Is $400-$600 enough for 6 nights?

I am going to Tokyo for 6 nights this summer and I'm wondering if $400-$600 will be enough to bring? The flights, hotel, and transportation are already taken care of so the money is basically going towards food and shopping. Will it be enough to have a fun time?
(I also won't be eating out that much except one or two nights)

Hi!

It depends on how much you want to shop, what you want to shop for, and how much you want to spend on food.

Can you blow through $100 a day on food and shopping, sure. Do you have to? Of course not. It all depends on what you are picking to spend.

Good luck!

If you are wanting to shop I dont think it is enough. Ultimately if you were spending all of your time in the shops it would barely see you through the first day and leave enough for food for the rest of the week. So then if you are wanting to get out and about to keep yourself occupied for 6 days you will have transport and entry fees, I think it is doable on your budget and you can eat too, but I wouldnt be shopping on it or at least I would leave any shopping until the last day.

That's definitely enough money, in the sense that there are plenty of entertainment options in Tokyo that cost less than $100 a day, and since you mention transportation, lodging, and all food except for one or two meals is already covered.

Granted, you could spend more than 100 bucks a day on shopping and entertainment, but since you're asking if, in general, your budget is enough, I'm assuming you don't have a long list of specific, expensive entertainment expenses and shopping items already planned out. So yeah, if you come to Tokyo with a $100/day entertainment budget and don't have a good time, I'd say that would have more to do with you having expensive tastes, and not having too small a budget.

It goes about as far as it would in the US. Most things are similarly priced.

Entirely depends on what you buy.

I know a lot of people have touched on this, but if everything else is taken care of and you want to just use that money on fun stuff, go for it. Tokyo can be a little pricy depending on what you are eating or what you plan to do/shop, but you can also stretch that money pretty far as well.

I remember I spent two weeks in Japan and spending money after hotel and flight costs was between 500-1000 dollars. If you're here for 6 days, you should be fine as long as you aren't trying to go to hostess bars or something, lol.

Use yen. We don't know which currency you are talking about and what the worth of it is.

The point about using Yen is a good one as many of us are not from the US, or Canada, or Australia. For instance I'm British. Assuming you mean US dollars then $400 might not be enough but $600 would be plenty for me. It really does depend on how much you want to buy.

HK$400-HK600 - nope - no where near enough. There are something like 25 different countries that use a "dollar", and apart from a few places around Japan, US dollars are not accepted.

10,000 yen per day - that will easily cover entry fees, lunch and dinner (and a few drinks). You could spend it all or half. But as for shopping, occasional souvenirs, but nothing major. You could spend 50,000 yen/day on "stuff" in a single hour (and I've seen people do that buying Pokemon toys).

Hey every thank you for getting back to me! I would be converting my money so I would have 65,270 yen. Im mainly site seeing with shopping only a couple days. And as mentioned before I don't plan on going out to eat or going to bars.

Hi!

Again, it depends on what you are planning to shop for. Are you buying Gundam models? Baby the Stars Shine Bright Clothing? Super Dollfies? Going to the Pokemon Center? Tokyo Disney? Video games? Or just random smaller stuff?

Also a lot of stores take US credit cards now. I bring cash for certain activities or so I can get yen to recharge my suica card, but I mostly shop with my charge cards now.

Good luck!

I reckon even doing it cheaply but not necessarily eating at Lawsons, food is going to cost you at least 5000 yen a day (allowing for snackies). Then maybe 1500 a day for transport leaving best case 3500 per day for entry fees and shopping. It's doable but tight, as long as you really limit yourself on shopping, I'd hold back for a few days to see how you are going.

As for not eating out, it is actually often cheaper to eat in a restaurant than to self-cater your meals. I really love to buy a bunch of tempting items in a department store basement (depachika) or supermarket and eat them in my hotel room, but find that it is almost always more expensive (and often less filing, balanced, and healthy) than if I went to an inexpensive restaurant and got a sit-down full meal (such as a teishoku set with a substantial main course, one or two side dishes, miso soup, rice and pickles). Depachikas are the worst if you're trying to save money, although they are really fun... But even picking up a sandwich, a salad or vegetable dish or instant noodle cup, some yogurt or a piece of fruit, and a canned beverage in a Lawson can cost you more than a restaurant meal in some cases. I suppose convenience store bentos are cheap, but they normally aren't all that appealing (to me, at least). Remember that you don't have to tip in restaurants in Japan (although you do have to pay consumption tax), and they usually include tea to drink at no charge. At any rate, self-catering is enjoyable and you can try all sorts of interesting things, but it's easy to spend a lot of money if you aren't careful!

For me, 10,000 yen a day averaged over a week is a comfortable allowance for meals, sightseeing, and a little bit of shopping for inexpensive items. It's easy to spend more than that, especially if you have a heavy sightseeing agenda that involves some expensive venues, but if you have good discipline it's not hard to spend a bit less.

It's an interesting exercise working this out.

I think we allow about 10,000 per day cash for expenses for two, and mostly manage to stay within that. We're not big eaters and also not fanatical foodies, so tend to eat a light breakfast, substantial lunch (often ramen, tonkatsu or curry set) in a mid-range restaurant (between 4000 and 5000Y for the two of us) and then a light dinner, perhaps a sushi bento at the hotel with a beer or a sushi type meal at a restaurant in whatever station/shopping centre we're near. I enjoy the cut up fruit cups at the depachika, which I would choose for a snack if I wanted something. They aren't cheap but are usually very tasty and provide some variety and no mess no fuss fruit eating. I don't mind the fresh food at the combini but often will find something I prefer before I get there.

Generally I don't eat breakfast so paying more for a hotel breakfast isn't that useful for us.

Zipping around on trains can add up, so it's useful to plan your days so you do things in the same area on the same day, where possible.

Entry fees tend to be way lower than in Australia, though my goshuin habit can lead to some expense creep.

If we want to buy something expensive or special (clothing, a special souvenir or item for the house) we tend to pay with a card which most places accept now.

For gifts for family and friends we either buy snack food from the supermarket, or something small they will enjoy or that will mean something to them-for instance I bought my son, who drives a lot for work and because of where he lives, a safe driving charm from a temple in Kamakura, which he keeps in his key case.

Have a wonderful time in Japan.