Backpacking budget for 1 month

So, because of this Covid-19 crisis, I am very bored. However, looking into ticket prices from Europe to Japan, it seems feasible to go next year. I'm loosely planning already, because, as I said, I'm bored out of my mind. Also, it's raining outside.

Well... I and my girlfriend are planning to visit Japan next year, mid-June to mid-July. This might not be optimal, but it's the only chance that we get since summer vacation is the only real lengthy vacation time we have. With that out of the way, let's get to action.

We are in our late twenties/early thirties and we enjoy backpacking. No idea why it's just makes sense to stay at hostels and meet people.

Hostel prices do not seem to be that expensive. We rarely eat out in fancy restaurants, most often we just enjoy some street food for lunch and some easy dinner (like ramen?).

I'm not sure about any itinerary yet, but we can assume that we want to hit all the big cities, at least. Hopefully, doing other stuff as well.

With this in mind, is it reasonable to budget ~€3k for the trip? Each. We want to have around 30 days in Japan. Plane tickets are excluded.

We want to have some nights out, we want to do some fun stuff, but most importantly, we want to experience Japan

That sounds likes fun! I can give you some feedback in regards to how much money you may be looking at. If you're not going crazy spending money or eating out at fancy places and staying for about a month in Japan, plus traveling, I would say you're looking around 1,000 Euro which includes all food, travel, and stay as well.

It honestly depends on how much you want to budget, because food can be super cheap if you are only eating very cheap foods that you get at the grocery store instead of going to restaurants. I've stayed in Japan for a month before and I remember spending just over 1000 dollars.

Hope you both enjoy your trip and just make sure you check out the ticket prices for trains or wherever you both want to visit.

Yes. 3000 Euro each is enough for a month and leaves you quite a good buffer to have some fun. It's true that hostels are very reasonable.

You mention visiting all the big cities. Thus travel costs will be substantial. You may w ant to consider a rail pass. If you are prepared to miss out Tokyo, then for example Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe are close enough to treat as one big city. By doing so you could stay a month at a so called gaijin house which would be even cheaper than hostels.

From there even Hiroshima could be a day (or few) trip.

Tokyo itself is noticeably more expensive than the other cities.

Anyway that's a start. Good luck!

Hello,

I assume that €3K is the budget for both of you, and not per person? Otherwise, it would be a *very* comfortable budget for backpacking.

With €3K for two (about €50 per day per person), it's a bit tight but doable, especially if you stay in big cities. In smaller towns, there are also fewer budget-friendly accommodations. €20 for the hostel, €10 for food, €10 for transportation and €10 for visits, assuming that you don't change cities everyday and mostly visit free attractions.

Transportation is quite expensive in Japan. With one month there, if you manage to land in Tokyo and fly back from Osaka (or vice versa), you could just buy a one-way ticket instead of a national JR Pass.
The regional train passes are much more affordable. I used the "wide kansai area pass" (€76 for 5 days) a few years ago to do a day trip to Kinosaki Onsen from Osaka, and it's totally worth it.

You can also take a look at the "Tochu Gesha" (stopover) on JR trains.
http://paulstravelpics.blogspot.com/2017/06/advanced-japan-how-to-hop-...
https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/66616/when-are-stopovers-pe...

Holy moly.

Honestly, in total, we have €6k to spend. I asked around to estimate some budget, and most of my friends that has been to Japan told me "Oh, it's like home" (Sweden). So I estimated €100/day per person, but I guess that €60-70 is more than enough, per person.

The plan is to at least visit Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto. Everything else is a blank page at the moment.

Thank you for your insight. I find it hard to find a budget, fitted to our style of travel. It's either full-on Couchsurfing and eating trash, or 5-star luxury hotels and eating at Michelin restaurants.

Once again, thanks!

Ooops my bad. I think 60-70€/person would indeed be enough :)

Three years ago, I traveled two weeks in Japan with my boyfriend (Kanazawa, Takayama and the Alps), spending around 75€/day per person. We are also backpacking, but with more comfort :)
We stayed in a mix of hotels, AirBnb, private rooms in hostels, and one night in an onsen ryokan. Public transportation only (mostly buses), no taxis or uber. We ate set lunches, onigiris and sandwiches; donburis for dinner, and a few splurges in sushi restaurants. Food is much cheaper in Japan than in our country (France).

Our previous trip in Osaka/Kyoto/Nara was a bit less expensive.
Both were in October/November though, maybe it's more expensive in summer.

Have fun planning your trip :D

If you are cool with mixing hostels And minshuku and business hotels with the occasional upmarket ryokan , you�fll have a great time and could be nicely within budget.