How expensive is Tokyo, REALLY?

• What's a reasonable cost of living wage increase when being transferred from Toronto to Tokyo? I work for a small Canadian company that has recently opened a Tokyo office. So far the office is staffed by local hires, with Canadian managers trading off a couple of weeks at a time in Tokyo. I have been offered the opportunity to be the first full time transfer from the Toronto office to the Tokyo office. I have accepted and am excited. The new position will come with a base wage increase (~5%) due to increased responsibilities, but will also come with a cost of living increase on top of that (which will presumably be retracted if I later transfer back to Toronto). As the first employee making this transition, I have been tasked with presenting what I think to be a "fair" rate for this increase reflecting the actual expense of living in Tokyo. I'd like to find a number I can back up with evidence, I'd like to err on the high side (but not by much) to give room for negotiation (though I think they're likely to accept my estimate if it seems reasonable) but, more importantly, to give some breathing room for unexpected expenses. So, help? Bear in mind that Toronto is already one of the world's most expensive cities to live in. Expatistan says that http://www.expatistan.com/cost-of-living/comparison/toronto/tokyo, but I'm a little unsure of their breakdown. So my question is, what's a fair and justifiable amount to ask for that also provides a small buffer against the unexpected? I'm think 15%, but is that too low? Factors: 1. We want to live in a house, not a high-rise. We currently have an 1200 sq. ft. 3-bedroom with a huge yard on the outskirts of Toronto-proper for which we pay about $1250 (CAD) per month. I know that we lucked out; that's surprisingly cheap for Toronto. I know we'll have to sacrifice the yard, and I'm certainly expecting to move into a smaller place square footage-wise, but we still definitely want a 3-bed in a house that's easily accessible to downtown Tokyo by transit. I know such neighbourhoods and houses exist in Tokyo, but does the expatistan estimate of +39% (122,000 yen per month) reflect the expense of such a place? Also, I understand that most Japanese rentals don't include basic appliances, is the cost of appliance leasing included in this estimate? 2. We have two small children, who will be 4 y.o. and 6 m.o. at the time we move. The four year old is currently in part-time day-care and we would like, for social reasons, to keep her in some sort of part time activity program. How expensive are those compared to Toronto? 3. We currently have a car and a motorcycle, which we will be selling. We aren't planning to buy a vehicle in Tokyo, provided we can live somewhere very close to transit. So that will save us a few hundred dollars a month on insurance/gas. 4. Health insurance. Canada has fully socialized health care, Japan has partially socialized health care (which we may not qualify for?). How much will insurance that would offer us the same basic standard of care we are used to in Canada cost for a family of four. 5. Neither my wife nor I have ever been to Japan before, so there are certainly expenses we aren't even aware of... BONUS: The company is also paying relocation expenses, including return airfare for the family, an immigration lawyer to handle visas, shipping our non-furniture possessions, and paying for a relocation service to help me find a house, get my utilities connected, etc. What other major relocation expenses might I want to request be included? Oh and please, for the sake of this question, let's focus on the monetary issue, not the many other aspects of moving to Japan like language barriers, culture shock, etc. Those are other questions!

• Answer:

  Would you be alright with a terraced house (townhouse)? What's a reasonable commute for you? How picky are you about the state of the house - are you looking for something with double glazed windows and a nice kitchen, or are you okay with something shabbier? Japanese buildings age surprisingly fast (the building's age is usually listed alongside other basic information such as the size and rent of a place), and older places are cheaper but might come with a bit of mold and a few extra roaches. Do you have a preference for how close to the station you live? Most rental sites will allow you to narrow your search by how many minutes walk you are to the nearest station - the further away the cheaper. Doing a super quick search to get an idea of what's out there, I looked at 3LDKs (3 rooms + living/dining/kitchen area) in Mitaka, which is about 15 minutes from Shunjuku by fast train. There are only about a third as many houses as there are apartments of that size, and while they do start at about 130K, those places might be a bit dodgy for whatever reason. 190K seems about average, and then prices go all the way up to 300K. Half an hour from Shinjuku, in randomly chosen Tachigawa, prices are a bit lower, but still around 150K for something nice. And that's excluding key money, deposit, commission, utilities and also possibly a monthly "maintenance" bill that you can't escape but that they leave out of the rent total. I didn't see any furnished houses at all on offer, but they may exist. Furnished in general is much rarer than unfurnished - and when they "unfurnish" a place in Japan we're talking down to the bones. Sometimes down to the light fixtures and a/c unit! Depending on how long you're planning on staying, there are companies that lease appliances and such. Yodobashi camera (big electronics & appliance store) has a smallish two-door fridge for anything between 30-60K, washers start at 20K and just keep going (the cheap ones will not have dryers). Ovens are very nearly unheard of. (You can also get appliances cheaper from second hand shops, but that might require bringing a friendly translator along.) Oh, and a lot of houses will have at least one room with tatami mats, so depending on how you feel about not being able to use western furniture (heavy stuff like beds would damage it) everywhere you might need someplace with more rooms to sleep everyone. (Though I totally recommend the futon on tatami mat way of doing things - super comfy for sleep, and you can roll the futon up and stash it in the futon cupboard during the day to make more space for other activities.)