Travel Cost of Travel To/In Japan

I am an american who is strongly considering taking a trip to Japan. It's been my lifelong dream to go to japan, and I am starting to get really serious about it. so my question is: how expensive is it to travel to japan and stay there, and stay comfortably? I am planning on staying there for about a week or two. Also, can anyone suggest any ways to cut costs without gutting the quality of the trip?

Hi Lestat84, you first need to define "comfortably". An inexpensive business hotel or a local pension can be quite comfortable.

Also, it depends on how much and where you're travelling and of course how much time you have at hand. We have lots of threads on the Japan Rail Pass, for example.

Let us know more about your plans and your itinerary, so we can help you.

A lot depends on your definition of comfort. When I was a student I was happy to use hostels. Now, if I'm travelling by myself, a basic business hotel will do me but I'm fussy about location and internet access. With my husband in tow, requirements change, making things more difficult (I love him, but that man does not travel well).

Take into account location, definitely, both in terms of "can I get there from the airport with minimum fuss and ideally using public transport/free hotel shuttle" and "can I get there to other places with minimum fuss using public transport".

If you can get a place with a buffet breakfast included, particularly if it's Japanese-style breakfast, go for that (I'm getting hungry just thinking about it). Fuel up at breakfast, then limit your spending on food outside.

If you want to keep it cheap, limiting long distance travel is a good idea. If you take enough trains, the Japan Rail Pass is cheaper than buying tickets separately but it's not cheap. You also don't really need to spend a lot of money on attractions, there are plenty of things to do for free.

I would generally warn against:
1) Trying to fit everything you've ever wanted to do into one trip. A lot of travelling around is tiring. Being located in one place for a stretch and having day trips you can do from there tends to be better (especially since you can decide not to do one of the day trips if you're too tired/the weather is wrong/something else interesting comes up).
2) Forcing yourself to do everything on a very tight budget - cut the total length down a couple days, if necessary, and give yourself some leeway.

Cheap and comfortable don't usually go together. More like cheap and tolerable.

I'd suggest looking up the LonelyPlanet.com/thorntree web site for information solely from travelers. People here can offer help, too, of course. LP site estimates roughly 8000 yen/day for costs, plus airfare. A lot depends on where you plan to visit; if the stops are far away fom each other, then obviously it will cost you more. The JR Rail Pass (and other similar passes) can save you money depending on the circumstances of your itinerary. Right now, we don't know what it is.

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Cutting costs...well, do you want to eat convenience store foods the whole time (yuk!). A few snacks there would be ok for me, and maybe even a lunch bento, but that's about it. Department stores have basements where some food markets offer free samples, but I wouldn't want to make a pig of myself at them, or a meal out of the samples. Still it is a way to sample the cuisine.

Hostels are generally the cheapest way to go. Compare to staying overnight in a manga cafe, though. Who knows? Depends on what sort of experiences you are looking for, too.

I'm not trying to find the cheapest most bare bones way to travel. I'm looking for the best balance between cost effective and enjoyable.

For me comfort would need a hotel with modern amenities like TV and internet access, as well as access to food of decent quality.

I plan to go to Tokyo, but I'd also be looking for other places with good historical sites to visit. If anyone could recommend me some of those places then that would be much appreciated as well.

You could have a look through wikitravel - check also the sections on the different areas of Tokyo and the "get out" section for some places that are within easy reach of Tokyo.

Pitch a tent somewhere.
Look for couch-surfing ads.
Stay at hostels.
Look up day passes for local public transportation.

Couchsurfing can be very rewarding, as it connects you with local residents and fellow travelers. If you want to go this route you will need to get a good profile going, and maybe start participating in couchsurfing and cs-related events locally to build some reputation (hosts are more likely to accept your requests if you have other people vouching for you).

If you're staying in Tokyo and want a nice hostel, I'd recommend checking out toco or nui. I have a buddy who recently went and had an excellent stay at one of those (can't remember which, but they're owned by the same guy).

It's all about what you want to do with your time, what you want to see, and what kind of experiences you're hoping to have. It's hard to nail down the cost if you haven't figured out your goals for the trip

Hi Lestat84, I'm sorry that I can't give you exact answer as I have no ideal where you want to go or what you want to do. I suggest you to make plans to figure out costs. If you come to Hokkaido in the northern Japan, especially Sapporo the biggest city in the center of Hokkaido, you can check more details on our website (shown in the signature at the bottom). In my opinion, hostels in Sapporo are comfortable to stay. There are many places to go and see around Sapporo. I hope you can find more details and enjoy traveling in Japan

Well depending on what state you travel from, I know the average cost of a plane ticket can range between $1200-$1500. If it is anywhere above this, reconsider going at a different time, because anywhere above that is too much to spend.
I just went in the summer time for a school trip, but before going to Nagoya for school I went to Tokyo and stayed at the hotel chain 'Toyoko Inn' (Hotel Reservations - Hotel Chain Toyoko Inn). When I went I think the price per day was around 50-60$ a night. They had the basic amenities, free breakfast, and a coin laundry machine. I stayed in a city close to Tokyo, and taking the train to Shinjuku was probably about 15 minutes.

If you plan on traveling away from Tokyo, to places such as Kyoto, I would suggest taking the Willer Express bus (Booking for highway and night buses in Japan / WILLER TRAVEL:The pink bus), which would cost you less than a JR Pass. I went from Nagoya to Tokyo for about 50$ roundtrip. The bus was extremely comfortable and had TV. But you will have a hard time getting Wifi on trains or buses without having SoftBank.

Also, with getting around, I felt like (Google Maps) was extremely helpful with which lines to take and how much yen it would cost you. My advice: bring cash.

Lestat84 said:

I am an american who is strongly considering taking a trip to Japan. It's been my lifelong dream to go to japan, and I am starting to get really serious about it. so my question is: how expensive is it to travel to japan and stay there, and stay comfortably? I am planning on staying there for about a week or two. Also, can anyone suggest any ways to cut costs without gutting the quality of the trip?

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Last time I went it cost me $3,000USD. :/ Hotels range from $50-$150 depending on their availability. If not you can always stay at a capsule hotel- they're not that comfy though.

From south america I am estimating that 10 days in japan could cost the following:

The plane trip wolud be arround 1600€ - 1800€ and a daily cost of 150€ would give me another 1500€ + some inexpected expenses.

Total: ~3000€

And a 21 day trip would be arround 5000€

Now, I dont know if the daily cost estimaton is ok, maybe Is too little, also I am considering traveling in august, but I dont really know which is the best time of the year to visit.

For the fligths I use Google Travel

If you're still looking for advice, here's the basic breakdown of what I spent for 10 days:

Airfare: $1400
Japan Rail Pass: $300
Accommodation: $300
Everything else combined: $500

So, put it all together and I spent around $2,500, give or take.

That was for ten days split between Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara and Hiroshima. The rail pass is a must if you plan on traveling extensively. Plus, the Shinkansen is an experience in itself.

Hostels are great fun if you've never been to one. Yeah, you share a room with strangers, but they're all going to be travelers from all over the world, just like you. In all the places I stayed, I met people from the UK, Ireland, Australia, Israel, Spain, France, China, India and a few others. I'm usually on the shy side, but a lot of these travelers were really easy to get along with, and made for instant friends. So it's not only much cheaper, it's actually a lot more fun too. Especially the small, privately owned places, where the Japanese owners share a similar passion for traveling.

It's worth a thought anyway, paying $25-30 a night (or less!) compared to $60-100.

I visit Japan every year with my wife to see family. My advice is to plan your trip in the spring or fall if possible. You will save loads of cash on your airfare. Airfare in the summer is ridiculous and you'll be looking at paying upwards of $2000 r/t from most places in the US.

The fall is absolute best time to visit for the best weather and food. Spring can be nice too with the cherry blossoms but the weather can be cool and rainy. I usually pay about $800-900 from Denver. You need to start searching for tickets around 2 months prior to your departure. I normally spend several weeks searching for tickets to get a feel for the prices as they vary from day to day and it can save you hundreds if you purchase that the right time.

Use the ITA Software Matrix to find the best deals.

Wow! This is really I wanted to read. I am really planning to go to Japan and I really do not enough ideas about the expenses. So Thanks for putting all your insights here.