Money

After quite a few weeks you may get used to using a new currency. It takes time to stop thinking about what the value is in relation to your home currency and whether it is cheap or expensive.
(Trying to think about prices in relation to your salary is a better strategy)

Many people live their lives using money conversions and miss out on a lot of good stuff. If you don’t eat fruit because it is more expensive than home, then you will probably leave Japan with scurvy, rickets or some other medieval disease.

So that was the bad news. For the good news, a lot of things in Japan are much cheaper than at home, remember that living expenses and taxes are probably better than at home too.

Many bars offer all-you-can-drink specials.  Every supermarket has offers on fruits, veggies, meats or dairy, based on their restocking days.   You don’t need to worry about the price of Kobe beef at 12000 yen per steak.  There are many good alternatives.

Until you get used to the Japanese Yen here are some guidelines for you check out the items below for some pointers.

Prices quoted are rough guides only and don’t reflect the best bargains.

1 month’s JET salary- 300,000 yen
Average Jutaku Rent payment- 14,000 yen
Liter of milk- 180 yen
McDonald’s Meal- 700 yen
Bowl of ramen- 600 yen
Onsen ticket- 600 yen
Minimum taxi fare- 600 yen
Cinema ticket (non-discount)- 1,800 yen
All-you-can-eat dinner- 1,800 yen
1 liter of gasoline- 130 yen
1-hour train from Kokura (Kitakyushu) to Hakata- 1,250 yen
17-minute Shinkansen train from Kokura to Hakata-  2,050 yen
Return hydrofoil to Pusan, Korea- 24,000 yen
Return flight from Fukuoka to Tokyo- 28,000 yen
1-month broadband internet access- 5,000 yen
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