How money needed for 3 weeks in Japan?

Hello everyone,

I am going to be in Japan during December / January over the new year period for 3 weeks.

I realise that the answer to this question will differ depending on the person, but for someone who will be in Japan solo, how much money would be needed for a 3 week stay to cover food, travel (already have a JR Rail Pass, so this would be limited to say some bus routes etc), entry fees into tourist spots and to buy some souvenirs �c which would include probably some clothes, videogames (and videogame related products), traditional/cultural souvenirs.

I�fve already taken care of accommodation, flight and a Japan rail pass.

I was thinking around 450,000 yen �c would that be sufficient? Or should I be budgeting for a bit more?


Many thanks for the help! :)

Well I have been now 3 weeks for Japan still one week. My average hostels or hotel have been 3500yen. And I got the JR pass and for tranportation no more money needed. And for food and drink I have spend 2500 yen on average. For major spots it cost something like 600 yen normally. I have spend total of 170000yen for now includind nintendo ds.

Matt, a business class hotel will cost you about Y6k-Y7k per day. You haven't stated a preference for accommodation and obviously hostels will be cheaper. For food I would budget 1K for brekky, 2K for lunch and 2k-3k for dinner. December sure aint beer drinking weather and that keeps costs down.
I think 450k will cover you quite well.
What country are you from ?

A lot depends on where you will spend your time. Your JR Pass will not cover private railways, subways and most busse. Transportation and food can be expensive.
In 2005 I stayed 3 weeks. I used my credit card for most hotels and a few restaurants and I had a JR Pass. I spent $800.
There are lots of special tickets for local transport that can save money.

He's already stated that accomodation is taken care of....

450,000 JPY is about 4000 USD...

I'd say you'll have a pretty comfortable stay with that...

450,000 Yen should be more than enough, I've done 5 weeks on 500, 000 Yen and that was including hotels (average 6,000 Yen per night), 2 weeks of transportation on top of the 21 Day JR Rail Pass and lots of beer. One thing that concerns me is that you said you have already have the Exchange Order for the Rail Pass, but you said you are using it in December/January. The Exchange Order must be exchanged within three months of the date the Order was issued. Which means it must be exchanged by early November.

RodW: December is one of the best times to be drinking beer. A nice strong winter warmer, imperial stout or barley wine are all beers made to enjoy at that time of year.

450,000 yen is too much for you

" He's already stated that accomodation is taken care of....

450,000 JPY is about 4000 USD...

I'd say you'll have a pretty comfortable stay with that... "

You're right, I overlooked that he had said that. But what has USD got to do with anything. They use Yen in Japan and the world, contrary to what some believe, does not revolve around the USA. There are some better looking currencies out there at the moment.

Thanks for the repsonses everyone :)

Yes, as people have picked up I have already paid for accomodation and travel (via rail pass), so I was asking purely for how much money I would need for food, buying things, and any entry fees etc or whatever other costs might come up.

From the sounds of it 450,000 yen will be more than enough, I can probably be ok with even less, this is good to know.

Oh and to the concern about the rail pass, I don't have the exchange order in my hands yet, but I when I booked my trip it included a JR Rail Pass, which I will actually receive closer to my departure date, so thats ok :)


Thanks again guys.

For the past 3 years, I've traveled to Japan. My trips have lasted from 11-14 days. All of my travel and hotel expenses were not included in my spending money. Seems I always spend about $2000-2500 the past 3 years. I don't really buy big ticket items, But I don't hold back on omiyage and eating, Drinking. I always bring more then I need. I think $3500 will be plenty.

... (already have a JR Rail Pass, so this would be limited to say some bus routes etc), ...
Your JR Pass is only good on JR lines. In Tokyo & Kansai, there are dozens of other rail & bus companies you may need to use.

Thanks everyone for the answers.

Regarding my JR Rail pass, yes I know it only applies to JR lines, I'm planning to try and use JR lines exclusively (well as much as I can) to avoid costs using other means, but I realise that may not always work out, but looks like the 450,000 yen will cover it nonetheless :)


This leads to my next question, also related to money, what are the 'forms' of money I should be using? I don't have a credit card, but I heard cash is what is mainly used in Japan.

Not really keen to get a credit card just for my trip since I wont use it when I come back home, I was thinking to stick with cash and travellers cheques (for security) which I would exchange for cash at a post office when needed.

Any thoughts or opinions?

Matt, I am an old foggy (over 40)but use credit cards to pay for hotels and "big" purchases then get cash at an ATM (in any 7-11 store or the Post Office) with my bank debit card (Cirrus/ Maestro/Plus logos) I have been doing that for many years in Europe, Japan, the USA, China..I have never spent more than $100 a day for food, drinks, extra transit, entry fees and usually much less as I don't bother much about gifts as what I really want is too expensive and bulky (like furniture). $ 2000 for 3 weeks would be way more than enough for me.

I've never found the need for a credit card in Japan.

So for my situation I have already paid for hotels ... would you suggest that it would be enough for me to say exchange for some yen in my home country before I leave, and for any more money that I need, I'll just use my ATM card? And hence don't even bother with travellers cheques.

I believe there will be fees and charges from ATM every time I withdraw money, but likewise there will be fees for obtaining travellers cheques, and likely fees again to exchange them for cash.

So maybe the ATM card is good enough?

Also this way, I wont have to say get the full 450,000 yen from the start, I can start with say with 100,000 yen and then if I need any more money withdraw when necessasry, probably better than having to exchange yen back to my home currency (Australian dollars) when I get back.

Thanks again ...

I am taking 450,000 BUT I havent got a JR

My hotels and flights are paid for but I have to pay for my food.

Now I am staying at Osaka for a 1 day, kyoto for 2 and tokyo for 2 weeks.

Now what travel would you recommend for travelling within.

Is there like a travel card like in money would I need for internal trains and food for the next 3 weeks ?

Matt, before you go talk to your bank and your credit card company and tell then that you will be in Japan, otherwise they might freeze your account.And don't trust the teller or..rephrase your question diffently and ask again to make sure you WILL have access to your $$. I know that many people get upset by an ATM fee or other exchange fee but it is the price of a fancy cup of coffee or beer, not such a big deal. I find an ATM very convenient, especially abroad (I don't take cash out everyday, only once a week). As for credit cards I play with 2 of them in order to get the bills more than a month after coming back home. BUT this is a personal choice. Some people like to have big wads of cash, I don't.

I'm going to Japan next summer and this pretty settles my question too. I was gonna go for two weeks...maybe 3 in japan and was about to bring 5000 U.S. dollars with me.

Thanks Monkey.

I think I will stick to the ATM card, from the sounds of it you really don't need a credit card in Japan, and since I already have paid for hotels even more so.

And yes I will inform my bank before I go, thanks.

I believe there will be fees and charges from ATM every time I withdraw money, but likewise there will be fees for obtaining travellers cheques, and likely fees again to exchange them for cash.

Fees for your ATM-card depends of your bank, maybe you have more cards you can choose from? Ak your bank upfront about the charge. My Dutch postbank takes off 1,82 Euro (2,67 USD) each time I use it. When I used traveller cheques in 2005 (now I don't, a creditcard I find much easier) I bought them in Yen. Because of that I did not need to pay any charge at a post office, a 50.000 yen cheque gave me exact 50.000 yen, because it was in the local currency. Idea maybe?

And 450.000 yen seems enough to have a quite luxe trip.