Spending money

I'm looking to travel to Japan last this year if possible (around November), or if I'm unable to then maybe March of next year.

I'm wondering how much spending money one person would need for about 8 days? Not including the hotel and plane ticket obviously. I plan on spending the majority of time in Tokyo, and maybe traveling to Osaka and/or Kyoto for a day each but obviously I haven't planned everything out completely.

When I ask about spending money I'm referring to traveling fare, food and other necessities.

I'm sure this has been asked ad nauseam but I appreciate any answers I get.

There is a basic introduction about this topic here:
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2410.html

For traveling you can search passes on this website (there's prices too). But, if you want to get a rough idea of the money spent while traveling by train, you can check out Hyperdia (shows departures, arrivals, time, and prices).

This website is awesome. If you put a location here, and you put "get here" and "get around", it will give you plenty of information how to get to locations. You also have on this website several attractions and museums with info on opening and closing times, as well as fees.

Depends on what kind of traveler you are.
Daily expenses would be food, local transport and entry fees. Depending on what/where you go you might budget 3,500 yen, 1,000 yen and 2,000 yen respectively per day and that would get you around to most typical tourist spots and eat/drink pretty well. You can do it on less, but also spend a lot more, especially if you do a lot of shopping.
Doing a round trip to Kyoto/Osaka will cost around 29,000 yen full fare on the train (roughly the cost of the 7-day JR pass), but discount flights are less, and there are discount fares for the shinkansen than can lower the cost to 11,200 one way.

Japan is a lot cheaper than most people think. However, since the value for money is extremly good in Japan you will probably want to spend more than you actually have to.

I don't think Japan is cheaper than what others may think. It really depends on the person's country of origin and personal income. Based on the home country alone, a person from the US going to Japan is not the same as a person from Czech Republic going to Japan.

I found Japan expensive as a whole. Public transportation is very expensive (I found the JR pass or JR regional passes a very good deal when traveling long distances). Note=avoid riding taxis. Moreover, hotels are also expensive too (but there's options, a business hotel will be way cheaper than a ryokan/temple stay for example). The same with food, there's options (very cheap ones like Ramen, but very expensive like kaiseki/kobe beef/etc.). I think there's no problem with food overall. There's lots of mid-range options. If you're going for sushi, you will also find several options, from cheaper to super expensive. You just need to do a proper search beforehand.

Also, you pay entree fees for every museum, historical places, castles, palaces, gardens, etc...Which I found a bit too much. I was a University Student when I went to Japan, and there was no discounts for University Students at all. Unlike Europe, I never paid to enter the Colosseum in Rome, the Acropole in Athens, and the Palace of Versailles in France. So you have to put some money on the side for entree fees (they are not expensive individually, but if you have many museums alike in your list, in the end, it will be expensive).

I think one of the things we spend so much money in Japan is the goods/souvenirs. I certainly bought a lot as it was my first trip in Japan. It sort of gave me a spell to buy everything I saw. Obviously, I learned the lesson, and won't repeat it again. But Japan has many gift shopts, like literally, everywhere. It is a huge temptation. If you're not into goods/souvenirs, then you will save good money.

Japan is cheaper than what people think. There is a huge misconception going around that it is an expensive country to visit.. But as the above poster has highlighted, if you do just an ounce of research, everything can be done a lot cheaper.

Western hotel brand vs Japanese business hotel
Sit down restaurants vs food stalls / combinis
Regional passes vs nation-wide passes

Also, you pay entree fees for every museum, historical places, castles, palaces, gardens, etc...
No, that is certainly not true. And while some places do charge, often the fees are quite modest.
There are tons of free things to do, places to visit and historical/cultural paces that you can go.

Unless you need a nationwide pass you will save considerably by going to Tokyo spending the night in the Kansai area and then going back to Tokyo the next day vs. going from Tokyo to Kyoto one day and Tokyo to Osaka the next.

The cheapest way to get from Tokyo to Kansai is hands down the bus. It is slow, but it is the cheapest. Most of the people I know who lived in Japan use to fly between Osaka and Tokyo. I think they would do the cheap ~5000 yen flights on discount airlines but those also tend to involve Narita and Kansai airports vs. Haneda and Itami which are much closer to Tokyo and Osaka.

Of course the cheapest thing to do is not go to Osaka and Kyoto? I love Kyoto and I have a friend in Osaka, but if you are on a tight budget and your trip is of short duration it might make sense to not go. I think there is a fallacy of how close together locations in Japan are. It's like saying I have 8 days in Paris, but I also want to go to London or Amsterdam because I'm in Europe already.

I actually think transportation in Japan is a good deal, I think people fail to realize distances they tend to be traveling in Japan. It's about $75 USD and 342 km on the Eurostar from Paris to London. It's ~$117 USD from Tokyo to Kyoto which is 513 kms. Plus unless the Eurostar has improved since 2001, the shinkansen is 100% nicer and has a LOT fewer delays. Local trains and subways within say Tokyo are cheaper than those in London or Paris. I think a lot of people just tend to travel large distances in Japan on vacation and not really think about how far they are going.

In terms of how much money to bring, it really depends on what sort of activities you want to do and what you want to purchase. You can go to Tokyo Disney one day and it will cost you ~7400 yen just on admission or you can spend the day at Meiji Jingu and window shopping in Harajuku and Shibuya. I think it is important to figure out what activities you want to do and what you want to see, and then budget going by that. I personally like spending a decent amount on souvenirs, not everyone does. But I know what I like.

Good luck!

I would say the value-for-money ration of japanese business hotels is MUCH better than cheaper hotels in Paris, London, Prague or Rome. You pay 80-100 EUR per room (worst case per person) inside the Pheripherique in Paris and you get a crappy room with lousy breakfast. I would say all the japanese business chain hotels beat that no matter whether they are APA, Mitsui, Toyoko Inn, Daiwa, Smile etc. Even the service at the cheapest business hotel is better that you encounter in Paris or Rome.

What are hard for the wallet and later to the stomach and body weight are the dessert shelves in the food court at those big department stores. The huge selection, service and the taste when you eat all of those .... <said with a voice of Homer Simpson>

BR,
Lauri

Indeed. Business Hotels in Japan are muchhh better than cheap hotels in Europe. Hotels in Paris are super expensive and not that good to be honest. In Rome, you find cheaper hotels, but the buildings are decaying (looks like a scene from horror!). I did enjoy hotels in England (quite picturesque, but of course, not modern-looking like in Japan).

My favourite are Mitsui Garden Hotels, and I would choose them over any others in Japan (I like how their website is structured in English, even the booking system is better than most hotels I've searched).

And I agree with what other posters said. If you're in the budget, then why not stay just in Tokyo, and explore the surroundings? There's so much to see and do in Tokyo. As for daytrips, if Hakone is too expensive, then Kamakura would be a good choice. If everything ends up too expensive, then just stay in Tokyo (you'll find both modern and traditional, you won't be boring for sure).

Also. Why not stay one night in a capsule hotel in Tokyo? Just for the experience of course (but it would save money too at the same time).

I don't find metro/bus expensive, but I do find trains expensive. But @rkold is right. It really depends on the distance. But if you stay just in Tokyo area, you won't have any problem with metro as it's not that expensive. You can either buy a Suica or Pasmo card for metro, or just buy tickets (I always bought tickets in metro in Japan since I wanted to practice my Japanese/reading).

@JapanCustomTours Maybe, but I was refering to my experience, since I paid for almost everything. If the OP wants to visit museums and explore castles/palaces, he/she will certainly have to pay the entrance fee. Better cautious than sorry.

Hi!

I think for trains it really varies how far you are going and what sort of train you are taking. Again, I think people tend to make unfair comparisons in terms of how far you are actually traveling. It's under 2500 yen by Romance Car on Odakyu to Hakone and it's only around 1000 yen from Tokyo to Kamakura. You can also get to Nikko for around 3000 yen on a Tobu Limited Express. Yes, Odakyu and Tobu are slower than using the shinkansen, but not that much slower.

I too like the Mitsuis both Mitsui Garden and their fancier Mitsui Premiers. I also really like the Royal Park chain and I had a good experience at a Candeo. While I love the luxury Tokyo Station Hotel, I also tend to mix it up with some business class and some middling hotels. But even luxury hotels like the Tokyo Station Hotel, are much cheaper than the equivalent hotel would be in many other large cities. I'm looking at you, New York City, London, San Francisco, and Paris. I can easily find a nicer business class to a 4 star hotel for $100-$150 a night in Kyoto in what I consider a super convenient location (aka you can get there by subway, Keihan train, or walk from JR Kyoto Station and do not need to rely on a bus or taxi.) I find that price better than many places in the US and this is Kyoto! I've also stayed in Dormys, Visichos (a Kansai chain attached to JR), and a few other chains I am forgetting. Though pricing on hotels can be weird. The 4 or 5 star Nagano Metropolitan Hotel was cheaper and nicer than the Nagano Dormy Inn, but the Dormy in has a rooftop public bath and some sort of dinning amenity.

And I want to state now, $100-$150 is not even close to being super budgetary, there are many places cheaper than that. I am also paying for double occupancy since kids over 7 are often not free except at luxury hotels and at that point there is little discount for single rooms. For a singles I've seen $50-$75 a night and not in weird hard to reach locations.

Capsule hotels tend to be sort of expensive for what you are getting. A cheap hostel or business hotel will get your further money wise.

I think there is a lot to do in the Tokyo area for 8 days. My husband's first trip we never left Kanto during our 8 day trip.

For free activities: I could have sworn Meiji jingu was free if you didn't pay additional to see the garden or museum. Pre-Covid you could go to the top of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office Building in Shinjuku for free. If you resist buying things in the shopping arcade Asakusa Kannon Temple is free. In general, most Shinto shrines if you don't pay for any gardens or souvenirs are free. Museums can add up, but they can in Europe and the US as well. I'm not sure where you live @Sophia, but where I've lived in the US university students sometimes get a discounted rate but not always. Some museum do offer discounts for state or nearby state residents. The American Museum of Natural History in NYC is an example, where there is a limited discount to residents of NY, NJ and CT. A lot of museums are not showing admission prices right now while they are closed because of Covid. I did find prices for Versailles though and saw it was free to people 18-26 who live in the EU. If you're not from the EU, then it's not free to 18-26 year olds. I suspect you are EU and never noticed that you are only getting free admission because you are EU while an Australian or Japanese or American university student would be paying full price. EU museum prices seem just as high or higher than Japanese.

Good luck!

@rkold yes, I am from the EU. I know that being a citizen from a EU country gives many advantages. But to the places I visited, mostly archaeological sites in Europe offer discounts to University students. However, I must say that not every country is the same. In Italy, only those who major in Art History, History, Archaeology and Architecture gets free admission to almost everything, except the Vatican (I have a degree in Archaeology and History). On the other hand, in Greece and France, you just need to be a University student (regardless of the degree) to get free admission. I think I got discounts on Norway as well (I can't recall well, since I went there a few years ago). However, The Netherlands, for example, don't have any sort of discount, which I found weird, and I had to pay to visit the museums (the museums are soo expensive in The Netherlands, much more than in Japan).

I never went to the US before (wish to go one day, especially for Mesa Verde), but I did go to Morocco and I also had a free admission to the Roman Ruins of Volubilis (ahah you can see where my tastes are xD). Well, I am no longer a University student since I finished my studies, but back then, I used my University card a lot, except for Japan and The Netherlands.

I do agree that just Tokyo has so much to see and do. Also, I never thought that going to Kamakura would be that cheap, wow (I had an idea, but never searched for prices before). Very good deal, indeed.

okay, totally off topic... but there is a trick with museums in the Netherlands:

However, The Netherlands, for example, don't have any sort of discount, which I found weird, and I had to pay to visit the museums (the museums are soo expensive in The Netherlands, much more than in Japan).

Actually what happens is that most residents in the NL who at least occassionally would like to visit a museum dont buy single tickets at all, but instead buy a yearly pass which gives you free entrance to over 400 museums, castles and similar sites at just 65 Euros.
https://www.museum.nl/en/museumpass

This card actually can be purchased by visitors as well, but it will only pay off for very serious, museum loving visitors (or long term visitors). So all the "normal" tourists are forced to pay e.g. 20 Euros to visit the Rijksmuseum, another 19 Euros for Van Gogh museum... But unless you hit 4 museums in your visit the card isn't going to pay off. However for residents, it's really convenient, because it also lowers the hurdle to even get going. If I want, I can just pop into a museum and look at a few exhibits. I don't need to spend the entire afternoon in the museum. A quick 30 - 60 min visit is totally doable and enjoyable.

But well, that is the NL. In Japan there isn't a similar ticket. But then there is the JRP and there is the Grutto pass in Tokyo:

https://www.rekibun.or.jp/en/grutto/

I haven't used either, but at least the Grutto pass really sounds attractive. (JRP for me just requires too much moving around, I am not such a fast traveller).

Hi!
Going OT:

I am in the US, and my trips to Europe have been limited because I prefer Japan. I have been to France 2x, the UK 2x and the Czech Republic. Only one of those trips I was a student for, and that particular trip I was also on a program through my High School so admissions were covered. So I guess I've never experienced any discounted rates when visiting sights in Europe, though when I was in the Czech Republic it was a long time ago and everything was super super cheap. I have been all over the USA and have been to museums, aquariums, and science centers in different locations as well as belonging to some. It just gets expensive. (the same is true for US National Parks BTW, there are discounts the year your child is in 4th grade, but that's the year Covid hit, so we never got to use our free 4th grade pass to do anything. It sort of sucks, but so it is. ) If you ever make it to Mesa Verde, I highly recommend visiting Hovenweep as well. While not as dramatic, the park tends to be much quieter and you can get very close to the ruins. We had a fabulous time there when we went. I also liked Casa Grande though no one wanted to stop off and try cactus candy but me.

My daughter was free at the Matsumoto City Art Museum and I was a paltry 410 yen. I got to see a lot of the same Yayoi Kusama exhibit there people in the US were fighting for tickets to and paying considerably more for. My ticket to see the Jigokudani monkeys was 800 yen but my daughter's was 400 for a very reasonably 1200 yen. I love how Japan breaks down children's tickets into so many categories.

But yes, Kamakura is only 940 yen from Tokyo Station to Kamakura Station. And the trip ranges from ~47 minutes to ~62 depending on if you want to transfer (the transfer route is faster.) The train runs very often and it is an easy and rewarding day trip. You can of course stay in Kamakura or Enoshima overnight, but as an affordable and interesting day trip, it's a good choice. We've been multiple times. If you go in the early Summer, the hydrangeas are gorgeous.

Japan has some great free or low cost things to do. Temples just start adding up when you decide to hit up 5 or 6 in a day and buy souvenirs or temple stamps at all of them. So many shrines are free though and shrine flea markets are always a lot of fun. A lot of gardens are under 500 yen and you can easily spend several hours in many of them. On our last full day in Japan in February 2020, we spent several hours in Kairakuen taking ume pictures. I think unless you expect free museum admission, museum admission is lower priced or the same as in many other countries. But again, it's important to think about what you want to do, to have some idea of a budget. I have friends who were happy just window shopping and walking around shopping areas.

@LikeBike Ohhh, I didn't know about that yearly pass! It is totally worthy if it is a long trip. I just stayed two days in Amsterdam when I went there in 2019 (so the ticket would not have been useful). But thanks for the tip! I wish to return to The Netherlands as I want to visit Rotterdam and Maastricht.

@rkold Czech Republic...I have great memories from my trip. Yes, everything is cheap there, and curiosly, I saw many Korean visitors (I always wondered why the airport in Prague had signs in Korean, never seen that in any other country in the EU; I even asked my Czech friends and they did not know why).
Anyway, thanks for the tips about Mesa Verde! One day I will visit for sure! But not sure if I have a friend to go (I only hear people say that they want to visit NYC, or Hollywood). My tastes for the US are different from other visitors. I never met anyone who wants to visit Mesa Verde or Acadia National Park or Yellowstone...And I don't have courage to go to the US as a female solo traveler (I did Japan and a few places in Europe such as Norway and Belgium, but I felt safe overall)...as for the US...I am afraid to go by myself unless I book some tours.

Some interesting comments above, especially about the differences between countries. (and yes, Meiji jingu is still free)
One thing to bear in mind is that many entry frees are pretty low - 400-600 yen in a lot of cases. Ueno Zoo is (I think) 600 yen, but free for kids. I can compare that with taking my daughter to the zoo when she was growing up - very expensive (circa 2,000 yen equivalent), and the best deal was a "family pass" at NZ$99 (~7,000 yen).
Nijo Castle increased their entry from 600 to 1000 yen which was a decent hike, but then they increased another 3% when sales tax increased from 8% to 10% - I think they were being greedy - but for 1,000 yen I personally consider it still a good destination. Most people are spending several thousand dollars on their trip so a US10 entry fee for a few hours isn't that bad.
The most expensive places are things like art exhibitions and the theme parks.
The OP and many visitors could easily spend a week in and around Tokyo. Yes, Kyoto provides a great contrast, but the 500km trip is not free irrespective of mode of transport.
Just a comment on accommodation costs, you do pay for location. I know places in the central city that are half the cost of places like Shinjuku/Shibuya for comparable like-for-like rooms. Just that they are not in the most popular spots, even if they are within 3 minutes of a subway stop. And when you get out of the centre, the same applies - I did stay at a nice 4* hotel out in western Tokyo a while back for around 15k yen while the Shinjuku version of the same hotel was 35-40k yen. That is also why somewhere like the Metropolitan Nagano is cheap - it's not in the middle of Tokyo (only paid 12k for a deluxe room with breakfast when I stayed there last month).

Towards the end of the day, department store basement food stalls reduce the prices of their packaged food by quite a bit so they'll sell through before being tossed into the garbage. Stopping by these stores, which can be found by some main train stations can be an inexpensive alternative to dining out or heading to the conbini for dinner at the hotel room. The discounts are quite substantive and they offer very good food compared to conbini food. Something to consider if traveling on a tighter budget....

@JapanCustomTours, I was comparing the price at the Metropolitan Nagano specifically to the Dormy Nagano since to me, they're somewhat comparable because they're both in Nagano. The Metropolitan is of course closer to Nagano Station (being attached) but the Dormy is still a short walk and much closer to the station than Zenkoji.

I paid ~$90 US for a renovated doubled for 2 at the Metropolitan and ~$85 for a double at the Dormy. Neither included meals and the room was much much bigger and nicer at the Metropolitan, but the Dormy had the public bath. I'd probably do the Metropolitan if I went back to Nagano. I have a huge soft spot for Nagano, so I would like very much to go back. I think it is an underrated destination.

But I agree with you, the Bronx Zoo is very expensive for a family as is the Museum of Natural History in NYC. I just paid about $50 to take my daughter to our renown local glass museum. And that included a discount for living in state. There are some expensive museums in Japan, like Team Lab Borderless comes to mind, but the children's prices are so much more reasonable than anywhere else I've been. And as for theme parks... If I wanted to go to Disneyland (if it was open) the cost of just my ticket with no add-ons is about the same as a ticket for me and my child to Tokyo Disney. I expect this is true of most amusement parks in Japan.

Honestly as a family, the only place I feel "dinged" as a parent with a child is on accommodations. But since my husband doesn't come with us, it's not such a big deal and often I want to pay for a larger room as is. When you're by yourself a tiny room is not a big deal. When you're with a kid, it really is. My daughter got sick on one of our earlier trips and having a day spent at a hotel in a tiny room would have been miserable. She also tends to wake early and go to bed early, so I like having a bit more space. Last trip, right before Covid closed things, I got an amazing deal at the Royal Park Shiodome where I stayed in an actual Junior Suite for ~$200 a night. I have a hard time imagining paying that for as nice a room in London or NYC or San Francisco or Paris! And yes, I've noticed hotel rooms are much cheaper in say Ikebukuro or Gotanda or Hamamatsucho than Shibuya or Shinjuku, but if you're a 3-5 minutes walk from a Yamanote line Station you can get to where ever you want to go. I just can't imagine a room in NYC for $100 a night that is not nightmare inducing or in some weird and wonky location super far from everything. I mean maybe Covid is going to change that... but there are some scary hotel prices in the US in most major cities. I regularly have paid $200 a night in Orange County, CA and I'm not talking about being near Disney.

@Sophia, not to be too OT but the US is not as dangerous as reporting and movies make it seem. Sensationalism is real. Honestly, the most risky thing you would be doing if you visited Mesa Verde or Acadia would be driving to get there from the airport. Also be aware, they're REALLY FAR from one another. It's 5 hours in good traffic from Boston Airport to Acadia and it's 5 hours from Albuquerque, NM to Mesa Verde. I have no idea what tours are out there, but I can guarantee there are tours geared towards Americans to visit our National Parks because Americans love to visit them. Though I've also seen tons of foreigners, particularly Europeans, every time I go to Zion. (I have family about 1 hour's drive from Zion so it's the park I've been to the most.)

For the OP, if you want a contrast to Tokyo without going to Kyoto, again there is Kamakura!

The other option is if there is nothing specifically you want to do in Tokyo and there are things you want to do in Kyoto and Osaka just do 8 days in Kyoto and Osaka. There are International flights into Kansai airport. My last Summer trip to Japan, I flew into Tokyo and transferred to a domestic flight to Itami and then stayed in Kyoto. My ticket of JFK to Itami with transfer in Tokyo and then Tokyo back to JFK, was actually cheaper than the round trip JFK to Tokyo.

@rkold thank you so much for your opinion over the US! Well, I would love to visit Acadia National Park. I think US National Parks are a bit underrated for foreign tourists, but for me, they're so beautiful, ethereal. As for Mesa Verde, if I had to choose between Acadia and Mesa Verde, I would choose Mesa Verde (I love nature, but history is my thing, especially cronologies far back such as in Mesa Verde). One day, when this pandemic is over (or when everything is controlled), I will go there ;)

For the OP, if you are in a tight budget, then it is wise for you to make a detailed itinerary. That way you will have an idea of the overall costs. Flights, Hotels, Transport, Food, Entry Fees, Souvenirs, etc...

And I agree about restaurants in Train Stations. Kyoto Train Station has many malls with cheap restaurants. I paid 600/700 yen for a huge bowl of Ramen at Porta Dining (underground of Kyoto Train Station). Instead of eating at a Combini for lunch/dinner, go to these places where you will eat plenty for cheap (you can use the combini to buy some cheap breakfast, I love the Melonpans at 7eleven/they also have good iogurts as well).

Another good place to buy food/fruit is at supermarkets. Actually, I had a hard time finding supermarkets, since I didn't do a proper search beforehand (I only searched for 7elevens and restaurants back then). But supermarkets have many cheap options too, and more variety than combini stores.

As for places you wanna visit. If you don't want to spend much money of entry fees, there are free spots you can go, such as parks, shrines. But if you wanna get a rough idea of what it will cost you to visit, for example, Himeji, you can search on Japan Guide (they have prices and hours). If you don't want to spend money on castles, you can still see them from the outside and take pictures.

For me, the most expensive of going to Japan is the flights, but that's something one cannot avoid paying. But going to Japan on a budget is totally feasible.