Hello there r/japanlife. I am now considering relocating to Tokyo for work and I’d like your opinion on some things. Basically, my job hunt here in Kansai has not been going well, and my wife and I recently decided to expand my search. Originally we were trying to stay in the area, but now we’re thinking maybe change is good.
Please note that I am *not* thinking of moving while job-hunting. The idea would be to find an employer who will pay for relocation.
Background, so that (I hope) you can give relevant opinions: I’ve lived in Japan for 10 years, N2 + PR, am from US and have a son. Please reply with opinions relevant to a family man.
So here’s what I’m thinking when I think about the pros and cons. Please feel free to correct mine if they are wrong, or add your own.
Pros of Tokyo Life:
* More job opportunity. I work in project management / business analyst / IT stuff. Expanding my search to Tokyo will also expand my opportunities, both for my next job and my career, particularly at international companies.
* More expat community. This is good for my socialization (I’m very isolated and seeking new friends), and for my son’s socialization (maybe more young kids from international families).
* New place, more to explore. My wife is from Chugoku region and I have never lived outside Kansai. Sometimes change is good.
* Better airplane routes.
Neutrals of Tokyo Life:
* More expat food and groceries. This is kind of a wash for me because it would be a nice luxury but also pretty expensive. Any expat food I crave I’ve in general gotten used to making at home. I am just fine with Japanese food, a lot of it I really like.
Negatives of Tokyo Life:
* My salary increase may be negated by the higher cost of living. Rent goes up. We’re currently living in a house and would likely need to downgrade to an apartment.
* Higher cost of living in general. What is more expensive? Groceries? Rent? Bills? Everything? Chime in!
* Moving itself is stressful.
* Though my wife and I look forward to learning a new area, this itself is also stressful. In Kansai we know the geography and what to expect. Learning Kanto with a young child in tow may be difficult.
* No idea how preschool would work for my son.
* Urban environment instead of suburban. Need to travel further to get away from it all.
* Higher risk of crime and being harassed by the police for being foreign.
If you are willing to add your own opinions or advice, please do so. If you can add geography tips, like what regions/spots are more popular for what, I’d appreciate it. If you can also add suggestions on areas to live, particularly if there are convenient commuting suburbs, that would be a big help.
If you are a hiring manager for project management / business analyst / IT stuff, if you could PM me I would really appreciate it.
Thanks!
6 comments
IT worker who’s been in the Kanto region for 7 years.
If your area of expertise requires you to work on site but you don’t mind a commute, I’d recommend Chiba or Saitama for your living location if you’re looking to save on cost of living. Rent and groceries are definitely cheaper than Tokyo, but the trade off is having a longer commute on crowded trains. I live in Chiba personally and up until recently I would have anywhere from a 50 minute commute to an 1hr 30m commute depending on the work location. This can be reduced by living closer to Tokyo than I am but yeah.
Which brings me to the next point:
If you can find a WFH or hybrid position, that would be even better. I am currently working for an American company as part of their Japan division so now I don’t have a commute lol. I live close enough to Tokyo to benefit, and should I ever need to change companies I will have all the options Tokyo has to offer still, but I still have the lower cost of living in Chiba.
Regarding friends, I really don’t care about expats vs locals, but as the nature of my work means I meet lots of expat people in IT, I’ve made a few foreign friends here. If you’re more social than I am you’ll probably have no trouble finding people to hang out with in Tokyo.
For the family/kid stuff, other people might be better suited to answer as I’m married but no kids and no plans to have any.
Not sure if any of this helps but there you go.
Also I may know an IT recruiter or two in Tokyo who doesn’t suck/isn’t slimy. No guarantees and all that but I’ve gotten a former colleague or two a job through them.
>My salary increase may be negated by the higher cost of living. Rent goes up. We’re currently living in a house and would likely need to downgrade to an apartment.
If you are willing to commute 40 to 45 minutes, there are significantly cheaper options including houses outside the 23 wards.
>Higher cost of living in general. What is more expensive? Groceries? Rent? Bills? Everything? Chime in!
Rent is higher, but groceries/electricity/cell internet is more or less the same.
>Moving itself is stressful.
That’s life.
>Though my wife and I look forward to learning a new area, this itself is also stressful. In Kansai we know the geography and what to expect. Learning Kanto with a young child in tow may be difficult.
I don’t think Osaka and Tokyo are that different. The worst you have to experience is probably learning to stand on the left of the escalator.
>No idea how preschool would work for my son.
There are public and private ones, although there is some overcrowding in public ones. Priority does go to dual working parents and unfortunately not everyone can get in public ones. There are private ones but they can cost significantly more.
>Urban environment instead of suburban. Need to travel further to get away from it all.
If you live in west Tokyo, the wilderness of yamanashi isn’t too far away.
>Higher risk of crime and being harassed by the police for being foreign.
I didn’t find this to be the case outside of sketchy areas.
> Rent goes up. We’re currently living in a house and would likely need to downgrade to an apartment.
That really depends. I used to live in Suginami-ku about 15 minutes from Shinjuku station and paid 110,000 a month for a 1DK apartment. I now live about 60 minutes from Shinjuku in a 2LDK+loft house 133% of the size (probably almost double with the loft space) and we pay just under 140,000 a month. It includes a parking spot.
Depending upon where you’re working, you can check out Tachikawa. I usually head over there to do shopping and such and it’s even faster to Shinjuku. Lots of families and things related to those with kids.
I’m WFH software engineer, wife works in education/sports and commutes about 65-70 minutes including walking each way (she loves her job, though, which is why she still works and does the commute).
I just moved from Osaka to Tokyo after living in Osaka for almost 20 years.
Few companies will pay for relocation; however, it is not that expensive (we paid 170,000 to move). The more annoying thing was actually finding an apartment – we used UR and could reserve an apartment and sign the contract in Kansai but actually had to view it.
It is not a good idea to make comparisons at that scale; there is a lot of internal variety in the Kanto region. There are some wards of Tokyo with affordable detached houses and cheap groceries, but they resemble more the crowded and lively shitamachi neighborhoods of Osaka rather than Kansai suburbs. Certain wards have invested a lot of money into childcare facilities in order to attract and retain families.
The suburbs of Western are more expensive and cosmopolitan in flavor, but you will be making more money in Tokyo, so why not embrace the different culture? Cosmopolitan attitudes mean there will be less crime (or bullying) directed at foreign families.
I would say, get an offer before you think about the remaining things, millions of people living in Kanto area and working inside Tokyo and so you’ll be able to find the way to come over here, by that time you can throw out the desired budget of housing for more discussion.
Don’t expect too much on relocation reimbursement, unless you are working with those MNC (but they are pretty much stopped hiring at the moment).