oo 1 Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 I was looking at that lift pass thread over in Snow talk about prices overseas and it seems Japan is actually cheaper than a lot of places. So, a list of things that are cheap and things that are expensive in Japan. I'll start, from the top of me 'ed: Cheap: --ski lift passes --cars --internet --tobacco --ramen Expensive: --travel --dvds, cds --bank charges ... Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 I got my North Face down jacket for 7000 yen 6 years ago If you can wait for the bargains theyre there!! Got my K2 enemys/Marker Din 14 bindings as a set for 3man in Kutchan! And, Fattwins got my huge powder skis and bindings for 25,000yen Link to post Share on other sites
boardbaka 3 Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 I reckon chudy (chewing gum) is expensive here and I've never known gum like it that loses it taste so quickly! Link to post Share on other sites
Rafster 0 Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 When are there bargains for ski gear - ie what time of year? and where is the best place to purchase ? for e.g. Tokyo or in the ski areas - Im comin over there for my first time and wouldnt mind getting some fat powder skis on the cheap!!!!!!!!!!!! Link to post Share on other sites
sakebomb 0 Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 I saw a few good boards the other day that were 68% off! But they were to small! Link to post Share on other sites
fb_steve 0 Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 Is clothing very expensive, i always hear it is but i went to that big shoppinh cente in Otaru this year and most t-shirts and jumpers were much cheaper than here, i got an awesome hoodie for $35 AU, which is half the price i would here. In tokyo ect. its probably a very different story Link to post Share on other sites
tsondaboy 0 Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 Quote: Originally posted by Rafster in Sydney: When are there bargains for ski gear - ie what time of year? and where is the best place to purchase ? for e.g. Tokyo or in the ski areas - Im comin over there for my first time and wouldnt mind getting some fat powder skis on the cheap!!!!!!!!!!!! For Tokyo area that would be around Oct-Nov and Mar-End of season. When are you coming in Japan? Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 FBsteve, I never pay full price here, I only buy clothes when theyre on sale, and at least 30/40% off, I still wont buy things when theyre 20% off as its still more than Id like to pay. But, in general, clothes here are expensive as $hit and a ripoff. Went with a friend of mine over the weekend to pick up a pair of pants that person bought, the jeans were 20,000 T-shirts, and I mean complete crap T-shirts, started from 10,000 yen! Consumers here are "generally" stupid and pay expensive prices for almost everything Link to post Share on other sites
woywoy 0 Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 That's a big generalisation Yama. If you want fancy Ura-hara branded clothing then yeah, you will pay those prices. Second-hand clothing shops have loads of great stuff, 3000yen LEVIS, 100yen funky t-shirts, 1000yen Cuban shirts etc. etc. If you are into that kind of thing. Otherwise, there are the options for basics from GAP, UniQLO or Muji. They all have decent stuff that you can wear together with your "NORTH FACE" Jacket. If you know where to look, and are not 200cm tall, then you will find good clothes in Japan for cheap. Cheap cheap. Link to post Share on other sites
rach 1 Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 I've got a few decent things from Uniqlo, at really good prices. I often go in and take a look at their new stuff. Link to post Share on other sites
intr0 0 Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 computer parts are cheap, digital cameras are too. decent fruit is expensive like everywhere, if you look in the right places, bargains can be found. unfortunately sometimes it takes a while to find out where these places are in your city Link to post Share on other sites
Yuki's Passion 1 Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 Uniqlo has good prices cuz they use sweatshops in China Im sure... NPM, they were just your average run-of-the-mill stores around Sannomiya. Granted, they were womens clothes but still expensive. The T-shirts were crap, I mean, single-threaded shirts with the most half-@ss silkscreen done. The hats at the store were 9000 for a mesh hat with 4 stoopid patches from the States sewn on. Geeze, let me buy 1000 mesh hats from home, ship em here along with some stoopid patches and sew them on... I wasnt shopping...I even helped the store clerks by correcting their really god-awful attempt at using Engrish. Link to post Share on other sites
TJ OZ 0 Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 Steaks are expensive Salmon is cheap Link to post Share on other sites
misorano 1 Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 I find shoes are really cheap at the discount shoe shops. Always seem to have half price sales on. Brand names incl. Got a good pair of Nike Hiking shoes the other day for 3,000yen. The home center type shops are also pretty cheap. Picked up a good rake (damn you autumn leaves) for 198yen today. Fruit and Veges can be cheap if you buy directly. Picked 6kg of apples least week for 2,000yen. (Maybe that's not so cheap but it seemed a good deal at the time) Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted November 10, 2005 Share Posted November 10, 2005 Quote: Originally posted by fb_steve: Is clothing very expensive, i always hear it is but i went to that big shoppinh cente in Otaru this year and most t-shirts and jumpers were much cheaper than here, i got an awesome hoodie for $35 AU, which is half the price i would here. In tokyo ect. its probably a very different story Clothes are great in Japan! If you want clothes to be expensive in Japan (Tokyo) then you will not be disappointed. However, if you want to have a massive range of very good clothes on offer at very good prices then Tokyo is amazing. Tokyo lets you spend as little or as much as your heart and wallet desires. I have never seen any other city for such good products at such good prices, with London almost at the other end of the spectrum, a city where you get ripped of every time and walk away with junk. Japan is great value, even the food is very cheap and also far reaching in range and quality (compared to other 'famous' cities I know). Railway platform soba for 500 yen and better than ANY quick snack I have ever had. Can't beat that. Inner city subway travel is also excellent value compared to other cities, and the subway system is simply awesome. DSL is stupidly cheap and amazingly fast. Australia and UK are in the communications darkness compared to Japan, yet you pay truckloads for it. Keitais: you can walk up any street near a busy train station and buy last years best keitai model for between 1 yen and 2000yen! Even the 'not so fancy' model from last year kicks the crumby pants off the laughable keitai technology outside of Japan. I don't care for mobile phones and spend little more than £10 per month on call charges, but an observant person cant help but honestly comment on the technology gap. The BEST model here is damned expensive and, well, inadequate. Japan wins hands down. Lift tickets: amazingly cheap. Probably not the best placed lifts in the world, which is often frustrating. But hey, who cares when you are ducking ropes all day long and riding knee deep powder that covered yesterdays knee deep powder tracks. Second hand cars: They are almost free.Good quality, low milage, very cheap. Expensive things: the table charge in most small bars and clubs. 2000 yen per person just for sitting on the most comfortable looking couch in the venue? Screw that. Air flights are a rip off. Road tolls (there are NONE in England and the roads generally are excellent, albeit poorly sign-posted.) Imported products, especially food or anything that is not typical in Japan, like a leg of roast lamb. Mind you, getting a quality leg of lamb in London is more expensive than a 30 minute stint in a reputable brothel. That leads me to sex: the money that my Japanese co-workers used to spend being 'entertained' by some dim witted Japanese girl at a hostess bar was appalling. Housing: you might get a 'new' place, but it is shit quality, small and has zero home character with cheap aluminium window frames and semi-plastic wall cladding. In the west you can pay the same amount of rent, but at least you get something old and solid and WARM. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted November 11, 2005 Share Posted November 11, 2005 > That leads me to sex: the money that my Japanese co-workers used to spend being 'entertained' by some dim witted Japanese girl at a hostess bar was appalling So you didn't try Pinocchio in Ebisu then? Famous that place is. Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted November 11, 2005 Share Posted November 11, 2005 Two years in Japan and I only visited one place in Roppongi with a bunch of bankers. I was not exactly a willing particpant and indeed, every aspect was lame. That was in the first few months in the country so it was out of the way nice and early. I had not heard of Pinocchio's. A well named establishment, original for a scarlet house. Link to post Share on other sites
gamera 0 Posted November 11, 2005 Share Posted November 11, 2005 Quote: Originally posted by TJ OZ: Steaks are expensive Salmon is cheap Yeah TJ , most Australians tell me salmon is so expensive in Australia. Maybe not so many salmons are around? Expensive: real estate gasoline kerocine cinema picture books Cheap: electric appliances stuff in 100 yen shops Link to post Share on other sites
indosnm 0 Posted November 11, 2005 Share Posted November 11, 2005 Quote: Originally posted by gamera: Quote: Originally posted by TJ OZ: Steaks are expensive Salmon is cheap Yeah TJ , most Australians tell me salmon is so expensive in Australia. Maybe not so many salmons are around? : I was recently told by a mate that they can't get rid of salmon back home these days... coulda been a load of BS as I remeber it being pretty expensive! There are so many cheap things here, takes a while to find them though. Petrol isn't that much more expensive than OZ from the prices I hear. They love to whinge about petrol prices over there... Just fill it up and shut up.. Link to post Share on other sites
Rafster 0 Posted November 11, 2005 Share Posted November 11, 2005 Gday Tsondaboy!!!!!!!!!!!! Im comin over in Mid Feb - what do ya reckon about buying gear then???????? I will be in Tokyo for a bit before I hit Hokkaido and then on my way to Niseko with all the other travelling Aussies for some skiing. Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted November 11, 2005 Share Posted November 11, 2005 Incredibly expensive in Japan Land near the big cities Moving in fees for rented property MOTing an old car Expensive in Japan Road tolls (maybe not a bad idea though) Return tickets for trains/planes etc. Usually little discount Rice Beer (esp. non-chemical varieties) Illegal substances Branded imported goods Taxis Parking for most people Cheap in Japan Non-branded clothes Winter sports Petrol if you're not from USA Seafood at the seaside Lunch at many good restaurants. Often fantastic value for money Spirits like vodka, whiskey, shochu etc. Electronics Very cheap in Japan Internet S/h cars No tipping Link to post Share on other sites
kintaro 0 Posted November 11, 2005 Share Posted November 11, 2005 Health and dental care are cheap. Quality, however, is questionable. Link to post Share on other sites
cheeseman 1 Posted November 11, 2005 Share Posted November 11, 2005 Cheese is expensive. Link to post Share on other sites
bettyx 0 Posted November 12, 2005 Share Posted November 12, 2005 uniqlo may use sweatshops but they also use amazing designers from all over the world for collaborations etc. they are forever updating their tshirt/hoodie range & it's fantastic. i've bought heaps of stuff to send home to friends whom are into interesting street brands/artists. but for myself, can't go past the kids tshirts. usually about 500yen a pop & they come in a million fantastic designs. question: why is brown rice more expensive than white? it actually takes more time/effort to hull the rice, right? Link to post Share on other sites
gamera 0 Posted November 12, 2005 Share Posted November 12, 2005 Brown rice - do you mean Genmai? (the pronounciation of "ge" of "genmai" as in "get", not as in "germany" ) I guess perhaps because people have already found rarity value there because genmai is good for health. Link to post Share on other sites
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