Living Expenses in Japan

I began taking data a few days after I started living in residence in Japan to figure out what it costs to live in Japan. Since I was living in Canada and at home, I never really knew how much it costs to live on my own. For the past month, I've been collecting data on all personal expenditures and categorized them. I am also currently working on my report writing skills in Japanese and working on a short report which I am going to translate in to Japanese. Excerpts from my short report follows:

Procedure

Expenditures are separated into 6 categories: Food, Goods, Transportation, Room, Services and Entertainment. A brief summary of each category is provided below:

Food -- Groceries, Restaurant expenses, snacks
Goods -- Any objects purchased
Transportation -- Bus, Train, Taxi, Ferry, Gas,
Room -- Rental fee, Utilities, Repairs
Services -- Cell Phone, Internet, Washing machines, gym subscription
Entertainment -- Movies, Travel, Sports, events

Expenses are recorded by date in an Excel Spreadsheet with the type, description, cost and notes on the expenses are noted.

An excel script is used to calculate the total cost for each category and the results are presented in a pie and bar graphs.

Results

The break down of expenses is the following:

Food - 27,225 yen
Goods - 35,467 yen
Transportation - 1,780 yen
Services - 650 yen
Room - 13,752
Entertainment - 4,945 yen

Discussion

3 weeks of data for the month of April (22 days) has been collected and probably represents the majority of expenditures for this month. A total of 83,819 yen was spent this month.

Food expenditures were 1,237.5 yen/day. During the first month, it took approximately 10 days for me to purchase cooking utensils resulting in me eating out during the first 10 days. I expect food expenditures for the next month to drop to 1,000 yen/day for the next month.

Goods expenditures totaled 35,467 yen. Non consumable goods including items such as a microwave, rice cooker, plates, eating utensils and etc amounted to 26,354 yen for this month. Goods expenses for next month are expected to drop by approximately 20,000 yen for next month now that most one time costs have been paid.

Transportation costs for the month were 1,780. Costs for transportation this month were mainly due to bussing out of Downtown Sendai after purchasing many goods. Transportation costs are low and are expected to stay at approximately this level next month.

Service costs for this month were only 650 yen for this month which only included usage of the washing machines at the dormitory. An internet connection and cell phone service has been acquired and billing of these services will not occur until next month. Services costs are expected to rise by 8,000 yen for next month.

Room costs are expected to be slightly higher for next month as long distance charges have not been added to this month's rental costs. Long distance charges were approximately 6,000 yen for 2 hours calling to Canada (very expensive). With internet, long distance charges are expected to drop after next month via internet calling.

Entertainment costs equated to 4,945 yen for this month. This cost included a trip to the Ichinobo hot springs and a birthday party for a friend at the Dormitory. Entertainment costs for this month are low since I do not know many places to go to in Sendai and I have been very busy getting settled in. Entertainment costs are expected to rise.

Conclusion

One time costs from purchase of goods were high for this month, while costs for entertainment and services were low and will begin next month. Food costs are predicted to be approximately the same for next month since I am able to cook meals at home. I expect the total cost for next month to be approximately the same, further data will be collected and then tabulated for the coming month.

----End Report----

Some notes, the dorm I am living at has insanely cheap rent. Talking about $100/month with basic utilities. Not bad at all, especially for Japan compared to the average price of renting a room in Vancouver (cheap) is $400 then you add on utilities. Definitely a great perk for living in Japan.

I already working on the cost list for next month and it's going to be about the same (if not more) than April's expenditures. Time will tell. Already went on a trip to Nagoya which I have yet to tell about :) Grr image station! Downloaded their software already, going to try and upload through that.

Anyways, hope everyone is having a good time... internet is still dead at home grrr! :P