{"id":4361,"date":"2026-08-03T15:20:49","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T15:20:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/futureknowledge.in\/?p=4361"},"modified":"2026-08-03T15:20:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T15:20:49","slug":"i-moved-to-japan-on-a-one-year-visa-im-spending-less-on-housing-than-i-did-back-home-while-exploring-new-cities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/futureknowledge.in\/?p=4361","title":{"rendered":"I moved to Japan on a one-year visa. I&#8217;m spending less on housing than I did back home while exploring new cities."},"content":{"rendered":"<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.insider.com\/6a6b9f9ca62e6e00bc538957?format=jpeg\" height=\"1068\" width=\"1424\" alt=\"Woman smiling on train platform\"><figcaption>My husband and I moved to Japan with just one suitcase and one carry-on each. We&#039;ve been spending our year here living out of short-term rentals.<\/p>\n<p class=\"copyright\">Alessa Hickman<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<ul class=\"summary-list\">\n<li>I left Canada, sold most of my stuff, and <a target=\"\" class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/moving-to-japan-not-what-we-expected-despite-planning-2026-3\" data-autoaffiliated=\"false\">moved to Japan<\/a> to spend a year exploring different cities.<\/li>\n<li>Moving between short-term rentals has been more comfortable and affordable than I imagined.<\/li>\n<li>Living out of a suitcase taught me to be more intentional about what I own and more open to change.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Seven months ago, I left Canada after living in Ottawa my entire life.<\/p>\n<p>When my apartment lease was coming to an end, I knew I didn&#8217;t want to make another expensive yearlong commitment in the only city I&#8217;d ever lived in \u2014 especially as the cost of living kept rising.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;d visited Japan once before, loved it, and couldn&#8217;t stop thinking about going back. I was also <a target=\"\" class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/moved-to-hometown-after-running-from-it-living-with-parents-2025-7\">itching to leave my hometown<\/a> and travel more, so my husband and I sold almost everything we owned and moved there with one suitcase and one carry-on each.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of renting an apartment once we arrived, we decided to spend the year living out of short-term rentals so we could <a target=\"\" class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/favorite-less-crowded-places-japan-worth-visiting-traveler-recommendations-2026-7\">experience different parts of Japan<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>So far, I&#8217;ve lived in Tokyo, Osaka, and Kumamoto, plus visited other cities on day trips. I can confidently say this lifestyle has worked out better than I ever expected.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"a59a2dda-71f8-45cc-8427-c224fab4d9c0\" data-toc-id=\"a59a2dda-71f8-45cc-8427-c224fab4d9c0\"><strong>I wasn&#8217;t sure I&#8217;d ever feel at home<\/strong><\/h2>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.insider.com\/6a6b9f9c97a2276a3423b555?format=jpeg\" height=\"1068\" width=\"1424\" alt=\"Woman smiling with arms up in front of poster in store\"><figcaption>Moving a lot isn&#039;t easy, but I&#039;ve been able to adapt to new places.<\/p>\n<p class=\"copyright\">Alessa Hickman<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Before moving abroad, I&#8217;d stayed in Airbnbs while traveling, but never for more than a few days or maybe a week.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;d always lived somewhere I planned to be for a while, so I could decorate, organize, and make it feel like home. Here, moving around meant arriving somewhere I&#8217;d only ever seen in photos, with a different setup every time.<\/p>\n<p>I also knew that once I got comfortable in a new place \u2014 learning my neighborhood, finding my go-to grocery stores, or picking a favorite restaurant \u2014 I&#8217;d eventually have to start fresh somewhere else.<\/p>\n<p>I won&#8217;t pretend it&#8217;s always easy. Moving day means packing everything back into my bags, dragging them across a city, and becoming best friends with Google Maps all over again.<\/p>\n<p>Even so, I&#8217;ve genuinely enjoyed every place I&#8217;ve stayed so far, and I&#8217;ve adapted to each new apartment much faster than I expected.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"a0a881dd-fcdd-42df-8319-2e7716382864\" data-toc-id=\"a0a881dd-fcdd-42df-8319-2e7716382864\"><strong>I&#8217;ve found it easy to settle into a routine<\/strong><\/h2>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.insider.com\/6a6b9fa787737bff3ebd973a?format=jpeg\" height=\"1068\" width=\"1424\" alt=\"Aerial view of buildings, hills in Japan\"><figcaption>I thought moving between short-term rentals would be difficult, but it&#039;s been much better than I expected.<\/p>\n<p class=\"copyright\">Alessa Hickman<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>When I&#8217;m booking a place, I spend<em> <\/em>a lot of time reviewing the workspace, kitchen, bathroom layout (one of my biggest deciding factors), location, and the price.<\/p>\n<p>As long as I&#8217;m content with what I find in those categories, settling in has been surprisingly easy.<\/p>\n<p>Whenever I arrive somewhere new, I unpack right away. My clothes are organized in <a target=\"\" class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/guides\/travel\/best-packing-cubes\">packing cubes<\/a>, so if there&#8217;s enough closet space, they go straight in. If not, my suitcase becomes my dresser for a while.<\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.insider.com\/6a6b9f9ca62e6e00bc538956?format=jpeg\" height=\"1068\" width=\"1424\" alt=\"View of a skyline in Japan\"><figcaption>It&#039;s been fun to see different cities and spend time living in them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"copyright\">Alessa Hickman<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Cooking also looks different depending on the kitchen and tools I have, but I can still make a few meals I love, and every city gives me new local restaurants to try.<\/p>\n<p>Thankfully, by booking rentals with bathrooms I know I can work with, I&#8217;ve been able to keep up my hair-care routine and <em>very <\/em>long wash days, too. As anyone with curls knows, this is basically non-negotiable.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"5cb5fac4-3eb9-41ea-bc34-d26dce133b2e\" data-toc-id=\"5cb5fac4-3eb9-41ea-bc34-d26dce133b2e\"><strong>I&#8217;m spending less on housing than I did in Canada<\/strong><\/h2>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.insider.com\/6a6b9f9c87737bff3ebd9737?format=jpeg\" height=\"1068\" width=\"1424\" alt=\"Microwave with rice cooker, kettle on top\"><figcaption>It&#039;s nice not having to buy my own kitchen essentials and small appliances.<\/p>\n<p class=\"copyright\">Alessa Hickman<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Back in Ottawa, I paid more than CA$1,900 a month for my two-bedroom apartment before internet, utilities, tenant insurance, and all the other expenses.<\/p>\n<p>In Osaka, I stayed in a two-bedroom Airbnb that cost a little over CA$1,600 a month with everything included. Now I&#8217;m staying in a smaller place in Kumamoto for around CA$1,200.<\/p>\n<p>Housing costs naturally vary by city, but I&#8217;ve consistently spent less than I did back home.<\/p>\n<p>Since these rentals are essentially all-inclusive, budgeting is much simpler. I don&#8217;t need to worry about varying gas or electric bills, and I&#8217;m left with more money for the things I actually care about, like trying new foods and <a target=\"\" class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/best-rural-towns-visit-japan-near-major-cities-tokyo-osaka-2026-7\">taking day trips<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"c3f228a3-5817-4930-9a50-e5917728f59b\" data-toc-id=\"c3f228a3-5817-4930-9a50-e5917728f59b\"><strong>The flexibility has been one of the best parts<\/strong><\/h2>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.insider.com\/6a6ba00997a2276a3423b56b?format=jpeg\" height=\"1068\" width=\"1424\" alt=\"Woman iin front of green railing staring at Japan skyline\"><figcaption>It&#039;s exciting to call a new place home every few weeks or months.<\/p>\n<p class=\"copyright\">Alessa Hickman<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Instead of spending the entire year in one place, I&#8217;ve lived <a target=\"\" class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/searching-for-dream-home-lived-different-cities-results-semi-nomadic-2026-6\">life in different cities<\/a> with the flexibility to move when I&#8217;m ready to go somewhere new.<\/p>\n<p>I also haven&#8217;t had to worry about buying furniture, signing long leases, or dealing with big security deposits and complex move-out procedures.<\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.insider.com\/6a6b9f9c97a2276a3423b556?format=jpeg\" height=\"1068\" width=\"1424\" alt=\"Two laptops, keyboard set up on desk\"><figcaption>I can set up my workspace just about anywhere.<\/p>\n<p class=\"copyright\">Alessa Hickman<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I usually have a rough idea of where I&#8217;d like to visit next, but I don&#8217;t force it. If I can&#8217;t find a place that checks my boxes, I just look in another city.<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s actually how I ended up in Kumamoto on the island of Kyushu.<\/p>\n<p>It wasn&#8217;t on my radar before I moved to Japan, but I found a great place at the right price, decided to give it a chance, and it&#8217;s one of my favorite places here so far.<\/p>\n<p>As someone who naturally overthinks <em>everything<\/em>, living this way has taught me to be more open and go with the flow when things don&#8217;t go according to plan.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"6fb6ff81-21c1-49c3-8de1-46aaf2cd3e2c\" data-toc-id=\"6fb6ff81-21c1-49c3-8de1-46aaf2cd3e2c\"><strong>I&#8217;ve realized I need a lot less than I thought<\/strong><\/h2>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.insider.com\/6a6ba06287737bff3ebd9749?format=jpeg\" height=\"1068\" width=\"1424\" alt=\"Suitcase and carry-on bag with water bottle, purse on top\"><figcaption>I sold a lot of my belongings before I left Canada, which made the move even easier.<\/p>\n<p class=\"copyright\">Alessa Hickman<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Before moving, I had a closet full of clothes, shelves of beauty products, kitchen gadgets, and more shoes than I ever needed.<\/p>\n<p>Even after getting rid of so much before leaving Canada, I still managed to overpack. I actually ended up shipping some things back home, because dragging the extra weight between cities just wasn&#8217;t practical.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ve also been living with a <a target=\"\" class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/capsule-wardrobe-experiment-2016-4\">simple capsule wardrobe<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Sure, I repeat outfits more, and some everyday products I relied on in Canada aren&#8217;t available here, but I&#8217;ve learned to simplify my overall routine.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"\" class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/digital-nomad-must-haves-pack-light-comfortable-2023-11\">Living out of a suitcase<\/a> made me a lot more intentional about what I own, and I realized I don&#8217;t need nearly as much as I once thought.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;d choose a year in Japan over 20 extra shirts in my closet any day.<\/p>\n<div class=\"read-original\">Read the original article on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/moved-to-japan-year-living-different-cities-pros-cons-cheaper-2026-8\">Business Insider<\/a><\/div>\n<p><em>Source: <a href='https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/moved-to-japan-year-living-different-cities-pros-cons-cheaper-2026-8' target='_blank'>Read the original article on www.businessinsider.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>My husband and I moved to Japan with just one suitcase and one carry-on each. We&#039;ve been spending our year here living out of short-term rentals. Alessa Hickman I left Canada, sold most of my stuff, and moved to Japan to spend a year exploring different cities. Moving between short-term rentals has been more comfortable [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4362,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,3],"tags":[10,29,33],"class_list":["post-4361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-share-suggestions","category-technology","tag-impact-googl","tag-signal-avoid","tag-stage-stage-4"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/futureknowledge.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/futureknowledge.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/futureknowledge.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futureknowledge.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futureknowledge.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4361"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/futureknowledge.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4361\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futureknowledge.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/futureknowledge.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futureknowledge.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/futureknowledge.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}