Be candid for a moment and tell me how realistic this budged is for one year as a language school student and what am I missing?

3 comments

1. Honestly when I worked eikaiwa I made 250k a month and it was enough to live but not for many big trips. Since you already have school fees covered, I do agree with working a bit, maybe 10-20 hours depending on what your wage is. I think it’s reasonable, but also make sure to use a budgeting app to help yourself stay on track!

2. Depending on the area you live in, rent and utilities are both within what I would call a realistic and accurate range. Living alone in Kawasaki, I had to pay ¥60,000 a month for a 20m squared apartment and my gas/water/electricity was about ¥13,500 a month. Make sure you account for move-in expenses too.

   Your commuter pass is pretty spot on but it depends on the intervals you’ll be renewing it on and how far your trip is too. Sometimes you can get better prices for your commuter pass if you pay for more months’ worth of transit along your route. Another pro tip, get a place that’s as far out as you’re willing to go for both fun and errands. Every stop along the way to your school will be “free” on your commuter pass, some students from my university used that to get to and from Shibuya and other hangout spots without having to pay a cent.

   Food, even when eating out, never cost me more than 40,000-50,000 a month between groceries and my regular ramen/sushi place.

   As for school fees, do you mean tuition and materials for class? I would say it’s accurate, but I’d like to know what you’ve consolidated as “school fees”

   You’ll need phone service. I paid ¥8000 a month, and I’ve never met someone who paid more than ¥14000 for a fully loaded plan. I’m the type to always have music streaming everywhere I go, and watch YouTube to pass the time on trains, and my plan with au was just fine. I can’t recall how many GB it was however if it wasn’t already unlimited…

   I would also budget in emergency transportation funds if you plan on regularly exploring. There will be moments where because of a delay or incident on the train, people will just take taxis instead. This can range from just ¥1500 to get across your ward to ¥10,000 to get from Setagaya to Akihabara on a bad day taking the expressway. If you’re careful, I’d suggest just accounting for ¥20,000 every month, ¥30,000 if you know yourself to be unlucky.

   I think you’ll find yourself with cozy little budget surpluses with this current plan. You won’t be miserable, and you probably won’t be overspending either. Good luck!

3. Save as much as you can on top of minimums.
   When I (originally) came here for school in 2022 my bills were paid and I was fed, but it really sucked having to watch my “worry free” friends (people who were here on the courtesy of their parents credit cards, or insane savings because they didn’t pay bills back home) get to go do touristy fun things every weekend or holiday without me. Heck even just my friend group doing the daily after class coffee and study started to catch up to me.

   I had a few friends in the same boat as me financially, on a budget, but it never seemed to bother them. I did feel like I missed out on a lot of experiences and some were okay, some really were upsetting.

   I obviously came over here to study, but I couldn’t help but feel like it would have been a much more fulfilling experience had I waited and saved a bit more, but I was so excited to move here I was going off of minimums to survive, not money to actually “live” and experience.

   Anyways, I’m back here now, not on a study visa, so I was able to eventually do things, but all of my study friends never returned so it’s definitely a different vibe.

   Good luck! Save as much as possible!

   Edit:
   Just saw your rent column. Are you planning to get your own apartment, student housing/dorm, share house, homestay?

   If you’re planning for your own place keep in mind a lot of places here charge a lot upfront. For my current place I paid about ¥500,000 (ish) to move in (key money, deposit, first and last, fire insurance, lock change, it adds up) even though my rent is fairly cheap (under ¥100,000/month).
   And a lot of homestays have a food budget fee as well.

   If you still want your own place, I suggest a monthly mansion. A bit pricier, but you get everything you need (bed, study desk, kitchen appliances, internet) with just a modest cleaning fee to move in.
   The extra price is worth the hassle of appliance prices (like getting your own fridge and having to set up your own bills), and it doesn’t require the huge down payments that your own place would cost, but you still get to live alone.

   Share houses are the best option if you want to live with people, and probably the best option if you’re looking to make friends.