Cost of Living

You often hear how expensive living in Japan is or at least I did before I made the journey across the pond. Although I have only been here for a few days it seems to me that indeed, certain aspects and items are certainly more expensive in Japan but generally speaking, the prices are cheaper. However, I believe that it is exactly those items you must purchase which are extra expensive that tend to linger in your mind, making it seem that in general, the cost of living is higher. For example, I spent close to $3 on chap stick the other day. A stick of deodorant, half the size of what we are accustomed to in the states is over $5. Joel told me he got 8 sticks for free before he left. Hamburger is around $4 a pound and Ragu sauce, once again half the size of what I was used to, $3. At home you can find it for a dollar on sale. I further noticed that these items are what I consider to be Americanized items or not the typical Japanese goods.

On the flip side, this evening, I had a medium sized bowl of rice, a few pieces of egg plant, as well as a piece of fried fish for under $4. For lunch the other day, some fried vegetables and soup was $3. Pasta at the store was a $1.50 and a smaller box of cereal was $2. A sushi roll at the store, filled with tuna, was $3 (there are different kinds of sushi which I did not know until yesterday: proper sushi which is just the fish/seafood on a block of rice, sushi rolls which consists of the seafood and rice wrapped in seaweed and another type which is just the raw fish). So, there are plenty of inexpensive items to be found and the cost of living is not necessarily outrageous, one just has to adapt.

Other facts:

Gas right now is about $5 a gallon here.
My monthly rail pass came out to around $75 but then again, I think it is cheaper than paying for a car, car insurance, gas, etc. However, this only includes my home station stop up to and including the station at which my NOVA branch is located.
The rail system makes its money when you travel to those places for which your pass is not valid. Our trips to Namba were $5 round trip, not too bad but one can see how it could quickly add up. However, I could easily purchase a monthly pass to that destination as well but that is not reimbursed by the company.
Rent - $600 a month which includes utilities.