Japan and America's Costs: Utilities and Food

a.t.kumagai
Jun 15
5 min read

Updated: Sep 11

One of the most common comments I hear from friends outside of Japan or those visiting are about how cheap everything is. They convert the cost from Japanese yen to US dollars and are amazed at how inexpensive food can be. They make assumptions that my savings account is bursting at the seams because life overall in Japan must be incredibly cheap. But things aren't as black and white as they seem which I'll happily go through in a series of blog posts that dive a little deeper into why it might appear to be true.

Before going down the rabbit hole of the cost for utilities and food, let's go over the breakdown of salary. Please keep it in mind as we go through everything. Because yes, it does appear that sometimes things in Japan can appear cheaper than similar items in America. Also, please keep in mind this is the national average, meaning that certain areas will have higher or lower salaries and higher or lower costs of utilities.

According to GaijinPot's article, "Data from Japan’s National Tax Agency and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare suggest that, in 2025, the average salary in Japan is ¥4.60 million, approximately $29,374. However, the median is likely closer to ¥3.96 million, equivalent to $25,313." That gives you about $2000-2,500 per month depending on how strong or weak the Japanese yen is on a given day.

According to SoFi Learn a financial site, "The average annual average salary in the U.S. is $66,622. The median annual salary, which is often less skewed by outlying numbers, is $61,984." That gives you about $5,000-5,500 per month.

Cultural Note on Salary:

Before moving on from salary, I'd like to add some cultural notes. In America, salaries are meant to reflect a person's experience. I know this isn't always the case. But should a person have six years of experience in marketing and they change companies, they're usually offered a higher salary to reflect their years of experience.

However, that's not the case in Japan. Your salary tends to reflect the number of years you've served the company. Meaning, should you get hired by Company A and find their work ethic questionable, and you switch to Company B, your salary will be lower. Company B will not offer you a higher salary, even with years of field experience.

Utilities:

Below I broke down the cost of a single person household.

	America	Japan
Electric	$56	6,726円($46.66)
Gas/Propane	$26	3,331円($23.11)
Water	$24	2,116円($14.68)
Trash	$8	*
Internet	$30	4,800円($33.30)

*Trash in Japan is basically taken care of by the city through tax collection. Yay! However, if you need to throw certain items away, you must take them to a designated trash site and pay for it to be disposed of. It's not very expensive, and it's a onetime fee. In other words, you can save up your trash and throw it all away in one trip for one fee if you have the space in your home.

Cultural Note: Utilities

Let's go into some of the possible reasons behind the lower costs of electricity and water in Japan. Because, let's be honest, culture plays a huge factor in this.

In Japan, very few houses have a clothes dryer or dishwasher. This is a major appliance that sucks up a lot of energy, so most people in Japan prefer to wash their dishes by hand. They also hang their laundry out to dry on the balcony to cut costs.

In Japan, people place air conditioners in a designated room and never use them to cool or heat the whole house. They also don't use the air conditioner during the day when they're not home. In order to save money, most people don't use the air conditioner until the temperature outside reaches a certain degree. So during certain months of the year, people in Japan are more likely to spend less on electricity and vice versa.

Now, let's talk about water. Dishwashers might not play such a huge role in this. I don't even want to think about how much a dishwasher would use compared to washing dishes by hand. Instead, let's talk about shower and bath culture here. To save money and water, people in Japan turn off their shower while they're washing off. They also tend to share or reuse bathwater. There is a reheating function in many homes and apartments in Japan, though not always.

Food

Citing the USDA, a single-person household can spend around $300-400 a month on food.

In Japan, that same household can spend around ¥38,000-43,000 ($263.63-298.32).

Now, of course, this number can change drastically depending on how much a person eats out, their shopping habits, or what kind of food they eat every week. It can also depend majorly on where a person lives, as food in the city can be more expensive than that in the countryside. I can't account for all factors, but do keep this in mind should you plan to make a move to Japan.

I will say that living in Japan, I've learned portion control and eat far healthier than I did while living in America. I tend to spend more money on fresh vegetables, meat, and fish than I did while living in America. My American lifestyle was focused more on cheap, convenient frozen meals rather than cooking anything from scratch. You might find yourself spending less but you might also end up spending more should you make the move.

Breaking It All Down

These are your monthly expenses for utilities and food.

America: $144 + $300 = $444

Japan: ¥16,973($117.75) + ¥38,000($263.63) = ¥54,973($381.38)

Now, let's go back to the overall average salary each country makes. I'm choosing the lower of the two options just to make the math easier.

America: $5000

Japan: ¥288,285($2000)

The overall expenses are almost the same. There's less than a hundred dollar difference. However, when you take a look at the amount of money a person has coming in every month, it paints a different picture. A Japanese salary is less than half of an American salary, and yet the expenses are generally similar. One of the greatest complains from workers in Japan is wages haven't seen an increase in almost thirty years. Yet the cost of goods has been on the incline.

Which is why the culture in Japan is incredibly focused on mottainai (もったいない: using everything to its potential) to save money. They dry their clothes using the literal sun. They frown upon dishwashers because of the water and electric use. They conserve water by turning off the tap and sharing baths. Culture plays a huge factor, and if an American were to move to Japan and continue their American lifestyle, they might soon realize they're spending more money than they save.

Still to come:

Transportation is a big part of our lives. I'll try to find some time to dig deeper into, and collect data to compare everything. Since we use transportation daily, I need to consider work factors, location, and availability.

Medical costs have been one of the biggest questions I've received about living in Japan. As this is something we may or may not face monthly, I need to consider this one more deeply than the others.

Sources:

I didn't add many American-based English resources. (Also, I think it's easy for people to research in English since many Americans might read this) Most of my time and energy went to reading Japanese articles and finding the common average.