Electricity
"Denki"
Electric fees are billed monthly. You
(or your landlord) will receive your bill through the mail (or
from Chubu Denryoku's representative), and you can pay the bill
at these facilities' offices or at your bank. If your landlord
is taking care of the billing for you, he or she may ask for
payment.
For example a foreign couple living
in a typical two living room / dining / kitchen apartment (2LDK)
reported that their electricity bill averaged about 3,000 Japanese
yen per month, reflecting average use (although electricity was
not used for heating).
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Water
& Propane Gas "Suidou & Gas"
While water service is run and administrated
by the city (including both water supply and water management)
and electricity is supplied by the public service company Chubu
Denryoku, other utilities are run by private companies.
In addition to water and electricity,
your apartment or house will most likely need to be supplied
with propane gas. Propane is used by most residents of Takayama
for cooking, heating water, and some room heaters use propane
as a fuel. Your propane will also be billed monthly, and will
be supplied in tanks that are placed outside your residence,
changed periodically, and metered every month. [A couple reported
that their monthly propane bill was about 7,000 Japanese yen,
varying with the seasons, and their monthly water bill was around
2,000 Japanese yen. These bills reflect hot water for two showers
a day, cooking and cleaning water and gas, and other miscellaneous
uses; however, the gas was not used for heating.
Your propane company will also rent
you (for a small monthly fee) an electric propane gas detecting
warning device, to be attached to the wall near your propane
appliances.
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Kerosene
"Touyu"
As central heating is still a rarity
in Japan, most people use kerosene heaters in their homes. Kerosene
can be purchased at most gasoline stations or from the same company
that supplies your propane. It is usually worth the slight price
mark-up to have the kerosene delivered, especially if you can't
pick it up in a car.
A couple in a 2LDK apartment reported
that they used about 60 litters of kerosene for heating a month.
They also said that they used the heater from Novembe through
April.
PLEASE
NOTE
| Fumes from the burning of
kerosene can be very dangerous -- even deadly. When
using a kerosene heater, open your windows for a few minutes
once or twice an hour to insure that your air supply remains
fresh. |
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UTILITIES