Tokyo 'Most Expensive Expat City'. Really?
Tokyo is now the most expensive city in the world for expatriates, according to a survey by data firm Mercer. The BBC further reports that Tokyo's top slot in the ranking "would not surprise locals, who could find themselves paying $15 for a watermelon and $25 for a mango." Yes, but they could also find themselves paying $2,000 for a pair of jeans or $25 for a tiny cup of coffee – if they went looking for it.
Having lived in Tokyo for almost a decade, I cannot entirely agree with this research. It is an expensive city, but so is any capital city. To imply that you may always have to pay $15 for a watermelon and $25 for a mango is silly: it's almost the equivalent of choosing Harrods in London as your local grocery store. I bought a watermelon, a couple of mangoes and some kiwi fruit only the other day for the equivalent of around $10. Local supermarkets are very reasonable, whereas city-centre supermarkets dealing in imported and 'luxury' goods are, predictably, very expensive.
The survey reportedly looks at "more than 200 factors", including the cost of housing, transport and food. Again, some perspective is called for. Tokyo is an incredibly densely populated city, so if you're expecting to move from a spacious house with a large garden in a leafy suburb and find the equivalent in central Tokyo, you are likely to be either very disappointed or need to be disgracefully rich. The same could probably be said of most big cities. Live outside Tokyo, however, and the prices dip considerably, particularly if you live in one of the surrounding prefectures like Chiba or Saitama.
As for transport, the railway system throughout Japan is nothing short of a marvel: the trains are almost always bang on time (with written apologies if they are late), they are clean and, for the most part, they are very reasonable. Yes, they are crowded, but when you consider that Tokyo accommodates 10% of Japan's population in only 0.6% of the country's total area (a population density of 5,847 persons per square kilometre), that's hardly surprising.
In short, Tokyo may be expensive if you live in the centre, dine out in city-centre restaurants and shop in the most expensive areas, but with a bit of local knowledge and a few adjustments, it is not prohibitively expensive and you will be rewarded with the experience of living in one of the most interesting and vibrant cities in the world.
Richard Knobbs
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