese, some things may seem expensive.
7:31 AM
I like how the Internet in Las Vegas around the hotels has to be bad (perhaps to force people with iPhones to relax) that I enter a reply to RyuuguuAzuma twice but it doesn't take. Anyway, yes, getting non-ESL jobs is the holy grail of anyone doing ESL work, and it's difficult since you need a rare skill plus excellent Japanese.
Adun, interesting. Yes, eating out is really cheap, I can get outstanding Indian for 1000 yen easily, I mean really good, but it'd be a $40 meal in San Diego.
8:44 AM
Reminds me of the American Enka singer, Jero. He went to Japan to pursue a career in old Japanese love ballads and worked as an ESL teacher. Then, landed a great white-collar gig, working as a computer technician(along with his excellent Japanese.) Now, he's reviving the genre and introducing it to a whole new generation. I guess guys like him are the envy of most Japanophiles. (You ain't doing too bad yourself, Peter. ^_^)
11:42 AM
I usually think that America (from Patagonia to Alaska) is a pretty cheap place comparing to the rest of the world, specially Europe and Japan. And when it comes to food the thing gets ridiculous for me, as food is extremely cheap in Brazil. Natural foods, like salads and fruits are so cheap we have an expression that goes more or less like "as cheap as bananas". It was quite terrifying to see two bananas costing 2 dollars in Aichi-ken! And considering the small apartments, rent is quite high in Japan as well, but that's understandable as it's such a tiny country.
6:54 AM
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