Skip to content

Tokyo

Tokyo Metropolis, Japan

The largest metropolitan economy in the world and the centre of almost all English-language professional hiring in Japan. Rents are high by Japanese standards but below London or New York for comparable space.

Population
14,000,000
Climate
temperate
Typical download speed
220 Mbit/s

Indicative

One-bed, city centre
JP¥130K – JP¥220K
One-bed, outside centre
JP¥85K – JP¥140K
Monthly budget, one adult
JP¥230K – JP¥380K

Getting around

The densest rail network anywhere; almost nobody in the city centre needs a car.

What people work in here

  • Finance
  • Technology
  • Manufacturing
  • Education

Cost of living

We do not hold a Tokyo cost series, so this is the Japan country-wide estimate. Use the rent figures above for the local picture.

Estimated monthly costs by category
CategoryMonthly range
HousingJP¥70,000 – JP¥160,000
FoodJP¥40,000 – JP¥75,000
UtilitiesJP¥12,000 – JP¥25,000
InternetJP¥4,000 – JP¥6,500
TransportJP¥8,000 – JP¥20,000
HealthcareJP¥5,000 – JP¥40,000
Everything elseJP¥25,000 – JP¥60,000
TotalJP¥164,000 – JP¥386,500
Suggested monthly bufferJP¥463,800
Estimate

Modelled from a baseline for one adult and scaled, not sampled from households. Figures are shown as ranges because that is the honest shape of the data.

Researched, not independently verifiedlow confidenceReviewed 20 September 2026

Worth knowing. Modelled estimate. Initial rental costs in Japan are unusually high: key money, agency fees, a guarantor company fee and deposits commonly total four to six months of rent before you move in.

Immigration

Immigration is decided nationally, not by city. Which routes are open to you, what they require and how long they take are all on the Japan guide.

See the routes into Japan

Researched, not independently verifiedlow confidenceReviewed 20 September 2026

Worth knowing. Modelled estimates, not survey data.

Reference dataset, compiled 20 September 2026. This is a compiled reference dataset. Every figure is drawn from official material and cited, but no record has been signed off by a named editor working through the review console, so nothing here is marked verified. Immigration rules change without notice and consulates apply them differently. Check the linked authority before you act on anything. This site is not legal advice.