No... anyone who's thinking "Western" anything had better have a huge budget. But some of the places I saw in Kawasaki were a decent compromise between the high prices in the city and the lack of jobs in the country. If you don't mind being slightly more cramped than in the States, it's quite livable. I would imagine Nagoya or one of the smaller metropolitan areas would be reasonable, too.

My friend (American) and his wife (Japanese) just bought a place in the hills between Atami and Hakone. You'd think it was expensive to live there but the lack of jobs in the immediate area keeps prices from being bid through the roof. I forget what he paid for their seven room split level in the hills but it was somewhere short of a quarter million -- less than you'd pay for the same size place in San Fransisco for sure. They're both freelance translators so they aren't tied to any particular geographic area. If I could convince my S.O. to move to the boonies, I'd be all over that ;-).