Living help (tax, health insurance etc).

[RetireJapan]

My wife is look for a small part time job, but she has less energy than me (and is also diagnosed autistic too). And sure, we could both move back to England and live off benefits, but we want to try as hard as we can to do things for ourselves and maybe japan isn’t the best country for people with disabilities but it is the country we love and we are trying to make it work without overloading us.

Teaching online might be an option: you would not necessarily be restricted to Japan, either. There are lots of jobs in China, for example.

[KCLenny]

@ miso- On the contrary, I am very sympathetic to the OP’s
situation. That’s why I called it a “cruel truth.”

Back on topic: I did not see how much you pay for rent. One of the great things about Japan is that you can live in a ¥40,000 to ¥50,000 apartment that is clean and safe. In any western country you would have to live in the ghetto and carry weapons if you were paying that much .

You seem to be in a similar situation as me where health problems make it difficult to work, but you have fallen through the cracks of the social safety net. I researched disability payments in Japan a bit, but their standard of acceptance is very high and the return is very low. I’ve decided just to sweat it out since I’m getting close to regular Social Security retirement. But since you are so young it couldn’t hurt just trying your luck with JP disability. I have an acquaintance who is on disability in the US and she said that finding a sympathetic doctor who is willing to fill out the paperwork correctly is more important than your actual condition. So, you might have to get a second or third opinion.

You said you paid over ¥100,000 in medical costs. I have been in this situation also. Contact the ward office and let them know about this. Depending on how much over, you will get a few ¥10,000 Beck. Not much, but better than nothing!

Also, shop around at All of the phone providers. You can get sweet deals on bundles. I probably cut my bill in half when I bundled TV phone and Internet together. Additionally, they gave me an absolutely free new iPhone (older model of course).

Oh, and on a lighter note. I’m not sure how pricey restaurants are in Kyoto, but in Tokyo you can find cheap Izakayas where you can get delicious yakitori w/veg side dish and nihonshu for around ¥1000. I’d wager you’d be hard-pressed to get cheaper than that even if you cooked at home taking gas, electricity and water costs into consideration.

Good luck

Thank you. We are looking at reducing rent costs. Currently we pay ¥75,000, relatively good area and close to my work. But I don’t want to massively downsize at the same time (currently 50m2).

As for disability, I never thought of that as I just assumed it would be impossible for a foreigner to get. We have official diagnoses from doctors in the U.K., though.

Our phone and internet are kind of bundled with Rakuten. Internet has been free for a year too so when we start I think it’s like ¥3000 for both.

I’ll look into going to ward office regarding medical costs.

As for restaurants, we really don’t eat out much and when we do it’s the same 2 or 3 places that are quite cheap already.

Thanks for all the advice though everyone.

[RetireJapan]

As for disability, I never thought of that as I just assumed it would be impossible for a foreigner to get.

There is a system based around the 障碍者手帳. It has various levels of severity and you can get a monthly payment as well as discounts on various things. I'm not too familiar with the system.

More information here, although I believe it is adminstered at the local level: https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsu ... echou.html

[Yossarian]

Is there a Gyomu Supermarket near your place? Can cut down on groceries a lot by going there - can buy in big quantities too for batch cooking and then freezing meals.

[Gulliver]

Oh yeah nice! Also, I give a big thumbs up for Hanamsa markets. They are kind of a wholesale (cheap) food market used by a lot of a restaurateurs, but also completely open to the public. They also have a lot of foreign type food. It is one of the only places I have found that has the right kind of shredded cheese For Mexican food.

Dang, now I want a quesadilla.