Japan can be cheaper day to day than people expect, but the way rentals work, with key money and a guarantor, catches newcomers out, and the minimum wage you earn depends on which region you work in. This guide covers how much money to bring, what you'll earn where, the rental fees that surprise people, what Tokyo costs week to week, and how cheaper cities compare.
The funds you must show to get the visa depend on your nationality, so check your corridor's visa snapshot for the figure that applies to you. Once here, the minimum wage you earn is set by region: JPY 1,226 an hour in Tokyo and a national weighted average of JPY 1,121 (MHLW, FY2025 rates). Most newcomers start in a share house, because standard rentals ask for key money, a deposit and a guarantor upfront. Budget hardest for those move in costs and for your first weeks before payday.
The funds you must show is corridor and nationality specific, and it lives in the visa snapshot for your country, so check there for the figure and the exact wording that applies to you. We do not restate per nationality figures here to avoid them drifting out of date.
Whatever the documented minimum, treat it as the entry floor, not your budget. Standard Japanese rentals can ask for several months' rent in upfront fees (see below), so you will realistically want a good deal more than the visa minimum to cover move in costs and a few weeks of living expenses while you find work.
Japan sets a minimum wage by region (prefecture), not a single national rate, so what you earn depends on where you work. The rates are reviewed every year and the new figures take effect in October. The current rates (FY2025, in force through to the October 2026 revision):
| Region | Minimum wage (JPY/hr) | In force from |
|---|---|---|
| Tokyo | 1,226 | 3 October 2025 |
| Osaka | 1,177 | 16 October 2025 |
| Kanagawa (Yokohama) | 1,225 | 4 October 2025 |
| Aichi (Nagoya) | 1,140 | 18 October 2025 |
| Lowest regions (e.g. Akita, Kochi, Miyazaki, Okinawa) | 1,023 | various, late 2025 to early 2026 |
| National weighted average | 1,121 | various |
Source: MHLW, national list of regional minimum wages, FY2025. The rate that applies is the one for the region where you actually work. Hospitality, retail, convenience stores and tourism work often pays at or near the regional minimum. Income tax and social insurance come off through payroll; see our tax guide and healthcare guide.
The headline rent is only part of what a standard Japanese rental costs to move into. Rent is quoted per month, but signing a normal lease typically means paying several one off charges at the start:
Added up, the move in cost for a standard rental can run to several months' rent before you have slept a night there. This is why almost no working holidaymaker starts in a standard lease.
The newcomer route is a share house (or a guest house for the first stretch). Share houses usually skip key money and the guarantor requirement, charge a smaller deposit, and come furnished with bills often bundled in, which makes them far easier to get into when you have just landed.
Tokyo reference points (indicative, third party):
Day to day, Japan is often more affordable than the UK, Ireland or Australia, especially for eating out, where a cheap, good meal is easy to find. Tokyo reference points (indicative, third party, Numbeo):
Cooking at home and using convenience stores (konbini) and cheaper supermarkets keeps grocery costs down. For your first weeks, a hostel or guest house is the usual base; dorm prices move with season and demand, so book your first nights ahead and compare live prices rather than budgeting from an average. For phone and internet, see our SIM and connectivity guide.
Japan's cities run on trains, and you almost never need a car in a major city.
Built from the figures above. This assumes a share house room rather than a private flat, which is the realistic newcomer setup.
| Item | Weekly cost (JPY) |
|---|---|
| Share house room | varies; budget against a sub one bedroom monthly figure |
| Transport (IC card / commuter pass) | ~3,000 (≈JPY 12,250/month pass, indicative, Numbeo) |
| Groceries and basics | budget around 6,000 to 8,000 (indicative, built from Numbeo grocery prices) |
| A few cheap meals out | ~3,600 (3 x ~JPY 1,200, indicative, Numbeo) |
Once rent is added, a realistic all in week in Tokyo lands in the rough order of JPY 25,000 to 35,000 before nightlife and travel (indicative, built from the figures above, and highly dependent on your rent). On full time work at the Tokyo regional minimum wage it is liveable, and saving is easier in cheaper regions.
As a planning guide (indicative):
For live rents and rooms, check established share house operators and local listing sites rather than any single published average.
Bringing your savings into yen, and taking what you save back home, both go through an exchange rate, and banks usually add a margin on top of any fee. Specialist services such as Wise and OFX often mean more money arrives, worth comparing for the big initial transfer especially (indicative; compare live rates and fees at the time). For opening a Japanese account to be paid into, see our banking guide.
The funds you must show to get the visa are nationality specific, so check your corridor's visa snapshot for the figure that applies to you. Bring more than the minimum: standard rentals can ask for several months' rent in upfront fees, so plan for move in costs and a few weeks of living expenses while you find work.
It is set by region and reviewed every October. In the current FY2025 rates it is JPY 1,226 an hour in Tokyo, JPY 1,177 in Osaka, and a national weighted average of JPY 1,121, with the lowest prefectures at JPY 1,023 (MHLW). The rate that applies is for the region where you work.
A standard lease often asks for key money (a non refundable gift to the landlord), a refundable deposit, an agency fee, first month's rent and a guarantor, which can add up to several months' rent before you move in. This is why most working holidaymakers start in a share house, which usually skips key money and the guarantor requirement.
They are rechargeable IC cards you tap to pay for trains, buses and many shops. They work interchangeably across most of Japan, so one card covers most of your travel. A single local trip in Tokyo is around JPY 210 (indicative, third party).
Day to day costs like eating out, transport and groceries are often lower, with cheap, good meals easy to find. The sting is the upfront cost of a standard rental, which is why the share house route matters so much for newcomers.
Tokyo pays the most and has the most jobs but costs the most to live in. Osaka and regional towns are cheaper, with a lower regional minimum wage. Resort areas often bundle staff accommodation with seasonal work, which removes the rent problem.
Verified on 23 June 2026 by the WHE research team. Source: mhlw.go.jp. How we verify →