Before we visited Japan, we always heard about how expensive Japan was. We weren’t sure how much to budget for two weeks in Japan and we were afraid we would come home broke! We lucked out and found an AWESOME flight deal for $400 roundtrip from Los Angeles (thank you Black Friday deals)! Before we arrived, we had a feeling that we would be spending a lot while we were there, because we wanted to see so much. It wasn’t until we arrived in Tokyo, that we realized it would be fairly easy to travel Japan on a budget.
The cost of a trip to Japan depends a lot on how you like to travel. We aren’t the most extravagant when we travel, but we also like to enjoy ourselves (see our food and drink category) . We did spend a lot of time traveling around, so that can add to the expenses. But, what we found in our travels to Japan is it IS possible to visit Japan on a budget! It’s important to know what kind of traveler you are. If you like to see and do a lot, keep in mind that things will add up. Traveling around to many different cities, gets expensive. After we go over our total Japan travel costs, we’ll give you some tips on how to stick to a budget when in Japan!
If you’re planning a trip to Japan, hopefully our total spending budget helps you as a guide for planning your budget trip to Japan.
Is traveling to Japan on a budget possible?
Japan can be both expensive and done on a budget. We broke our trip to Japan cost into 4 different categories so you can easily see where we spent most of our money. Keep in mind, the main cities will be a little bit more expensive. From our guide you can see how much a week long trip to Japan would cost for you!
Are you planning a trip to Japan? Don’t forget to check out our detailed 14 day Japan itinerary
Accommodation Prices in Japan
**At the time of writing, the exchange rate ¥100=$.91
Hotels in the main cities seem to be pretty expensive. But once you start looking a little more into, there are lots of budget options. Book early for better options and better prices. Also airbnb and hostels are great alternatives. The two hostels that we stayed at were also top-notch very clean! Prices of accommodation in Japan will depend a lot on time of year. A hostel or capsule room costs $50-100 and rates just go up from there. There are plenty of options to find something in your budget.
Average costs of accommodation in Japan:
- Budget (capsule or hostel): ¥1500-3000 ($14-28)
- Mid-range (guesthouse or cheap hotel): ¥4000-10000 ($35-90)
- Luxury (Traditional ryokan or Western style hotel): ¥10000-30000 ($90-275)
If you have the budget, we recommend staying at a ryokan for a night or two. A ryokan is a traditional Japanese style inn, with tatami mats, futon beds, and Japanese style baths, or onsens. Although expensive, it is quite an experience.
If you can’t find anything in your price point that suits you, we recommend checking Airbnb. We found some great deals in both Tokyo and Kyoto, although Japan has recently changed their rules with airbnb, so read this for tips on booking an airbnb in Japan.
*We recommend budgeting $35-$75/night/person
Transportation Prices in Japan
Getting around Japan is super easy! Once you arrive and try to navigate the train station, it can be a little overwhelming. However, it gets easier, we promise! We found by the end, we were professionals. Public transportation in Japan is so clean and efficient, it’s super easy to get around.
- Subway in Tokyo ¥200 ($1.8)
- Bus ride in Kyoto ¥220 ($2)
- One day pass Tokyo metro and subway lines ¥900 ($8.26)
- Narita express train from Narita to Tokyo ¥1317 ($13 USD)
- Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto ¥13080 ($130)
- Kyoto bus pass for one day ¥600 ($5.50
The cost of transportation in Japan can add up. We spent a good chunk of our transportation budget on the Japan rail pass (JR pass). While the JR passes can be very beneficial and great deal, it is not always necessary to purchase. Only if you plan to do lots of traveling on the JR lines, such as buying shinkansen tickets. Make sure you figure out what and where you want to go in Japan ahead of time, so you don’t waste money on transportation. If you are going to buy the Japan rail pass, you need to buy the pass before you get to Japan, as they will send you the exchange coupon, and then you will activate the JR pass when you arrive in Japan. We recommend booking your tickets for the Japan rail pass here.
*If you have questions on if your itinerary would be better with the Japan rail pass or not, leave us a comment-we’d love to help you out!
There are also regional passes and bus passes available in most main cities, that can save you money. If you know you’re itinerary, you can decide if its worth it to buy the passes. A one-day metro and subway pass in Tokyo is $8, so if you know you’ll be taking it 4 times or so, you should purchase that.
*We recommend saving $25-70/day/person
Food Prices in Japan
We found that no matter where we ate, we were NOT disappointed. This includes the convenience stores! One of the best “chicken on a stick” that we ate while there was about $1.20 USD at the 7-eleven! The quality of food in Japan is definitely high. So whether you’re paying $5 or $50, you probably won’t be disappointed. If you’re looking to save money on food in Japan, there are usually great priced ramen and sushi places around the corner.
If you’re looking to splurge on food, here are the best Tokyo restaurants
Here are some general food prices in Japan for you to get an idea:
- Ramen ¥750-1100 ($7-$10)
- Wagyu, Teppanyaki, Izakaya ¥2200-6500 ($20-60)
- Inexpensive sushi ¥1000-2000 ($9-18)
Alternatively you can find some great deals at 7-eleven. We ate a bunch of our breakfasts from 7-eleven. Here are some examples of prices at 7-eleven:
- Onigri (rice with salmon, egg, chicken…) ¥110 ($1-1.50)
- Bento box ¥435 ($4)
- Box of sushi ¥435 ($4)
- Chicken on a stick ¥110-220 ($1-2)
Drink Prices in Japan
We found the drinks to be fairly expensive. At most restaurants, you’ll be paying around $6-8 for a draft beer. Sake is about the same. We tried not to get drinks while we were out too often. Instead we bought them at the convince store. You can see that we did enjoy some drinks out while we were in Japan. We went to a cool new brewery in Kanazawa, that happened to be doing a collaboration with Portland beer, and had some drinks at a rooftop bar in Tokyo. So if you take some of those expensive drinking nights out, the budget is obviously way less.
Typical drink prices (not at a convenience store):
- Coffee ¥440 ($4)
- Beer ¥600-800 ($5.50-7.50)
- glass of Sake ¥500-700 ($5-7)
- Bottled water ¥120 ($1)
*We recommend budgeting $25-50/day/person for food and drink
How much does a trip to Japan cost?
For 12 days in Japan, we thought we did a great job on spending. Yes, we could have been a little more frugal, but we also saw and did A LOT! But, in 12 days, the total cost of our trip to Japan came out to less than $100/day per person! The crazy thing is, we did this without really trying to budget. I mean, we were aware of our spending, but we still enjoyed our time. You can definitely do it for way less. We definitely splurged here and there. We had a luxury hotel stay with a private onsen in Takayama, enjoyed a nice hida beef meal, drank some craft beers, but we counter-balanced those with a few nights in some hostels. Traveling is all about balance. Overall, we think a reasonable budget for Japan is between $50-100/day.
Tips for visiting Japan on a budget
Shop at 7-eleven or convenience stores
7-eleven is one of the greatest things you’ll ever find in Japan. It’s not like it is in the states. Well it is, but 10x better! You can find everything you need at 7-eleven for cheap! For most of our breakfasts, we would just grab some onigri (Japanese rice balls) and coffee and were on our way! We saved a lot of money by buying our drinks at 7-eleven as opposed to buying at restaurants or coffee shops. 7-eleven is open 24/7 too, so it’s super easy to pop in late at night or in the morning. This is also where we used the ATMs to get our Japanese Yen.
All this for under $10 USD!
Use the JR pass and Suica card
We did a lot of traveling around, and therefore our transportation spending was a bit higher. While the JR pass can be a great deal, if you’re not traveling around a lot it might not be worth it for you! Before you go, you can map out where you plan on traveling to and see the price of everything. That way, you can see if its worth it or not to buy the JR pass. We ended up buying a 7 day JR pass for the last 7 days, because we knew we’d have a lot of travel in and around Kyoto, plus the Shinkansen back to Tokyo (which can be a hefty $135 for a one way trip). The JR pass can also be used on the Narita Express to and from the airport.
Check prices for the JR pass here
Once you activate the JR pass, its super easy to use. You don’t need to get any other train tickets, you just show your pass on entry and exit at each train station. Because we already had the JR pass, it definitely made it easier to do more day trips from Kyoto, as we didn’t have to pay more.
The Suica or Pasmo card is just a prepaid card that you can add money too. It makes it super easy when traveling around a lot to just swipe the card, instead of having to have exact change. You can buy a Suica card in any JR station, and just add more money to it whenever you see a station.
Book your hotel away from main train stations
Being close to a train station is convenient, but it’s also expensive. If you can find somewhere to stay a little bit away from the train station, you’ll be able to save some money. Its super easy to catch the bus to the train station, rent bike, or even walk! When we stayed in Tokyo, we stayed at the Shiba Park Hotel, which was only a few minute walk from the train station, but also very close to the Tokyo Tower.
Rent a Pocket Wifi
Having a pocket wifi will save you a lot of time and money! The pocket wifi we used was super easy to pick up from Narita International Airport. We had unlimited data and connection to 10 devices. If you are someone who needs to be on wifi a lot, of if you have a couple other people traveling with you, the pocket wifi will pay off. We especially liked using it for google maps and google translate.
Beware of Entry Fees
There are a lot of temples and shrines and other exciting things to see in Japan, but the entry fee to everything can really add up! Some temples won’t have an entry fee. Research before you go and make sure that it’s actually worth paying and entering. For us, we only went inside a few places because we didn’t want to pay the entrance fees.
Alcohol
We found alcohol to be expensive most places we ate at. Even for a local beer, it was close to $6-8. Every once in a while, we would have some sake or beer while we were out, but most of the time we would just buy our alcohol at the convenience stores. It is also totally acceptable to drink while you are walking around!
So you can see that it is possible to travel Japan on a budget! It is relatively easy to keep price of a trip to Japan under $100/day. Japan is a beautiful country, with lots to see and do! Don’t put off visiting Japan because you think it’s too expensive! It is possible to still experience all that Japan has to offer on budget! Keep in mind when you are planning a trip to Japan, that lots of moving around will add up. However, we found that traveling to Japan on a budget is totally doable!
What are some of your budget travel tips? If you have been to Japan, we’d love to know what you did to keep your costs low?
Great breakdown of the costs of visiting Japan. I loved the 7-elevens in Japan and got food from there a lot especially when too busy or tired to eat at a restaurant.
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Great guide! It’s such a tough question to answer about any location but you’ve done a great job outlining some basic costs.
This post is so detailed, I definitely would’ve used this before I went haha. Very useful as a reference to visit Japan
I went as a very poor student with a disgustingly tiny budget and was pleasantly surprised by how much stuff I was still able to finance. Definitely saved a ton of cash on the JR Pass.
Tokyo used to cost a lot more when its currency was very strong quite many years back. Now, I would feel the bulk of expenses come from transport and accommodation. Loved how you mapped out this budgeting post so clearly! I love their convenience stores – they’re the best! Now you’re making me miss Japan againnnnn 😉
Great article with beneficial info & costs! Was surprised about how good the food was at 7-11! Thanks for outlining everything!
Nice post. I’ve always avoided travelling to Japan because of the cost but sounds like maybe I should reconsider!
Great post! I’m happy to hear that it’s actually affordable, hope to Japan in someday!
I would like to go to Japan, how my dream will come true in the soonest time.
Your information is helpful.
Great post! I visited Japan a few months back and saw the Senso-ji temple, Shibuya and the Imperial Palace. You recalled my memories. Thanks buddy!
I am in the early process of planning a trip to Tokyo and Kyoto for late March – early April of 2020 or 2021. I have a couple questions.
The following is my wish list to see for both place:
Points of interest for Tokyo :
Sensoji Temple, Imperial Palace, Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, Ueno Park, Rikugien Japanese Garden, Disneyland & DisneySea.
Points of interest for Kyoto:
Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine, Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Golden Pavilion of Kinkakuji Temple, Katsura Imperial Villa Japanese Garden, Gion and all during Cherry Blossom Season (hopefully)
Which order do you recommend to do these in? (I am not sure how far these are apart from each other or if this is a bit ambitious)
Do I get around by taxi/train to get to these places? ( I read I can take the bullet train from Tokyo to get to Kyoto ) Should I get a JR Rail pass?
Should I get a separate hotel for Disney portion, sightseeing in Tokyo and sightseeing in Kyoto?
This is probably going to be just a one and done trip for my husband and I, we want to make the most of it.
Can this be done in about 12 days (plus flight time)? Thank you in advance for your tips!
You have quite the list of things to do, but I think it can be done. If you don’t mind being busy-which it will be busy. Japan is a great place with lots to see. Where are you flying from? If you are going for 12 days, you could 6 in Tokyo and 6 in Kyoto. We only spent 3 days in each, as we went to other cities also, and felt we were able to see everything we wanted. We didnt do Disney, so not sure about that, but I would assume you would want a full day for that.
It is easy to get around on the bus or local trains. We found taxis to be very expensive. I would get a suica card, you can put money on it and use it for the busses/trains, and you can also use it at convenience stores and more. Then you just reload it. The JR rail pass can be useful if you will be doing lots of train travel. You can only get it in 7, 14, or 21 day increments. For you, I would do the 7 day but only if you can go Tokyo-Kyoto roundtrip on it. Its not worth it, if you only do it for a one-way. There are some rail pass calculators out there that will tell you if its worth it or not. But for you, I would probably activate for the day you go from tokyo-kyoto, then you can use it for the bullet train, and all around Kyoto, and then again back to Tokyo. (That is if you are going back to the original city).
Hope this helps a little! Let me know if you have questions!