# Moving to Yokohama....any advice appreciated



## kurqu

Hello i am currently moving to Yokohama with my family due to my husbands work and came across this forum. We are trying to get in idea of living costs, i have been trying to budget our accomodation and i am not sure i will be leaving us short for other things. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

My husbands company has sorted out all our visas, school fees and medical insurance, they have given us a living budget for food, utilities and housing,etc og 950,000 yen per month. We have been looking at renting a house in the Kirin bayside area of Yokohama at around 400,000 to 500,000 yen per month, would this be leaving us enough yen left to live of and pay our bills or do you think we should look at properties with a lower rent?


----------



## lsg168

Have you choosen an international school for kids yet? If you are in Yokohama, the most likely choices are the one in Motomachi area - YIS and Saint Maur.

So maybe you should narrow down to the Motomachi area for convenience. 

I live in the Minato Mirai area where I can walk to work - however there are only high rise apartment available in this area.

There is also a moderated Yahoo group called LIY - living in Yokohama, that you maybe of interest to you.


----------



## kurqu

lsg168 said:


> Have you choosen an international school for kids yet? If you are in Yokohama, the most likely choices are the one in Motomachi area - YIS and Saint Maur.
> 
> So maybe you should narrow down to the Motomachi area for convenience.
> 
> I live in the Minato Mirai area where I can walk to work - however there are only high rise apartment available in this area.
> 
> There is also a moderated Yahoo group called LIY - living in Yokohama, that you maybe of interest to you.




thnak you for your reply. Our children will be going to YIS and we are looking at houses around Kirin Bayside as we have to dogs we perfer to live in a house. What i am needing to get a better idea if is if using 400,000 yen to 500,000 out of a monthly living budget of 900,000 yen still leave enough for us to live off, things like food, bills etc!


----------



## lsg168

kurqu said:


> thnak you for your reply. Our children will be going to YIS and we are looking at houses around Kirin Bayside as we have to dogs we perfer to live in a house. What i am needing to get a better idea if is if using 400,000 yen to 500,000 out of a monthly living budget of 900,000 yen still leave enough for us to live off, things like food, bills etc!


I am not familiar with the Kirin bayside area, is it near the Kirin brewery 神奈川県横浜市鶴見区生麦?


----------



## Peeta

*Food and living expenses*



kurqu said:


> My husbands company has sorted out all our visas, school fees and medical insurance, they have given us a living budget for food, utilities and housing,etc og 950,000 yen per month. We have been looking at renting a house in the Kirin bayside area of Yokohama at around 400,000 to 500,000 yen per month, would this be leaving us enough yen left to live of and pay our bills or do you think we should look at properties with a lower rent?


Hi kurqu,

I'm going to take a stab at this because I'm guessing that food and utility prices in the Yokohama bayside are not that different from central Tokyo, where I live.

Even if you do all your shopping at high-end, gaijin-oriented supermarkets (eg. the equivalent of National Azabu in Hiroo), a food budget for a family of four probably would not exceed about 120 to 150,000yen/month. This is a high-end estimate and assumes that you would be buying a lot of imported brands and foods and mail ordering from services like the Foreign Buyers Club. But this doesn't include expenses for eating out.

I have heard that a rule of thumb for calculating utility (including water, gas, electricity) costs in Japan is 10 percent of the rent; that seems about right based on my experience. Telephone/Internet should be about 8,000yen/month. Cable/satellite will vary depending on whether it's included in your telephone package but shouldn't be more than 3,000 to 10,000yen. A newspaper subscription is about 4,000yen.

Other considerations are expenses for clothing, car and insurance, entertainment, eating out, in-country travel, and visits home; but I'm not sure whether you include this in your "living expenses" budget.

Hope that helps!


----------



## kurqu

Peeta said:


> Hi kurqu,
> 
> I'm going to take a stab at this because I'm guessing that food and utility prices in the Yokohama bayside are not that different from central Tokyo, where I live.
> 
> Even if you do all your shopping at high-end, gaijin-oriented supermarkets (eg. the equivalent of National Azabu in Hiroo), a food budget for a family of four probably would not exceed about 120 to 150,000yen/month. This is a high-end estimate and assumes that you would be buying a lot of imported brands and foods and mail ordering from services like the Foreign Buyers Club. But this doesn't include expenses for eating out.
> 
> I have heard that a rule of thumb for calculating utility (including water, gas, electricity) costs in Japan is 10 percent of the rent; that seems about right based on my experience. Telephone/Internet should be about 8,000yen/month. Cable/satellite will vary depending on whether it's included in your telephone package but shouldn't be more than 3,000 to 10,000yen. A newspaper subscription is about 4,000yen.
> 
> Other considerations are expenses for clothing, car and insurance, entertainment, eating out, in-country travel, and visits home; but I'm not sure whether you include this in your "living expenses" budget.
> 
> Hope that helps!




Great thank you so much for that, it was exactly what i was wanting to know. I know that where we are looking is in the naka ku ward? Yamate area of yokohama, i was worried that we would be over stretching ourselves by spending so much on rent but i think it will work, we are currently looking into a car lease as well as thats what we do in the UK. 

Its all very daunting knowing how much to budget for things when you have never been to that country before so hopefully we should be ok!

company take care of the school fees and medical insurance and give us 3 weeks pay towards buying new furniture.

Is it worth taking any of our kids electrical things over like their xbox and Wii?

Also is it easy enough to buy a local sim card for my mobile phone, i have the iphone4?

Many thanks again


----------



## pasturesnew

900,000 living budget, is this excluding salary ?, even if it is not , its a very good salary, you will have no problems at all imho.


----------



## pasturesnew

btw stay in touch, Im a brit with J wife and little one ,age 8, moving over to Tokyo with work in Oct/Nov.... your hubby's package looks fairly similar to mine, banking ?...


----------



## larabell

kurqu said:


> Is it worth taking any of our kids electrical things over like their xbox and Wii?


If the Xbox/Wii AC adapters will work with 100V, you should be able to use them here. But you might not be able to buy new games in Japan. I'm not 100% sure about the XBox but we have a Wii and it incorporates region coding just like DVDs. The games released in one region won't play on boxes from another region.



> Also is it easy enough to buy a local sim card for my mobile phone, i have the iphone4?


iPhone... maybe. Others... maybe not. The only provider offering the iPhone in Japan is Softbank. If I remember right, they used to be Vodaphone and at least some of their handsets were SIM-based (which means there's hope). But Japan is notorious for re-inventing standards with some quirk. For example, DoCoMo's FOMA handsets use a SIM-like card but they don't support real SIMs -- only DoCoMo's FOMA cards. Apparently you can request a real SIM for use with another handset for international use but I've never tried that. My experience is that Japanese handsets don't work with non-Japanese SIMs and vice-versa. But that's also been changing gradually so maybe someone else has more recent experience.


----------



## kurqu

larabell said:


> If the Xbox/Wii AC adapters will work with 100V, you should be able to use them here. But you might not be able to buy new games in Japan. I'm not 100% sure about the XBox but we have a Wii and it incorporates region coding just like DVDs. The games released in one region won't play on boxes from another region.
> 
> 
> 
> iPhone... maybe. Others... maybe not. The only provider offering the iPhone in Japan is Softbank. If I remember right, they used to be Vodaphone and at least some of their handsets were SIM-based (which means there's hope). But Japan is notorious for re-inventing standards with some quirk. For example, DoCoMo's FOMA handsets use a SIM-like card but they don't support real SIMs -- only DoCoMo's FOMA cards. Apparently you can request a real SIM for use with another handset for international use but I've never tried that. My experience is that Japanese handsets don't work with non-Japanese SIMs and vice-versa. But that's also been changing gradually so maybe someone else has more recent experience.




thank you again for your advice.

Pastersnew my husband arrived over there on Monday.....so waiting to hear how he is getting on...hopefully the budget will be enough for us to survive...he does also get a UK salayu too but were hoping not to touch that and just live off the Japanese living allowance....friends seem to have apartments which are cheaper but we just cant manage an apartment with two kids 7yrs and 9yrs, and 2 dogs...just dont want to be short of money if we spend 400,000 to 500,000 on rent...its such a big desicion....will def stay in touch....we are flying out at the begining of October. What area are you living/looking at?


----------



## Peeta

kurqu said:


> Great thank you so much for that, it was exactly what i was wanting to know.
> 
> Is it worth taking any of our kids electrical things over like their xbox and Wii?
> 
> Also is it easy enough to buy a local sim card for my mobile phone, i have the iphone4?


You're welcome. 

We bought our Xbox in the US, and it works fine here. But as mentioned by larabell, you would probably want to have your family send games from home, as Japan is Region 2.

There seems to be conflicting reports on the iphone sim card question. You could try posting your question to a forum like modmyi dot com (sorry I can't type out the real URL because I'm still a Newbie on the forum), which is a forum for people active in modifying their iphones.

Good luck with your move!


----------



## larabell

kurqu said:


> What area are you living/looking at?


I assume you're asking me but others should feel free to chime in. I'm living near Nakano-Shimbashi station. It's on the Marunouchi line just a few stops outside of Shinjuku. When I moved here over a decade ago, my company was located in Shinjuku and once my company's HR person mentioned my housing budget to the realtor, I had a very hard time getting them to show me anything further out.

My company later moved to the other side of town but by that time I had a kid enrolled in day care and didn't want the hassle of being on a waiting list in another area. Plus I'd already forged some connections with the local community. As a result, we stayed here in the same basic area the whole time (even though we've moved three times since).

As far as your budget... if you're talking 950,000 yen post-tax on top of your regular salary (and I assume that's the situation based on the conversation), then even if you pay 500,000 yen for your home, you'll still be left with more than most Japanese take home *before* taxes or housing. I would more-or-less agree with the estimates in Peeta's post. If you go out to eat often, you might want to toss another 200,000 into the calculation (I go out 3~4 times a week, at least once or twice with the whole family, and that's about what I end up spending on average). Of course, all that depends heavily on your lifestyle but lifestyle is also something you can adjust once you know more about your own spending habits.

If you have any control over what the realtor is told, give them a low-ball figure like 300,000 and only let them show you places in the higher ranges once you're fairly sure that you can't live in the "cheaper" places. The economy is not all that good right now and it would surprise me if you couldn't find something reasonable to fit your needs for less than 400,000.

One thing to keep in mind, too, is that space is at a premium in Tokyo. If you're looking for 300 square meters, you probably won't find it here for any reasonable price. I'm assuming you're willing to squeeze a little like the locals. After all, what's the point of living in another culture if you're going to try to replicate the one in which you're already living.


----------



## Fallon

kurqu said:


> thank you again for your advice.
> 
> Pastersnew my husband arrived over there on Monday.....so waiting to hear how he is getting on...hopefully the budget will be enough for us to survive...he does also get a UK salayu too but were hoping not to touch that and just live off the Japanese living allowance....friends seem to have apartments which are cheaper but we just cant manage an apartment with two kids 7yrs and 9yrs, and 2 dogs...just dont want to be short of money if we spend 400,000 to 500,000 on rent...its such a big desicion....will def stay in touch....we are flying out at the begining of October. What area are you living/looking at?


Hi, I am new to this Forum and it looks like we are in similar boats as we have a 1 year old and will be bringing our dog too. We are all visiting in November to look for somewhere to I've while my husband has already been twice and will be in Yokohama once a month until we all move but when he is there work is full on so doesn't have much time to look around. Can I ask what areas you are loooking at living in? I have no idea on where to start and also any info on leasing the car would be great too. 

Thanks haeaps


----------



## kurqu

Fallon said:


> Hi, I am new to this Forum and it looks like we are in similar boats as we have a 1 year old and will be bringing our dog too. We are all visiting in November to look for somewhere to I've while my husband has already been twice and will be in Yokohama once a month until we all move but when he is there work is full on so doesn't have much time to look around. Can I ask what areas you are loooking at living in? I have no idea on where to start and also any info on leasing the car would be great too.
> 
> Thanks haeaps




We are moving out on the 7th of October, my husband is already out and has been looking for houses and we think we have found one that ticks alll the boxes. we have found it difficult with having 2 dogs as they dont really have gardens like we do and what little they do have temds to not even be fenced off. The hose we are looking at was right across from a large park which is very handy for the kids as well as the dogs and when my husband visited he seen children out playing and people walking their dogs so it seemed better than some of the others he had visited. If you want to give me your email i could easily send you the maps my husbande has given me with the areas we have been looking at....he's even been circling the houses on them if thats any help?


----------



## Fallon

kurqu said:


> We are moving out on the 7th of October, my husband is already out and has been looking for houses and we think we have found one that ticks alll the boxes. we have found it difficult with having 2 dogs as they dont really have gardens like we do and what little they do have temds to not even be fenced off. The hose we are looking at was right across from a large park which is very handy for the kids as well as the dogs and when my husband visited he seen children out playing and people walking their dogs so it seemed better than some of the others he had visited. If you want to give me your email i could easily send you the maps my husbande has given me with the areas we have been looking at....he's even been circling the houses on them if thats any help?


Oh that would be great. It won't let me post my email address? Could you give me yours and I will email back?


----------



## Fallon

Fallon said:


> Oh that would be great. It won't let me post my email address? Could you give me yours and I will email back?


Ok so I will try this way it's all together with no spaces. It won't let me post a URL cause I'm a newbie.


----------



## bushy

*I'm going to yokohama too!!*

Hi
My husband, myself and our 17yr old son are relocating to Yokohama too so maybe we can keep in touch on here and you can let me know how you get on there My hubby will be travelling there on and off till March when my son and I will be going, we have some commitments here that mean we can't really go before then.

My hubby has been going there regularly for the past year or so and loves it and can't wait for us to go too and see why he likes it so much. I wasn't keen at first, mainly cos I love living here in Oz but I'm really excited about going now. We're hoping to rent an apartment in the Minato Mirai area so that he can walk to work and are looking forward to apartment living for a change,it's easy for us as we've no young kids to worry about.

Anyway, I'd love to hear what you think of Yokohama once you're there and maybe if you like we could catch up when I get there


----------



## kurqu

bushy said:


> Hi
> My husband, myself and our 17yr old son are relocating to Yokohama too so maybe we can keep in touch on here and you can let me know how you get on there My hubby will be travelling there on and off till March when my son and I will be going, we have some commitments here that mean we can't really go before then.
> 
> My hubby has been going there regularly for the past year or so and loves it and can't wait for us to go too and see why he likes it so much. I wasn't keen at first, mainly cos I love living here in Oz but I'm really excited about going now. We're hoping to rent an apartment in the Minato Mirai area so that he can walk to work and are looking forward to apartment living for a change,it's easy for us as we've no young kids to worry about.
> 
> Anyway, I'd love to hear what you think of Yokohama once you're there and maybe if you like we could catch up when I get there




Hi yes we all haeding out on the 20th of October now as our house was delayed. My husband seems to love it over there. We are renting a house in Honomaku area (excuse the spelling) in the Maka-Ku ward. We are all looking forward to heading out especially the kids. 

Yes would love to stay in touch and here from anyone over there, hoping that we will be able to meet people and settle in easily over there.


----------



## lsg168

kurqu said:


> Hi yes we all haeding out on the 20th of October now as our house was delayed. My husband seems to love it over there. We are renting a house in Honomaku area (excuse the spelling) in the Maka-Ku ward. We are all looking forward to heading out especially the kids.
> 
> Yes would love to stay in touch and here from anyone over there, hoping that we will be able to meet people and settle in easily over there.


Honmoko(Naka-Ku)is a nice area with lots of parks. The only drawback is lack of train stations.


----------



## lsg168

bushy said:


> Hi
> 
> ...
> My hubby has been going there regularly for the past year or so and loves it and can't wait for us to go too and see why he likes it so much. I wasn't keen at first, mainly cos I love living here in Oz but I'm really excited about going now. We're hoping to rent an apartment in the Minato Mirai area so that he can walk to work and are looking forward to apartment living for a change,it's easy for us as we've no young kids to worry about.
> 
> Anyway, I'd love to hear what you think of Yokohama once you're there and maybe if you like we could catch up when I get there


We live in this high rise mansion in MM Pacific Royal Court�FƒpƒVƒtƒBƒbƒNƒ�ƒCƒ„ƒ‹ƒR�[ƒg�u‰¡•l�A–¢—ˆ‹æ�A‹ó‚É�Z‚Þ�B�v for over 18 months now.

There are a lot of nice things about the area and this fairly new building, but you need to be aware of their central AC/Heating system - it only has on/off(high/low) switch, no timer, plus the air vents point to one fixed position and not adjustable! Maybe I am nitpicking but after living there for a while, it is quite annoying.


----------



## kurqu

lsg168 said:


> Honmoko(Naka-Ku)is a nice area with lots of parks. The only drawback is lack of train stations.


I have to say one of the main reasons we picked this area was the parks as we have 2 dogs a there is a real shortage of garden in rgw gouses over there. Im not too worried about the trains hope to get a car at some point as we like to go and explore places and especially with the dogs it makes life easier hopefully.


----------



## kurqu

kurqu said:


> I have to say one of the main reasons we picked this area was the parks as we have 2 dogs a there is a real shortage of garden in rgw gouses over there. Im not too worried about the trains hope to get a car at some point as we like to go and explore places and especially with the dogs it makes life easier hopefully.


Hi eveyone just a quick update and a few last minute questions, starting to panick about somethings! Were all flying over on Wednesday adn im in the middle of packing and not sure what all to take.

the children have a few eletrical things, as do i...can i get adapters easily to convert from uk to Japan? 

this is gonna sound really mad but Tanning solution...is it easy to get hold of over there? Dont want to scare everyone over there with my pale blue look i have going on...one of the downsides to being from the Scottish Highlands...i would be lost without it LOL!

Also how difficult is it to buy clothes and shoes? In the UK i am a size 12 and a size 5 in shoes...justv not sure what all to bring and if gettign clothes is difficult i would like to make sure i have plenty otherwise im happy to go shopping.


----------



## Joppa

kurqu said:


> Hi eveyone just a quick update and a few last minute questions, starting to panick about somethings! Were all flying over on Wednesday adn im in the middle of packing and not sure what all to take.
> 
> the children have a few eletrical things, as do i...can i get adapters easily to convert from uk to Japan?
> 
> this is gonna sound really mad but Tanning solution...is it easy to get hold of over there? Dont want to scare everyone over there with my pale blue look i have going on...one of the downsides to being from the Scottish Highlands...i would be lost without it LOL!
> 
> Also how difficult is it to buy clothes and shoes? In the UK i am a size 12 and a size 5 in shoes...justv not sure what all to bring and if gettign clothes is difficult i would like to make sure i have plenty otherwise im happy to go shopping.


For electrical things, remember Japan uses 100V. Unless the appliance is dual voltage, you need a step-up transformer plus plug adaptor (so don't bring them). If they are small electronic device like iPod and laptop etc, the charger is universal voltage anyway and all you need is a plug adaptor, the same as for US (two flat pins). What I tend to do is to take a four-way extension and just attach an adaptor to it.

Don't expect to find things like tanning solution easily. This goes for most kinds of chemicals and toiletries. Brands you commonly find in UK, such as Palmolive, Head and Shoulders etc aren't normally sold in Japan. There are local brands of course, which may or may not suit your skin type, and hair products are geared to thick straight oriental hair with a lot of oil and setting agents. If you have thin, light, curly hair, you may want to bring your own. Imported toiletries are available at specialist shops like Azabu National and Meijiya, but are very expensive.

As for clothes, you shouldn't have too much difficulties buying clothes and shoes to fit, though Japanese are typically slim and petite. Shoes tend to be wider to suit Japanese feet - great if you have wider feet and find British shoes tend to pinch! Larger chain stores like Uniqlo tend to have a wide range of sizes. But at 130 yen to the £, there are few bargains.

Have a nice flight. Remember to fill in both the white immigration card (one for each passenger) and yellow customs declaration form fully (the latter only one for the whole family) on the plane before arrival, and those aged 16 and over will have a scan taken of index fingers and a mugshot at immigration.


----------



## kurqu

Joppa said:


> For electrical things, remember Japan uses 100V. Unless the appliance is dual voltage, you need a step-up transformer plus plug adaptor (so don't bring them). If they are small electronic device like iPod and laptop etc, the charger is universal voltage anyway and all you need is a plug adaptor, the same as for US (two flat pins). What I tend to do is to take a four-way extension and just attach an adaptor to it.
> 
> Don't expect to find things like tanning solution easily. This goes for most kinds of chemicals and toiletries. Brands you commonly find in UK, such as Palmolive, Head and Shoulders etc aren't normally sold in Japan. There are local brands of course, which may or may not suit your skin type, and hair products are geared to thick straight oriental hair with a lot of oil and setting agents. If you have thin, light, curly hair, you may want to bring your own. Imported toiletries are available at specialist shops like Azabu National and Meijiya, but are very expensive.
> 
> As for clothes, you shouldn't have too much difficulties buying clothes and shoes to fit, though Japanese are typically slim and petite. Shoes tend to be wider to suit Japanese feet - great if you have wider feet and find British shoes tend to pinch! Larger chain stores like Uniqlo tend to have a wide range of sizes. But at 130 yen to the £, there are few bargains.
> 
> Have a nice flight. Remember to fill in both the white immigration card (one for each passenger) and yellow customs declaration form fully (the latter only one for the whole family) on the plane before arrival, and those aged 16 and over will have a scan taken of index fingers and a mugshot at immigration.


Thanks for that, def gonna stock up on toiletries and face creams and think i will bring in my tanning solution. We have gone and packed the kids Wii and Xbox so i assume that they wont wokl with an adaptor then....oh dear!

Thanks again for the help....house in chaos at the minute!!


----------



## Joppa

kurqu said:


> Thanks for that, def gonna stock up on toiletries and face creams and think i will bring in my tanning solution. We have gone and packed the kids Wii and Xbox so i assume that they wont wokl with an adaptor then....oh dear!
> 
> Thanks again for the help....house in chaos at the minute!!


You may have an issue with Wii and XBox, as UK versions only output in PAL, but Japanese TV uses NTSC. There is a workaround, but you risk disabling your Wii permanently. Or you can take a small UK flatscreen TV (with a suitable step-up transformer) just for this purpose - it will be useless for anything else in Japan!


----------



## larabell

Joppa said:


> You may have an issue with Wii and XBox, as UK versions only output in PAL, but Japanese TV uses NTSC. There is a workaround, but you risk disabling your Wii permanently. Or you can take a small UK flatscreen TV (with a suitable step-up transformer) just for this purpose - it will be useless for anything else in Japan!


Or if you plan on buying a TV when you get here, just buy one that accepts both PAL and NTSC inputs. I (well, my company) rented one from Tokyo Lease when I first got here. There are also PAL-to-NTSC converters available online but, at $150 (US), you might be just as well off buying a new Wii. Note also that, at least for the Wii, any games you buy here are unlikely to work on your UK Wii since both games and players are locked to a given region (even more reason to get a dual-mode TV).


----------



## kurqu

larabell said:


> Or if you plan on buying a TV when you get here, just buy one that accepts both PAL and NTSC inputs. I (well, my company) rented one from Tokyo Lease when I first got here. There are also PAL-to-NTSC converters available online but, at $150 (US), you might be just as well off buying a new Wii. Note also that, at least for the Wii, any games you buy here are unlikely to work on your UK Wii since both games and players are locked to a given region (even more reason to get a dual-mode TV).


Thanks again for the info. decided to call nintendo and Xbox.....Xbox no use but the Wii has a conversion pack for it that i can buy in Japan that is specifically for the Wii so gonna take it and leave the Xbox.


----------



## em8kate

Hi there,
Just wondering how your getting on? We might be moving to Japan this year for husbands work and I have two small children 3 and 5 and a dog. Would love some hints from you as you seem to be in the same boat!
Emma x


----------



## kurqu

em8kate said:


> Hi there,
> Just wondering how your getting on? We might be moving to Japan this year for husbands work and I have two small children 3 and 5 and a dog. Would love some hints from you as you seem to be in the same boat!
> Emma x



Hi Emma

we moved over here in October and its has taken a bit of time to get settled in...more me than the children to be honest, but getting there. Do you have any idea on when you might be moving over? If you have a dog you will need to start getting them vaccinated for rabies and you will also need to notify the Japanese animal office 40 days before you travel, they have a form that you need to fill and fax in advance, i could forward you a copy and give you the fax number of where you need to send it to...so if you are planning on moving soon you will need to be quick as tthis takes a bit of time for the rabies inj then 30days after the dog needs a blood test to confirm antibody level. I can also recommend a travel agent for your pet.....watch out because some of them charge a fortune adn most of what they charge for is totally unnecessary, yhou cannot book direct with the airlne company unfortunatley. 

We are living in a nice area called Honmoku which is about a 10-15min bus trip in the morning to Yokohama intenational school....we decided not to get a car.....the shops and bus stop are pretty much on our doorstep and there are nice parks etc as well as other western families in the area. You may want to look at houses nearer the school, though they are much more expensive, apartments a bit cheaper, im sure you will have an idea of what would suit your family better, though with a dog you need to think about having an area near by for walking as most houses here have very little to no garden!

Shopping is something i find very difficult personally and the first time i went to the supermarket it really hit me that im in Japan and speak and read no Japanese!! so its taken a while to get to know what things are and im still learning! There are several places that sell some western products and these are more expensive but needs must for us, there is also a costo which you really need a car for, i go with a friend, it has lots more western products and you buy in bulk but good for past, frozen goods, household stuff, etc.

Things i miss are bacon, squash, beans, spagetti hoops and good chocolate Lol. It certainly isnt the easiest move i have made but the people i have met here have been so friendly and helpful and that makes a huge difference. There are some great things to see and do here especially for the kids....were just back from Tokyo Disney which is about an hour away.

Sorry this reply is a bit long winded...hope some of the information has helped and if you want to email me about anything else or need help with dogs houses etc please do so anytime my email is I have left spaces as it might not let me add it otherwise.

Kerrie


----------



## SarahNB

Hello! My husband and I are currently preparing to move to Yokohama in March 2011 with our 4 children. I have found a lot of really useful information on these forum topics. I am not sure if this topic is still active at all, but if it is....can you give me any new advice/insights you have gained about moving to Yokohama?....As you say, it is very difficult when you don't know the 'terrain', or anything else! We lived in Japan for a year in 04/05, but that in another place and before any of our kids needed school. We are currently trying to work out which school to enrol at, where to live (looks like Motomachi seems good), who to trust in terms of setting up a rental agreement and all the other stuff expats want to know about where to shop, medical and dental care etc...ANY information or advice would be much appreciated! Thank you...


----------



## kurqu

SarahNB said:


> Hello! My husband and I are currently preparing to move to Yokohama in March 2011 with our 4 children. I have found a lot of really useful information on these forum topics. I am not sure if this topic is still active at all, but if it is....can you give me any new advice/insights you have gained about moving to Yokohama?....As you say, it is very difficult when you don't know the 'terrain', or anything else! We lived in Japan for a year in 04/05, but that in another place and before any of our kids needed school. We are currently trying to work out which school to enrol at, where to live (looks like Motomachi seems good), who to trust in terms of setting up a rental agreement and all the other stuff expats want to know about where to shop, medical and dental care etc...ANY information or advice would be much appreciated! Thank you...


Hi Sarah

i moved here in Oct with my husband and 2 kids, they attend YIS school and we live in a house in Yokohama which is about a 30 min walk or 10-15 min bus ride with a 5 min walk. It really depend s on what your requirements are if u need a house or aparment...the agents we used were very help full, Zee Brothers and Ken Corp. Our medical and dental care is covered by my hub work...other mums at the school have been great with helping get information in regards to shopping, medical help etc...please let me know if i can help you with anything else.


----------



## vicsalmasi

*Moving to Yokohama*



kurqu said:


> Hi Sarah
> 
> i moved here in Oct with my husband and 2 kids, they attend YIS school and we live in a house in Yokohama which is about a 30 min walk or 10-15 min bus ride with a 5 min walk. It really depend s on what your requirements are if u need a house or aparment...the agents we used were very help full, Zee Brothers and Ken Corp. Our medical and dental care is covered by my hub work...other mums at the school have been great with helping get information in regards to shopping, medical help etc...please let me know if i can help you with anything else.


Hi, i have been looking at this forum for a while and have decided to finally join as i am also moving to yokohama with my husband and child in April 2011. My husband will be working near Atsugi but my son will hopefully be attending YIS so we have decided to live in yokohama. It seems that there is quite a large ex pat community there so im hoping there will be a good social life? Did you find getting your children into YIS easy and how are they settling in?
Ideally we would like to live in the Yamate, close to the school but i think our budget of 500,000 wont stretch to that so we are looking at the Honmoku area. Is this a nice place to live? Also, do you know how easy it is to get to the main highway from there as my husband will probably use a car to get to work.
Trying to get an idea of budget for food, utilities, tel/internet etc....for a family of 2 adults and 1 half pint, rough ideas welcome please!!


----------



## kurqu

vicsalmasi said:


> Hi, i have been looking at this forum for a while and have decided to finally join as i am also moving to yokohama with my husband and child in April 2011. My husband will be working near Atsugi but my son will hopefully be attending YIS so we have decided to live in yokohama. It seems that there is quite a large ex pat community there so im hoping there will be a good social life? Did you find getting your children into YIS easy and how are they settling in?
> Ideally we would like to live in the Yamate, close to the school but i think our budget of 500,000 wont stretch to that so we are looking at the Honmoku area. Is this a nice place to live? Also, do you know how easy it is to get to the main highway from there as my husband will probably use a car to get to work.
> Trying to get an idea of budget for food, utilities, tel/internet etc....for a family of 2 adults and 1 half pint, rough ideas welcome please!!




Hi we live in Honmoku and its a nice area, close to the supermarkets and the bus stop is just a few minutes walk there are some nice parks near by and it takes us about 20 minutes to walk to the YC&AC which is where alot of expats socialise. It takes about 15 minutes by bus to the stop for school then about a 10 minutes walk to get to YIS, the school has been great and the kids settled really quickly. When you are looking for a property to rent i would try and offer less as there are alot of properties around that have been empty for a very long time and im sure there are landlords who would be happy to just have it rented out, thats what we did, also ask them about the phone and internet if its already in place and set up the letting agent can help you with this too. Food bill can vary depending on where you shop, also the cost of buying familiar foods are more expensive too, i shop most days for dinner as its easier for me and i usually spend between 5,000 and 3,000 yen when i go that covers things for kids pack lunch too, but it really depends on what sort of things you cook you can shop cheaper im not much of a cook so i buy alot of ready made things! Your husband should have no problem getting on the main highway here is really close, i am used to a car back home but we decided not to get one while we were here as its just as easy to get the bus and train, it has taken a bit of getting used to but im okay with it now. Hope this helps you a little, let me know if i can help you with anything else.....oh you may want to look into furniture leasing too...it can be easier as you dont have to worry about getting rid of it when you leave.....stay in touch and let me know how your getting on.


----------



## SarahNB

Hello and thank you for your reply. Sorry it has taken me so long to respond! We are in australia organizing ourselves, but my husband will shortly travel to Yokohama to start sorting out the details. We have made contact with Zee brothers and are also looking at the honmoku area. I have started the rather exhaustive process of completing the school applications for the kids too. I am hoping it all goes smoothly and we can travel to Yokohama to start our new adventure soon. I very much look forward. To joining the community there and making new friends. Warm regards, Sarah


----------



## vicsalmasi

thanks a lot for that info.very useful. especially about trying to knock down the agents prices. well it looks as though we will be heading out for a pre-visit on 21st feb for a week so will get a chance to look around. you dont by any chance know of belle pine, honmoku as there are a few houses available in the that road. As far as furniture goes, we are getting ours shipped over but obviously that will take time. im wondering in light of what you are saying whether we should bother and just lease the furniture instead. 
Also, is it possible to cycle safely to YIS or are the roads a bit of a dangerous place??? 
thanks again and will certainly keep in touch as would be nice to put faces to threads!!!!


----------



## Joppa

vicsalmasi said:


> Also, is it possible to cycle safely to YIS or are the roads a bit of a dangerous place???


Roads are busy but in Japan you generally cycle on pavements (make sure you sound the bell before you knock anyone down!) and so it's pretty safe and everyone does it.


----------



## kurqu

vicsalmasi said:


> thanks a lot for that info.very useful. especially about trying to knock down the agents prices. well it looks as though we will be heading out for a pre-visit on 21st feb for a week so will get a chance to look around. you dont by any chance know of belle pine, honmoku as there are a few houses available in the that road. As far as furniture goes, we are getting ours shipped over but obviously that will take time. im wondering in light of what you are saying whether we should bother and just lease the furniture instead.
> Also, is it possible to cycle safely to YIS or are the roads a bit of a dangerous place???
> thanks again and will certainly keep in touch as would be nice to put faces to threads!!!!



Hi again yes you can cycle to the school, there is however a very steep hill, i know some who go to the school leave their bycycles at the bottom of the hill then go up the steps to pick up the children then collect the bikes on the way back down. We looked at some of the houses at Belle Pines its a nice area but we needed to be nearer the parks as we have our dogs with us, we are across the other side of Honmoku. You might want to have a look on the internet at Tokyo Lease as they are who we lease our furniture from it will give you an idea of furniture and cost etc...i hope you enjoy your visit let me know if i can be of any help.


----------



## vicsalmasi

*moving in 3 weeks....scarey!!!*

hello again,
sorry i havent responded sooner its been hectic trying to organise everything for the move as im sure you will know.
we had our visit and really like Yokohama. its so easy there and the people are really friendly. Wayne from Zee brothers is a star and gave us so much of his time. we found a really nice apartment in Yamate, 5 mins walk from YIS. 
we spent a very pleasant day at Tokyo lease choosing our furniture for our home too.
The only problem seems to be getting my son (4yrs) into YIS when we arrive in April. they dont have any spaces unitl the new school year so thats going to be a long time without interacting with other kids unless we put him into another school for the time being and that will be a cost we will have to incur. has anyone got any other ideas. maybe groups of other mums in similar situations. any ideas welcome.
the other issue i have is earthquakes. coming from england we arent really faced with any real natural disasters and i know its a very real thing in Japan. can anyone help me to ease my mind. i know nobody knows when and if they might occur but can anyone say how they have dealt with the possiblitites??
thanks


----------



## SarahNB

Hello...I was wondering (as one expat supposed to be moving to Yokohama this month to another).....in view of the recent, devastating earthquake/tsunami/nuclear threat to hit beautiful Japan, are you still going, or have you already moved, or are you 'waiting and seeing'? My husband had already moved there, and was just finalising the details when the disaster struck., He has returned to Australia for now and we are watching and hoping everything settles down (more for Japan's sake than our own). Many people continually ask us what we are going to do, but we thinkit is premature to make a decision right now....just interested in your experience/thoughts if you wouldn't mind sharing? Regards, Sarah

PS My 4 year old son could not get a place either, so I had meant to msg you to say I would love to try and set up a 'playgroup/kindy' group as well....i don't want to try and get him used to one place only to take him out a few months later and put him somewhere else.


----------



## Singapore Saint

SarahNB said:


> Hello...I was wondering (as one expat supposed to be moving to Yokohama this month to another).....in view of the recent, devastating earthquake/tsunami/nuclear threat to hit beautiful Japan, are you still going, or have you already moved, or are you 'waiting and seeing'? My husband had already moved there, and was just finalising the details when the disaster struck., He has returned to Australia for now and we are watching and hoping everything settles down (more for Japan's sake than our own). Many people continually ask us what we are going to do, but we thinkit is premature to make a decision right now....just interested in your experience/thoughts if you wouldn't mind sharing? Regards, Sarah
> 
> PS My 4 year old son could not get a place either, so I had meant to msg you to say I would love to try and set up a 'playgroup/kindy' group as well....i don't want to try and get him used to one place only to take him out a few months later and put him somewhere else.


Hi SarahNB,

Hope you don't mind me jumping in, and I don't know if this will help or not, but my wife and I are currently going through the same 'dilemma.' We had our move to Tokyo confirmed for June just 30mins before the quake hit. We are taking the view that as long as the reactors don't blow, there is no reason for us not to go, but we're constantly watching the coverage (and filtering through the media scaremongering and sensationalism for the real facts...)

My wife will be working in Roppongi, and she is comfortable with the fact that her tower will shake, that it will be an awful experience when it does, but we take comfort knowing that her building uses advanced technology to counter quakes as much as possible. Its obviously not a guarantee, but we're comfortable with it. I have already planned to create the mother of all survival packs that will live in our garden shed for (hopefully easy) retrieval!

We discussed the possibility of quakes before the recent events and knew that although it's a risk, and a big one was due, it's a fact of life while living in Japan and the fact that a quake has hit now hasn't changed our stance - it was a risk before, it is still the same risk now. Our major concern is the reactors blowing up, but as long the situation doesn't get any worse, we see no reason to change our minds. 

Hope this helps!


----------



## SarahNB

Hello.....I don't mind you (or anyone else for that matter) 'jumping in'! It is nice to get a wide opinion on these things. YOu have basically described our position perfectly. As long as the nuclear fall out does not get worse than it presently is, we will still go. This will be our 3rd expat experience and we are used to dealing with the stresses that a host country has that you don't necessarily face at home; it's all part of the rich adventure. 

I agree with you; it is hard to get a balanced view on what is actually going on and what the longer term risks are. This is very frustrating. Unfortunately the Australian media seems to have shifted focus to other issues today (more regional issues/tragedies such as the recent floods and cyclones in Qld and earthquake in NZ) and so information about Japan has to be sought out through millions of internet sites. It would be interesting to hear from other expats who are planning to move there, or who are currently living there....to know how they are coping and their thoughts about the situation. The worst thing we could do, as an international community, is abandon Japan when they need us the most, unless there are absolutely compelling reasons to do so. Cheers. Sarah 

PS my husband was on the 14th floor in downtown yokohama when the earthquake struck and reported relatively little damage...his building had ''inertial dampeners" (I think they are called that) in it's foundations...amazing engineering.


----------



## vicsalmasi

*recent news*

Hi Sarah,

Devastating news and yes we have been affected with regards to going out. We were due to go at the end of March but my husbands employer has put it on hold for now until they know whether it is safe to go. I feel for you and your husband, it must have been very frightening for him and you being so far away. At least he is back with you now.
We obviously were relieved that we werent there at the time but terribly dissapointed that we arent going out yet.
Would love to meet up with you when we both finally arrive. Where will you be living? We are going to be in Yamate Homes 5 mins from The ELC. We had got my son Jacob booked into the Union Church pre-school for the last term so he could make friends before the summer break. Not sure if we will even be there before then! We have applied for YIS for the new year. He will be in ELC2. I guess thats the same as your 4yr old?
Well, keep me posted on when you are going and maybe somehow we can swap emails and addresses so we can make contact when we get there.
Hope things work out for you.
BTW, where are you in QLD? my husband and i spent an amazing year travelling back in 2002-3 and spent a month picking Capsicums and tomatoes near childers. Loved OZ!


----------



## shaigill

*New here*

Hi all,

We are most probably (final answer in a couple days) moving to Tokyo Nov 2011!
We will be moving with our 3 daughters, 7,5 and 1. Our final destination is Yokohama, although we will probably spend a few months in downtown Tokyo first.

As the title says, any advice will be appreciated!

One specific question we couldn't find a good answer for, how much for a good used family car?

Thanks,

Shelly & Shai


----------



## Rube

shaigill said:


> how much for a good used family car?


Anything around 500,000~1,000,000 yen + 100,000 for registration and other paper work/tax.


----------



## shaigill

Thanks Rube!

How much are the annual expenses?
Insurance? Shakken?

Shai


----------



## Rube

The shakken is every 2 years and you can expect it to cost around 100,000 
I think I also pay tax on my cars of about 30,000 per year

Parking space is about 10,000~20,000 plus you have to go through the same process of renting a home so there is sometimes key-money for the parking spot. I recently wanted to move one spot to an indoor spot that was about 15,000 and was told it would cost 50,000 with the key-money. 

Insurance is about 50,000 a year to cover most things besides your own car. The shakken includes basic insurance required by law but I would recommend getting full insurance because one thing I've learned is that it's always the gaijin's fault in an accident. I had a guy crash into the back of my car going 100k in a 50k zone and the police said it was my fault. Racism is still strongest among the kind of people who want to be cops from my experience. 

JAF which is an emergency car road service costs under 10,000 a year I believe. Many insurance companies including mine offer road service but I buy the JAF as well because they just have the most vehicles and are very quick to come when called.


----------



## ajdamiano

*Apartment*

My wife and I may be moving in February to Yokohama. My wife will have a job in the Aoba-ku area. We are looking for an apartment with our own kitchen and bathroom. Possibly 1 bedroom. We are not sure where to start looking. We would like to not spend too much each month, at least in the beginning so that we can better adapt to our new surroundings without going through all of our savings. We are open to a 15 minute walk etc.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks


----------



## Rube

Your wife's company should set you up with an apartment.


----------



## ajdamiano

Rube said:


> Your wife's company should set you up with an apartment.


Rube,
Thanks for the reply, however, they are not. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks


----------



## Rube

Well tell me what you know, what you've researched so far and I'll fill in the blanks for you. Unless you haven't bothered to research yet in which case hit the google and then I'll fill in the blanks.


----------



## Rube

Aj here's what you want to do, call a real estate place. Not rocket science.


----------



## JimmyDeals

kurqu said:


> Hello i am currently moving to Yokohama with my family due to my husbands work and came across this forum. We are trying to get in idea of living costs, i have been trying to budget our accomodation and i am not sure i will be leaving us short for other things. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> My husbands company has sorted out all our visas, school fees and medical insurance, they have given us a living budget for food, utilities and housing,etc og 950,000 yen per month. We have been looking at renting a house in the Kirin bayside area of Yokohama at around 400,000 to 500,000 yen per month, would this be leaving us enough yen left to live of and pay our bills or do you think we should look at properties with a lower rent?


This might be not so related, but if you happen to look for a reasonable priced apartment, here is the info. that I posted in some other forum.

I would like to share this valuable information to others, as I found that getting an apartment in Japan should not have been so difficult without a co-signer. 

A friend of mine let me know of a land lady who owns apartments in several areas of Japan. She is very friendly and helpful. In my case, after looking through many websites, I was asked to pay almost 50% more in addition to the rent if I wanted to get an apartment without a co-signer. If you happen to be in the same situation as mine, try to contact her email urban_Dot_mie_At_gmail_Dot_com (no dash signs). I would be glad to share this information since I found that the apartment brokers were tough and usually are not so sincere.


----------



## Hugo75

Hi all, 

I am close to signing a 12 months (renewable) contract for a position in Yokohama. I would move in August with my wife and 4 young children (4,3 and a twin of 1). I think we will try to find a property in Naka-ward, as there are many international schools. I have been through this topic and other Japan items, but I have a few practical questions. Hopefully I can get some feedback from the 'locals', thanks in advance. 

1. Should we ship our bikes? I read somewhere Japan is rather bike-friendly, it is safe to drive with the kids as well?
2. The traditional International Schools (YIS, Saint Maur) are very expensive, especially their one-time registration fees of 5000-8000 US$ per kid are crazy... Does anybody have experience with Hand in Hand, Yokohama Union Church or Hitokoe Yokohama? I receive a fixed maximum annual schooling allowance, I would be able to put the oldest two at any of these schools. 
3. Any international, english speaking nurseries that accept children under 18 months close to Naka-ward?
4. I received a salary tax simulation, it seems I pay a certain percentage for public health care. I would pay 30% of each consult. What would be a typical consult cost when you pay 30%? What if you get serious sick and you have to go hospital? Will they charge 30% of a lot which is still a lot? Do foreigners get ripped off? I received a quote for an international private health insurance but I'd rather solve that locally. What are typical additional benefits from a Japanse health insurance, what is more or less the monthly cost for a family of 6?
5. Is it possible to lease a car for 12 months? I just found regular car rentals sites, but then you pay at least 70 euro per day. 
6. Do you know any country clubs in Yokohama that provide a swimming pool and social activities, for a reasonable monthly value without large entrance / registration fee?


----------



## larabell

Just a reminder to anyone reading this post... In general, it's better to start a new thread for a new topic. This one started over a year and a half ago so some readers may not open it, thinking it's just a new comment on an old topic.

That said, let me address what I can. I'm not in Yokohama but we have a lot of readers who are. If nobody from Yokohama responds after a few days, start a new thread and see if that draws any responses.



Hugo75 said:


> 1. Should we ship our bikes? I read somewhere Japan is rather bike-friendly, it is safe to drive with the kids as well?


If it were me, I'd bring the bikes. Whether your particular neighborhood is "bike-friendly" depends on where you end up but, for the most part, Japanese use bikes pretty much everywhere. You'll probably find yourself riding in the streets in some places but it's mostly safe if you're careful. My kids (9 and 12) ride around my area alone quite a bit (but not to school... but that's because there's no bike parking at the school so kids are not allowed to come by bike).



> 3. Any international, english speaking nurseries that accept children under 18 months close to Naka-ward?


Considering the ages of your kids, have you considered Japanese day care? At that age, kids are like "language sponges" and they'd probably pick up enough Japanese to get by within the first couple weeks and even if you're not in Japan more than a year or two, they'll have a head start if they ever decide to take up the language in earnest later on.

Depending on your area, Japanese pre-school may have a waiting list so there's no guarantee you'll get in. But it's something you might want to check out.

Someone living in Yokohama will have to tell you whether there's day-care in English available.



> 4. I received a salary tax simulation, it seems I pay a certain percentage for public health care. I would pay 30% of each consult. What would be a typical consult cost when you pay 30%? What if you get serious sick and you have to go hospital? Will they charge 30% of a lot which is still a lot?


My experience suggests that medical care isn't nearly as expensive here as it is in the States, for example. 30% seems high to me but if it's really the equivalent of public health insurance, I think you should be fine.

In my area (Nakano-ku, Tokyo) the ward picks up the difference for pre-school kids and Elementary School students -- so doctor visits, immunizations, and prescriptions are basically free. That's a Nakano-ku thing, from what I've been told, but Naka-ku might have something similar.



> Do foreigners get ripped off?


Not for medical treatment, as far as I know. There are probably some insurance companies who try to capitalize on the situation by selling you insurance you'll never need. And there are some "Western" medical centers that charge extra because the doctor speaks English. But neighborhood clinics and hospitals have fee schedules that apply equally to everyone -- especially if you're on a local health insurance plan.



> What are typical additional benefits from a Japanse health insurance, what is more or less the monthly cost for a family of 6?


The benefit is pretty much every health care provider will just look at your card and charge you for the co-pay. International insurance is likely to require that you pay the entire bill and submit a form for reimbursement. You should ask the insurance provider what their process is before signing the contract.



> 6. Do you know any country clubs in Yokohama that provide a swimming pool and social activities, for a reasonable monthly value without large entrance / registration fee?


There are large health center chains like Konami and Tipness that would provide the swimming pool, at the very least, and maybe some events (though mostly in Japanese, I'd imagine). Both have branches all over the place and you can look them up on the web. I've seen "social clubs" around, like the American Club in Tokyo, but the membership fees are way beyond anything I would be willing to pay. The ward office where you end up living may have social events specifically for foreign residents, especially in Yokohama.

You should check out Metropolis Magazine -- a free (ad-supported) magazine in English. From what I recall, it mostly covers Tokyo but you might get some leads on social clubs and other services available to ex-pats.


----------



## Hugo75

Thanks for the information Larabell. Maybe you are right, I will copy my post to a new thread.


----------



## KayleenWaters

Afternoon

We are currently living in South Africa and also relocating to Japan, my husband moves over in begining of November and we(myself and my 2 and 3 year old) are coming over in December. We have been to Japan for a look see trip and we loved it. We have already found a house and furnished it and registered my 3 year old at YIS for January in the new year. We will be living in the Yamate area too. Your budget sounds fine, comparing it to the research that I have seen and the prices that I saw when visiting Japan. Good luck with your new venture and maybe we will meet in Japan


----------

