Where Our Data Comes From
Every number on this site comes from one of two places: our own lived experience, or our annual expat survey. We don't pull figures from government databases or tourism websites. We ask real people what they actually pay.
Our own utility bills
Between the three of us (Brian, Mei, and Tom), we've lived in five Japanese cities over seven years. We've kept receipts for every electricity, gas, and water bill. We know what a Tokyo August bill looks like because we've paid it. We know what kerosene costs in Sapporo because Mei fills her tank every two weeks in January. This firsthand data forms the backbone of our cost estimates.
The annual expat survey
In 2025, we ran our first comprehensive survey. We recruited respondents through expat Facebook groups, Reddit communities (r/japanlife, r/movingtojapan), and word of mouth. We had 54 complete responses from expats living in 8 cities: Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Kyoto, Fukuoka, Sapporo, Kanazawa, and Naha.
Our survey asks for:
- City and neighborhood
- Apartment type (1K, 1DK, 1LDK, 2LDK, etc.)
- Apartment size in square meters
- Building construction year
- Monthly rent
- Monthly electricity (split by season if possible)
- Monthly gas and water
- Heating type (AC, kerosene, gas, electric)
- Overall satisfaction with their apartment's climate comfort (1–5)
All responses are anonymous. We don't collect names or contact information in the survey. We verify responses by checking for outliers — if someone claims ¥5,000 electricity in Tokyo August, we discard it as likely erroneous.
Public data we reference
We occasionally reference publicly available weather data (temperature and humidity averages) from the Japan Meteorological Agency. We use this to describe climate conditions, not for cost calculations. Cost data always comes from our bills or the survey.
How Often We Update
We do a full data refresh once per year, typically in January. This timing lets us capture the previous year's complete utility cycle including winter heating peaks. Between annual updates, we make corrections as needed when readers flag errors or share new data.
Last full update: January 2026.
Next scheduled update: January 2027.
No Sponsored Content
We don't publish sponsored content from real estate companies, apartment search sites, or moving services. We don't write "partner posts" or "brand collaborations." We don't accept free stays or complimentary services in exchange for coverage.
This matters because a lot of Japan relocation content online is effectively advertising dressed up as advice. A "complete guide to moving to Tokyo" sponsored by a specific moving company will unsurprisingly recommend that company. A "best neighborhoods" article written by a real estate platform will steer you toward their listings. We're not doing that.
Our content is editorially independent. We write what we believe based on our data and experience. If we recommend something, it's because we think it's genuinely useful — not because someone paid us.
No Paid City Promotions
Japanese cities and regional tourism boards sometimes pay foreign media to write favorable coverage. We don't participate in these programs. No city government has paid us to mention them. No prefecture has sponsored our content. If we say Kanazawa is affordable, it's because our survey data shows it — not because Ishikawa Prefecture sent us a press packet.
Affiliate Links
We do use affiliate links in some places. When we recommend a specific product — a dehumidifier model, a type of moisture absorber, a kotatsu brand — we sometimes use an affiliate link that earns us a small commission if you buy through it.
Our affiliate policy:
- We only affiliate with products we've personally used or thoroughly researched
- We only affiliate with services we've used ourselves (Sakura House for short-term rentals, Leo Palace for furnished apartments)
- Affiliate links are always clearly marked — we don't hide them
- An affiliate relationship never influences our editorial opinion
- If a product is bad, we don't affiliate with it even if the commission is high
Affiliate revenue is a small part of our income. The majority comes from the Japan Relocation Cost Calculator spreadsheet ($19 one-time purchase).
How We Make Money
Our revenue sources, in order of size:
- Spreadsheet sales: The Japan Relocation Cost Calculator ($19) accounts for about 70% of revenue.
- Affiliate commissions: About 25% of revenue from product recommendations.
- Occasional consulting: About 5% from media outlets or researchers who want to license our data.
We don't run ads. We don't have a subscription model. We don't sell user data. We're a small editorial project funded by people who find our content useful enough to pay for the spreadsheet.
Editorial Process
Every article goes through at least two people before publication. The writer drafts the content, and at least one other team member reviews it for accuracy. Data-heavy articles (like the cost-of-living breakdowns) are fact-checked against our survey spreadsheet before publishing.
We don't use AI to write our articles. We use it occasionally for grammar checking, but every word on this site was written by a human who has lived in Japan. We believe firsthand experience is the whole point of this project.
Corrections
When we get something wrong, we fix it and log it. Our corrections log is public and shows every error we've found and corrected, with dates. We don't stealth-edit articles — if we change a number, it's in the log.
Contact Us
Questions about our methodology, data sources, or editorial independence? Get in touch. We're happy to explain how we work.