Living Teaching English and Saving Money in Japan

A decade ago Melissa and I were living in a small town in Japan named Kozoji. We had moved there to work our first full-time jobs after graduating from the University of Albany in the state of New York. Hired by an infamous, now defunct language corporation we quickly taught ourselves how to teach English to people double, triple, and quadruple our age.

Months later we fled from our deplorable employer (NOVA) and landed better jobs with a great company called Peppy Kid’s Club. Moving to nearby Tajimi we taught children aged from two to fourteen. While in Japan we earned enough money to live comfortably. Our rent was deducted from our paychecks once a month and we had upgraded to a three bedroom apartment.

On vacation days we traveled to dozens of small towns and cities from Kyoto to Takayama, attended sporting events, witnessed festivals, and belted hundreds of hours of karaoke with friends and coworkers. Even after all of these adventures, we had still had enough yen to spend 3 and ¾ months winding through southeast Asia, Australia, and a tiny bit of Europe. In total we were away from New York/New Jersey for eighteen months.

Other expats we met usually burnt through their money quickly. But early on during our stint in Japan, we decided to curb our spending on food. That isn’t to say that we didn’t enjoy Japanese cuisine. As you can see from Digesting Japan Part I Part II and Part III, we consumed a tremendous array of delicacies. However when we lived in Japan we sought out food bargains and value.

So whether you are thinking of moving to Japan to teach English or you are looking to pass through on a journey- here are some food tips to stretch your budget and save money for transportation and accommodations.

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Japanese Food and Customs

The food in Japan is always fresh and amazing and many of our favorite foods are affordable. Japanese restaurants often have plastic displays of food outside and menus commonly have pictures. It is impolite to stick chopsticks in a bowl of rice. Never try to pass food from your chopsticks to those of another diner. Here is some advice on foods, types of restaurants, and some popular food chains.

Gyudon can help stretch your budget.

Gyudon-Gyudon is the name of a hearty meal which consists of beef over rice with onions in a bowl. You can garnish your helping with ginger and dry spices There are several chain restaurants that serve gyudon 24 hours a day 7 days a week anywhere from remote mountain villages to the heart of Shinjuku in Tokyo. Yoshinoya with their bright orange signs is the largest chain. Gyudon is perfect as a meal on the run and an affordable late night eat.

CoCo Ichiban- CoCo Ichiban is a chain restaurant specializing in Japanese-style curry which is sweet rather than spicy. If you want an extra kick in your teeth order it higher on the spice scale from their famous menus. The last time I was in a CoCo Ichiban their menu was in twelve languages. My standard order is a breaded-chicken curry with eggplant at spice level 2. I sought refuge in one curry house in January 2002 after I missed the last train and was stranded in the cold.

An Abundance of Convenience Stores- Shopping and eating from convenience stores can be an ideal way to stretch your budget and convenience stores are everywhere in Japan. Circle K, Daily Mart, Family Mart, Lawson’s, 7-11…they are really everywhere. You can find ready-made food including onigiri, which are triangular shaped rice balls wrapped in seaweed with a surprise in the center. We get tuna and Mayonnaise but if you like a food challenge also try one with umeboshi in the middle. It is a tiny, sour fruit. Onigiri can be difficult to open but are a perfect snack in between meals. Convenience stores also sell small sandwiches, bento boxes, sushi, and naturally meat on a stick.

Our favorite bowl of soup- tonkotsu ramen

Real Ramen Noodles and other Varieties -In Japan, a soup is a whole meal. Noodle shops and noodle stalls appear all over Japan. They sell other foods besides soups and you can’t go wrong with ordering because everything is so good. The biggest decision to make is on noodle choice. Will it be ramen noodles (Chinese style) udon (thick, white noodles), or maybe soba (dark buckwheat noodles)? Melissa’s choice of noodles is usually kishimin. Your next choice is what style of broth to try. Our favorite broth to accompany ramen noodles is tonkotsu, which comes with pork. Shoyu (soy) broth with any type of noodle is always a crowd pleaser.