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Japan's bad reputation for being expensive

Brooker

Anjin
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10 Apr 2004
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I think the reason a lot of people don't think of Japan as a viable travel destination is because Japan has a reputation for being outrageously expensive. Yes, Japan is far more expensive than other Asian countries, but I don't think it's much more expensive than anywhere in Europe, for example.

The smart traveler armed with the right information can travel to/in Japan on a budget. It seems prices in Japan have gone down since the 80's and 90's. I've found airplane tickets to Japan (from the Western U.S.) for as little as $550 (not bad). Yes, there are really expensive hotels in Japan, but there are also youth hostels. Save money by only spending a few days in Tokyo and then travel elsewhere. The rest of Japan has a lot to offer and is much cheaper. You can travel by local trains instead of the Shinkansen (although it's worth taking the Shink at least once).

Japan is clean, safe, interesting, can be aforbable, it's easy to get around using their transportation, and I think it's a reasonable destination for broke college students who would like to consider an alternative to travel in Europe. I may be preaching to the choir here, but I'm making it my mission to spread the word that people can and should consider Japan as a travel destination.

If you know of any information that could strenghthen my cause or you think what I'm saying doesn't hold water, please let me know. I'm going to be making this case to people soon and I need to be armed with as much information as possible. What do you think??
 
I Wish I Had Held Onto It !!

Before I left for Japan, I bought a book, "Japan On $5 A
DAY". I think it might have been a Fodor book? Back then, things were cheap! One dollar = 360 Yen.1971&72.

Frank

:mad:
 
All i can say is Japan is faaaar cheaper than England from what ive seen. The bloke from JUN racing has reserved me a repectable hotel in Tokyo for 12,000yen a night with is about ツ」56. This is very reasonable.
Everything ive seen apart from food is much cheaper in Japan. Electronics are amazingly cheaper, as are cars.
 
Is that book still available, Frank? Do you think the information in that book is still useful (even if it's outdated)?

I think you're right, topi. My friend went to both Japan and England and said he spent far more in England and got much less for his money, as in he much preferred the food in Japan.

Try a capsule hotel for a night while you're in Tokyo, it's a very interesting new experience and costs only about Y3000/night. Get some filling gyudon for lunch at Yoshinoya (which are everywhere) for about Y300. Don't forget to buy your lunch ticket from the machine by the door. Sushi is still a little expensive, but it's much cheaper there than it is here at home.
 
Brooker said:
Yes, Japan is far more expensive than other Asian countries, but I don't think it's much more expensive than anywhere in Europe, for example.

Transportation inside Japan is outrageously expensive by European or American standard. A 1000km flight inside Europe costs sometimes less than 20 euro (=2000yen) with discount internet airlines like Easyjet or Ryanair, but the cheapest ticket inside Japan ever (ANA' s short campaign periods) is 10.000yen. Usually it's 3 or even 5 times this price. Last time I inquired for a flight to Hiroshima or Hokkaido from Tokyo, there was nothing under 60.000 return (so 30.000yen one way). In average, I'd say flights inside Japan are 10x more expensive than inside Europe.

The same goes for the Shinkansen. The 380km journey between Tokyo and Osaka cannot be cheaper than 13.000yen, while a regular return Eurostar ticket between Brussels and London (340km) cost 85 euro (so 42,5 euro one way). A Thalys ticket between Brussels and Paris (300km, 1h), cost 68 euro, but there are many discounts available (49 euro if no cancellation/refund allowed) or 25 euro for people under 26). So it's about 2,5x cheaper in Europe for a similar distance.

But the main difference is that there are (luxury) bus tickets (=>Eurolines) that allow unlimited travel inside all Europe (not just the EU) for as little as 189 euro for 2 months for people under 26 during the low season (anytime but July & August). That's 3,15 euro a day (=350yen) ! Even the Seisshun 18 kippu in Japan that only permits travel through local trains cost 2300yen/day. Needless to say it is less comfortable, much slower and covers a much smaller area (Japan vs Europe), but still comes 6,5 x more expensive.

I've found airplane tickets to Japan (from the Western U.S.) for as little as $550 (not bad).

Flights to Japan are quite cheap. There are even cheaper tickets than you mentioned (25.000yen to L.A., or 28.000yen to New York, from Tokyo). The problem is that the cheapest 30min flight inside Japan will cost at least as much as the 15h to New York. :mad:

Yes, there are really expensive hotels in Japan, but there are also
youth hostels.

Hotels are not so expensive in Japan (similar to Europe). Restaurants are actually cheaper than most of Western Europe (except Spain and Portugal...).

After living 2,5 years in Japan, I have only been to the Kanto and Kansai, because everytime I want to go somewhere I find it much cheaper to go to Korea, China or Hawaii than somewhere in Japan. Add to this the scarcity of touristical attractions (especialy for me who have seen most of Europe, India and SE Asia) outisde the Kanto and Kansai, and it's no wonder travelling inside Japan is not popular.
 
Frank D. White said:
Before I left for Japan, I bought a book, "Japan On $5 A
DAY". I think it might have been a Fodor book? Back then, things were cheap! One dollar = 360 Yen.1971&72.

Prices have changed a lot since 1972. Japan was still a developping country at that time. :sorry:

Nowadays 5$ is enough for a cheap bento, or 3 train rides inside central Tokyo, but never for any kind of accommodation (not even camping). JFYI, a regular 2L bottle of water in Tokyo cost 2$.
 
You make some good points, Maciamo. Transportation in Japan can be costly, but there are ways of bringing that cost down (if you're willing to do it). To save money on trains in Japan I often used the local trains rather than the Shinkansen - they're half the price (maybe Y6500 from Tokyo to Osaka, which is, eh, ok), but take at least four times as long. The extra time it takes could be used as an opportunity to make stops along the way. You're right, flying is not a recommended way to travel within Japan.

Another option is train passes available to foreigners who buy them from outside Japan. A 7 day pass costs Y28,300, which isn't cheap but allows super easy travel to anywhere in Japan.
 
Brooker said:
Get some filling gyudon for lunch at Yoshinoya (which are everywhere) for about Y300.

you'll have to settle for pork as they don't sell gyudon now! Price is down to about 260Y though :p
 
Why aren't they selling gyudon, I used to love that stuff?! That was one of the only things they sold. Is it because of the mad cow scare? What do they serve now? Pork gyudon?
 
Yep, they wont use American beef because of the BSE scare and Australian beef is too expensive so they stopped selling gyudon all together. The "gyu" of gyudon means beef so it's now called Tondon or something - I really can't remember. I wonder if Yoshinoya will survive without gyudon....
 
nzueda said:
I wonder if Yoshinoya will survive without gyudon....

Yes, it won't even make a dent on sales because it's only temporary.

But for those with a beef preference, they can always consider going with the much more expensive homegrown beef. :)

As expensive as Japan can be, I'm not even sure if they could ever regulate prices well for one due to their economy and the level of manufacturing they provide for certain items.
 
However it's still expensive...a friend of mine worked in japan for 6 months and he told me
that 2500竄ャ were just enough to live...
 
dreamer said:
However it's still expensive...a friend of mine worked in japan for 6 months and he told me
that 2500竄ャ were just enough to live...

That is not true. Even in central Tokyo it is possible to live on less than 1000 euro/month. Food shouldn't cost more than 30.000yen/month (even for me who eats a lot) and it's possible to rent something for 50 or 60.000 yen. Transportation inside Tokyo (if your company doesn't pay for it) shouldn't cost more than 7.000yen/month if you buy a season ticket (teikiken).

In the countryside, I suppose that you can live on half that budget.
 
That's silly that Japan has stopped importing beef from the U.S. Not a single American has gotten sick from bad beef and we eat it all the time. I hope they lift the ban soon because I want some gyudon next time I visit.
 
Honest question....

Does anyone think that Japan has fewer points of interest/sights to see than places in, say, Europe for example? I know less about Europe than I do about Japan. How do they compare?
 
Brooker said:
That's silly that Japan has stopped importing beef from the U.S. Not a single American has gotten sick from bad beef and we eat it all the time. I hope they lift the ban soon because I want some gyudon next time I visit.

How would you know ? The incubation period for BSE is generally 5 to 20 years, like AIDS. Even taking a blood test, you wouldn't see if you are infected before 6 months or 1 year. That's why veterinary doctors have had such a hard time finding contaminated cows.
 
Brooker said:
Does anyone think that Japan has fewer points of interest/sights to see than places in, say, Europe for example? I know less about Europe than I do about Japan. How do they compare?

That is obvious. You can't compare Europe to Japan for touristical attractions (esp. historical ones). At best, you can compare 1 (small ?) European country. There have been a few threads about this earlier :

- Worst tourist attraction in Japan?
- Best tourist attractions in Japan?

The reason is not in the lack of culture or history itslef in Japan, but the fact that most of it has been destroyed by time. Traditional Japanese building are in wood, while they are in stone or brick in Europe.

For examples, just for the number of castles, Japan can't even compete with a single province of such a small country as Belgium (which is itslef smaller than Kyushu). Imagine an area 1/10 of Kyushu and that there are more castles, and more luxurious and diverse in style, than in the whole of Japan. It's no wonder when one knows that countries like Belgium or France have or have had through the history in average 2 castles (including the destroyed ones and those converted into farms or houses) per village. I took the example of Belgium on purpose, first because I know it well, and secondly because the density of population is the same as Japan. No need to compare the density of castles/sq. km in, say Russia and Japan, when there could be nobody living in some areas of Russia bigger than Japan. England would be another good comparison, It is just 3x smaller than Japan, but you can't count the number of castles, chuches or other historical buildings.

I did my research about Japanese castles. Please read this thread.

If Japan didn't have the concrete reconstructions, there would be only 7 original castles. 😲 A village near my birthplace had 7 castles for less than 1000 inhabitants... That's the whole difference between Europe and the rest of the world. Now take a (historical) city in Japan, and try to find the historical building. You won't find anywhere intact city centers like in European cities. Even in Kyoto that wasn't bombed at all during WWII, everything but a few streets of Gion and a few temples on the edge of the city is modern, ugly concrete. Not much for the visitors there. If able to choose between a European or Japanese city for sightseeing, where would you go ?
 
Maciamo said:
In the countryside, I suppose that you can live on half that budget.

perhaps, but wages are much lower in the country , plus we have to run a car and travel long distances to get anywhere. Cars are very expensive to run and maintain in Japan IMO
 
how much is the license? a thousand? i forget
but remember hearing it's (the cost) prohibitive...

"Yep, they wont use American beef because of the BSE scare and Australian beef is too expensive so they stopped selling gyudon all together. The "gyu" of gyudon means beef so it's now called Tondon or something - I really can't remember. I wonder if Yoshinoya will survive without gyudon..."

two weeks ago, they were using bacon strips in the bowl i bought

"That's silly that Japan has stopped importing beef from the U.S. Not a single American has gotten sick from bad beef and we eat it all the time. I hope they lift the ban soon because I want some gyudon next time I visit."

they do not mess around. the only time i rode back in bus class was during the sars scare
and here's a word from the american red cross
 
Budd, you mean a drivers license? If you take the full drivers training course, try 3,000 USD for about three months of night classes (not every day).

Then if you live a in a big city you have to prove you have a place to park a car (spost run about 300~500 USD a month in a nice area).

Then you have to pay inspection taxes, road taxes, and insurance. The older the car, the more expensive things get (renewal prices and length of duration on inspection certificates vary depending on the car, but renewing one with no mechanical problems is at least 700 USD one every 2 to 5 years).

Then there is gas prices - about 100 yen a liter these days. I pay about 3000 yen each time I fill up. Maintaining your car is a bundle. There are some DIY autoshops, but nothing like NAPA in the US (can get almost anything at NAPA). These DIY places will install most things you buy for free, but they try and sell you more than you need in little tricky ways (ex. Motor oil should be changed every three months or 3,000 km. Last tine I checked, oils can go 3000miles, or around 4600km) and all but the longest working staff are pretty thick in the head when it comes to trouble shooting. Most Japanese people take their cars to the dealer - you can imagine what that costs.
 
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