What is the typical cost of living for a family of 4 renting a single family home with one child in middle school. Prefer to be in coastal area not too far from Tokyo maybe within 20 min by train?

honestly a lot has changed in 16 years, the yen is weaker now so if you're bringing in foreign income it might work better than you think. for a coastal single family home within 20 min of central Tokyo you're looking at places like Kamakura or Enoshima area, but those are more like 40-60 min actually. closer options would be Odaiba area but that's mostly condos not single family homes. or maybe look at Yokohama's Motomachi area or Kanazawa-ku, those have some houses near the water and train access to Tokyo station in about 25-30 min

rent for a 3-4LDK house in those areas is probably 250,000-400,000 yen a month depending on how new and how close to the station. international school fees are the big killer, Tokyo-area ones like St. Mary's or ASIJ run 2-3 million yen a year per kid, so for one child that's maybe 200,000-250,000 a month. organic groceries at places like Bio c' Bon or online from Radish Boya are maybe 1.5-2x supermarket prices, so for a family of 4 eating mostly organic you're prob looking at 80,000-120,000 yen a month on food. four restaurant visits a week for a family of 4, even at mid-range places, is another 80,000-120

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fwiw the international school fees are the real budget buster here, not the rent. if you're looking at coastal areas, check out Zushi or Hayama instead of Kamakura - they're a bit further but you get actual single family homes near the beach and the train to Tokyo is like 50-60 min which is pretty normal for that lifestyle. a 4LDK house in Zushi near the station runs about 300,000-350,000 a month for something decent

theme parks are surprisingly affordable if you do the annual passes, Disney Sea's is like 80,000 per person but for a family of 4 that adds up. organic groceries you're prob looking at 100,000-120,000 a month if you stick to delivery services like Radish Boya or Pal System, but mixing in local farmers markets in Zushi on weekends cuts that down a lot. restaurant budget for 4x a week at family restaurants or local izakayas is doable at 80,000 if you avoid the fancy places

one thing that's changed a lot since you left is the international school landscape - there's way more options now outside central Tokyo. Saint Maur in Yokohama is cheaper than ASIJ and still good, or look at the new ones cropping up in Fujisawa area near the coast. your oldest being 18 might want to check university options too, Tokyo has gotten way more competitive for international students

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honestly ive been looking at coastal areas for a while now and kamakura/zushi area fits your train requirement pretty well but its gotten expensive since you left. a 3-4LDK single family home there will run you around 250k-350k yen a month rent, maybe more if you want something modern near the beach. the train to tokyo station is about 50-60 min from kamakura though so not within 20 min unless you mean shinagawa or something closer

for the 20 min train thing youd need to look at places like oimachi or shinagawa itself but those arent really coastal in the beach sense. maybe yokohama area around motomachi or isogo could work, train to shibuya is like 30-40 min though not 20. rent there is prob 200k-300k for a decent house

international school is gonna hit hard. yokohama international school or ones in tokyo are like 2-3 million yen a year per kid. organic groceries from places like radish boya or bi clycle will be 30-50% more than regular supermarkets, so figure 80k-100k a month for a family of 4 if you cook mostly at home

eating out 4 times a week for a family of 4 at mid-range places will be about 15000-20000 yen each time. theme

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if u have a costco membership the kirkland thick cut is the move, 4 packs of 500g for around 2500 yen and it crisps up proper in a cold pan. for smaller runs, precce in azabudai hills & the basement at isetan shinjuku both carry imported US & danish brands in the chilled case, just read the label for "thick cut" or "smoked" and not "loin". also worth knowing japanese bacon is often wet-cured so pat it dry before frying or it steams instead of crisping

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kaldi coffee farm is hit or miss but their smoked bacon from denmark shows up pretty regular, the 200g pack runs about 600 yen. what actually works better for me is asking the butcher counter at peacock or life to slice the block bacon thick, like 5mm, they do it for free and it crisps way better than the pre-packed stuff. also fwiw cheap bacon crisps faster, the fatty supermarket kind at 300 yen a pack works fine if u cook it from cold in a dry pan and pour off the fat as it renders.

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tbh the gyomu super store brand bacon is surprisingly decent for crisping up, its not thick cut but if you cook it low and slow it gets pretty crunchy. the key is the dry cure vs wet cure thing, wet cure steams. also check hanamasa if you have one nearby, they sell big packs of american style bacon thats actually smoked and firm.

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