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The story
On 5ch’s live-discussion board “Nandemo Jikkyo G,” a post claiming that rent in Tokyo’s 23 wards has become more than double the price of comparable properties in Osaka went viral, arguing that “Tokyo is no longer a place where a regular salaryman can afford to live.” Commenters noted that while starting salaries for new graduates have risen to around ¥300,000 a month, that’s nowhere near enough to keep up with home prices, and many recommended moving out to Saitama or the Tama area instead. Opinion was also split on whether a car-dependent regional lifestyle or a train-based city lifestyle is more comfortable, expanding the discussion beyond housing costs into differences in lifestyle itself.
What people said
Joining a globally active company headquartered outside Tokyo is the right call, QOL included.
Let's get real.
Ten years ago you could still buy if you worked at a big company, but prices have shot up so much now you can't.
Car-dependent areas aren't that livable.
The most livable spots are suburbs where you can use both a car and trains.
Makes me want to die.
Taking the train there is way more of a hassle.
With a car you can just load up the family and luggage and move easy.
Driving feels like such a deliberate, special-occasion thing to me.
Not trying to troll, it's just a fresh perspective.
If a housing allowance could actually buy you a house, that'd be great.
A regular salaryman on around ¥10 million a year has no choice but to commute in from Saitama, Kanagawa, or Chiba.
Even Saitama City isn't cheap anymore, that's the problem.
That's just not in range for an ordinary salaryman anymore.
Not enough.
Nowhere near enough for anything.
Re: #17
Feels like you'd need to be pulling in around ¥30 million a year to actually afford to live there.
Tokyo's subsidies are pretty huge too.
If your company gives you a loan allowance on top of that, that's amazing.
What era are you living in?
Or are these foreign Tokyoites all just a bunch of damn elites?
Foreigners in Tokyo are either in public housing or pulling close to ¥30 million a year, one or the other.
At that level even a salaryman on ¥10 million a year could've bought.
Now it's doubled… there's no way you can afford it.
A condo in Saitama Shintoshin will run you about ¥90 million.
If your workplace is nearby in the Tama area, that's the best.
Realistically though, you're taking the Keio Line all the way to Shinjuku, right?
What's so fun about it?
The question is, are you gonna stay there forever?
Once you leave company housing or the dorm, you're gonna buy a house anyway.
Background and Key Points of the Debate
Prices for new and resale condos in Tokyo have kept climbing in recent years, driven by low interest rate policy, rising construction costs, and an inflow of overseas investment money, so the sense that rents in the 23 wards run several times higher than in regional cities isn’t purely exaggeration. That said, figures thrown around in the thread — like needing an annual income of ¥30 million just to live there — are impressionistic exaggerations and shouldn’t be confused with actual average household income or mortgage lending criteria. What really divided the discussion wasn’t the high rent itself but where to draw the line on what counts as “Tokyo” — assessments of livability shifted dramatically depending on whether the Tama area, Saitama, and Kanagawa were included. On top of that, differing habits around getting around by car versus on foot or by train also highlighted the gap in mindset between city and countryside living.
※This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “Tokyo Is No Longer a Place Where Regular Salarymen Can Live.”
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