[MUSIC] >> I'd like to talk about the cost of living in Japan. There's this perception in some corners of the world that Japan is a very expensive country to live in. In fact, that's not necessarily the case. For example, tuition of Japanese universities is far less than many of the major institutions of higher education in the world. National universities in Japan charge about 500,000 yen, which is the equivalent of 5,000 American dollars. Private universities maybe about a million yen or a little more, which is about $10,000 American or equivalent. So this is by no means cheap, but it's relatively affordable compared to many other universities of the world. I'd like to ask you about the cost of living and the kind of maybe part time jobs you do to support yourself, but how do you find sort of living expense here in Japan? You just came from the UK. >> The prices in the UK and I live in London, they're very, very expensive. [LAUGH] So if I want to go out to eat something after class in Japan, I can spend around 500 yen on a meal that's nutritious, it's filling and it's tasty, which is the most important thing. I'm not doing a part time job, but I found the money I do have will stretch. Because if you budget and you don't waste your money and you track down the best deal, you can definitely live in Japan very cheaply, but also still enjoying yourself and doing what you want to do. >> And you're getting a scholarship from Japanese government? I'm getting the JASSO scholarship, which is a great generous amount and that goes towards my rent and also my living expenses. >> And you have to find an apartment to live here in Tokyo? >> Yes. >> How was that? Was that a difficult process? >> When I was in the UK, I started my research and I think that's the most important thing. I really don't recommend that people come to Japan and expect just to walk into a new apartment, because it's really not going to happen. First, you have some companies that won't rent to foreign people. And so, I did some research on Google to seek English-friendly real estate agents in Tokyo and then you have a list. I think the website is Sumo, I think it's a quite famous website and it's got a list for these companies that will deal in English. And I emailed them all and I kind of didn't get responses from some, I got responses from others and I kind of found the ones that were the most helpful, the most eager to rent to me were the ones I visited. And it happened that the very first one I visited, I found the perfect apartment there. So it was quite easy, but the crucial thing is you need to start before you come Japan. >> I see, so you were doing research in advance. And once you arrived in Japan, you visited some apartments and you were able to decide very quickly. >> Yeah, because you can't pay a deposit or anything from your own country. And I wouldn't recommend it anyway, because you need to see the apartment to make sure you're not getting ripped off or anything. [LAUGH] >> Coming from Nepal, like the cost of living in Japan is quite ten times higher than that of Nepal. So for me, I really found Japan very, very, very expensive place. But being said that, like I had a scholarship. And because of that, like I could sustain and the scholarship covers my tuition fee. So that is also very good thing and besides, and then like I could stay in the dormitory of the university for the first year, and the second, and third year, and the dormitory of the schools are really cheap. So, that also helped me to save a lot of money. But after that, I had to move to an apartment and finding an apartment was really tough. As Chris said, he was doing an advance research in UK. I did an advance research while I was here and I used the same app that he did, Sumo. So and then I went to different real estate agents and then I was finding, I wanted to get a deal with I could agree upon and then now I'm living close to the university. >> And now, do you cook on your own? Or do you go out and eat? Or what it's like in terms of the cost? How do you find the cost of food here? >> So while being in the first two years, like I would not cook that much. I would I would eat at the university cafeteria. But like recently, I have started cooking and then I keep a track of my expenses and my incomes. And I find that like when I cook for a month, it's about 30,000 yen. But like when I'm eating outside, it's about 50 or 60. >> I see. >> So, the difference is quite big. So you could start cooking in your home and then you could not go for a part-time job or if you do a part time job, then you can, in the time being, you can just go and have your food outside. >> I see, I see. So if you cooked on your own, you cannot only save money, but you can improve your cooking skills. >> Yeah, exactly. >> Okay, good. How do you find the life in Tokyo in terms of cost? You come from New York City area, right? >> Yeah. So, I definitely find it very affordable. Getting a $5 meal in America would consist of McDonald's. But here in Japan, 500 yen meals are all over the place and they're, again, they're pretty good quality. You can walk into a convenience store and get yourself a salad, pasta and that would still be around 500 yen or $5. So I also really like 100 yen shops, which are sort of like $1 shops. They're basically my heaven, but I find pretty good quality things there. So, I definitely don't feel like it's too expensive to live in Tokyo. >> I see. [MUSIC]
