Budget of living in Tokyo

Hello,
I'm moving to Tokyo in the very beginning of January 2018 as a language student, moving alone for a year now but probably going to extend it.
I'm now at the stage that I have to figure out my accommodation and I would prefer strongly an apartment of my own but I can't spend much money monthly so I'm asking if anyone

1) knows companies where you can rent apartments cheaply (for like less than 80 000yen/month) but ok-good and not so far away from Shibuya by train (my school is in the center of Shibuya)

2) can help me with budget. About how much money goes to food monthly? I don't have restrictions, would prefer to eat cheaply, much fruits and vegetables but I would still want to have money enough (on food) to go eat out with my friends sometimes.

And how about transportation? I know it will depend on how far your apartment is from where you want to go but for average? Is it like 20 000yen/month or more?

I appreciate your help and would be grateful to hear any tips.

Thank you

Do you know how to search ?
See the above search function. Type in ' Tokyo Living Expenses' ,
lo and behold you'll see the answer magically appear!

1. Want cheap accommodation, check guesthouse or sharehouse option. The further you stay from the center, the cheaper it get. So cheap vs convenient.

2. Fruits and vegetables, especially fruits are very expensive. cook yourself to save money. alway checkout supermarket after 8 pm or near closing time for discounted bento/foods.

3. http://www.hyperdia.com/en/
use this to check the cost from station of your choice to your school.

To get an idea about rent, try this page, where you can see a lot of apartments. You can search by area.

http://www.homes.co.jp/chintai/

I think most apartments however come without furniture. For this reason a student accommodation might be more convenient. You still get your own room, but obviously all the other rooms are shared. Some come with breakfast and dinner included in the rent, making them very good value.

For transportation, ask your school if you will be eligible for a student ticket, they are cheaper.

And yes, while vegetables are not too expensive, fruit is. And there isn't even a lot of choice of fruits. So that's, in my eyes, a downside of living in Japan.

Enjoy your life in Japan!

BTW, is your school Naganuma school?

I'm surprised that your school hasn't provided you with any information about available housing as well as information on a monthly budget.

You said initially one year and maybe extend, so you're still not sure. This is a problem because, assuming you don't speak japanese, you will try to go to companies that target short-term foreigners. You'll find out that you can sign on a 1-year contract (or less), with no key money and maybe only a deposit, for a furnished apartment that is not so far from Shinjuku/Shibuya (or your favorite spot) for about 70 to 90k a month. Only problem will be that the place and the furnishing will be super old, maybe dirty, and most likely with an insect infestation that is not apparent when you take the first look.

Then you'll see that chintai or various fudosan frequently publish very decent apartments in convenient locations at similar prices to the crappy businesses run ripping off foreigners. Most of them only do business in Japanese, but if at this point that is not a barrier for you, then you'll find out that the apartment comes completely unfurnished (with not even the ceiling lamp) and requires at the very least a 2 year contract. Oh, and most likely you need to pay deposit for one or two months, key money, insurance and other things, which means that you need to pay about 4 times the rent just to move in.

So, why don't you do things progressively instead? At first, stay at a guest house. Live here for a while and understand Tokyo and the way to do things here. Then when you decide to move to an apartment, you don't have to make a rushed and uninformed decision.

I agree with the others, especially about living in shared accommodation first unless your school is willing to provide you with more assistance.

But when you finally do search housing, ask all three of your questions at once to the real estate agency. This is because your nearest train station (which eventually defines your transportation fee) will set the atmosphere of your neighborhood as well as the cost of your groceries.

For example, you can consider living near universities where the neighborhood is student-friendly in terms of housing and daily expenses. Komaba-todai-mae on the Inokashira Line is a town of Tokai Univ., and the line is a cozy one that connects to the Inokashira Park area. A 6 months commuter pass is 24,900 yen between the station and Shibuya, although you can walk if you try.

You can probably save more money by walking further from a station or looking for a place near a less popular station. Although it depends on the area, finding a commutable apartment for less than 80000 yen suitable for a young student is easy (keep in mind, however, that you need to pay key money other than this).

And despite the impression that people have, fruits in season aren't that expensive either (unless you buy them at a fancy store in the middle of Shibuya). For example, at the moment, a supermarket in Shibuya-ku says it's less than 90 yen per 3 bananas, and 380 per kilogram for mikan, but 128 yen for 1 middle-sized apple. Meanwhile, they sell broccoli for 158 yen a piece.

Hope you have fun studying in Japan!