How Much does it Cost to Move to Japan—Cost Breakdown and Budgeting

How much it costs to rent an apartment in Japan

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Let’s start with your biggest expense, renting an apartment. There are cheaper ways to do this, such as going with a foreigner friendly company such as Leopalace or getting a sharehouse, but even with these options you will have to pay the basic expenses. These include:

• First months rent
• Deposit
  • Usually worth 1-2 months of rent. Generally don’t expect to get it all back
• Fire insurance (generally mandatory)
  • Generally 20,000 to 40,000 yen for 2 years
• Guarantor fee
  • Usually equivalent to 1 months rent (but sometimes only 50% of 1 months rent)

These are all pretty self explanatory except maybe the guarantor fee. A guarantor fee is basically a fee you pay a company for them to take liability for if you really mess up a place and don't pay for it, or generally skip town without paying your rent. Real estate company's and landlords make you pay for this because then if either of the above happens, the guarantor company will pay on your behalf and then they will try to find you instead of the realtor company having to.

The only way to get around this is to have someone who is a Japanese citizen or permanent resident who lives in the country to cosign for you (likely not possible as usually only someone’s parent or grandparent would do this for you). You don’t get this money back and if you re-sign the contract you may have to pay it again. 

But that’s not all! For most apartments, you will have at least some, if not all, of the below move in costs as well to start a contract:

• Agency fee
• Lock exchange fee
• Cleaning fee
• Key money 

What are all of these fee’s?!

The agency fee is what you have to pay the real estate agency who showed you the apartment. Usually it’s equivalent to one month’s rent and you don’t get it back.

The lock exchange fee is the fee they charge to change the lock on the apartment when someone new moves in. Usually not too expensive, around 15,000 yen.

The cleaning fee is, well, for cleaning. Sometimes since the devastating years of the early 2020’s they also try to tack on disinfectant fee’s as well. Usually these cost 30,000 to 50,000 yen, but it can vary a lot.

Then the key money—the worst part in my opinion. This is a gift of one or two month’s rent extra that you just give your new landlord for the pleasure of renting their place… seriously. The theory is that it’s a leftover relic from when after WWII Tokyo didn’t have enough housing for everyone due to the damage from the war, so people had to bribe landlords to let them live there. At some points in history apparently it went up to even a year’s worth of rent. Unfortunately, this practice hasn’t died out and it’s more than likely you will have to pay this fee. 

So how much is rent? You can find places as low as 20,000 yen per month. I’m serious. But they will be in generally terrible locations and be extremely small (10 square meters, shared bathroom). If you want a decent location and your own kitchenette and bathroom, expect to pay at least 60,000 yen per month in just rent in the major cities, or slightly less if you're in the countryside. I would budget for 70,000 yen per month just in case.

Also note that leases are generally two years long, so if you plan to stay for less and are budgeting for the year, also budget in having to pay a fee to break the contract (again, usually one to two months rent)

Here's two sample 'total move in cost' calculations below to show the best and worst case scenarios you might face:

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The best case scenario for move in fees

Rent: 60,000 yen

Deposit: 60,000 yen

Fire insurance: 20,000 (lasts 2 years)

Guarantor fee: 30,000 (lasts 2 years)

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Total: 170,000 yen

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The worst case scenario for move in fees

Rent: 70,000 yen

Deposit: 70,000 yen

Fire insurance: 40,000 yen (lasts 2 years)

Guarantor fee: 70,000 yen (lasts 2 years)

Agency fee: 70,000 yen

Lock exchange fee: 15,000 yen

Cleaning fee: 50,000 yen

Key money: 140,000 yen

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Total: 525,000 yen

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So, as you can see, the costs vary drastically. And unfortunately, you will probably pay closer to the second price versus the first. For the sake of this calculation, I recommend expecting to spend 400,000 yen minimum. 

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How much are utilities in Japan

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Once you have a house, you need gas, electricity, water and internet. Electricity is the most expensive, and is going to heavily depend on how much you use your A/C or heat. But for a regular sized, single person apartment (16 - 20 square meters) I would expect to pay 6000 yen for the combination of water, gas and electricity in the months where you don’t use the A/C or heat very much, but up to 15,000 yen for the months where you do. 

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As for internet, this can depend a lot. Sometimes, you have to pay for cable installation to start a contract. This can cost from 15,000 to 30,000 yen as an up front cost. I have never had to pay this. But after that, monthly internet isn’t that expensive. I pay as a part of my rent because it was cheaper, so I pay 2,500 yen per month. Most contracts seem to be 3000 to 3500 yen per month. 

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How much is furnishing an apartment in Japan

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This really depends on what you consider a necessity, but it can be really cheap. I would recommend having 40,000 yen for the low end, and then it just goes up from there. Realistically, I think most people will spend around 100,000 or more because they will also want a desk, chair, TV, lighting, fan, hair dryer, so many things, but the most basic costs to consider below:

• Single Mattress: Nitori for around 9,000 yen
  • Or a futon, something like this
• Bedding: 5000 - 15,000 yen
• Drawers: 10,000 - 25,000 yen
• Towels: 800 yen (plus) per towel 
• Bed frame: Ikea or Nitori for about 14,000 yen 
• Cutlery and plates: Buy second hand or from Daiso, 100 yen per item/set
• Pan: 1000 yen
• Microwave oven: Hitachi is really popular but they are 23,000 yen. You can find a decent option though for around 10,000 on Amazon, OR Sayonara Japan
• Initial cleaning/hygiene supplies: 10,000 yen
  • You need more than you think starting out. Think soap, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, toilet paper, laundry soap, disinfectant, sponges, drain cleaner, some kind of mop/vacuum/broom combination, etc. 

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You could survive with just the above stuff for quite some time if you want to keep the costs down, but there are other options. I HIGHLY recommend joining the two below Facebook groups. Even if you haven’t used Facebook in years, if you want to get some cheap/free stuff, these two groups will be your godsend. 

• Tokyo Sayonara Sale
• Mottainai Japan

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How much do groceries cost in Japan

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Groceries in Japan are not that bad! At least not compared to where I’m from (Canada). Most things are pretty cheap, and it’s possible to eat really affordably as long as you aren’t buying imported products. Some sample prices below from my grocery store today:

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6 pack of eggs: 220 yen (1.41 USD or 1.30 EUR)

Bread with 5-8 slices (same size loaf, just bigger or smaller slices): 180 yen

500 g of ground beef: around 600 yen

Clove of garlic: 98 yen

1 avocado: 149 yen

1 pork steak: 349 yen

Head of lettuce (the kind of purple kind): 198

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I’ll add to this over time, but if I am cooking something cheap, I can make it for under 500 yen. Think pasta or any rice dish. But usually, I spend about 1200 - 1500 yen for one meal that usually includes leftovers, or 2000 yen if I'm cooking for two people. But, this is not the cheapest way to live. 

Weirdly, buying pre-made meals is usually way cheaper than actually cooking yourself. I love cooking, so I do it anyways, but I’m not saving money. Pre-made meals usually cost between 350 to 600 yen. However, they often go on sale (mainly, after 8 pm) so you can get them for up to 50% off. This means you can get a full, pre-made meal after 8pm for as low as 200 yen. 

If you’re on a serious budget, this is how you can make it work. And there’s loads of options, so it doesn’t even really feel like you are sacrificing much. 

All in all, I would save 8000 yen for basic food per week on the low end, but realistically somewhere around 15,000 per week is more likely, particularly if you're living alone and have no one to split costs with. 

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How much does a phone plan cost in Japan

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Not much! Again, especially compared to my home country. My phone plan costs 3060 yen (19.50 USD or 18 EUR) per month. I get 10 GB’s of data, and 5G connection. I also get some calling hours and texts, but no idea how much and I never use them anyways. 

If you want to learn more about getting the phone plan I have, check out my blog on moving to Japan, but basically it’s through GTN mobile and I highly recommend them. 

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How much does entertainment cost in Japan

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Entertainment in Japan varies a lot depending on what you want to do, but there are always cheap and free options out there! Once of my favourite parts about moving to Tokyo is the never ending amount of things to do. So here are some sample costs for some of the activities you might want to do:

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Eating and Drinking

• Nomihodai/Tabehodai (all you can eat and all you can drink for 2-3 hours): 4000 yen
• Average dinner and drinks at an izakaya: 3000 - 5000 yen
• Average dinner with no drinks at a basic restaurant: 1200 - 4000 yen
• Draft beer at a regular bar: 200 - 600 yen
• Craft beer: 800 - 2000 yen
• Basic cocktails: 400 - 800 yen
• Fancy cocktails: 1200 - 2200 yen
• Omakase sushi: 10,000 - 30,000 yen
• Sushi train: 3000 yen
• Izakaya seating charge: 300 yen
• Bar seating charge: Check before entering, especially if it’s a Snack
• Convenience store coffee: 100 - 300 yen
• Coffee at a nice cafe: 500 - 1200 yen

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Concerts and Festivals

• Local band at a live house: 3000 - 4000 yen
• One day at a big festival: 12,000 - 25,000 yen
• Three day music festival: 25,000 - 60,000 yen
• Top 40 concert: starts at around 8000 yen

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Cultural Activities

• Fireworks shows: Free! (Unless you want to pay for a seat)
• Natsu Matsuri (Summer festival): Free!
• Tea ceremony: 4500 - 8000 yen (average)
• Sumo: 3500 - 20,000 yen
• Museum entrance: 1000 - 4000 yen
• Staying at a Ryoukan: 10,000 - 50,000 yen (plus) per person per night
• Karaoke: 3000 - 4000 yen per person

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Movies, Games and Arcades

• Movie: 1800 yen (ish)
• Esports cafe: 1000 yen for 3 hours (goes up from there)
• Arcades: 100 yen per turn 

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Clubbing

• Entrance: 3000 yen
• Entrance if a known artist is playing: 5000 - 8000 yen 
• 1 drink: 700 - 900 yen
• Water: 300 - 500 yen (generally NOT free and no tap water offered)
• Bottle: 22,000 yen (plus)

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Getting around

• Buses: around 220 yen
• Trains around 120 - 500 yen for most trips within your chosen city
• Taxi's: first 2 km's are 730 yen, then it goes up fast from there (be wary, cabs are expensive and also cost more at night)

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You can live in Tokyo for really cheap if you go to mostly free events, have a lot of picnics, etc. but it doesn’t cost that much to also go out with friends a couple times a month! On the lowest end, I would budget 5,000 yen per week, but realistically 10,000 yen per week. 

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The total cost to move to Japan

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Most jobs pay you at the end of the month for the previous months' work. This means you won’t get a pay cheque until the end of your second month here at the earliest if you start working on the day you arrive. So at minimum, you need to be able to move here and survive for two months with no pay cheque. But really, you should really bring some money for extra expenses or emergencies just in case, so let’s say you should arrive being able to move in and support yourself for four months. 

In this scenario, it would cost you, at the absolute minimum which would be very difficult to accomplish, around 635,000 yen (about 4200 USD or 3850 EUR). I would not recommend coming with only this amount. Because if you look at the higher end of my estimates (which are not high, they are just more realistic in my opinion), it would cost you 1,171,240 yen (about 7500 USD or 6900 EUR).

With this information in mind, I recommend coming with no less than 1,000,000 yen if you have a job lined up. If you don’t have a job lined up, consider at least 1,500,000 yen or more. 

Other things that will affect your budget to consider:

• The more expensive of an apartment you get, the higher the move in costs will be
• The bigger your apartment is, the higher utilities will be
• If you work from home, your utilities will also be generally higher
• Your work will reimburse your transportation costs, but not until your first pay check
• If you have payments you still need to make back home (student loans, credit card payments, child support, etc.)
• Childcare
• Residence taxes (payable after your first year based on the previous years salary)

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Final thoughts? Make sure you have a detailed budget that will work for you, and that you can survive without payment for at least 4 months even if you have a job lined up. This is just an outline based on my estimations and experience, but everyone’s budget will be different! 

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For more information on how to move to Japan, check out my How to Move to Japan blog! Or moving to Tokyo? Check out my Tokyo Neighborhood Guide to find the best neighborhoods in the city to live. And lastly, good luck on the move! It’s an adventure, and the planning is all going to be worth it one day. 

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Wander on ✨

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