I don’t want to ‘work’ in Japan just yet. For two reasons:
Firstly the job I’m most qualified for here, irrespective of the fact that I actually have the qualifications for it and more so only because of the how my tongue rolls naturally, is an English language teacher. In my mind I left that career path behind earlier this year. Secondly I don’t want to spend 40% of my waking time in an suit, not to mention the likely additional 2 hour a day minimum commuting in said suit. It’s not why I came here. The whole point was to experience Japan the country and not Japan the daily grind.
Consequently I’ve got to look for ways to enjoy Japan on the cheap while I try to grow my henna hobby into something profitable. This will be my challenge. I think I’ve managed to do quite well so far.
The plane ticket…
The first thing I did right was booking a flight to Haneda airport. Actually I did one more thing right before then; getting my ticket to Tokyo in The first place. A tip to anyone flying from London; check the cost of flying from another airport, including on the continent, and maybe even create a pre-Japan holiday for yourself somewhere. That’s what I did. A return ticket from LHR was going to cost me £800+ for the convenience of flying direct with BA.
What I ended up doing was getting a ticket to Valencia, Spain (£50) to spend three nights with my friend Kelly and buying my round trip to Tokyo and back to London from there, still with BA. Granted it was a longer flight at 20 hours but I paid just shy of £400 for it. Sweet. And considering a ticket of the same price from London was going to be a 35+ hour journey via Ho Chi Minn I think I managed to kill a few birds and dodge a nasty bullet there whilst still collecting my precious AVIOS points that are going to get me a free upgrade one day.
The hostel…
So, when I arrived in Tokyo I stayed at Omorisouko hostel in Ota-ku. It’s a short way from the airport. I got a taxi (for reasons mentioned here and here so I won’t notion it again!) that cost just shy of ¥2000 (£17ish). There I was greeted by Katou-San and his lovingly refurbished and quirkily decorated guesthouse. If thought I was lucky when he treated me to a homemade breakfast and lunch as well as got taken taken to a lovely okonomiyaki restaurant not too far away.
However having looked at his facebook feed it seems I’m not so special. The guesthouse is a nice slow introduction to Japan before you head onto the madness of Shibuya if that is your destination. For just ¥1,500 per night for a comfy bunk it’s the cheapest hostel around but I certainly got more than I paid for.
Eating out…
Stand-up sushi restaurant in Shibuya
Despite Japan’s reputation for being expensive, eating out it relatively inexpensive especially compared to London. So far I haven’t spend more than ¥1000 (£7) on a restaurant meal. For those other times of day bento shops and supermarkets have been my best friends supplying me with ready meals and the wonder that is onigiri to save the day and my wallet. Love that stuff man. ¥150 for a ball of rice with salmon. Can’t really go wrong. To really count those pennies a former hostel roommate told me to check the supermarkets about 30 minutes before closing because the reduce the price of any unsold bento boxes by 50%.
IC travel card…
My registered PASMO card
The other investment that’s paying small financial dividends but is high on the convenience factor is my PASMO transit card. There was an initial 500 refundable deposit but you get a small percentage reduction on the standard tiny-really easy to lose-paper ticket fare that for the life of me I couldn’t figure out how to choose the correct fare for a journey.
It turns out the easiest way is to buy the cheapest ticket and do a fare adjustment at your destination. I guess that’s okay if you’ve got all the time in the world to wait in queues. However, the best thing about PASMO for me is that it functions as an e-wallet; I can use it at the supermarket or convenience stores, even some retailers to buy stuff. Now if I can figure out how to top it up with my credit card that would be perfect! It’s also registered with my details in case I lose it.
…and finally ¥100 Shops
¥100 Shop
Need I say more? (Although technically because of tax it works out at ¥108). Sweets, toiletries, household supplies and stationary for as cheap as they could come in Tokyo. Near my house there’s also a Lawson convenience store where everything is priced at ¥100. Now I can add groceries to that list.
Sorted.