Thread: Tokyo expensive city?

Pedestrians crossing the Shibuya intersection, Tokyo. Photograph: David LeveneA falling pound and lower rents have pushed London sharply down the list of the world's most expensive cities to live in, according to the latest annual listing from the consultants Mercer.

London has dropped 13 places from last year to be the 16th most expensive city in the world.

"The decline of rental prices, coupled with the fall in the value of the British pound against the US dollar, have caused London to plummet in the rankings," said Nathalie Constantin-Métral, a senior researcher at Mercer.

Tokyo has knocked Moscow off the top spot, while Osaka is in second position, up nine places since last year. Moscow has slipped to third place. Geneva climbs four places to fourth position and Hong Kong moves up one to reach fifth. New York has moved into the top 10.

At the other end of the scale, Johannesburg has replaced Asunción in Paraguay as the least expensive city in the ranking. Tokyo is nearly three times as expensive to live in as Jo'burg.

The survey covers 143 cities across six continents and measures the comparative cost of over 200 items in each location, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment.

a picture truly paints a thousand words.. the number of pedestrians crossing the streets in tokyo could be 4 times more than that in our country.. it signifies that tokyo is a busy capital..

Judgment of expensive or cheap depends on the pocket size. However whole Japan offers a lot to the tourists that Japan tour cannot be called expensive. Yes, comparatively to other countries, it is expensive.

Verdict of costly or affordable will depend on the wallet size. However whole Asia offers so much to the vacationers that Asia trip can't be called costly. Yes, relatively to other nations, it is costly.

Yes compared with other asian cities the city of tokyo is very costly. Im not sure how the rest of Japan is but feel free to share some more views to our readers.