The cost of living in Japan Pt.2 (medical )

 Medical care is excellent (including the medical staff). One does not have to see a GP first but can directly consult a specialist whose fee is not very expensive. The reason is because one is required by law to pay for the medical insurance. Over 75 years like myself pays 10% of the medical bill. The insurance coverage for me is slightly higher than those below 75. I don't know exactly how much but my wife takes care of the insurance thing. I think my insurance is about S$40 a month. Medical consultation is not expensive like in SG. Recently, I consulted an eye specialist for bloodshot eye and I only paid $10 for it. The waiting time was about 20 minutes and I did not have to make an appointment to see the eye specialist. It was a walk-in thing. Dental treatment is also not expensive. A general cleaning session of 1 hour at the dental clinic is about $10 (10% of the full bill).

Election Logo was Pineapple

 

The cost of living in Japan

The good thing about living in Japan is first and foremost the cost of living is low as compared to Singapore. I am talking about places like Fukuoka, Hiroshima etc. The bigger cities like Tokyo, Osaka etc. are more expensive to live in. However, Singapore is still more expensive to live in as compared to these big cities.

I will give you a few examples to back up my claim that it is cheaper in Fukuoka than in Singapore. A 1,200 sq ft detached house (bungalow as you may call it in SG) built on a 4,000 sq ft of freehold land cost about S$500,000. The district I am referring to, in my opinion, is the equivalent of Newton area in SG.

An average Japanese car like a 1600cc Toyota or Honda cost around 2.5 million Yen or S$25,000. In Singapore they would probably cost about S$120,000+ each.

A meal in an average restaurant cost S$6 to S$10. My breakfast of 2 eggs, sausage, bacon, toast and free flow of coffee, tea, cold drink and soup is about S$6. The breakfast of 2 eggs, toast and a cup of coffee or tea cost the same in Toast Box, Yakun Kaya etc. Besides, the restaurants here are quieter and are usually 70% empty. One may also stay and drink more coffee for the duration of the breakfast period of 3 hours with free wi-fi provided.

In my next post I will touch on medical care and others, so stay tune.

Residing in Japan on a spouse visa

I am residing in Japan these last few years. My wife is Japanese and the Japanese government has kindly given me a spouse visa so I can live in Japan. I am indeed grateful to the Japanese government.

Living in Japan has its pros and cons and I will talk about it in a little while.

The question you may ask me is whether I am happy living in Japan? In short, yes I am happy.

Making custard and Jelly by Boh Tong

How to make instant fruit pudding

Yamatsubasa Onsen Hakuto Hotel Japan (JPY 19000 for 2 paxs w/o meals)

Konnyaku Fruit Jelly

This is my first time making this konnyaku fruit jelly. It is pretty easy to make this delicious jelly. Try making it in your kitchen and give me some feedback. Btw I bought the konnyaku jelly powder and canned cocktail fruits from Sheng Siong supermarket. In the video, I made a mistake stating my cost for making jelly in USD. It should read as Singapore dollars.

Cooking and eating okonomiyaki and yakisoba

No more SIA interview stuff but ....

 I have removed all the posts pertaining to SIA interview as I have stopped coaching the wannabes. From today onwards, I will post and upload videos regarding my life in Singapore and Japan. Hope you will still continue to support my work. Thank you so much :)

Pizza,Sashimi and Cream Puff

We bought the pizza, cream puffs and salmon sashimi from a supermarket in Fukuoka. The prices are much cheaper than those sold in Singapore. The pizza costs a mere JPY 500 or S$5.50. A few evenings ago we saw the same type of pizzas going for a hefty 50% discount which was S$2.75. The expiry date for the pizzas were the next day but they were trying to get rid of them. The cream puffs cost S$4 for a pkt of 4 and the salmon sashimi was about $S16 for a big chunk of 400gm.

Mochikichi Suishajaya Japanese Restaurant もち吉水車茶屋

Last Monday, we had lunch at the above Japanese restaurant. I had the chicken namban lunch set and the price was a reasonable S$11 or JPY 1,000 inclusive of tax (consumption tax is 10%). I like Japanese food but much preferred spicy food like curry, sambal stuff etc where there are easily available at the hawker center in Singapore.

Eating Champon Noodles

Had lunch (champon noodles) at a restaurant in Fuk called Hana san Shokudo. See above video. If possible subscribe my YouTube channel so you can receive new videos when I upload them to YouTube.

Washoku (Japanese Food)

Since I started eating washoku or Japanese food I have lost a hefty 6 kg. It is a well balanced meal and has very little oil or salt in it. Have a look a the above video and you will understand what I am saying.

Onions harvesting

We are now harvesting the onions we grew over the winter period. We harvested around 70 average sized onions. The onions could be used for cooking over the next 6 months. We just found out the onions in Japan are relatively expensive. Each one of those in the video cost about JPY170 which is S$1.80. Last season it was about JPY80 or S$0.90. So as you can see the price has doubled. Reason was due to adverse weather condition.

I am now residing in Japan and it you like to "follow" me then please click on the "subscribe" button below the YouTube video(the subscribe button is on the YouTube main page)

Tom Yum Cup Noodles (A demo by Boh Tong)

Fried Rice, Chicken Lunch

Nice weather, max temperature 18 to 19c with light breeze which made cooking in the garden feasible and enjoyable.

No opportunity to enjoy this sort of cooking or BBQ-ing back in SG.