MONTHLY COST OF LIVING in Tokyo, Japan: Rent/Groceries/Travel/Sim Card.

MONTHLY COST OF LIVING in Tokyo, Japan: Rent/Groceries/Travel/Sim Card.

What is the Cost of Living in Tokyo today? In this video I breakdown my monthly outgoings for living in Tokyo for one month, including Apartment Rent, Groceries, Travel, Sim Card and other expenses.

I first stayed in Japan during the winter 2007. The yen was at 240 yen to the British pound. The best it had been for 9 years. I booked an apartment with Sakura House in Tokyo which cost me around £500 each month.

Returning to Japan for the summer of 2024, it was my first time back in the country for 16 years. With the yen being above 200 yen to the £ for the first time since I was last here in 2008. So I’d timed my return perfectly.
On my first night I stayed at MyStays hotel in Nippori that cost £26/$33 which was a good deal. You won’t find many hotel rooms at this rate in the centre of Tokyo or if you do, you will probably be sharing a bathroom.
For the month of July I booked my accommodation again through Sakura House who I’d stayed with in 2008.

Whichever country I travel to in the world I prefer living in an apartment or condo building which I normally book through AirBnB. But AirBnb in Tokyo wasn’t coming up with many attractive options, so I turned against to Sakura House who although they insist are a monthly stay only agency, I met many travellers who’d booked accommodation with them for much shorter periods.

It generally works out more cost effective staying in an apartment than a hotel. I paid 107,000 yen/£535/$685 which was around the same price that I’d paid in 2008, but the price to live in an apartment on my own was much more expensive now, so I needed to live in a shared apartment.

There are many sim card options for Japan although they’re a touch more expensive than neighbouring Asian countries. I bought a Sim at Bic Cameras – “Welcome to Japan, Tourist Sim for Japan” which was valid for 30 days. You can buy a sim card for however many days you’re in Japan which come at different prices depending on how much data you require. There is no phone number with this sim card, just data only. I paid 5,400 yen/£27/$35 for 50gb of data, although I ended up using only 20gb. I could’ve bought a 25gb sim, but that was around 4000 yen, so didn’t work out much more expensive for buying more data.

Staying in accommodation with your own kitchen is far more preferable to dining out each day. Sure I love eating food from the different countries I visit, but at the end of the day it works out much more cost effective buying foods from the supermarket. I discovered the cheaper OK Store which was closer to home. A few of the items I bought there were significantly cheaper than the more expensive Tokyu Store.

I’d go shopping every 3 or 4 days. Which was quite frequent as I needed to buy a couple of bottles of mineral water to get me through the day. It was only after 3 weeks whilst chatting to my new housemate from India who told me the tap water was drinkable which not only saved me cash, but lugging huge bottles of mineral water back to my accommodation.
In my food expenses I’ve also included the few occasions that I ate outside my kitchen, so this totals 50,730 yen which is £254/$325.

I’ve listed my vitamins and food supplements separately at 6,900 yen which works out at £34/$44. But these items have lasted me more than a month.
There are many places to visit and things to do in Tokyo that can be done for free. Travelling around Tokyo by train or bus is not expensive. I could be in Shubuya from a station close to me within 30 minutes and the fare is only 230 yen, which is just over a quid/$1.50.

I covered many of the tourist sights all over Tokyo. But wasn’t travelling around every day however. Over the month I’d use the train or bus every 2 or 3 days and spent 11,570 yen in total which is £58/$74. I only visited 2 museums which had entry fees for visitors.
Total spend 4,600 yen. £23/$29.

For the month of July 2024 I spent 190,400 yen which is £952/$1218.

Japan still remains a very affordable, attractive option at the moment which can be seen in the amounts of tourists on the streets. Certainly many more than were here during my first winter in Japan. So you need to visit here quickly whilst the country’s affordable which I don’t envisage it being for very long.

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