MEXT monthly budget

I've been meaning to do this post for a long time but never got around to it. Well it's Golden Week here so finally I have a chance to relax and tell you all about getting by on the MEXT research scholarship of around 145,000 yen/month (at time of writing... I hear it used to be substantially more).

 

For the first few months after arriving in Japan I literally kept all my receipts or made notes of every single yen I spent to check how much my expenses would be. Of course during the first few months you have to buy various household items etc. so you would expect to spend a little more than usual. Anyway, what surprised me what that I consistently spent about the same amount on the same things.

My total spending per month was consistently around 122,000-126,000 per month, so I had at least 20,000 yen left over each month. After 4 months I got a part-time job and went travelling more so I stopped counting my yennies so fastidiously.

Obviously expenses will vary a lot depending on your location and lifestyle, but just as an example here's what I spent my cash on as a single gal in Kansai. All amounts are approximate spending per month.

Rent

60,000 yen including bills for a room in a sharehouse. Could have gone cheaper but my room is bigger than most one-room apartments (which go for about the same price) and I like it a lot. I like having a proper kitchen and full-size bath as well. If you're staying in university accommodation it can be significantly cheaper.

Food

30,000-35,000 yen. I mostly cook at home, eating out a couple of times a week and going drinking about once every week or two weeks.

Transport

3,000-6,000 yen. I mostly walk or cycle so this is pretty low.

Phone

1,800 yen not including initial contract/SIM card fee

Health insurance

2,000 yen. You may also need to enrol in personal insurance from the university for a few thousand yen a year.

Entertainment

Museums, temples, karaoke, cinema etc. came to 2,000-3,000 yen. I tend to prefer free events... some museums and tourist attractions may be free or discounted for students, but not often.

Clothes

2,000-10,000 yen. But during the first few months I obviously needed to buy more than I would usually. I often go to the flea market for clothes and also for...

Household items

Around 3,000 yen. Crockery, an iron, charging cables, other random stuff. The 100 yen shop is pretty good for kitchen items.

Cosmetics

2,000-3,000 yen for hair products, sun cream, make-up etc.

Other

And put aside a few thousand yen for odd expenses like a haircut, printing costs, a hanko, some other random items...

Charity

Finally, I give around 2,000 yen to charitable causes each month. Not only because it's a nice thing to do, but because to remind yourself that you're in a position to do that makes you appreciate what you have and consider whether you really need the things you're buying.
(If you aren't able to donate money, here's one organisation that allows you to volunteer even if you can't speak Japanese: http://2hj.org/english/support/time/ )



Overall, especially if you live outside the Tokyo area, I think Japan is very affordable and the MEXT scholarship is certainly enough to get by without being overly frugal. Recently I've had some health issues that mean I've had to go to the doctor quite a few times, but even though I come from a country where healthcare is more or less free for everyone, I've been surprised at how reasonable the charges have been. The dentist as well.

The one thing that gets me down is how expensive it is to get to anywhere moderately far away. A return to Tokyo for 27,000 yen?! Yeah there's the bus but who's got time for that? Wanting to travel more is one of the reasons I got myself a job. And next time I'll tell you how I went about it.