Things that are “cheaper” in Japan

photo by simonQ

Japan has an imagine of being an expensive country, but if you compare it to other countries, there are actually a lot of cheap things too. Today, were are going to prove the expensive imagine wrong and introduce a few things that are “cheap” in Japan!

Consumption Tax

Many Japanese struggle with tax, but in global comparison, consumption tax in Japan is quite cheap, especially when comparing it with countries like Denmark or Norway, where the tax is 25%. Recently, consumption tax in Japan has been raised from 8% to 10%, causing a nationwide stir, but if you are from a country where the tax is even higher, you will find tax in Japan quite cheap.

Flip Phone (Feature Phone) Fees

If you own a smart phone in Japan, you can expect having to pay at least 7000 yen a month. Is this expensive, or cheap? According to a survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication, if you compare the fees for a 36 minutes phone call plus data usage 2GB, 5GB and 7GB, Japan is on rank four, five and five – neither expensive nor cheap, but a rather normal fee. However, if you take the Japanese flip phones (feature phones), the fees are actually second cheap in the whole world. Japan was a paradise for feature phones!

Restaurants

In Japan, there are many restaurants where you can get a satisfying meal for around 1000 yen, such as family restaurants or revolving sushi bars. Also, there are standing restaurants selling soba or gyudon for less than 500 yen. And everything is delicious! If you do it right, eating at a restaurant can even be less expensive that cooking by yourself at home.

Stationary such as Ballpoint Pens

Stationary in Japan is both cheap and high quality, and the high variety of stationary is unique as well. Japanese pens are a great and popular gift abroad! Even the ballpoint pen from the 100 yen store, nothing special to Japanese, might be a great gift if you are a foreigner.

All You Can Drink

A must do on the list when coming to Japan is “all you can drink” at an izakaya. With prices around 1000 yen per hour, you can order as many drinks as you want – a unique system in Japan. Some foreigners complain they have started drinking more after coming to Japan, thanks to the all you can drink system. Apparently, there are even some foreigners who have their dinner at an izakaya every single day!

Water Bill

In Japan, it is normal to be able to drink water from the tap, but in other countries, the situation is different. There, tap water is used for washing clothes or food, and you have to buy mineral water for drinking. Many foreigners are surprised when they hear tap water is drinkable, and then surprised again at the good taste. According to a survey on water and sewage by the OECD, the only countries with a cheaper water bill than Japan are Korea, Canada, Switzerland and Italy. Maybe it is because Japan is so rich in water.

Uniqlo

Uniqlo is famous for seeing high quality clothes at a low price. There was an Asian exchange student on the news for stealing a lot of the same product at Uniqlo, which was quite surprising to us Japanese – why Uniqlo? But in other countries, Uniqlo is popular for being both high quality and cheap. Buying the same product in Japan is probably cheaper than buying it abroad.

100 Yen Shop

Many foreigners love the Japanese 100 yen shops. In reality, the products are 108 yen including the 8% consumptions tax, but even if you buy a whole cart full of goods, you will still only spend about 2000 yen. There are even foreigners who come all the way to Japan to buy their kitchen goods at the 100 yen shop!

Seafood

In Japan, seafood is cheaper than meat. Being a island state, it is surrounded by the ocean. You can catch fish from every direction, and since the country’s shape is long and thin, it does not take a lot of cost or time to transport them. You can buy fresh and cheap seafood all over Japan. Mackerel, an entirely normal food in Japan, becomes a luxury good when you go to central USA. Some even joke about the Japanese eating luxury goods like mackerel every day!

Tobacco

If you compare the global prices of a box of Marlboro, you have to pay 1500 yen in Norway, 1100 yen in England, 950 yen in France, and 880 yen in Switzerland. That makes the 460 yen you pay in Japan very cheap – only about a third of the price in Norway. Recently, cigarettes have become more expensive due to the consumption tax raise, but it is still very cheap when you compare it to other countries.

Apple Goods (iPhone, iMac)

The price for the popular iPhone is actually different in each country. If you compare the price for an iPhone6 as of July 2015, the cheapest country was Canada with 79,900 yen, and the most expensive one Brazil (136,600 yen) – over 50,000 yen difference! Right now, the countries where you can buy an iPhone for less than 700 dollars are Canada, the US, and Japan only. Thanks to a strong yen, many people from parts of the world where Apple goods are expensive, for example Scandinavia, take the chance of buying a few Apple goods during their trip to Japan.

Summary

An island nation with a highly developed technology like Japan, of course there are expensive things as well as cheap ones. Japan tends to be thought of to be a very expensive country, but if you take a look at the balance between income and expenses and the social security system, you see that it is actually not that expensive. If you take the three things that are necessary for daily life – food, clothing and shelter – you will definitely not have a problem with the first two when you come to Japan.