8/9/2005

This post will be an ongoing work in progress, because I’m sure I’ll learn more about just how much is needed in your first month in Japan as I actually go through that first month.

Firstly, though, I should mention costs you may experience in your home country while you are overseas. I have a few of them, unfortunately. You have two options when you leave: you can sell all your wordly belongings minus the suitcase or two full you’ll take with you to Japan. Or, more likely if you plan on staying only a year, you can leave your belongings somewhere safe. If you have a nice friend or family member to look after your things, great! Just be sure to catalogue your items and get the babysitter something nice as a thankyou gift.

If you don’t have someone lovely to help you out, you’ll have consider secure storage. This can vary in price depending on how big a space you require and whether you want additional insurance on your belongings (recommended). I’ve been quoted on a space 2m x 2m x 2m at $150 per calendar month. Keep in mind that is an Australian quote. I’ve had to cull a lot of my belongings to fit into that space, too. My poor DVD collevction was sold at less than half what I bought it for *sob* and most of my electronics are gone too.

Other things you may need to pay for (and therefore need to budget for) while you are in Japan include: car registration and insurance (you never know if may tree land on your car while you’re gone!), loan repayments, your mortgage (if you have one), home security and so on. If you want to return to your life in your home country just as you left it, you may be paying two sets of monthly expenses. One for your life in Japan, and one to maintain your life at home.

If you want your family and friends to be able to contact you easily and cheaply while you’re gone, you can introduce them to the internet! But it’s possible that you won’t have easy access to the internet while in Japan, or your family and friends don’t have internet access at home. In that case, a mobile (or cell) phone will help you out. Many providers will set up a system where people in your home country can call your mobile phone in Japan for the same cost as if you were still at home. The difference would be payable by you in Japan. Quite often though, if anyone in Japan rang your mobile, they would pay for a call to your home country, even though you and your mobile is in Japan! It’s an expensive system and not efficient if you want to be contactable by people in Japan, but it can provide ease of mind to your family and friends back home. Just make sure that they don’t call you evertime they have a flat tyre or when the pet budgie dies.

Alternatively, if you have the internet in Japan but your family and friends don’t, you can set up a Skype In account. For a fixed annual fee (30 Euro at time of publishing), Skype will set up a phone number in your home area. Whenever somebody calls it (for the cost of a local call, presuming they are in the same area code) then you can answer the call at your computer in Japan. If you’re not at your computer, the caller can leave a voicemail message.

Next time, I’ll post about the things you’ll have to pay for in Japan before you start receiving your salary.