Yeah, I have a friend who just moved to Japan (and he's lived there before) who told me the same thing. Some friends and I ate lunch with him the day before he

Yeah, I have a friend who just moved to Japan (and he's lived there before) who told me the same thing. Some friends and I ate lunch with him the day before he left, and he mentioned that living in Japan isn't too expensive if you know where to live, and he knows how to only pay $300/month in rent. So I asked him if he meant capsule hotels. He told me what you said, and then he said that he meant hostels. Hostels are dirt cheap, even if you pay extra for a private room. You can probably live in Japan for less than $300/month rent if you're willing to sleep in the hostel's common area.