Yesterday I called my parents and my father asked me about prices over here. Also, many of you commented about how expensive it was to live over here when you found out I intended on moving here. I guess you'd heard things. So here is some information with rough prices of things.
Food--we all have to eat, right? Grocery store prices vary, just like in the US, depending on what you want. Rice is expensive, this I will say. I don't know the weight of the sack I bought but it was probably about the same weight as the kind I bought in California for about 3 bucks. Price here--800yen (about 7 dollars). And that was the cheap sack. Most sacks of that size look to sell for about 1000 to 1200yen. Fruit? Again expensive. I've seen peaches that sell 5 for about 1000yen, and I think that those are the ones on sale. But bananas arn't bad. 5 for about a buck and a quarter. Kiwis are expensive in the US. Here they are 70yen each (60cents). Haven't really looked at other fruits. Vegetables are perhaps a little more expensive than they are in the US but not too much more so. I think carrots and mushrooms are roughly the same prices but snow peas and green peppers are perhaps 150% the price of what they'd be there. Chips and quick meal things are probably the same prices as back home. Milk is about the same, perhaps a little more. So I'd say all in all most things in the grocery store are a little more costly over here, but it ain't bad.
Music--is a little more expensive. Whereas a fairly new cd in the States costs 17 bucks, a new one over here is anywhere from 2000 to 2500 yen (18 to 22 dollars). But I was shown a used cd store where I can get some pretty good stuff at anywhere from 800 to 1500yen.
Gas--I don't drive but I did the math for both yen to dollars and liters to gallons and came up with a figure that was about $3.05 to the gallon. More, but not near Europe's level from what I hear.
Clothes--I haven't bought anything except three t-shirts that were on sale for 1000yen each (9 bucks). I need to buy some pants so I'll report my finding back to you later.
Resaurants--I'd say eating out here is a bit like eating out on the coast back in California. I've gotten complete meals for 1000yen. But I've also paid 1500yen for a bowl of some damn fine food whose name I don't know but is like a Japanese version of stew. Some meat, a couple pieces of potatos, carrots, snow peas, mushrooms, big thick noodles, sweet potatos, and maybe a few other things as well. Damn good! I gotta learn its name. I've also, reluctantly, eaten at mcdonalds a couple times (there's no in-n-out here), and pay about 630yen for a big mack (though it's not too big), fries and a soda. There's also a small cafe I like to eat lunch at close to the Kencho. They give you a small sandwich, a salad, and a drink for 840yen. And one girl there speaks English (worth the price right there).
Household stuff--things like soap, dishes, towels, batteries, tools, clothes hangers, pens, pencils, paper, etc. For all these things I shop at the 100yen store. And they mean 100yen. They simply add up how many items you have and multiply by 100. You can't beat that.
Beer--this deserves its own category (but you know that). Beer is a little more expensive here. Six packs of Asahi are about 1100yen. Individual beers in a vending machine are around 250yen. I usually get the big bottles of Asahi either out of a machine (330yen) or at the discount liquor store (280yen). So beer is a bit more. And the selection is not nearly what they offer you in California. I usually only see Asahi, Sapporo, Kirin, Suntory (another Japanese brand), and, that's right, you guessed it, Budweiser (my uncle Jack would be happy about that) in the stores and machines. I have seen Heineken but rarely and I think I've seen Guinness too. Mostly though, it's just the regular old Japanese pilsner. But hell, I didn't expect to get Sierra Nevada, or Gordon Biersch, or Stone's IPA, or Fat Weasel, or........ok, I'm suffering here. I'll survive though, I'm trying to learn more about sake.
So there you go. Certain things are a little more expensive, a few things are much more expensive, but it really ain't all that bad. When I start getting bills, maybe I fill you in about them. I can and do rejoice, though, in the fact that my rent is only $50 a month. It gets subsidized by the Kencho.