Outrageously Expensive Water Bill

A friend of mine got his water bill for January and February. Problem is 100,000 yen. He called the water company and they said there were no problems. He also mentioned that he had a gas problem and pressed the knob covered by a black thing several times in the gas/water meter. Anyone ever have a similar problem? He lives alone and in Tokyo.

10 comments
  1. Recently my water bill double. In less than one week a guy from the water bill came to check all and ask what’s going out as is not normal to double (we didn’t call him at all) . I explain him that we have one more family member so the water is right.
    So… kinda strange they don’t send anybody for 100.000 yen, and how much was his last water bill? Any crazy increase is of course a problem. Very strange they say is normal.

  2. Do check if you have a leak somewhere, for example if you toilet is oozing water after the tank is refilled, it can tally up to quite a lot over a month.

    Learn to read your water meter and check how much you’re actually consuming day by day. Then go from there

  3. Check the meter and compare it to your bill. The guy read it wrong before and we got a large bill that they later fixed.

  4. You should see if they read the meter right. 226 cubic meters is about 2 high school swimming pools.

  5. That’d be like two years of water usage for me, in a house with four people and a dog and a big yard we water frequently….

    It also sounds weird, because I believe that in general, water prices *are fixed* in Tokyo – which means the water company would only bill that amount if there was ‘unusual usage’ – which absolutely would not be a ‘no problems’ issue. I’m not even sure how one person living alone could run up a bill that high even if they left the faucet runnig 24/7.

    IF this is real – and maybe that’s a big if – the friend needs to go back to the water company, because *clearly* there is something wrong with a bill that is 30x more expensive all of a sudden.

  6. > pressed the knob covered by a black thing several times in the gas/water meter.

    Not the knob covered by a black thing! Is it his first day in Japan?! You never press the knob covered by the black thing!

    On a serious note, to check for leaks, turn off all the water then check the water meter to see if there’s still some flow. Also, the gas and water meters are two different meters.

  7. I got one for 170,000 yen and I haven’t been in the apartment. That’s gonna be fun to talk about. It’s likely a leak

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