its cheap in japan!

[Spud_Hed]

yes you heard me right, im planning to go to tokyo backpacking in summer so i decided to check out the prices of everyday items, so i checked out the price check tokyo website and was stunned to find that almost everything is roughly the same price or cheaper in japan, especially cigarettes which work out to roughly ｣1.40 a pack rather than the ｣5 ish here in the uk, and they told me it was pricey!

[Brooker]

London is just about as expensive as Tokyo. Japanese cigarettes are about the cheapest thing compared to things here in The States, but other items are a lot more expensive. I don't think Japan is as bad as most people think, you just have to be careful about how you spend.

[Mal]

It's cheap for you because you are in the UK. For me its a freaking nightmare. But then again I hate UK prices on some items as well :)

One of my most terrifying experiences was going to the grocery to get some food for dinner and then on my way home doing some mental conversions and just realizing how much money I had actually spent. :D

Hmm, come to think of it most sundry items are of comparable prices, I suppose my biggest complaint is the food. All the food in Japan costs more than it does here in the United States.

Btw, how does one go backpacking in Tokyo? Do you camp out in the parks? :)

[Spud_Hed]

if only m8, there are hostels around tokyo for about 38000 yen a month or ill grab capsule hotels and as for eating cheap thats no problem, i live on plain rice and pasta here anyway, im lucky to spend more than 10 quid a week on food (yes i eat like a sparrow usually only every other day), think my main expenses will be the cigs (for you US guys a pack of 20 cigs is the eqivalent of almost 10 dollars here!), beers and general fun, i was just amazed that i can get a room (in a gaijin house) with bills included in tokyo for less than i pay for a tiny room here with bills as extra, if only i could get a job there id stay!

[Mal]

Dude, you do not want to live in a gaijin house. Trust me on this one. I met a girl once at a conversation coffee house that was staying at one and I came over to her place one day to pick her up for a date - she was staying at a gaijin house.

It was like... Imagine if a 40 pound rat and a 40 pound cockroach fell in love and then decided to throw a giant party at this house. After having copious amounts of fluid spurting sex, they then invited 20 of their closest giant rat and cockroach friends to come over and have a mass orgy of defication and puss spewing. After that, they all got tired and fell asleep. The next morning their bloated and slime filled carcasses then split open, releasing hundreds of thousands of tiny vermin to scurry and hide within the walls, waiting for the opportune moment to crawl inside some hapless gaijins mouth and unleash a corpsculent filled egg sack of evil.

Needless to say I offered to put this poor thing up in my place until she could find better accomodations. She practically broke down in tears she was so happy.

So like, yeah. Stay away from the Gaijin houses.

[Brooker]

I lived in a gaijin house in Tokyo and it wasn't bad at all. Not luxury, but I didn't want luxury, just a place to sleep. I don't think I ever saw any cockroaches inside. I had a nice little tatami room. It wasn't much of a good place to hang out, but I didn't spend much time there anyways.

I would recommend staying in hostels. Cheap. Check this out for more info...
Japan Youth Hostels (http://www.jref.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11968)

[Spud_Hed]

thanks for the warning but im expecting to rough it mate, my budget wont allow me anything else, and i really want to go (a lifelong dream), if i thought i could get away with sleeping on the streets i would, plus im a master of the "adapt and survive" theory of life. ive been saying ill go for the last 10 years, and i got a fair size tax rebate thatll pay my flight with a bit left over so i decided its time i put some action to the words, no matter the cost (and that includes selling the entire home cinema setup i worked my *** off for 5 years to buy)

@ brooker

thanks for the link m8, there are more than i thought :cool:

[Mal]

I would recommend staying in hostels.


For me, this would be pretty bad too. I stayed at one overnight once on a trip Hiroshima and I really didn't like it that much, but mostly because of the restrictions in place. It was hard for me to accept, especially being a very independant person (I have lived on my own since I was 15).

I think if you wanted to experience the night life in a big city like Tokyo it would be pretty rough as well because of the mandatory check in times and usually you need to be inside by 10 or 11, right?

You know I never checked into this, but are there people who take short term borders? Like 1 or 2 month durations? Where I live (SF Bay area) there are plenty of places that will let you buy a room fairly cheap for just a few weeks.

Every time I've been in Japan I've always been put up in a company apartment, so really I don't know much about the situation except for my one hostel stay and the encounter I had with the frat house from hell. :D

[Brooker]

Some people who want to party late and then crash for a while sleep at internet cafes. They usually have private cubicles with comfy chairs that recline, or a couch for a few dollars more. Not to mention they have free (non-alcoholic) drinks and you can order food. I miss the internet cafes in Japan. Nothing like that here.

[Spud_Hed]

again fortunatly like food i dont sleep too much, usually two to three hours a night so i could save myself a few nights cost like that, my chances are looking better all the time! Thanks for your help guys, i really appreciate it :thankyou:

[Mal]

again fortunatly like food i dont sleep too much, usually two to three hours a night so i could save myself a few nights cost like that, my chances are looking better all the time!


Good lord man. It's been proven that Sleeping and Eating are two out of three of the best things in life. The third one of course probably being unmentionable in decent conversation ><

[PopCulturePooka]

Actually I lived in nice, clean gaijin house for over a year. Most residents were a bit older then those found in other gaijin house and the place was clean, well maintained and friendly.

Also only 25 minutes from Tokyo.

Good place.

[Mal]

Actually I lived in nice, clean gaijin house for over a year. Most residents were a bit older then those found in other gaijin house and the place was clean, well maintained and friendly.


I think it pretty much depends on two things:

1) Is your landlord a "landlord" or a "slumlord". Some of these guys care very little for their property and do the minimal amount of maitenence needed to keep it from being torn down.

2) Are your housemates a bunch of unhygenic, nerdy otaku who wouldn't know a bar of soap if it hit them in the face?

Also I'm really not kidding about that house, it was a veritable cesspit. Barely functioning septic system, mold all over the place, water damage on the roof, vermin in the walls. Absolutely disgusting.

[PopCulturePooka]

Dude I agree.
I went to one gaijin house at Tama Plaza (which has a few) and the place was a dive. My ex room-mate told me it was this pumping party place, full of cool gaijin and Japanese. He might have been right but they also never cleaned the place, there were people coming and going that the house manager didn't know and there were a lot of drugs going round there (I'm not opposed to drugs, but not under my 'roof).

Went to the joint at Aobadai and was very impressed. It was quiet the night I went, and the few people down in the kitchen cooking dinner were having fun, but were cleaning up after themselves and keeping the noise down. Everything was great.

In fact the biggest criticism I had of the place was it was next door to quite a large kindergarten.


But I wholey endorse First House Aobadai (google it) to anyone wanting to live within a fair distance from Tokyo or Yokohama.

[Hiroyuki Nagashima]

A cheap inn of Tokyo http://www.jah.ne.jp/~otomari/amap.html
http://www.spocom.net/open.html
The inn where facilities are new and
near to a station.
http://www11.ocn.ne.jp/~fukusen/
A tap of Fukusen is very kind.
In addition, a shopping district is near, too

[Hiroyuki Nagashima]

Besides Tokyo
There are many free campground and rider houses in Hokkaido.
http://www.hatinosu.net/camp/hokkaido.html

http://www.tabikaze.net/R-house/RH-MENU.html
http://www35.tok2.com/home/sala/index.htm

[budd]

"yes you heard me right, im planning to go to tokyo backpacking in summer "
buy let's go japan
isbn 0-312-32007-8

[Hiroyuki Nagashima]

A method to save the food expenses :cool:
In a closing supermarket just before that, side dish and BENTOU become half price
In addition, a shopping district is the same, too.
But it is necessary for a supermarket to be careful because there is a place opening until the middle of the night.
(there is a place opening until 22:00)
A shopping district closes at about 19:00.
At a personal store of a shopping district, YAKITORI or TONKATU are sold
A bakery is cheap at closing time, too.
Have you negotiate and reduce the price.
Japanese || "MAKETE KUDASAI"
With a smile :bluush:
You can do sampling of food at an underground food counter of a department store.
A note :okashii:
A rucksack does not last.
dressed in clean clothes :blush:

[Hiroyuki Nagashima]

In Taito-ku of Tokyo, I run a circulation bus. :cool:
It is 100 yen.
A ticket is 300 yen for one day.
It is convenient to go to Ueno and Asakusa.
http://www.oh-edo-taito.com/megurin/megurin.html

http://www.aoyagi-masayuki.com/

[Brooker]

It's the same with apartments. Just check the place out before deciding. If it's nasty, look elsewhere.