New to Japan

[steadyboy]

Hi, I am coming to Yokahama in late June for approx 18 months. I will have the benefit of a corporate package but do not know if the package is sufficient for life in Yokahama. The research on housing so far has led me to find appts available in Tokyo but no websites seem to include appts in Yokahama. Is there any reason for this? Cynthia has posted about Roppongi on a few occaisions, is that near Yokahama? Any help would be appreciated.

[larabell]

Roppongi is not "near" Yokohama but, depending on exactly where in Yokohama, you could probably commute in less than an hour each way. That's not bad, when you consider the average salaryman's commute.

The reason you don't see many Yokohama ads in English is probably market related. Realtors probably don't translate the ads unless there's significant money involved and, if there is significant money involved, it's almost certainly going to be spent in Tokyo.

Not that there are not expats in other areas. It's simply a quantity thing.

How much did they allow? If you got at least $2k/month, you'll be fine in Yokohama. Even $1k/month is possible if you don't mind the same size space as many single Japanese.

[steadyboy]

thanks larabell. i should be ok then. the allowance is $5k/month. maybe i could save plenty for having a good time.

[larabell]

If that's your rental allowance, you'll be fine. When I first came here, I had a rental allowance (disclaimer: I've been here on a pay-my-own-way basis for the last 5 years or so). I tried to negotiate a deal where I could take less expensive quarters and get some percentage of the excess for myself. No dice. Nice if you can do it, but...

On the other hand, if $5k is your *entire* package (over and above salary, I hope), then you're in much better shape that I was when I came over ;-). Save some of that because expat benefits are usually short-lived. At least that's my experience.

BTW, I noticed that another thread somewhere mentioned that one could not rent a single-family home in Japan but that's not really true. A few years back we were considering moving away from Tokyo (to either Kawasaki or Yokohama) and there were plenty of affordable houses on the market. None of them were new, of course, and there is a certain benefit to the all-concrete "mansion" buildings (like fewer cockroaches ;-), but don't ignore the possibility of a house with a (very small) yard. They're around.

[synthia]

There are houses with lots of land out in the country too. Just no jobs. On an exchange trip with the International Association in Kitakyushu, we were served lunch at someone's house. There were 30 people in the group, and we all sat around one table in a room made by removing the shoji screens. The newly created room was only about a quarter of the space in the house (half of the downstairs). It was in the country, and down a long lane from the road. Quite a change from the cities.

I probably made that post when someone was asking about housing a large family in, I think, Tokyo. I guess I assumed they were thinking five-bedroom with a reasonable yard, multiple baths, western kitchens, all that stuff. I can't imagine that would be possible in many places.

[larabell]

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 ;-).

[steadyboy]

This is excellent advice, thank you. My total allowance is $9k per month and so from what you are saying I will be able to live very comfortably. I think I will stay in the city for the first 3 months or so then move into a more rural setting for the remaining 15 months. I have heard that traffic jams are quite torturous and so a drive into Yokohama might be an obstacle for living outside of the city. Is that something you have any experience of?

[larabell]

My advice is not to commute by car, if that's what you were thinking. My time estimate earlier assumed you'd be going by train. There are several advantages to using the train: (1) it's usually faster if you live and work not too far from a station, (2) the commutes *can* be grueling (not much worse than NY, LA, or SF, though), and (3) you can use the travel time to read, chat with friends over email, or just veg out. I've been here 9 years and only once did I ever drive a car (I rented one for a vacation trip and, in retrospect, regretted it). The trains may be crowded at times but they are fast, convenient, and reliable.

If you *must* drive, you're lucky to be working in Yokohama. Depending exactly where your workplace is located, you can probably find a commute path by car that will steer you clear of the bulk of the famous Tokyo traffic jams. But you don't have to go "rural" to live in Yokohama (or nearby Kawasaki).

Interestingly, traffic (from my pedestrian viewpoint) seems worse on weekends than during commute hours. My guess is that's because everyone is on the trains ;-).

[Marisa]

Originally Posted by steadyboy

Hi, I am coming to Yokahama in late June for approx 18 months. I will have the benefit of a corporate package but do not know if the package is sufficient for life in Yokahama. The research on housing so far has led me to find appts available in Tokyo but no websites seem to include appts in Yokahama. Is there any reason for this? Cynthia has posted about Roppongi on a few occaisions, is that near Yokahama? Any help would be appreciated.

Roppongi is close to central Tokyo, not Yokohama. For expat housing try contacting Homat Homes and Ken Corporation. They're big and handle a lot of expat leases.

[steadyboy]

this is a great forum, everyone is full of useful advise. Thanks everyone.

I have another question: In the UK the electrical power supply is 240v and in Japan the supply is 110v. Does this mean all my electrical appliances need to be replaced, or do you guys use a transformer of some kind to get around the problem?