$4000 for 5 days in japan. Enough?

Hey guys, just wanted some advice about how much money i should bring to japan. It will my first time over there and actually, i planned on bringing about $4,000 dollars. Is that amount enough? Or should i bring more? Also, i hear a lot of people saying that it's better to go to kyoto than to tokyo for first time visitors. Any suggestions? Thanks.

It depends on your travel style. If you travel at a low to medium budget, 4000 USD will be more than enough, especially if the flight is not included in this amount.

Here are some basics:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2410.html

you could live in tokyo for 2 months on 4000$, if you manage to blow 4000$ in 5 days would you mind sending me some of that extra cash you have laying around!?

even if you pay 1000$ for a return ticket to the usa and travel with only 3000$ you'd still have way more than enough money. even expensive hotels are generally under 200$ per night, and regular hotels are way under 100$.

Also, i hear a lot of people saying that it's better to go to kyoto than to tokyo for first time visitors

Depends on your interest and whether you have another chance to visit Japan.

In my opinion, Kyoto and around is much more attractive than Tokyo and around, while you have only 5days this time. So my advice is to visit Kyoto and around for LONGER period in the future.

thanks for the input guys. hey,winter, is 4,000 dollars a bit too much? seriously? i thought everything is expensive over there. i thought of bringing 6,000 dollars to be honest.

uji, i dont plan on spending too much. i do travel at a medium budget though. i still have not bought the ticket either.

also Ts, i probably will end up spending more time in kyoto than in tokyo.

oh and i plan on going there on the last week of october. hope the weather aint that bad...

It depends on what you like to do. I went to Tokyo and Kyoto my first trip. If I were you I do the same. I would bring more the $4000 for your frist trip. My friends and I frist went each spent about $8000 to $9000 and that was not including travel cost. They way I look at it its better to have extra money then not have enough.

I think it's too much but if you really want to splurge well go for it. It certainly is possible to use it all up especially if you stay at very posh hotels and hang out in expensive bars. Be careful of bars that will charge you hundreds of dollars for drinks.

I also recommend Kyoto over Tokyo, but I think you should also visit Kobe and Osaka while you're in the area. They are pretty close together by train, not expensive to travel between and Kobe is one of the nicest looking cities in Japan.

Average MONTHLY salary in Tokyo will be somewhat less than $4,000. How can we live if we have to spend more only for 5 days....

Are we talking about US dollars here, or Hong Kong dollars? of course $4,000 USD is enough for 5 days- there is not a country in the world that is so expensive that $4,000 isn't enough for 5 days.

If you want to stay in penthouse suites in luxury hotels, hire limousines and take helicopter rides then it's possibly not enough, but for the average traveller $4,000 would be enough for 20 days or more.

Can you perhaps let us know what you plan to do in Japan?

hey sira, its american dollars and i do not plan on buying expensive merchandise at all. i still dont know what to do when im over there, thats why i'm doing some research and planning a head of time before i decide on what to do. all your guys suggestions is a big help. i appreciate it.

also, i plan on staying at a hotel because my GF does not want to stay in those capsules hotels. personally, i would not mind sleeping in one of those capsules. so with that in the way, any suggestions on hotels to stay at? nothing too expensive or too cheap.

oh and i will definitely try to check out kobe and osaka, winter.

i'd like to bring more than 4,000 karbear but i am living alone and i have bills to pay. i just wanted to know if that ammount is enough, and it seem as though 4,000 is more than enough, as clearly stated by Ts. and thats good to know.

types of accomodation
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2025.html

I brought 250,000 YEN (not dollars) around ��2,500 at the time. I brought a coat, clothes, magazines, sent 4-5 boxes back, ate three square meals a day, and still came home with most of that.

That's a lot for a week. You can visit Japan on a budget. When I visited for the first time I lived on $3500 for a month. That included shopping, travel, accomadations, special attractions, clubs, etc.

I'm with that other person...if you have some extra cash laying around I'd appreciate it for my independent research study in Japan this summer. lol

i survived in less than $2000 last yr and that's between nagoya and kyoto [plus, getting overcharged riding a bullet train as well!] for 7days. so yeah, $4000 for 5days, i think, is more than enough.

thanks for all the info guys. i got my question answered. much appreciated.

now to plan the expenses...

The capsule hotels are not the norm in Japan for accommodation- they are just for people who have missed the last train due to work or partying and don't want to take a taxi home. The vast majority of tourists who come to Japan stay in ordinary hotels, don't worry.