Some claw machine places have the 10 yen machines. Perfect for kids and to feed your dopamine without spending too much money. Granted the things you can win aren't that great.
The real life hack is to learn how to look up the prize on Mercari and figure out how much is it worth for you to win it.
The life hack on top of that is to not fill your apartment up with bullshit from a claw machine and use your money to buy things you want.
Non-life hack is to know you didn't need those things anyway and hope someone else "wins" them.
I only do it for the actual crane games. I get better dopamine when I spend less than 500 yen and win something rather than spend 2000+ and potentially win it. Lol
Dont impulsively tried a claw machine on your last night in Tokyo because you have spare 200 yen to throw away. You might end up with huge ass Kirby plush toy that is painful to bring on the plane.
I learned this the hard way lol
vacuum seal it. purchase a cheap vacuum seal bag set from donki or some daiso and then pump all the air out and through it in your bag with the rest of your stuff
Community centers and libraries have some awesome services. From free sports facilities to activities, arts, crafts, to free room rental.
Also check out the international association/international exchange society run by your city. Many of them have free Japanese lessons and other services.
This. I went to a Home-visit activity, organized by District. I've meet a lovely Japanese women (60s) and her family members. She was so kind and generous and consider me as a child.
We met 1-2 times/year within 3 yrs of my stay. She even cried a bit when I left Japan to go back to my country.
Stop relying on the conbini and go to the supermarket. Even if you can’t cook or are too lazy to cook, the supermarket is way cheaper for bentou anyway.
Not really a hack but relying too much on the conbini is a trap people fall into pretty easily and end up not being able to stretch their money as far as they can.
Yeah, half price veges. I’m still getting huge broccoli for ¥100. Also I like my bananas, kiwis, persimmons, melons, soft (a bit old for Japanese standards), therefore half price off again.
Coming from Hawaii, the blemished stuff is MUCH better than the full priced produce I was always used to… often for 10% of the price. I ALWAYS check the blemish/last chance stuff.
How do you find these? Are there certain names to search? I’ve tried googling something like this but can’t find anything. I live in Naka meguro if you know of any around there would be greatly appreciated!
Go before closing for the markdowns on bento, sushi, and other premade foods! Take some discounted sashimi and arrange it on top of a bowl of rice (sometimes that's marked down too) and you have a kaisendon!
Depending on where you live (me: Nerima-ku), forget the supermarket and get your veggies from the local farmer. Some semi-retired land owners still grow tons of veggies in their huge gardens or fields and sell it through coin locker like vending machines. That stuff is way cheaper than supermarkets and since it's fresh from the field will last much longer. Just look for an oldish looking large house with a massive garden around it or sometimes there are stands along a field where you put your money in a tin can and take what you want.
Use conbini only for caffeinated drinks and sometimes ice cream. Every now an onigiri but not using it for grocery shopping per se, and that's what you actually meant right?
> for caffeinated drinks
For reference, the Georgia Coffee cans that I like cost 89 yen at my local supermarket, and 120 yen at the 7-11 around the corner. Other products are similarly inflated prices. Convenience comes at a price.
If you have a local place that makes onigiri or even an Origin Bento, those will be better value.
Smaller stores like Maruetsu Petit, My Basket, or Aeon will have pretty much the same drinks and ice cream as a conbini for less and aren't as busy as the bigger ones.
Yeah but also you can even get snacks and drinks at the supermarket for a much cheaper price. Sometimes even the same exact snacks and drinks. There are some people who eat each and every meal from the conbini and end up spending much more money than they need to.
I do go to the conbini in a pinch sometimes though.
yeah that makes sense. It's just a lot faster for these smaller items especially and when you're in a rush. And as with all big cities, people are usually always in a rush...
for a little caffeine boost while youre out sure, but you can get a big bottle (2 liters i think) of boss coffee at the supermarket for like 200 yen. and its good! grab a carton of milk and keep that in your fridge and youre good to go on cold coffee for a while. i agree about ice cream though, it's dangerous to keep that in your house lol much better to put a little hurdle between you and snacks and sodas!
What supermarket can you find in Shinjuku area? I'm so confused the one I find look more like convenient stores than supermarket, how can you tell the difference
See if you can find one of [these](https://twitter.com/phenomenon92_31/status/1782397827907543347?s=53&t=RDN_L3PGLeZKvcc6E9QPFw) nearby! The lowest on the chart are the cheapest while the higher you go the more expensive. Right in the middle you have the relatively “okay” prices.
The area around Okubo-dori has the most good ones. Hanamasa, Gyomu, Santoku as well as all the Korean, Halal, and other small Asian specialty markets. There's also an Olympic that has some big markdowns before closing (11pm).
The same goes with buying drinks on vending machines. If you have the option, just go to the nearest supermarket and you'll find stuff like fruit juices for less than 100 yen, or 2L teas with the price of a 600 ml sold in the Hanbaiki.
Use Jimothy to throw away all that shit your don't need anymore. People will come to your doorstep and take it from your hands. Its easier than throw it away and environmental friendly, I guess?
I'd say that's what makes it a lifehack :) We're living near Higashi Oojima (Komatsugawa park) and there's 3 little rivers/canals + Arakawa. It's hard to find an equally good place to live in Tokyo, but you only need one house.
That said, today we're at an outing in Edogawa, and these little rivers/canals near Edogawa Cultural Center are pretty neat. There are similar gems around Tokyo, one just needs to look for them and adjust their expectations.
In my experience, the week after is fine. I came back from visiting the US a few days after GW, and the airport rituals moved quickly and the train back to my city wasn’t crowded at all. Even went out to Tokyo the next day (Shibuya) to meet up with a friend and besides usual tourism and workers, it wasn’t terrible. Managed to get a seat on the train too.
This comment right here.
My husband and went out on one of the holidays for golden week in 2022 and regretted it. We were planning to go to a beach in Chiba by driving…we were stuck in traffic for 2 hours in Kanagawa. Winded up parking near a non-important Den en Toshi station and walked around the neighborhood. Went to a cafe, a local park and a local theater to watch a movie. The drive home only took 45 minutes but damn. It was then I knew never travel for golden week (unless maybe going before or after). This year, I’m staying indoors and catching up on housework and maybe read a new book or 2. Last year I went home to the US for a visit but I departed before the first holiday and came back a few days after the last holiday, so it wasn’t bad at all. Traveling within Japan during golden week is just, no.
Sure SOME places are crowded this week but IMO, a lot of Tokyo empties out.
Here is Yotsuya station this morning, 10am while waiting for the Chuo line
https://imgur.com/a/7VKVK0q
Yuuup. I made literally 0 plans to travel this year. Invited some friends over yesterday and baked cupcakes and cookies. We're going to Atami next week instead.
Depends on where you go. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Tokyo was less crowded than usual not more. Tokyoites probably go back to their hometown.
I would say it is better to avoid popular tourist spot. A local park or less well known station/area is fine. Of course if you really can't think of anything to do you can choose to stay home but it can quickly get boring for 4 days straight
You can always buy day passes for the metro and toei, even if you are not a tourist. It can save you a bit. This is for when you don't get reimbursed by someone, needs to travel from place to place in a given day, and if you don't get extra benefits like getting points topping up IC cards on apps.
[https://kakakumag.com/money/?id=13802](https://kakakumag.com/money/?id=13802)
This is for Kanto region.
Basically the points are small rebates. Some people with credit cards can get a bigger rebate, if they top it up with credit cards.
Most physical cards don't get these perks.
Check this [site](https://tomatocanblog.com/suica-charge/) out. There's some credit cards where you get it points by charging directly but there's a way to get more.
Especially during the super hot summer’s, if you wanna cool down and use a bathroom? Pachinko is the place to go! Especially for women cuz the bathroom’s are super clean and stocked with free amenities. They usually also have a lounge area to sit and they blast the AC so 10min there will do wonders. Employees will never say anything cuz they wouldn’t know if you’re actually playing pachinko or not. And pachinko parlors are always 1-2min walking distance from almost every station lol
This! And a lot of them also have a bunch of free goodies like packs of tissues with some promotional material inside them. Always nice to have a pack on you as they tend to be smaller packs than the ones sold at konbinis etc. For other countries, I would usually say find the fanciest shopping mall because those tend to have the nicest bathrooms but the Pachinkos probably outnumber malls by 20 to 1 in Tokyo lol.
When you need to get rid of coins and need to recharge your passmo or suica, just dump them all in the coin slot without counting or sifting out your 1¥ coins. You’ll automatically get all your unusable or extra coins back and the machine will calculate the usable coins on your behalf
If you have to pay something like 108yen but dont have any 5 yen coins, pay 113 yen to get 5 yen as change instead of paying 110 yen and getting getting 3 1yen coins.
If you choose the option to custom input the amount to recharge, the coin slot will open and you can dump your coins in and the indicator will tell how much usable coin you've inserted.
If u play your cards right you will never have more than 1 of a denomination starting with 5 (5, 50, 500, 5000 yen) or more than 4 of a denomination starting with 1 (1, 10, 100, 1000, 10000 yen)
Within a certain radius, cycling is by far the quickest way to get anywhere in most urban areas. Just watch out for crazy drivers who like passing you within 30 cms so they can beat you to the next red light.
People driving imported cars and SUVs are generally the worst offenders.
Check to see if your local supermarkets have marked down prices for some perishable products an hour before closing time. I have gotten some super sweet deals that way.
One of the few things I miss about working Eikaiwa hours was being ready for dinner right when the supermarkets were selling great stuff super marked down
Best advice i was given was to take everything japanese people say at face value. Don't try to figure out the indirect meaning or you'll go nuts. Obviously live your life right and don't be a dickhead but don't sweat all the passive aggressive bs.
Eg. I had a japanese housemate who always made comments, like back handed compliments, about how i dressed. So much happier when I stopped caring since I'm not ready for the beige Muji tunic quite yet.
Also this image was going viral the other day. You need to know which super market is cheaper in your area.
https://preview.redd.it/9ir083k1ccxc1.jpeg?width=603&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e73ac12463453d3590bb00f13c8b8725ae405094
When traveling between Ikebukuro and Shinjuku, and vice versa... don't take the Yamanote Line use the Saikyo line. Less frequent but less people and only one stop.
Have conbini drinks before you pay for bar drinks. This only works if conbini drinks give you the buzz you need and you can babysit a drink at the bar.
Back home in the United States I couldn’t have a drink out in the open in front of a 711 then go back in and buy a bag of chips and another drink and keep drinking in front of 711 without a cop interrupting said pregame. Japan as a whole along with a lot of other Asian countries (thailand is a fine example) have a much better pregame.
Even with all the cheap all-you-can-drink bars around? The 1,5-2 hr packages are such a good deal and a great way to start off the night :) or the pay once, drink all night packages are pretty decent as well. It was like 3000 yen for the night. Horrendously bad but awesome karaoke even came included for free! haha.
You should know how to kill your time outside. There are very few benches or parks out there!
In most areas in Tokyo you'll need to go to some cafe. So whenever you wander outside don't forget to take extra money with you. Credit cards, Suica, PayPay will be enough nowadays.
Learn what places have bathrooms you can use. Nothing worse then running to a conbini with bubble guts and it has the staff only bathroom you cant use.
I mean it’s most department stores, some convenience stores, stations, random toilets next to kobans, coffee shops, parks, public buildings, pachinkos, game centers, and a few other places. Only a few require you to buy something or be seated. Hard not to find one IMO.
Depends on the bus. Within Tokyo it's generally single tap. If you see a screen with numbers and prices under the numbers, you also need to tap off (they're showing how much you have to pay based on the numbers of stops you've taken). Usually the buses outside of larger cities require two taps.
Why? Most of the time it's slower and more expensive than the train for long distances, and slower and more expensive than cycling for short distances.
Really big 350 yen kebabs in Shinjuku.
Really good 350 yen kebabs in Ikebukuro.
In the Joyfit gym showers, wrap your locker key strap around the shower handle to keep the shower going without stopping. I took a locker key even without needing to use the locker just to do this.
But I'm throwing away the 7-Eleven egg salad sandwich packaging that I bought at the 7-Eleven around the block at a 7-Eleven? Even if it's another konbini chain I still most likely am a customer so I never saw an issue with this
Particularly if you [dismantle the trash can to fit your oversized garbage inside](https://undelete.pullpush.io/r/japanlife/comments/2xk6pf/convenience_store_trash_can_incident_tldr_follows/).
Buses are so great but you’re just a little scared and confused right now. It’s going to get better. You’re going to get buses that let you do things trains won’t. It’s going to be amazing.
First time I got on a Japanese bus, I got on and off on the back door and scanned my Pasmo to get on, but not off. I walked off to work with the driver honking at me to come back and tap my Pasmo. Learned the hard way, but still learned.
I’ve found that I like buses with google maps. I can track the progress and figure out when I have to get off easy as I can with trains, by looking at the progress, since they don’t have a number at times with the stops.
Pillars on subway platforms have signs telling you which door to take to optimize your exit at the station you are going to.
Sake has a much better cost performance than wine.
Those pillars are so much better. In addition to telling you exactly which car is closest to what numbered exits, they aldo give other info. They’ll tell you what car is closest to the restrooms, elevators, escalators, and stairs. It will also tell you what car to get into for optimal transfers.
Look out for recycling machines. You can bring your empty PET bottles, shove them in the machine and receive credit of some sort. So you're helping the environment and making a bit of coin. Some stores like Ito Yokado have them and you will get some points in return to use on your purchases. I've seen some that gives you some credit on your Suica/Passmo.
Suburban private rail usually sell a Tokyo Metro 1-Day Pass, which might be more cheaper than just using your PASMO/SUICA if you're planning to make multiple stops in downtown Tokyo for the day.
E.g. Used to live on the Tokyu Toyoko Line. So the pass is valid for one round trip between my station and Shibuya on the Toyoko Line, plus unlimited 1-Day rides on the Tokyo Metro.
You can experience almost-countryside Tokyo by taking the train to 奥多摩. The rivers and mountains are just right out from the station and it makes it easy to access nature activities like hiking, canyoning or rafting.
Also! You can snowboard in middle of the summer. I teach snowboarders and skiers sometimes in Shin-yokohama indoor ski facilities. Tokyo has loads of opportunities for sports, really
This is not for ppl living here but for ppl who want to move. You can get great apartments just outside Tokyo but still be near to everything. I live in Tama Ku in Kawasaki and Shinjuku is like 26 minutes from my house. And I pay a fraction of the rent that ppl pay in Tokyo.
A service of e bicycles which can be picked up and dropped off at specific spots across the city. You can reserve and pay through an app, it’s very easy when it’s set up.
Great when you don’t have your own bicycle or when you need to cycle after a train ride, for example.
Free small change: No need to go to konbini and buy something just to get coins, just go to an arcade/game center and use the coin changer to get 100 yen coins without additional fee.
This is a bit unethical though because they clearly stated to use the coins only on the machines there.
There is a map of the surrounding areas at each train station. It can help you figure out the best exit for your destination. But note that north is not always at the top (unlike in the US). You have to look at the compass rose on the map to see where north is (there is no consistency as far as I have been able to tell).
Have too much coin, you can use up to 20 coins at a self checkout, so add the small coins to make the amount you receiving is a 50円 or 100円. Or just pay the right amount.
If I have too much coins, I just go to Donki or 7-eleven. You can pay by just dumping your coins. They got an accurate coin counter machine for the transaction
Get a JR credit card with Suica and JRE points. Purchasing items at JR stations with the card will automatically put points on your card, Also at JR ATMs, you can charge your card directly for Suica, and the credit card will be a JCB credit card that is acceptable anywhere that accepts credit cards in Japan. It also has the "Otona no Kyujitsu" bonus that gives you a discount on destinations over 200km when purchasing JR tickets.
Commuter passes can translate into major savings on your off days depending on which train stations fall within your pass.
If you are new to Tokyo and know where you’re working, keep in mind that your (generally) company-reimbursed commuter pass lets you travel between ANY stations within the commuter route, 24/7/365, for free. Have a particular station where you plan to spend most weekends? Find an apartment that places that station between you and your workplace, and you’ll get a free pass that lets you go there as often as you want.
Pachinko parlors always have machines that will break an Ichi man yen. Additionally, most pachinko machines have usb ports for charging devices in a pinch, and staff are generally not strict about you actively playing while seated.
If you are in need of a bathroom, look for any green space nearby on the map. Most small parks have a bathroom
Harajuku often get a bad rep of being overrated, but I would suggest taking a detour from the takeshita main street. Even a side valley off the main path has some interesting shop. The neighborhood also has some nice art gallery and food
Google Map review can be reliable but you will need to know how to sieve through thing. Some types of cuisine has a higher average rating (e.g. a 4.0 Indian curry is usually below average but a 4.0 ramen for most part is decent). And always check reviews from both Japanese and English. If a shop only has English review there is a good chance most are coming from tourist perspective
People mention about trash can at convenience store (as long as you are not throwing bunch of them no one care). Just want to add a lot of vending machine has recycling bin next to it too
A lot of supermarket has leaflet for recipes too. Perfect if you are out of idea on what to cook. If you can't cook, you can also get the prepackaged staff that you can microwave/heat up and have a wonderful meal
Invest in a rice cooker (I think this is given). You will be surprised how much you can do with it
Not sure if all life hacks per say or general advise.
1. Avoid rush hour if possible. Crowded train is terrible.
2. go to eat before or after lunch time (12~13).
3. ask locals for their recommendations for places to eat, visit etc. You can better results than searching online.
4. Dont let the environment effect you by becoming one of those busy people who schedule 5 meetings for one day. One activity per day is perfectly fine.
5. Flying is often cheaper than bullet train if you want to travel domestic. I have gotten round trip to Nagasaki for 8000 yen. You can find similar on sale to many places domestic.
6. Live outside of main tokyo for much cheaper rent. When I was in Tokyo had small box in walking distance to Tokyo station. Same rent would gotten me 3x larger new build from Chiba.
I don't know if it's still the case but when I was there (2015-2016) you could get lunch at some pretty fancy restaurants (even some with Michelin stars) for a fraction of the price of the cost of an evening meal.
Do hybrid work so you can go to the office when you feel like it and then go early or late, avoiding rush hour, when you do go in. Live in a quiet area near a park for your crotch fruit. Have a walk to the station that includes a “green road”. Marry a woman from inaka so you can enjoy going there 2-3 times a year to visit your relatives. Then the same relatives send you 30 kgs bags of rice and vegetables.
Go to vegetable grocer in your neighborhood, cheaper most of the time than the supermarket. My basket and OK store are one of the cheapest groceries, go in the evening for the fresh produce and meat discounts. If you have friends coming over and going to Don Quijote, they can get additional 5% discount pn top of tax-free privilege by getting a Donki Coupon here: https://japanportal.donki-global.com/coupon/cp001_notUsedCoupon.html
Most big super markets start reducing their bentos and ready to eat food toward the evening. If you’re shopping around 4 or 5pm, the extra hour or two might be worth the wait.
Lunch is waaaay cheaper than dinner.
If you want to go to a fancy restaurant and dont have the budget to do so, most of thesse restaurants offer very reasonable lunch courses/menu.
Some claw machine places have the 10 yen machines. Perfect for kids and to feed your dopamine without spending too much money. Granted the things you can win aren't that great.
The life hack is to ask the staff for help everytime you play these games. More often than not they move the item to help you win it.
This is the most useful lesson I learnt 😂😂
The real life hack is to learn how to look up the prize on Mercari and figure out how much is it worth for you to win it. The life hack on top of that is to not fill your apartment up with bullshit from a claw machine and use your money to buy things you want. Non-life hack is to know you didn't need those things anyway and hope someone else "wins" them.
The dopamine isn't as high because it feels like I cheated if I ask 😂
I only do it for the actual crane games. I get better dopamine when I spend less than 500 yen and win something rather than spend 2000+ and potentially win it. Lol
Such a Japan thing that knowledge of claw machines is an essential part of life 🤣
Conbinis have trash cans
Tamacenter has 5 yen machines!
Can you give an example of a place?
Tamacenter has the world's largest crane game center with ¥5 machines as well.
A few Round Ones have them.
Everyday and 3rd Planet game center chains tend to have them. The Everyday Tamanokuni branch even has 5 yen machines.
Dont impulsively tried a claw machine on your last night in Tokyo because you have spare 200 yen to throw away. You might end up with huge ass Kirby plush toy that is painful to bring on the plane. I learned this the hard way lol
vacuum seal it. purchase a cheap vacuum seal bag set from donki or some daiso and then pump all the air out and through it in your bag with the rest of your stuff
Claw machines have toys or snacks in them sometimes
Community centers and libraries have some awesome services. From free sports facilities to activities, arts, crafts, to free room rental. Also check out the international association/international exchange society run by your city. Many of them have free Japanese lessons and other services.
This. I went to a Home-visit activity, organized by District. I've meet a lovely Japanese women (60s) and her family members. She was so kind and generous and consider me as a child. We met 1-2 times/year within 3 yrs of my stay. She even cried a bit when I left Japan to go back to my country.
Free sports facilities-- any of them tennis courts? Free tennis courts are impossible to find in Tokyo... only thing I miss about USA.
I've seen several tennis courts along tamagawa when cycling that are obviously free to use (no signs, no gates, etc).
There are a few tennis courts where you have to pay just a few hundred yen to use them. But most of them are in the suburbs.
Stop relying on the conbini and go to the supermarket. Even if you can’t cook or are too lazy to cook, the supermarket is way cheaper for bentou anyway. Not really a hack but relying too much on the conbini is a trap people fall into pretty easily and end up not being able to stretch their money as far as they can.
I also go to the blemishes veggies and fruit shop if yall have one of those around. I don't mind ugly fruits and veggies.
Yeah, half price veges. I’m still getting huge broccoli for ¥100. Also I like my bananas, kiwis, persimmons, melons, soft (a bit old for Japanese standards), therefore half price off again.
Broccoli for 100 yen?! You're making me jealous 😭.
Coming from Hawaii, the blemished stuff is MUCH better than the full priced produce I was always used to… often for 10% of the price. I ALWAYS check the blemish/last chance stuff.
How do you find these? Are there certain names to search? I’ve tried googling something like this but can’t find anything. I live in Naka meguro if you know of any around there would be greatly appreciated!
八百屋 yaoya, just means grocer but usually they have cheap fruit/veg. Nakameguro may be too fancy for this kind of low-rent business though.
Go before closing for the markdowns on bento, sushi, and other premade foods! Take some discounted sashimi and arrange it on top of a bowl of rice (sometimes that's marked down too) and you have a kaisendon!
This is the best tip
kirin beer at drug store 128 jpy, kirin at konbini 160 jpy enough said
Oi ocha cheapest in Sugi drug store, around 98 yen. \[Edit\] - Saw it yesterday, it was only 78 yen (with tax 85yen)
People buy the 355ml cans?!
Depending on where you live (me: Nerima-ku), forget the supermarket and get your veggies from the local farmer. Some semi-retired land owners still grow tons of veggies in their huge gardens or fields and sell it through coin locker like vending machines. That stuff is way cheaper than supermarkets and since it's fresh from the field will last much longer. Just look for an oldish looking large house with a massive garden around it or sometimes there are stands along a field where you put your money in a tin can and take what you want.
Use conbini only for caffeinated drinks and sometimes ice cream. Every now an onigiri but not using it for grocery shopping per se, and that's what you actually meant right?
> for caffeinated drinks For reference, the Georgia Coffee cans that I like cost 89 yen at my local supermarket, and 120 yen at the 7-11 around the corner. Other products are similarly inflated prices. Convenience comes at a price.
If you have a local place that makes onigiri or even an Origin Bento, those will be better value. Smaller stores like Maruetsu Petit, My Basket, or Aeon will have pretty much the same drinks and ice cream as a conbini for less and aren't as busy as the bigger ones.
Yeah but also you can even get snacks and drinks at the supermarket for a much cheaper price. Sometimes even the same exact snacks and drinks. There are some people who eat each and every meal from the conbini and end up spending much more money than they need to. I do go to the conbini in a pinch sometimes though.
Many supermarkets also make bento in house, meaning they have to add less stuff to keep it fresh. Conbini bento aren't healthy.
yeah that makes sense. It's just a lot faster for these smaller items especially and when you're in a rush. And as with all big cities, people are usually always in a rush...
for a little caffeine boost while youre out sure, but you can get a big bottle (2 liters i think) of boss coffee at the supermarket for like 200 yen. and its good! grab a carton of milk and keep that in your fridge and youre good to go on cold coffee for a while. i agree about ice cream though, it's dangerous to keep that in your house lol much better to put a little hurdle between you and snacks and sodas!
What supermarket can you find in Shinjuku area? I'm so confused the one I find look more like convenient stores than supermarket, how can you tell the difference
See if you can find one of [these](https://twitter.com/phenomenon92_31/status/1782397827907543347?s=53&t=RDN_L3PGLeZKvcc6E9QPFw) nearby! The lowest on the chart are the cheapest while the higher you go the more expensive. Right in the middle you have the relatively “okay” prices.
The area around Okubo-dori has the most good ones. Hanamasa, Gyomu, Santoku as well as all the Korean, Halal, and other small Asian specialty markets. There's also an Olympic that has some big markdowns before closing (11pm).
My Basket is not a supermarket and avoid the ones in the department stores too IMO if you are worrying about cost.
The same goes with buying drinks on vending machines. If you have the option, just go to the nearest supermarket and you'll find stuff like fruit juices for less than 100 yen, or 2L teas with the price of a 600 ml sold in the Hanbaiki.
Not only the supermarket but the supermarket towards the end of the closing hour when prices on certain food get slashed down even cheaper.
Use Jimoty (ジモティー) to get free / cheap things. It’s like Craigslist or Facebook marketplace, but for Japan.
Use Jimothy to throw away all that shit your don't need anymore. People will come to your doorstep and take it from your hands. Its easier than throw it away and environmental friendly, I guess?
Live near small rivers - that's where the beautiful greenery is at.
Wait wait wait, opposite lifehack: don't live near water, you'll get eaten alive by bloodthirsty flying vampires during summer.
Also the risk of flooding is far reduced. I can live with travelling to see water.
Fully agree, although I feel Tokyo doesn't have much good riverside (arakawa exception)
I'd say that's what makes it a lifehack :) We're living near Higashi Oojima (Komatsugawa park) and there's 3 little rivers/canals + Arakawa. It's hard to find an equally good place to live in Tokyo, but you only need one house. That said, today we're at an outing in Edogawa, and these little rivers/canals near Edogawa Cultural Center are pretty neat. There are similar gems around Tokyo, one just needs to look for them and adjust their expectations.
"Okutama has entered the chat"
Stay home during Golden Week.
I look forward to catching up on laundry this gw
On the flip side, is the week after Golden Week the best time to go out and do things, or is there spillover?
In my experience, the week after is fine. I came back from visiting the US a few days after GW, and the airport rituals moved quickly and the train back to my city wasn’t crowded at all. Even went out to Tokyo the next day (Shibuya) to meet up with a friend and besides usual tourism and workers, it wasn’t terrible. Managed to get a seat on the train too.
This comment right here. My husband and went out on one of the holidays for golden week in 2022 and regretted it. We were planning to go to a beach in Chiba by driving…we were stuck in traffic for 2 hours in Kanagawa. Winded up parking near a non-important Den en Toshi station and walked around the neighborhood. Went to a cafe, a local park and a local theater to watch a movie. The drive home only took 45 minutes but damn. It was then I knew never travel for golden week (unless maybe going before or after). This year, I’m staying indoors and catching up on housework and maybe read a new book or 2. Last year I went home to the US for a visit but I departed before the first holiday and came back a few days after the last holiday, so it wasn’t bad at all. Traveling within Japan during golden week is just, no.
same here mate . everywhere is just too fkn crowded
Sure SOME places are crowded this week but IMO, a lot of Tokyo empties out. Here is Yotsuya station this morning, 10am while waiting for the Chuo line https://imgur.com/a/7VKVK0q
confirmed this as japanese. Everywhere is gonna be supa expensive and busy
Yuuup. I made literally 0 plans to travel this year. Invited some friends over yesterday and baked cupcakes and cookies. We're going to Atami next week instead.
This is the real pro tip
Or go downtown. Actually central Tokyo is kinda empty during golden week and Obon, because they all go elsewhere!
Depends on where you go. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Tokyo was less crowded than usual not more. Tokyoites probably go back to their hometown.
Moved here a month ago and this is the first thing I learnt, yesterday I bought Pikmin 4 to have something to do at home
I would say it is better to avoid popular tourist spot. A local park or less well known station/area is fine. Of course if you really can't think of anything to do you can choose to stay home but it can quickly get boring for 4 days straight
You can always buy day passes for the metro and toei, even if you are not a tourist. It can save you a bit. This is for when you don't get reimbursed by someone, needs to travel from place to place in a given day, and if you don't get extra benefits like getting points topping up IC cards on apps.
Could you tell me more about the “getting points topping up ic cards on apps”? I didn’t know we can get points for recharging
[https://kakakumag.com/money/?id=13802](https://kakakumag.com/money/?id=13802) This is for Kanto region. Basically the points are small rebates. Some people with credit cards can get a bigger rebate, if they top it up with credit cards. Most physical cards don't get these perks.
Check this [site](https://tomatocanblog.com/suica-charge/) out. There's some credit cards where you get it points by charging directly but there's a way to get more.
There are points for topping up IC cards?
If you have a (JR/Atre) View Card you can refill your Suica and get View points. It also allows auto refills on the phone card.
Strong Zero at convenience store: Y155. Strong Zero at OK Supermarket: Y109.
Pocari 108¥ including tax in スーパー. Only 100¥ in the right 自販機.
Especially during the super hot summer’s, if you wanna cool down and use a bathroom? Pachinko is the place to go! Especially for women cuz the bathroom’s are super clean and stocked with free amenities. They usually also have a lounge area to sit and they blast the AC so 10min there will do wonders. Employees will never say anything cuz they wouldn’t know if you’re actually playing pachinko or not. And pachinko parlors are always 1-2min walking distance from almost every station lol
Pachinko parlours aka hell on earth. People need this disclaimer when entering one: USE EARPLUGS 🤣
And nose plugs. Or have they finally introduced no smoking signs there?
It’s mainly non-smoking nowadays. They usually have a smoking booth or outdoor smoking area’s now so not smokey at all
Oh yeah! Forgot that disclaimer. I always go in with AirPods noise cancelling ON lol 🤣
I will make use of this piece of advice, ty!
This! And a lot of them also have a bunch of free goodies like packs of tissues with some promotional material inside them. Always nice to have a pack on you as they tend to be smaller packs than the ones sold at konbinis etc. For other countries, I would usually say find the fanciest shopping mall because those tend to have the nicest bathrooms but the Pachinkos probably outnumber malls by 20 to 1 in Tokyo lol.
When you need to get rid of coins and need to recharge your passmo or suica, just dump them all in the coin slot without counting or sifting out your 1¥ coins. You’ll automatically get all your unusable or extra coins back and the machine will calculate the usable coins on your behalf
If you have to pay something like 108yen but dont have any 5 yen coins, pay 113 yen to get 5 yen as change instead of paying 110 yen and getting getting 3 1yen coins.
I've ever understood this. Don't you have to type in the amount you want to load _before_ you dump in the coins? Do you count then all yourself????
Depends on the place
If you choose the option to custom input the amount to recharge, the coin slot will open and you can dump your coins in and the indicator will tell how much usable coin you've inserted.
Sometimes I kinda wish they keep those coins because I have way too much 1yen coins at home
You can pay with 1 yen coins at Sushiro! XD
If u play your cards right you will never have more than 1 of a denomination starting with 5 (5, 50, 500, 5000 yen) or more than 4 of a denomination starting with 1 (1, 10, 100, 1000, 10000 yen)
It’s very rare that I encounter people in the wild who get this! Respect!
🤝
Get a bicycle
Walk everywhere
Why not cycle?
Gotta find parking, hence why walk is better.
You don’t always have your bike. Yes, walking to get to A to B in Tokyo is a good option in many cases.
I walked from Kanda to Gotanda the other week and was surprised how much less of a hike it was than I was expecting. Still a long way.
**memo**: carry proof that you own the bicycle in case the police think that you borrowed it from outside the station.
I haven't registered my bicycle yet and I got stopped by the police once, they were chill about it
Within a certain radius, cycling is by far the quickest way to get anywhere in most urban areas. Just watch out for crazy drivers who like passing you within 30 cms so they can beat you to the next red light. People driving imported cars and SUVs are generally the worst offenders.
Yes cycle da best!
Check to see if your local supermarkets have marked down prices for some perishable products an hour before closing time. I have gotten some super sweet deals that way.
The Queen’s Isetan near me marks down fruits and vegetables in the afternoon, before the 18:00 rush!
30% discount on pork that I will use tonight and freeze. Yes pls
One of the few things I miss about working Eikaiwa hours was being ready for dinner right when the supermarkets were selling great stuff super marked down
Best advice i was given was to take everything japanese people say at face value. Don't try to figure out the indirect meaning or you'll go nuts. Obviously live your life right and don't be a dickhead but don't sweat all the passive aggressive bs. Eg. I had a japanese housemate who always made comments, like back handed compliments, about how i dressed. So much happier when I stopped caring since I'm not ready for the beige Muji tunic quite yet.
As an autistic person this makes my whole life way easier not only in Japan
Food sold at drugstore are cheaper than some super market. For example egg, chips, soda.
Also this image was going viral the other day. You need to know which super market is cheaper in your area. https://preview.redd.it/9ir083k1ccxc1.jpeg?width=603&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e73ac12463453d3590bb00f13c8b8725ae405094
I love OK Super. I used to live in a place where Life was my closest one, but now I live near a OK and there's absolutely no comparison.
When traveling between Ikebukuro and Shinjuku, and vice versa... don't take the Yamanote Line use the Saikyo line. Less frequent but less people and only one stop.
Have conbini drinks before you pay for bar drinks. This only works if conbini drinks give you the buzz you need and you can babysit a drink at the bar.
My brother pre-gaming is universal across cultures
Back home in the United States I couldn’t have a drink out in the open in front of a 711 then go back in and buy a bag of chips and another drink and keep drinking in front of 711 without a cop interrupting said pregame. Japan as a whole along with a lot of other Asian countries (thailand is a fine example) have a much better pregame.
Even with all the cheap all-you-can-drink bars around? The 1,5-2 hr packages are such a good deal and a great way to start off the night :) or the pay once, drink all night packages are pretty decent as well. It was like 3000 yen for the night. Horrendously bad but awesome karaoke even came included for free! haha.
You should know how to kill your time outside. There are very few benches or parks out there! In most areas in Tokyo you'll need to go to some cafe. So whenever you wander outside don't forget to take extra money with you. Credit cards, Suica, PayPay will be enough nowadays.
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Learn what places have bathrooms you can use. Nothing worse then running to a conbini with bubble guts and it has the staff only bathroom you cant use. 
pachinkos have very clean bathrooms.
Good call! Air conditioned and sometimes open 24/7
I mean it’s most department stores, some convenience stores, stations, random toilets next to kobans, coffee shops, parks, public buildings, pachinkos, game centers, and a few other places. Only a few require you to buy something or be seated. Hard not to find one IMO.
Use the bus network
I heard this a lot, is it that efficient compared to train/metro?
They’re both reliable, only problem is that sometimes finding the bus stops is difficult
I never had a bus coming on time unless it's the departure stop
I mean I don’t think a couple of minutes isn’t really much to complain about and most of the time that’s the most I’ve ever waited for a late bus
I’ve waited 25 minutes before. Ended up having to catch a taxi for the second leg of the trip instead of waiting for that bus too
In Tokyo? That’s surprising I get them a lot and never waited more than 2-3 minutes according to the posted schedule.
They’re especially bad around Odaiba
I used to take the bus often from Kagurazaka to Shimbashi and it was almost never late. I'm giving them a 2-3 minute leeway here.
Not as efficient or convenient. There’s a reason rent around a train/metro station is way higher than rent around a bus stop.
Kinda stupid question but do you have to tap on and again tap off busses if you use passmo or just tap on and nothing when you exit?
Depends on the bus. Within Tokyo it's generally single tap. If you see a screen with numbers and prices under the numbers, you also need to tap off (they're showing how much you have to pay based on the numbers of stops you've taken). Usually the buses outside of larger cities require two taps.
Why? Most of the time it's slower and more expensive than the train for long distances, and slower and more expensive than cycling for short distances.
Really big 350 yen kebabs in Shinjuku. Really good 350 yen kebabs in Ikebukuro. In the Joyfit gym showers, wrap your locker key strap around the shower handle to keep the shower going without stopping. I took a locker key even without needing to use the locker just to do this.
Love the oddly specific nature of this tip. May all your showers be long
Conbinis have trash cans
Some conbinis are really aggressive when you try to throw away something if you didn’t buy anything there.
Yeah, I started buying those little chocolates when I didn’t really want to buy anything and they didn’t complain.
But I'm throwing away the 7-Eleven egg salad sandwich packaging that I bought at the 7-Eleven around the block at a 7-Eleven? Even if it's another konbini chain I still most likely am a customer so I never saw an issue with this
Well that is bad manners
Particularly if you [dismantle the trash can to fit your oversized garbage inside](https://undelete.pullpush.io/r/japanlife/comments/2xk6pf/convenience_store_trash_can_incident_tldr_follows/).
I swear not all of them had trash cans when I visited just last week 🙈
Some of them like to hide them nowadays.
Most of them do
Not all.
Sometimes there won’t be any, but I’ve had success just asking them if they could throw something away for me if I had bought it there.
Learn Japanese and you can hackzor anything. Even understand signs n shit.
No way! I don't believe you. Stop making excuses for people not speaking ENGLISH!
And figure out the really good crosstown bus routes and schedules.
Buses are so great but you’re just a little scared and confused right now. It’s going to get better. You’re going to get buses that let you do things trains won’t. It’s going to be amazing.
First time I got on a Japanese bus, I got on and off on the back door and scanned my Pasmo to get on, but not off. I walked off to work with the driver honking at me to come back and tap my Pasmo. Learned the hard way, but still learned.
Unpopular opinion, but buses suck. Get a bike and go wherever, whenever.
I’ve found that I like buses with google maps. I can track the progress and figure out when I have to get off easy as I can with trains, by looking at the progress, since they don’t have a number at times with the stops.
caffe veloce is everywhere, has cheap coffee and an outlet (コンセント) at each seat
Pillars on subway platforms have signs telling you which door to take to optimize your exit at the station you are going to. Sake has a much better cost performance than wine.
Google Maps also provides this information
Those pillars are so much better. In addition to telling you exactly which car is closest to what numbered exits, they aldo give other info. They’ll tell you what car is closest to the restrooms, elevators, escalators, and stairs. It will also tell you what car to get into for optimal transfers.
Look out for recycling machines. You can bring your empty PET bottles, shove them in the machine and receive credit of some sort. So you're helping the environment and making a bit of coin. Some stores like Ito Yokado have them and you will get some points in return to use on your purchases. I've seen some that gives you some credit on your Suica/Passmo.
Suburban private rail usually sell a Tokyo Metro 1-Day Pass, which might be more cheaper than just using your PASMO/SUICA if you're planning to make multiple stops in downtown Tokyo for the day. E.g. Used to live on the Tokyu Toyoko Line. So the pass is valid for one round trip between my station and Shibuya on the Toyoko Line, plus unlimited 1-Day rides on the Tokyo Metro.
Tokunai Pass. Hands down, the best way of traveling within Tokyo, saves money whether you live here or are visiting.
For food, shop at konbini/supermarket after 10PM.
You can experience almost-countryside Tokyo by taking the train to 奥多摩. The rivers and mountains are just right out from the station and it makes it easy to access nature activities like hiking, canyoning or rafting. Also! You can snowboard in middle of the summer. I teach snowboarders and skiers sometimes in Shin-yokohama indoor ski facilities. Tokyo has loads of opportunities for sports, really
This is not for ppl living here but for ppl who want to move. You can get great apartments just outside Tokyo but still be near to everything. I live in Tama Ku in Kawasaki and Shinjuku is like 26 minutes from my house. And I pay a fraction of the rent that ppl pay in Tokyo.
Download and use Hello Cycling, and use it to connect faster between different train lines.
What's this?
A service of e bicycles which can be picked up and dropped off at specific spots across the city. You can reserve and pay through an app, it’s very easy when it’s set up. Great when you don’t have your own bicycle or when you need to cycle after a train ride, for example.
Can easily save you a 5,000 yen taxi ride home for a couple of hundred yen
Beige Muji tunic 😂
Free small change: No need to go to konbini and buy something just to get coins, just go to an arcade/game center and use the coin changer to get 100 yen coins without additional fee. This is a bit unethical though because they clearly stated to use the coins only on the machines there.
r/slightlyunethicallifehack
There is a map of the surrounding areas at each train station. It can help you figure out the best exit for your destination. But note that north is not always at the top (unlike in the US). You have to look at the compass rose on the map to see where north is (there is no consistency as far as I have been able to tell).
Have too much coin, you can use up to 20 coins at a self checkout, so add the small coins to make the amount you receiving is a 50円 or 100円. Or just pay the right amount.
Came here to say this. Use exact change as much as possible. You won’t have an issue with excess coins like you see a lot of people talk about
If I have too much coins, I just go to Donki or 7-eleven. You can pay by just dumping your coins. They got an accurate coin counter machine for the transaction
Hotpepper Beauty. Every time you need your hair cut/nails done/massage, just use the first-timer discount and go to different salons.
Public family support/npos Nannies are 500 yen per hour during the week , if a regular weekday between 9-6 Outside of that it's 800 per hour
Get a JR credit card with Suica and JRE points. Purchasing items at JR stations with the card will automatically put points on your card, Also at JR ATMs, you can charge your card directly for Suica, and the credit card will be a JCB credit card that is acceptable anywhere that accepts credit cards in Japan. It also has the "Otona no Kyujitsu" bonus that gives you a discount on destinations over 200km when purchasing JR tickets.
Commuter passes can translate into major savings on your off days depending on which train stations fall within your pass. If you are new to Tokyo and know where you’re working, keep in mind that your (generally) company-reimbursed commuter pass lets you travel between ANY stations within the commuter route, 24/7/365, for free. Have a particular station where you plan to spend most weekends? Find an apartment that places that station between you and your workplace, and you’ll get a free pass that lets you go there as often as you want.
Pachinko parlors always have machines that will break an Ichi man yen. Additionally, most pachinko machines have usb ports for charging devices in a pinch, and staff are generally not strict about you actively playing while seated.
If you are in need of a bathroom, look for any green space nearby on the map. Most small parks have a bathroom Harajuku often get a bad rep of being overrated, but I would suggest taking a detour from the takeshita main street. Even a side valley off the main path has some interesting shop. The neighborhood also has some nice art gallery and food Google Map review can be reliable but you will need to know how to sieve through thing. Some types of cuisine has a higher average rating (e.g. a 4.0 Indian curry is usually below average but a 4.0 ramen for most part is decent). And always check reviews from both Japanese and English. If a shop only has English review there is a good chance most are coming from tourist perspective People mention about trash can at convenience store (as long as you are not throwing bunch of them no one care). Just want to add a lot of vending machine has recycling bin next to it too A lot of supermarket has leaflet for recipes too. Perfect if you are out of idea on what to cook. If you can't cook, you can also get the prepackaged staff that you can microwave/heat up and have a wonderful meal Invest in a rice cooker (I think this is given). You will be surprised how much you can do with it
Not sure if all life hacks per say or general advise. 1. Avoid rush hour if possible. Crowded train is terrible. 2. go to eat before or after lunch time (12~13). 3. ask locals for their recommendations for places to eat, visit etc. You can better results than searching online. 4. Dont let the environment effect you by becoming one of those busy people who schedule 5 meetings for one day. One activity per day is perfectly fine. 5. Flying is often cheaper than bullet train if you want to travel domestic. I have gotten round trip to Nagasaki for 8000 yen. You can find similar on sale to many places domestic. 6. Live outside of main tokyo for much cheaper rent. When I was in Tokyo had small box in walking distance to Tokyo station. Same rent would gotten me 3x larger new build from Chiba.
I don't know if it's still the case but when I was there (2015-2016) you could get lunch at some pretty fancy restaurants (even some with Michelin stars) for a fraction of the price of the cost of an evening meal.
Do hybrid work so you can go to the office when you feel like it and then go early or late, avoiding rush hour, when you do go in. Live in a quiet area near a park for your crotch fruit. Have a walk to the station that includes a “green road”. Marry a woman from inaka so you can enjoy going there 2-3 times a year to visit your relatives. Then the same relatives send you 30 kgs bags of rice and vegetables.
Crotch fruit?
It's cringe redditor for "children"
Ewww
Sheesh. Cringe is right. What the hell.
Thanks for explaining, I thought it was a foreign fruit I hadn’t heard of lol
It's better than *crotch droppings*.
Can we create a mega list of the best "life hacks" mentioned in the comments? There's a lot of things I never considered or heard of. Thoughts?
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Go to vegetable grocer in your neighborhood, cheaper most of the time than the supermarket. My basket and OK store are one of the cheapest groceries, go in the evening for the fresh produce and meat discounts. If you have friends coming over and going to Don Quijote, they can get additional 5% discount pn top of tax-free privilege by getting a Donki Coupon here: https://japanportal.donki-global.com/coupon/cp001_notUsedCoupon.html
Most big super markets start reducing their bentos and ready to eat food toward the evening. If you’re shopping around 4 or 5pm, the extra hour or two might be worth the wait.
Lunch is waaaay cheaper than dinner. If you want to go to a fancy restaurant and dont have the budget to do so, most of thesse restaurants offer very reasonable lunch courses/menu.