30,000 is roughly 300 us dollars (acutally it's slightly lower but to keep things simple here).

It really depends, doesn't the JET program already cover accommodation? If you have to pay for accommodation on your own, then you are probably really out of luck with just 30,000 JPY for one month, combined with food and everything else.

If food is absolutely all you need to pay, you might be able to survive for one month, provided you cook frugally at home, every day, but otherwise it is downright impossible.

Before you come, check with JET what they provide you. I think JET should provide for accommodation, but I don't know if you need to cover utilities - you might want your own mobile phone, you might need to buy some clothing, etc.

Someone reliable on another thread posted recently: "Most people coming here to teach English bring about the equivalent of $3,000USD to start them off."

Don't worry about the money though. You will have no major bills due until well after your paycheck and your housing should already be secured.

You should let your school know that you are low on money though, just in case they plan on asking you to attend dozens of enkais or welcome parties (though they're usually very happy to waive the fee until whenever you can afford to pay it).

I would say you will almost certainly run out of money before you see your first salary, probably long before (do you get paid once a month near the end of the month? In that case it will be around two months before you see a full salary).

If you do manage to survive off that amount you will be eating instant noodles for about every meal and will be staying home most of the time- not so much fun when you first arrive in a new country. You will also be in trouble if any kind of emergency comes up- what if you need to see a doctor? It's not unusual to get sick on first arriving in a foreign country where your body is not yet used to the germs.

In my prefecture the JET was expected to pay for all accommadation costs - nothing is subsidized. Your predecessor will be able to give you specific infomation.

I would also budget on many small costs that add up, these include going out to eat with your colleages (its summer vaccation so they may eat out a lot), fees for processing paperwork at the local town hall, fees for registering a car, costs of buying necessities for the apartment if needed, cost of new JET parties/get togethers, cost of transportation...

I disagree with this assessment as the program has been downsizing for years, ALTs have always been poorly updated, and most predecessors are anxious to contact their successors (if only to sell them the stuff they leave behind).

There's a good chance that you will be contacted as it is not at all uncommon for the schools to notify your predecessor of your contact info with less than a month until your scheduled arrival. At this point someone from your school or board of education should have contacted you, and they are someone you can ask about setup money. Most BOE's are familiar with having to help their new arrivals setup and may be willing to furnish you with a loan.

Typical first month costs include:

Key Money/Security Deposit/First and Last Months Rent: up to 300,000 yen
Household items: up to 50,000
Cell Phone: typical phones cost around 20,000 yen, some plans require payment up front for the phone
Parties (welcome and otherwise): figure around 5000 yen per