Money needed for 3 week trip in Japan

I'm going to be staying in Japan for 3 weeks to visit my girlfriend, it's my first time to Japan, so I'm somewhat unsure about how much money I need. The only thing I've paid for so far is the flight, so that can be excluded. I'm staying from 14th December 2015 to 5th January 2016

I'll be staying in Kobe which is the city she lives in, but we will be visiting places like Osaka, Nara, Shiga and maybe Tokyo for one or two days. So I'm pretty sure a JR pass is a necessity? Not sure about any other passes there is I can buy.

I'll need to pay for things like entrance fees to places like Universal Studios Japan, Shrines, heritage/history sights etc. And I'll need to find a cheap hostel/hotel in Kobe, it doesn't need to be fancy as I just need a place to sleep really. (Anyone know of any good ones in Kobe?) Her house unfortunately has no space at all...

I don't expect to spend a lot of money on food, especially expensive food, I don't drink either. I'll be studying there next year so I won't be buying a multitude of souvenirs. Just a few.

I'm a student at the moment, but I do have some personal savings saved up, but I want to try to spend as little as possible.

I'm from the UK btw.

Thanks for any suggestions!

i will budget 2500 usd.

this would cover transportation, lodging, and food. Any money you saved can be spent on souvenirs.

Hi,

Most of the time when I go to Japan for three weeks, it costs between 2500 and 3000 euro. Since your pound is the stronger currency, you can take a couple of thousand off. Now, I usually stay in 3/4 star hotels and use a 3-week Japan rail pass. If you know when you're going to Tokyo, a 1-week JR Pass might come in handy but if you don't plan to go much further than Osaka (from Kobe) a JRPass isn't necessary imo. Let's say you stay in 3-star hotels (which is basically the cheapest real hotel there is) I'm guessing around 2000 pounds give or take a bit is what you should be expecting.

Of course, you can make it as cheap or expensive if you want. Renting a car every now and then and having to pay for multiple train trips in the region will also crank it up. Using hostels instead of hotels will bring it down again. Still I think it's better to be safe than sorry and count on at least the 2000 pounds I mentioned above.

I assume your girlfriend is living in Japan? And she might be traveling across Japan with you? She would not be eligible to buy JR Pass, and with JR Pass you cannot take the Nozomi Shinkansen (the fastest between Kobe/Osaka and Tokyo), so that's one thing to consider, for convenience of the two of you traveling together.

Do note that a number of hotels in Japan charge only slightly higher for two person rooms compared to one person rooms. Some even charge the same price for both.

If you are travelling with your girlfriend it may be wiser to stay in a business chain hotel like Nikko Ekimaes, Toyoko Inns, Kanko hotels, or APA hotels that charge in such a way. It will end up to be less than 80usd for two which is better than some hostels offer.

I would just budget about 250,000 yen per person and this is WITHOUT Japan Rail Pass.

For this budget you would get:
Guesthouse, hostel and some no frills hotels
Focus your meals at lunch time rather then dinner. Lunch box sets are very affordable. You can go to conbini for dinner, they have some nice cheap and good food as well.
All local transportation Get a IC card, Sucia, Pasmo, Iccoa. Just one as it works almost all of Japan.
Most entry fees like at Castles and temples. Most are between Free-500yen, some higher.
Basic entry to USJ, I say basic because you can also buy there express pass to skip some lines at the park and that would add up. I think I spent at least 50000 yen for two people here alone! Because to Harry Potter lol.
Round trip Shinkansen Nozomi from Osaka to Tokyo.
Some gifts at the end.
Emergency money.

Hope this helps!!!
Have fun!!!

Thanks for all your replies! I think £2000 probably sounds about right, I'd honestly hope I could spend a bit less £1200-1500 if I can help it, seeing as I'm a student. It would have been much cheaper if I could stay in her house, but unfortunately I can't.

About the JR pass, if I'm not going to Tokyo from Kobe/Osaka it wouldn't be worth it? I heard travel was expensive, what other cards etc can I get? Or would just paying for each travel from say Kobe to Osaka/Shiga/Nara work out cheaper than buying a JR pass?

And yes, she does live in Japan. She hasn't mentioned anything about travel being too expensive for herself or anything, (I asked her multiple times about this.) And she said everything was alright.

Thank you all for your advice!

I think I/we will be staying in hostels/Ryokans/Inns or something similar. We'll be out for most of the day, it's just a need of somewhere to sleep really.

However, I'm still confused about whether it's worth buying a JR pass or not... If we're just staying in the Kansai region is it not worth it? (I believe they do Kansai specific JR rail passes?) What other options would be available to me? We're going to Osaka, Nara, Kyoto, Shiga and maybe Tokyo?

£1500 seems to be a good budget for my trip I believe, I'll bring a credit card along anyway, it's just the fee my bank charges to withdraw in a foreign country which is annoying, but it's good for emergencies! Does anyone know a good place to exchange currency? Is it best to do once I arrive in Japan?

I didn't realise USJ was that expensive! How much is the cheapest ticket? I remember my girlfriend told me when she went there, there was a 3 hour queue for the Harry Potter attraction lol. It might not be worth going but she really wants too.

Thanks for your replies!

So you'll be staying with your girlfriend, is that right? If so, 250,000 yen, or $2500, or 2500 euros is way more than you'll need, unless you are really going all out and splurging. Having too much is better than having too little, but you won't need nearly that much. You don't need to carry all that cash around from the start either. Just use your ATM card at a 7-11 or Japanese Post Office. See:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2208.html
You can also see what Japanese money looks like at
http://www.thejapanfaq.com/japanfaq1c.html
Note that you can not use 1 or 5 yen coins in vending machines and phones.

The JR Pass is never a necessity - the question is if you will save money using it. If you get a 7 day JR Pass and use it for as much long distance traveling and day trips as you can (Haruka from KIX, day trips to Himeji, Nikko, etc), Kansai-Tokyo-Kansai within 7 days, you can really save some big money. Other regional passes like a Hakone Free Pass can save you a lot too.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2357.html

You can eat quite decently at a restaurant for 2000 yen (about 11 quid) per day total for lunch and dinner per person. Souvenirs can be a few pounds each to the sky is the limit.
There are also many inexpensive business hotel chains like Superhotel, Toyoko Inn, Comfort Inn, Japan Economy Hotel Group, etc. Or if you really want cheap there is
http://www.timeout.jp/en/tokyo/feature/7209/Budget-hotels-and-hostels-...
http://www.wix.com/astroflight/accommodations
For the experience I'd also recommend staying in a Japanese inn (Ryokan) for at least a night. There are some very inexpensive ones in Tokyo like the Kimi Ryokan, Taito Ryokan, Tokyo Ryokan and Tama Ryokan.
You can get nickled and dimed in Kyoto if visiting many places, but there are also several that are completely free. For other sights, it's all up to you - do you want to cough up the money in Tokyo for the stunning view at the Sky Tree, or will the view from the Metro Gov't Bldg in Shinjuku (free) suffice? A lot depends on your interests.

It really depends:

Japan Rail Pass pricing
7 days 29110 Yen
14 days 46390 Yen

Shin-Kobe to Tokyo round trip would already cost 29360 Yen

If you could fit everything in 7 days then the 7 days Japan Rail Pass would be worth it, however you will not be able to take the fastest Shinkansen.

From Kobe
Osaka not going to cost to much
Only Nara, and Kyoto would only be about 2500 Yen round trip each.

I would use Rail Pass for Shiga and maybe other places like Himeji, Hiroshima, and Tokyo.

Maybe something like this
Japan Rail Pass
D1 ShinKobe or Sannomiya Station Shiga Day trip
D2 ShinKobe to Himeji to Hiroshima, having day trip to Himeji and on to Hiroshima
D3 Hiroshima and Miyajima Day
D4 Hiroshima to Tokyo, Morning train arriving in Afternoon
D5 Tokyo
D6 Tokyo
D7 Tokyo to ShinKobe Evening Train

Regular cost
Not sure which part of Shiga your going to but lets just say Hikone, Sannomiya to Hikone 4540 Yen round trip
Shin-Kobe to Himeji to Hiroshima 11510 Yen
Hiroshima to Tokyo 18560 Yen
Tokyo to ShinKobe 14680 yen

At least 49290 yen cost for this which is great savings for you using the Japan Rail Pass BUT your girlfriend would have to pay the regular prices as you can only use Japan Rail Pass if you are visitor tourist visa.

Just an example of how to use the Japan Rail Pass. You should price out the itinerary here http://www.hyperdia.com/en/cgi/en/search.html?dep_node=TOKYO&arv_node=...

Hope this helps!!
Have fun!!

I didn't realise USJ was that expensive! How much is the cheapest ticket? I remember my girlfriend told me when she went there, there was a 3 hour queue for the Harry Potter attraction lol. It might not be worth going but she really wants too.

One day studio pass is 7200 yen per person
Skip the line pass is extra and depends which one you want.

If your focus is Harry Potter, you probably do not need the Skip the Line.

Go to USJ before it opens! Grab your entry ticket and then just force your way to the entry gate (There will be lots of people by now mostly students) they wont really mind because they know your foreigner. Then after you enter, run to the Harry Potter area. Most likely you will be able to enter without Timed Stamped Ticket. They do let so many people in before they close it for only timed stamped tickets.

If you missed the free entry into Harry Potter then make your way to the Timed ticket machine. Harry Potter would be on your right and the timed tickets are on the left. Just follow the signs that cast members are holding. Once you get your timed ticket just look at what time you got eg. 1330, and just check out the rest of the park until that time.

YES the main Harry Potter ride will be long waits. I saw 200 mins before but they do also have a walking thru the castle which usually is less time about 120mins including the line up and walking through the castle.

Believe it your not the wand shop was about 120mins wait....and they have the estimate time at the shop lol.

All in all Harry Potter will take up most of your time at USJ so if you want to do both Harry Potter and everything else in USJ you will need two days.

Hope this helps!!
Have Fun!!