January 11th I will be stationed in Yokosuka, Japan 25 miles south of Tokyo has anyone ever been in this area and purchased parts from the area? If so what can I expect for a price difference from the states?

 

I havnt been to that specific area but I've been to tokyo. I cant tell you price ranges for parts cause I didnt really look for that when I was there. The exchange rate is about 117 or 118 yen to the dollar I believe and some things you'll find cheaper and some more expensive... just depends. Have fun there, great place (in my opinion at least)

 

My experience is that Japanese stuff is more expensive in Japan. Heck, even Japanese cameras are cheaper in NY than in Tokyo and NY is not a low cost city. The main advantage of shopping for car parts in Japan is that you can get stuff there that is not available in the US.

 

items in japan look expensive to tourist, but as for a person who lives there its not. starting off at mcdonalds you make 930yen (which is like 9.00 US dollars) i cant think of the words in english what i want to say. but i hope i made sense.

 

are you trying to say the stuff in japan cant be that expensive for them because they dont make much money anyways?

 

^^ no it means that cost of living might be higher, but the average person (living in the local economy) makes a comparable salary, so it evens out (notice that he says that the average McD's employee makes about $9.00(US)/Hr compared to $5.75 (is that still federal minimum wage here?) back here in the states. So USMC: enjoy the cost of living allowance and the JDM products, but be aware that stuff might be pricier there. (In Japan the Automobile is a Much bigger luxury than here in the states and therefore more expensive.

For example: to get your driver's licence you are required to take a driver's ed course that is like 1 school semester long, and that and the licence fees can add up to over $100.00 US.
also, to have a car registered in the city, you need proof of owning, or renting a suitable parking space for it (and the parking space has to be measured as big enough to accomodate the particular car you are trying to register to it (down to the last cm)
plus the car has to pass a very stringent (and expensive inspetion evry couple of years, it is brutal, even stuff as minor as body rust, or cracked light covers will make you fail the inspection...