Vegan Japan on the Cheap(ish)

3 months ago, you could not have guessed that we would be spending 89 days in Tokyo by taking a look at our bank accounts. We managed to nab some cheap tickets (although not as cheap as some... less than $500 round trip?), but little things were creeping in here and there as we were getting ready to leave. In any event, we made it home with enough yen to give away as souveneirs, and enough USD to grab a bite on the way home from the airport. We are pretty much completely broke, but it was definitely money well spent, and all of the things we came up with during our little sabbatical will surely pay off in the future, financially and otherwise.

There were times we were cutting it close however, so let us share some tips with you so
you don't end up one of those people frantically sending facebook messages to all your friends, asking to borrow money for airfare home.

1) Continue earning income during the trip

This might be a no-brainer for those types who have 'jobs' and get things like 'paid vacations'. But if you are like us and are unemployed... ermm.. self-employed!... then you are going to have to do a little planning ahead of time. An obvious thing to do is set up some english lessons while you are abroad, private or otherwise. I'll let Lauralyn explain more since she was the one who was doing this, but even in Japan, where the amount of english teachers is extraordinary, people are still happy to fork over about $35.00 usd/hr just to hang out and talk.

BUT, we also supplemented our income with our little online store. It really wasn't too difficult to set up, and I think we had some more issues than most might, but having something bringing in $200-300/mo can really help out. I recommend checking out Tim Ferriss for some more info on that, although some of his techniques were a bit too black hat for us.

2) Make your trip longer

One GOOD thing about being self-un-employed is that you can take a trip for as long as you want. The benefits for staying for 3 months vs 2 weeks are innumerable. Not only do you get a chance to immerse yourself in the culture of your host city, but you will save a TON of money by renting an apartment vs. staying at a hotel. We were able to find places for around $900/mo for 2 people, and there are places even cheaper than that (and certainly places more expensive, if you've got the cash). Compare that to a mid-range hotel in tokyo and you can get ten times the duration if you are willing to sacrifice having your sheets cleaned every night and having fresh mints on your pillows. And if those mints are super important, just head over to the Y100 Daiso and DIY.

3) Cook your own food

A big part of being in another culture is enjoying the cuisine. To some, preparing your own food while on vacation is even blasphemous. But people in Japan cook their own food as well. As described in my last post, we ended up with pretty radical changes in our diet, but by switching to more traditional Japanese foods, and avoiding bread and mock meats and etc., we got to experience the preparation of the local cuisine, which is as important, if not moreso, than consuming it. Plus we saved a ton of money, and we would have saved even more if we conjured up the bravery to ask for a 'pointo cardo'.

I'm gonna bug Lauralyn to post some tips from her perspective as we wrap up this project. I'm happy to say that this blog has been a personal success for me, and I am working on starting on a new blog with a more general focus, as well as doing some guest blogging. But don't fret, we still have a TON to write about Japan...

Living Minimally

Lauralyn and I have been looking at some Gaijin Houses online, and the reviews from various sources are mixed. Some say they are great ways to meet new friends and save money, while others say they are dirty and full of scary foreigners. One thing is for sure though - they are SMALL! Looking online it seems like you can get a room in a house, complete with a cute charinko for less than US $700 / month. Unfortunately, that room is likely to be less than 100 sq ft!

I don't think it will be a problem for us, although that wasn't always the case. Before she met me, and indeed before I met her, we had tons of crap. I had a cushy office job making some good money, and so I spent it frivolously, and Lauralyn, being a seamstress and fashionista had multiple closets full of clothing. After reading Walden about two years ago, which kicked off an integration of simple living into my life, I quickly started downsizing, and I haven't stopped. Right now we have all of our things in our little 150 sq ft room in a 2-bedroom apartment in Portland, OR, complete with folding tables, folding couch and Lauralyn's hand-sewn futon, which we roll-up during the day and then fold out at night to sleep on.

As an electronic music producer and dj, fighting off gearlust is difficult to say the least but with a studio/sewing room/bedroom occupying the same 150 sq ft, I think I'm doing ok. I've been selling off hardware and this week I'm finally putting up my turntables and mixer for sale and going all digital. Combining free software (open source and pirated), its possible to have a pretty dope setup with a minimum of hardware. I hope to be bringing along my handmade Monome and using that for DJing. It's hard to say that hooking up laptops, setting up music and building alternative instruments has much to do with Thoreau's ideas of simple living so I'll title this Living Minimally and talk more about this another day. Time to get some groceries!