In the USA at least :D

I pay $700 a month for a 40 year old apartment that is two 7 tatami sized rooms and a bathroom... I don't even live in the more expensive, smaller apartments that are closer to the city. On top of that, in order to move in to a house, you pay 2 months rent as a bond, then 2 more months rent as a cash gift to the owner for them allowing you to live in their building. Oh and when you move out, you NEVER get your bond back.

A large pizza, picked up from the store is $30.

Plenty of friends are in university. They pay exorbitant fees.

I drove to Gunma for a holiday. A 4 hour trip. Tolls were \6800 each way. Don't ever drive in Japan.

Fuel is about the same as my home country (Australia).

Movies are \1800 for a regular session, \300 more for 3D. The last session of the evening is usually only about \1200, but they don't play most new movies that late.

Don't EVER use your phone to make calls. It costs too much. Everyone just emails unless they NEED to call. The rates are crazily high.

Foreign brands are a bit of a lucky dip. Some expensive things overseas just don't have brand recognition here, so they are pretty cheap. However, if you like the brands Japanese people like, go get a second job. Ed Hardy tshirts can go for over \20,000.

What they haven't mentioned is that to buy a crappy little table for your house is about \15,000. Furniture is so expensive, the companies selling it must have a massive cocaine habit. If you want a standard single bed, you can say goodbye to about \60,000 and then more for delivery. Tomatoes are \100 EACH. The cost of living in the greater Tokyo area is inflated at every turn by price gouging.

Fucking hypocritical Japs!

>:-/

When it hit $4/gal. two years ago, you would have thought it was the end of the world here. A lot of stations even went to requiring prepayment for cash sales, because of the spike in drive-offs. Gas prices were a major factor in Obama's election that fall. Of course, a decade ago, the going rate in my area was just over $1/gal. (and often fell below $1 in the winter months), so it's still understandable.

Just like a miniature version of the private skyboxes most sports arenas have for the owners and corporate sponsors.

Dish it up, or shut up ANON.

Also...pizza...dear Lord, I'd just never eat again. Then again Italian friend=free pizza if you bring the beer.