Tsukuba: AIST, family living with baby

Hello everyone,

I’ll soon be starting a JSPS postdoc fellowship at AIST (Tsukuba) with a monthly maintenance allowance of JPY 362,000. I’ve read quite a bit on this sub and elsewhere, and my impression is that the cost of living in Tsukuba is relatively affordable, especially compared to Tokyo.

That said, I wanted to sanity-check things given my family situation. I’m 33M, moving with my wife (33F) and a baby (under 1 year old). My wife will not be working — she only has basic Japanese, has some health issues, and will be the primary caregiver for our child.

I’m trying to understand how far ~36万円/month realistically goes for a family of three in Tsukuba. For housing, I’m assuming something like 8–12万円 for a small family-friendly apartment (2LDK-ish).

For those living in Tsukuba (especially with kids):

• What should I realistically expect for groceries, utilities, health insurance, and baby-related expenses?
• Is this income comfortable, tight-but-manageable, or stressful for a single-income household?
• Any budgeting advice or hidden costs I should be aware of?

I can drive, but I expect converting my foreign driver’s license to a Japanese one may take some time (and possibly not be straightforward), so I’m also curious how viable life is without a car at first.

Thanks a lot — I’d really appreciate hearing from people with similar experiences.

If you were in my position, would you feel financially comfortable, or would you plan for additional savings before arriving (we do have some savings)?