Tip 178: Tokyo most expensive but most livable?

According to the annual Mercer Human Resource survey, Tokyo is the most expensive city in 2009. This survey however focuses on what an expatriate employee would pay and most of them receive packages from their companies. This makes a lot of difference because the large companies would usually deal with reputable realtors who may charge premium services. Also, expats usually have larger families and expect larger housing space requirements with premium views, send their children to internation schools, use a car and other perks. These expats would usually not be entitled to receive government subsidized housing, healthcare or tax incentives, or even if they do, they would not bother going through the hassle of applying or is ignorant about them. More importantly, it does not take into account other factors such as convenience, crime rates and variety of shops with different price tags, since all this can affect cost of living. I think most expensive cities offer an opportunity to save if you know your way around and have at least a beginner level language fluency.













Even as Tokyo has one of the largest metropolitan area covering an area of 8014 square km, it has strategic and comprehensive rail lines to connect every residential area. The city is safe, clean and pollution free making it pleasant to walk or cycle and enjoy the greenery and colourful flowers on the way. So there is little need to drive or even be ferried on taxis. There are a variety of shopping outlets and restaurants catering for different prices, yet all offer only high quality. Most shop owners feel ashamed if they offer low quality items as there is pride in their reputation, plus Japan has strict food and safety policies in place. This was demonstrated by a survey by Monocle magazine of the top 25 liveable cities in the world and Tokyo was at third place. Editor Andrew Tuck explains, "I think what's interesting about Tokyo is: here's a massive metropolis that actually works. Whereas, we haven't put on London or New York, because they don't have that efficiency at their heart-they don't tick in quite the same way". The magazine praised Tokyo for its service culture, efficient public transportation, low crime and abundant greenery. According to them, if you come back from a trip on a Saturday, you ought to be able to do shopping on a Sunday. All these small things also make a city function.













In the Simpsons, Bart in his trip to a Tokyo restaurant complained,"These prices suck! 10,000 yen for coleslaw?" Obviously, you don't go to American restaurants in Tokyo for good deals.













(Photos show me in 2005 and Haruka in 2009 at Odaiba, Tokyo. Sights include Tokyo Big Sight, Fuji TV headquarters, Decks Tokyo Beach and Venus Fort shopping mall and Odaiba kaihin koen).