A photo of a bargain-basement apartment in central Tokyo — rent: just ¥50,000 a month — was posted to 5ch and blew up, with commenters declaring it had “crossed a line.”
The thread didn’t stop at gawking over the unit’s tiny size and bare-bones amenities. It spiraled into arguments over what actually counts as the “city center” in Nagoya, Osaka, and other cities, plus comparisons of Japan’s dirt-cheap rents against the cost of living overseas.
Image source URL
Source: x.com / Original post here
Wanting to live in Tokyo THAT badly, huh…
>>4
I wouldn't want to live in Nagoya even if it meant going that far
I wouldn't want to live in Nagoya even if it meant going that far
Apparently some people just want to enjoy Tokyo for a limited stretch, like 3 years — probably works fine for those folks?
Any sane person would rent this as a storage unit or a place to dump their stuff
Kick in another ¥20,000 and you could rent a 50㎡ place in Matsudo instead
Nagoya… city center…?
>>15
Yabacho is the city center if anywhere is
Yabacho is the city center if anywhere is
Nagoya… a "to"? (the joke: "toshin" uses the kanji 都, the same "to" as in Tokyo-to)
>>18
Even in Osaka and Nagoya, people call downtown the "toshin" (city center) too
Even in Osaka and Nagoya, people call downtown the "toshin" (city center) too
>>17
"Nagoya-to"? lol
Don't tell me Nagoya's also throwing its hat in for that embarrassing "secondary capital" bid too, lol
"Nagoya-to"? lol
Don't tell me Nagoya's also throwing its hat in for that embarrassing "secondary capital" bid too, lol
>>22
Stop embarrassing yourself further
Stop embarrassing yourself further
>>20
"Toshin" gets used for Fukuoka and Sapporo too
"Toshin" gets used for Fukuoka and Sapporo too
>>23
Those aren't capitals though, lol
Those aren't capitals though, lol
>>31
The "to" in "toshin" isn't the "Tokyo-to" kind of "to" — it just means "capital/city," so as a word it can refer to the center of any city in general.
As everyday usage: "Osaka toshin," "Nagoya toshin," "Fukuoka toshin" are all completely normal. Nobody blinks at this for any city on the scale of a government-designated city.
As urban-planning jargon: "toshin/fuku-toshin" (city center/sub-center) serve as the translation for "CBD" (central business district), and regardless of a city's size, terms like "toshin-bu" and "toshin kyoten" show up in official city-planning master plans and location optimization plans.
Sorry, you lose.
The "to" in "toshin" isn't the "Tokyo-to" kind of "to" — it just means "capital/city," so as a word it can refer to the center of any city in general.
As everyday usage: "Osaka toshin," "Nagoya toshin," "Fukuoka toshin" are all completely normal. Nobody blinks at this for any city on the scale of a government-designated city.
As urban-planning jargon: "toshin/fuku-toshin" (city center/sub-center) serve as the translation for "CBD" (central business district), and regardless of a city's size, terms like "toshin-bu" and "toshin kyoten" show up in official city-planning master plans and location optimization plans.
Sorry, you lose.
Why are Japanese people so left behind by the rest of the world?
In NYC even a studio rental bottoms out at $1,700 (¥250,000).
Why do people think ¥50,000 gets you a livable room?
Why do people think ¥50,000 gets you a livable room?
>>27
But that's also a ¥5,000-an-hour minimum wage place
But that's also a ¥5,000-an-hour minimum wage place
But Nagoya, when you actually go there, is pretty countrified — it's developed and all, but compared to Tokyo or Osaka it really feels provincial
Japanese people — apparently their passport ownership rate is down to 17% now
and they don't even travel abroad anymore
and they probably don't even realize Japan's cost of living has dropped to developing-country levels (lol)
and they don't even travel abroad anymore
and they probably don't even realize Japan's cost of living has dropped to developing-country levels (lol)
Just to add some context:
in other developed countries, lunch already runs $20-35 (¥3,000-5,000) as standard.
In Japan it's still $6 (¥1,000), sometimes even $5 (¥800).
Genuinely embarrassing how far behind the rest of the world we've fallen, lmao
in other developed countries, lunch already runs $20-35 (¥3,000-5,000) as standard.
In Japan it's still $6 (¥1,000), sometimes even $5 (¥800).
Genuinely embarrassing how far behind the rest of the world we've fallen, lmao
Guess if you want to live somewhere nice, you need to be ready to make some sacrifices
5 minutes on foot from Shinjuku-sanchome Station, great location near a supermarket, and rent is ¥29,000??
>>42
This wouldn't even work as storage
This wouldn't even work as storage
>>42
What even is this…
What even is this…
>>42
That stain on the floor up front 😧
That stain on the floor up front 😧
Japan is cheap for everything, honestly.
In countries where the cost of living is genuinely high,
the streets are full of homeless people.
Well, of course they are —
rent is absurdly expensive, so the people at the bottom end up homeless or living out of their cars.
It's just basic logic.
In countries where the cost of living is genuinely high,
the streets are full of homeless people.
Well, of course they are —
rent is absurdly expensive, so the people at the bottom end up homeless or living out of their cars.
It's just basic logic.
>>ID:bx82U6WB0
You wrote it yourself in >>43 and >>45 —
better to help the people at the bottom than to widen the gap, that's what actually buys you more time
You wrote it yourself in >>43 and >>45 —
better to help the people at the bottom than to widen the gap, that's what actually buys you more time
Compared to spending your life in an internet cafe or a capsule hotel, isn't ¥50,000 for this in the city center actually cheap?
If it's got a shower and toilet, I'd live there
If it's got a shower and toilet, I'd live there
>>72
Same take honestly.
Well, only for my student years — the bath/toilet situation still bugs me though
Same take honestly.
Well, only for my student years — the bath/toilet situation still bugs me though
This price, this size, in Nagoya — and that's supposed to be the city center?
>>95
It's the city center, no doubt — it's got Parco, Matsuzakaya, Mitsukoshi, all right there
It's the city center, no doubt — it's got Parco, Matsuzakaya, Mitsukoshi, all right there
Nagoya's inconvenient to live in — you have to go out to the suburbs just to find a supermarket
Those old folks are the ones who get furious over even the tiniest price hikes —
they're the ones yelling "don't raise prices, keep it as it is, for our sake."
And you're gonna go along with that? lol
The cheap-prices-for-everyone society those old folks want
only works by squeezing labor costs down —
meaning a society where working-age people keep grinding forever with no raises.
No thanks, seriously lol
they're the ones yelling "don't raise prices, keep it as it is, for our sake."
And you're gonna go along with that? lol
The cheap-prices-for-everyone society those old folks want
only works by squeezing labor costs down —
meaning a society where working-age people keep grinding forever with no raises.
No thanks, seriously lol
>>100
The policy's already shifted to holding the line on social security spending while letting inflation do the work, and that phase is over now, so calm down
The policy's already shifted to holding the line on social security spending while letting inflation do the work, and that phase is over now, so calm down
*This article excerpts and summarizes the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G / “Live Commentary General” board) thread “[Image] ¥50,000 Rent in Central Tokyo Seriously Crosses a Line WWWWWWWWWWWWW.”
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