Basic Salary In Northen Tokyo,IT Field

I will be transfer to Tokyo as a representative for my company. I will be paid 300000 yen per month. Is the amount worth the hassle?
Do I have much savings left every month?

if you don't get housing allowance also. Rent and utility can easily exceed 10,000yen/month even if you rent the smallest one room apt.

10,000 yens or 100,000 Yens?
You must have missed a zero.

Hmm...does anyone know how much is the basic salary for a fresh graduate in IT field, in TOKYO?

I did miss a zero there.

Not sure about IT, but a Japanese friend told me that company pay scale based on age usually work out this way:
multiply your age by 10,000, and that is your monthly salary. But Japanese companies also pay out bonuses twice a year, and the amount depend on the company but the average is probably an extra 5 months' salary per year.

Young single person can also apply for company dorms, which is an extremely good deal. My company has a dorm the size of around 22 m2, and only charge 5,000yen per month (no zero missed this time). If you don't live in the dorm, you get housing subsidies, which is up to 60% of your rent in one company I know, with a cap of course.

Whatever you are offered, read all the fine prints very carefully. And personally, I prefer to have my bonuses divided into my monthly salary and paid to me every month. That way, if you quit half way (let's say in May), you don't lose all the bonus in June.

Hmm...if i am 25 years old, does that mean my salary should be around 250,000 yen a month?
Does that mean 300k yen per month is a good offer for me?
But I am a foreigner, with no relatives whatsoever in Japan...
Could I really save some money in Japan, if I live frugally?

For 300k you can live decently in Tokyo. The largest expense chunk will of course be a place to live. If the company offers a dorm, take it. Try to stay away from guest-houses. It is a thinkg you try once, and never do again.

With that salary you should be able to save up some as well if you don't go drinking too often. No problem.

Hmm...ok. Maybe someone could do an expenses breakdown for me, ie for
1) Utilities (water, electricity, phone..?)
2) Food
3) Rent
4) Transportation ( I should live nearby with place of work, maybe I will cycle instead)
5) Going to cinema once every two weeks (example of entertainment, and I don drink or go pub)

I would really appreciate anyone that could shed some light on these matters...
THanks again

Never lived as a single in Tokyo, so this might not be accurate, but just as a reference

1) Utilities (water, electricity, phone..?)
For two people, in a 3bdrm apt:
electricity: 20,000-25,000yen/month, water: 4000yen/2 months, gas: 3000yen/month, phone: basic NTT charge 3500yen/month

2) Food
weekday lunches: 1000yen, noodles 800-1000yen, McDonald's same as in US. Groceries, really depend on whether you buy Japanese (cheaper) or western food (expensive).

3) Rent
No idea how much for a 1bdrm in Tokyo, but maybe you could get one small one for 100,000yen

4) Transportation ( I should live nearby with place of work, maybe I will cycle instead)
Your company should reimburse your commute expense.

5) Going to cinema once every two weeks (example of entertainment, and I don drink or go pub)
Movie tickets are 1800yen, no martinee rate either. But convenient stores sell them in advance with no assigned seats for 1500yen (not sure).

For two people, in a 3bdrm apt:
electricity: 20,000-25,000yen/month, water: 4000yen/2 months, gas: 3000yen/month, phone: basic NTT charge 3500yen/month

Gah! Not sure if you'd know, buy why is the electricity so much more compared to the others?

Living in Tokyo can be a very expensive experience. Recently, CNN reports Tokyo being the most expensive place on earth to live.

Utility bills can be very expensive. For instance, electricity bill alone can run up to 10000 YEN if you turn on AC or heater 24/7. Then there's gas, unlike other countries, most apartments in Japan have an automatic water heater that heats up the water every night whether you like it or not. In additions, you need gas to cook (unless you use electrical cooker). Water is cheap, but if you take bath daily like Japanese, be ready for a raise.....

Then, there's food. Fruits are expensive. A basket of strawberry can cost up to 1000 YEN, a whole watermelon can cost up to 3000 YEN. Saying that, you can also eat cheaply, but not very healthy food though (ie. Yoshinoya, McDonalds, and ramen). A lunch bento costs around 500 YEN, and dinner at a restaurant varies from 1000 to 2500 YEN per person. The most expensive one is drinking party. Those can cost up to 5000 YEN per person.

Then, there's rent. My rent in Japan is around 60000 (everything included) YEN per month. But, I live in the countryside. Apartments in Tokyo may cost up to 100000 YEN / month and they are small (don't even think about bringing another person).

Speaking of transportation, most companies should pay some portion of it, otherwise, it can be quite expensive. If you are willing to cycle, that's good for your health and wallet.

Cinema is a luxurious hobby in Japan. Tickets are sold at 1800 YEN. But, there are late shows (after 9pm), and "men's day/women's day" which cost only 1000 YEN. Still, it's very expensive to watch movies in Japan. I would recommend video rental instead.

Saying this, I hope I didn't scare anyone who plan to live in Tokyo, but this is just a reality check. I haven't added cost to get a phone line (up to 80000YEN) or cellphone charge. If you have limited financial resource but still want to come to Japan, maybe you should think about other cities.

Well...I will actually be based in Saitama...anyone knows that place?
Is it as expensive as Tokyo?

Saitama is about 40 minutes by train from central Tokyo. Nonetheless, many salarymen commute to Saitama from Tokyo, so while the living standard is not as expensive as Tokyo, there's not too much differences neither.

Oops, I made a mistake. Instead of many salarymen commute to Saitama from Tokyo, it should be from Saitama to Tokyo. My apologies.

Yen 300000 a month is not much! at least for somebody who's working in the field of IT. I have worked 4 yrs in Tokyo (C++ programmer for NTT) and my salary was about Yen 1200000 a month with free medical and dentist insurances and every year a big bonus of about Yen 3000000
So I think it's better to skip this job and find something better!
btw with Yen 1200000 you can have a very nice living in Tokyo :)

Wow....are u sure about this?
What position is yours anyway?

As I said, I was working for NTT as a C++ programmer.
If you are a game-programmer/designer you can even make more money...

Orion,

If I were you, I would take IT's post with a grain of salt. 1200000 YEN a month is being unrealistic in Japan (even a company exec doesn't earn that much, who are you, a professional baseball player?) Even if what he said is true, you can bet that the company will try to squeeze every cent out of you. By the way, overtime work in Japan is almost mandatory. I agree that 300000 YEN may be a little bit on the less, but the average IT field salary for a newly hired should be around 35-450000 YEN a month. Don't get too greedy.

I have a friend who works at the huge game company Square/Enix as a lead CG programmer, and he only earns like 350000 YEN a month. Japanese economy has been in recession since the 90s, so don't think every company will go out and pay you huge salary for a job like C++

Hmm...I don mind overtime work, as long as weekend is all for myself.
Is it a norm for them to be paid extra allowance for doing overtime work anywhere?
I guess if I can't get the money from the basics, at least I can get it from the overtime work.
The thing is I will be living alone there.Therefore all expenses will be covered by myself alone (the company is paying 350 000 yen only, no more and no less...), that is why I am worried whether I will go bancrupt like that....sigh