Buying Furniture....

I will be moving to nagoya soon for work. My company will ship all of my things over for me, but alot of my furniture is older and I would like to get some new things. So my question is, is furniture in Japan expensive? Should I just buy some new things here and have my company ship it?

You have to mention where "here" is. Also, may we assume you are looking for high-end furniture?

Here is in the US. No, do not assume high end furniture. Decent furniture but nothing crazy expensive. Any help would be great, thanks.

As in the USA prices go from cheap to very expensive. stores like Loft and Tokyu Hands sell basic furniture. I would say that they are geared to a young couple or single person just moving in their first place but you might like their stuff. Pricewise they go from 60 $ for a small table or a upholstered chair without legs (Japanese like to sit close to the ground) to $ 1000 each for a sofa and a dining room table in real wood in an interesting modern design. I live in North America and have slept for many years on a futon(on a elevated base with slats and storage under) as I find the huge USA style mattresses and box springs horrible. Many of my friends, including architects, also sleep on futons. I mention this as if you have an average USA style bed,especially a king size one, you might have a lot of troubles bringing it to your Japanese place, unless your company rent a place for you that is over 2000 sq ft. Is there a chance that you only bring some of the stuff you think that you will need then can have other stuff shipped later if you need it? there are lots of furniture stores selling all sorts of really interesting furniture for a reasonable price. department stores also sell furniture of course. Once you are in Japan you can find them and also find furniture catalogues in a major magazine/bookstore like Kinokuniya.

Just additional information on furniture shops. If you look for reasonable one, try Nitori. It is a nation-wide furniture seller and can often be found in the suburbs of major cities. (There're several outlets in Nagoya area)
I'll post the website of Nitori below. Though the language is Japanese only, you can check their products & prices. Click the links below pictures.
http://www.nitori.co.jp/products/popular/

Hey, thanks alot Jlady and Redfrog. I appreciate your help. yea, I don't know the size of my place yet. My company has rep. that finds the employees places to live and negotiates with the landlord. I was told though that even though it's just me it will probably be a three bedroom place. We are given $2300 usd a month for rent so they usually just spend it all. So it will probably be a small 3 bedroom huh? Your right about my american bed, it might not fit in a little bedroom. It's a queen and that might be too big.

hey, now that I have your attention, would you mind answering another question? What are the prices of food like? I like cool little places to eat. Totally not into the big, lavish places. I love sushi boat style places and noodle houses. What do you think an average meal at a place like that would cost? Thanks again guys/girls!

Small restaurants serving a bowl of noodle or a bowl of rice with various toppings are all over the place, especially near railway stations and are cheap. They are as common as hamburger places in the USA (healthier food of course). Sushi places have a wide price range. Better to stick to a small neighbourhood place that is not fashionable decorated but where the locals know and appreciate good sushi.You will find out quickly. By and large my Japanese friends don't go out for sushi as often as we do in North-America because Japanese cuisine is a lot more varied over there. Hopefully you will also cook at home. food prices aren't that expensive if you shop in a neighourhood shopping street but are much higher if you shop in a department store food floor (you have to see the choices though..). In the USA the prices of food,gas etc. are still very low compared to prices in Europe, Japan etc. so be prepared for a shock at first.

Thanks again Red Frog!

Once you arrive to Japan, you can also seek second-hand through "recycle shop"s in your neighborhood or through information from ward offices and city halls or even from the Classified section of this very japan-guide.com site. You can often get things for free when you're getting them from indivisuals.

Another advise is to "use local". Furniture or not, products designed for the local market is often the best as it fits the homes and can get easy maintenance.

My parents have traveled back and forth living in different countries and basically they purchased local for their new homes, and then if they found something they like that's not in their home country, they shipped it back in my father's company's expense.

Great, thanks Uco.