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It is a mixed bag: apartments can be pretty expensive, especially in Greater Tokyo area. Food is pretty cheap IMO. Taxis are prohibitively expensive, but railro

It is a mixed bag: apartments can be pretty expensive, especially in Greater Tokyo area. Food is pretty cheap IMO. Taxis are prohibitively expensive, but railroad system is really really good and compensates for that pretty well. But people don’t go to Japan because it’s cheap – it’s just a really nice place to live for some.

shiroiushi 2y ago
Apartments even in Tokyo are still quite cheap compared to today's rents in major American cities, and not needing to own a car also cuts living expenses massively compared to living in the US. Someone coming from a German city with good public transit might not think it's that cheap though. But a lot of digital nomads are Americans.
dagw 2y ago
apartments can be pretty expensive Poking around sites online it was quite easy to find apartments fairly centrally in Tokyo for $1000-1300/month if you were staying for 3-6 months. While that is far from cheap, I certainly wouldn't call it expensive in the grand scheme of major international cities.
- notpushkin 2y ago
  Actually yeah, sounds pretty reasonable. I haven't looked into it much yet myself – could you share some links where to start, please?
rwmj 2y ago
My relatives built a house in Tokyo which was absurdly cheap (£300K), but maybe I'm just used to London prices. As you get out of the major cities, akiyas can be basically "free", although will require a huge amount of time and effort to make habitable again.
wodenokoto 2y ago
I don't know what you are comparing against, but taxis are not expensive, though I wouldn't call them cheap either.
- notpushkin 2y ago
  > I don't know what you are comparing against Maybe it’s selection bias, but pretty much anywhere I’ve been lately taxi (or actually ride hailing) is at least pretty affordable. E.g. a half hour ride I took late at night in HK was US$30, and about US$10 in Singapore. In Tokyo it was $60.
famahar 2y ago
Apartments are way cheaper compared to other major US cities. They're probably smaller though but the convenience makes up for it. You can also find something as low as $300 in Tokyo if you are fine with a very long commute to the station. I used to have a sharehouse apartment in Shibuya for $600. Shared kitchen, bathroom and shower. It was pretty good considering I didn't spend much time at home other than to sleep.

shiroiushi 2y ago

Apartments even in Tokyo are still quite cheap compared to today's rents in major American cities, and not needing to own a car also cuts living expenses massively compared to living in the US. Someone coming from a German city with good public transit might not think it's that cheap though. But a lot of digital nomads are Americans.

dagw 2y ago

apartments can be pretty expensive Poking around sites online it was quite easy to find apartments fairly centrally in Tokyo for $1000-1300/month if you were staying for 3-6 months. While that is far from cheap, I certainly wouldn't call it expensive in the grand scheme of major international cities.

notpushkin 2y ago
Actually yeah, sounds pretty reasonable. I haven't looked into it much yet myself – could you share some links where to start, please?

rwmj 2y ago

My relatives built a house in Tokyo which was absurdly cheap (£300K), but maybe I'm just used to London prices. As you get out of the major cities, akiyas can be basically "free", although will require a huge amount of time and effort to make habitable again.

wodenokoto 2y ago

I don't know what you are comparing against, but taxis are not expensive, though I wouldn't call them cheap either.

notpushkin 2y ago
> I don't know what you are comparing against Maybe it’s selection bias, but pretty much anywhere I’ve been lately taxi (or actually ride hailing) is at least pretty affordable. E.g. a half hour ride I took late at night in HK was US$30, and about US$10 in Singapore. In Tokyo it was $60.

famahar 2y ago

Apartments are way cheaper compared to other major US cities. They're probably smaller though but the convenience makes up for it. You can also find something as low as $300 in Tokyo if you are fine with a very long commute to the station. I used to have a sharehouse apartment in Shibuya for $600. Shared kitchen, bathroom and shower. It was pretty good considering I didn't spend much time at home other than to sleep.