How Cheap Is Japan Now? Tourists share how much they spend 

TOKYO GUIDEBOOK takashifromjapan.com/tokyocompleteguide

I just came back from Japan this week. It wasn't as expensive as I thought it would be and it's definitely cheaper than Norway. The airfare to Japan might push up your total price but if you're not a foodie, you can save a bundle on food by eating from 7-11. Yes, you can buy healthy food from a convenience store. The train fares are cheap in comparison to Europe, they go everywhere and run on time. I'd definitely recommend a visit.

00:29 🛫 For a 14-day Japan trip, estimated costs include $1,500-$2,000 for flights, $20/day for food, and $450 for accommodation. 01:40 🏨 A Canadian tourist spent $6,500 for 2 weeks, including a $2,100 round-trip flight and $2,000 for hotel in Shinjuku. 02:52 🍣 A couple spent $3,000 for 20 days, budgeting $20/day for food and utilizing train transportation for $10/day. 04:41 🚄 Another traveler spent around $4,000 for 20 days, including a $1,000 flight, hotels at $500 each, and budgeting $25/day for food. 06:26 💸 Honeymooners spent $5,000 for 11 days, getting first-class flights for $3,800 and varying hotel costs from $60 to $120/night. 07:38 🍜 Two travelers found Japan to be cheap, spending $80-$100/day for both on meals and enjoying a variety of experiences. 08:20 🇪🇺 A European visitor spent around €250 on a Japan Rail Pass, budgeted $40/day for food but usually spent less, totaling $3,000 for three weeks. 09:55 🌍 Nomad eSIM was introduced, offering convenience and affordability for international travelers, with a 100% off coupon code mentioned. 10:36 ✈ A traveler spent $1,500-$2,000 for a 14-day trip, including a $700 flight, Airbnb at $88-$95/night, and $30-$50/day for meals. 11:59 🚃 For a 30-day trip, estimated expenses were around $4,000, including a $1,000 flight, $50/night for accommodation, and $2,000 for food. 13:45 🍲 Daily expenses for meals ranged from $30 to $50, and overall spending for a 50-day trip was around $44,000, with a mix of flights and accommodation. 14:54 🍳 A traveler on a 9-day trip spent around $3,000, including a $1,100 flight, $250/night for accommodation, and $30-$50/day on meals. 15:50 🌏 For a 26-day trip, a couple spent $5,600, including $850 for flights, $40/night for accommodation, and an average of $20/day for food. 16:46 🍣 A 14-day trip cost around $5,000-$6,000, covering flights, accommodation, and various expenses, with an average daily food budget of $20. 17:00 🎥 The host invites viewers to suggest questions for future solo traveler interviews in Japan.

I was in Japan for two weeks last month - I spent $1500 cad or $1100 usd. That included $300 for a JR Pass (which saved me $700), $45 a night avereage for 3 star business hotels, food and drink. Pretty reasonable and much cheaper than North America. My flight cost me $250 as I was coming from Vietnam.

This channel is really so much fun to watch! Even for me who neither speaks Japanese nor has ever been to Japan - and I don't know if I ever will. Just love your videos! Thank you for making Japan so interesting!

As someone who lives in Vancouver, Canada, which is one of the most expensive places in North America, I found my travel in Japan to be relatively inexpensive compared to what I'm used to at home. My round trip flight with Japan Airlines was only about $1200 cad and since I mostly stayed at hostels or B&B's my costs there was only about $10-20 per night. Food is super inexpensive compared to here so that was amazing because it's all so delicious. I brought about $3500 with me for my 18 day visit and even with everywhere I traveled and also buying gifts and souvenirs I still came home with about $700 of that left when I had expected to spend it all. I have loved both visits I have taken to Japan and fully plan to go there again soon, it's a beautiful country with so many wonderful places to visit and history to experience.

Cheap or expensive is relative. To southeast countries,Japan is more "expensive" but Japan has definitely become more affordable now compared to in the past. I am from Indonesia and my budget in Japan was about 2k USD for 14 days and it's enough for everything including flight which cost maybe 800 USD.

Flight is the most expensive part, other than that Japan is not as expensive as it used to be. Before the pandemic and all the inflation everywhere food and other things used to be more expensive in Japan than in my country, now is the other way around. Plane ticket did skyrocketed in price everywhere though. Also if you are getting paid in USD or EUR, Japan is really cheap right now.

I was in Japan in september and didn't spend much on food and accommodation, I stayed in a Tokyo guesthouse with tatami mats for 150 dollars for 6 days. A bowl of ramen/udon/soba was usually 7 dollars which is super affordable. The only time when I went over budget was when I went shopping in Akihabara and bought some collectable electronics.

I'm going to Japan in April, so your videos are extremely helpful/ educational. Thank you for making them!

Wow! Talk about worlds colliding! I watch a lot of Toripeebs content about Japan and how to travel there too!

This amazing!! Thank you! It’ll def make it easier to plan my trip

Useful and interesting, thanks for putting out the effort for such great videos!

Ohhh so interesting topic!! We are based in Finland and we are also trying to do some reportages of the normal life of this days 🤯😮 Always more expensive 😢

I was in Japan for a whole month in July 2023, costed me total $3,000 to spend really comfortably like buying whatever I wanted, eating what I want, and traveling all across Japan through JR pass and local fees of trains and buses that the pass didn't cover. It is definitely worth the money to spend a vacation there.

I watched a video from a year ago and your English was good but compared to now, it’s really good. Thank you for the videos from Texas

Great video. Helpful seeing what people are spending. Can't wait to watch your solo traveler episode. 😊

I went to Japan in March and found it to be fairly inexpensive.. .then again I was coming from California so anything really seems cheaper. Plus the USD is strong against the Yen right now. The hotel was about $70 a night, the flights were $815 round trip on United (granted we bought them before the country was fully open though).

I like that it shows how differently tourists spend money and what they consider to be cheap

Takashii San I watched your video four couple days and I enjoy it. It gives me some trivial informations about Japan that rarely people know especially foreigners. Anddd I’ve subscribed your channel yesterday😊

Thanks for all the content❤

*1st Girl is actually from DreamLand, that's why she found everything cheap there* 😊😊😊

My flight was the most expensive part which was $1800 USD, every city I stayed in my hotel was between $30-$50 a night in Kyoto, Osaka and Tokyo. The JR railpass was expensive about $338 USD. The trains and food was very affordable and I tried to buy gifts from local places instead of tourist spots. Altogether it cost me around $3000

I love your channel. I've learned so much about visiting Japan. It's been a huge help with my trip planning.

Great video very informational while fun at the same time, hearing from real tourists rather than someone telling me feels more genuine and more trustable

back in 2019, went Fukuoka Hokkaido 11days trip with my 2 other friends, we spent about 2800 SGD each person. for me it's about my 1 month salary, but i got to say really worth it. and really looking forward to my next Japan trip. love Japan~

We spent two weeks in Japan and found it generally cheaper than the USA, though not as cheap as much of China. We stayed in mid-range hotels rather than our normal four star hotels we stayed at in the US. The rooms tended to be smaller but the facilities were just as good - for less money. Food in Japan is relatively cheap depending on what you eat, but in the US helpings are much, much bigger.😁

This is such a useful video, thank you Takashii!

Very informative video for someone like me whos planning to visit japan thank you for posting it

I was living there three years ago, when the yen was much stronger than it is now, and I still felt like the things that tourists would care about like food, attractions, and hotels were cheap. They may be cheaper now, but they were already cheaper than in the US by a long shot. Many hotels were actually dirt cheap then because no one was traveling!

Great segment. I do a lot of traveling, so I'm always looking for great deals. I managed to keep our daily average in Japan to under $100US per day. That includes food, accommodations and transportation. The only thing that's non-negotiable is the Shinkansen - which goes anywhere from $50-$200 one way depending on where/when you're going. Also, outside of big cities things get a lot cheaper. Food and buses in the countryside were less than $20 a day combined!

I love your videos, it really helps my partner and I plan for our trip!

I've always enjoyed your videos. This one is quite informative. Thank you! Gambate 👍👍👍 Keep up the good work!

We came in April for two weeks and initial cost was about £4000 each for flights, hotels, JR pass. We did travel a lot though, Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Yudanaka. This didn't include food which we didn't find expensive anyway. We saved for almost a year for it.

Another note on transportation, most of these people are only staying in one area. If you want to go to other cities you'll probably have to take the bullet train which is close to 170 one-way. I wanted to get the JR Rail pass, but they increased the prices as of this year :( - just something to keep in mind!

Just came back two weeks ago. My fiancé and I went to Osaka, Nara, Kyoto, Sapporo, Otaru, and Jozankei. It’s true that the air fare is the most expensive part of the trip. Flew with ANA for $2,500 (2 round trip), including Japan domestic flights. I think we spent about $7,000 for two people. This is my second time in Japan. We love this place so much. Just make sure you do your research before going.

Great video, very professional and informative.

I did a 3 month trip to Japan from February 8th till May 1st. I spent a little over 10,000$. It was an amazing trip, as much as I would have preferred to spend that 10,000 on a way to make money online so I could live in Japan and travel while making USD$, it was such a memorable trip. As much as I want to go back to Japan as soon as possible, until I can find a way to make more money, I cannot go back to Japan.

I have happened to travel to Japan in the periods when 100Y was 1USD. In 1997 I was a poor high school student on a sponsored cultural exchange and remember counting the 100Y sodas I could buy while still trying to save enough for gifts to bring home. Japan felt very expensive to me. Today, Even in the Midwest, a cheap motel starts between $100-150 a night, in California you can’t get a decent ramen for less than $20 out the door (tax and tip). When I see the nominal prices in Japan haven’t changed too much in 20 years but meanwhile the exchange rate is very USD favorable, it makes Japan feel like an absolute bargain for what you get.

Great informative video bro!

Thanks Takashi for the video!!! 🥰

I spent around $4,500 for 10 days in Japan just this past October. I'd break it down as such: * Plane tickets: $2,500 - this included a 1-day layover in Spain, so a little extra in hostel fees but got to explore Madrid. * Food: $150 - was originally $300 but we were too busy to eat lol. Konbini food is a god-send. * Lodgings: $350 - an average of $70 per day. One Airbnb we stayed at was literally next door to Nijo-jo in Kyoto, so what a score! * Regular transportation: $140 - we moved all over the place in Osaka, Nara, Kyoto and Tokyo. * Shinkansen tickets: $130 - one-way from Kyoto to Tokyo. We splurged and took the green car, so it could have been a little cheaper, but oh so worth it. * Wifi rental: $80. You need this or an eSIM. No negotiation room here. Roaming charges were way too high to even consider. * Fun budget: $800 - split between entry fees, souvenirs and gacha machines. Seriously, those things are addictive. * Extra stuff: $300 - non-budgeted buys, but stuff I just had to get. Truth be told I actually budgeted $5k, but ended up bringing some money back, even though we went full-out the last 3 days. Not cheap by any measure but not bank-breaking either. Already started saving up for round 2.

Thank you for producing this amazing content. A year ago I was depressed and had anxiety. However, your content has helped me regrow my confidence. I want to thank you for helping me through my journey of becoming a better person. Thank you.

that was beautiful, flawless advertising that fits perfect with the video benefits everyone

Another great informative video 👍🏼 I’ll have to look into the e-sim you mentioned 😉

Glad to see some dutchies, Dankjewel!! I am a solo traveler myself and, my first country Ive visited alone was Switzerland. I spent the prices mentioned just on 4 days in CH, so be aware for anyone who wants to go I would defintently save. For solo travelers, could you ask how good is it to get around and safety in Japan? For me I have not been yet but I feel the biggest issue would be language, I know some basic phrases but only those, so I want to know how big of an issue is it for someone who is not a native Japanese speaker. Much love from the United States!

Prices all around were pretty spot on, I was in Japan from Oct26th to Nov 3rd. I spent around $2500-$3000 usd for my trip and most of it was Flight + Hotel. I Would have spent more on gifts and random things but my sister had a suitcase full of stuff for me to take home and I didn't feel like bringing more than 2 checked in luggages. (Price would have been $150 for the third suitcase)

Good stuff, you’ve inspired me to plan a trip🎉

Wow! This is crazy helpful!!! Thank you.🙏🏻 😮

I love the diversity of your subjects 👏🏾🙏🏾

Hi Takashi....my trip to Japan cost approx £3,500 for 14 days. We went to Tokyo, Kyoto. Hiroshima & Osaka. Food is cheap (and great!). We had JR Pass which helped with the rail costs as we were also attending the Rugby World Cup so various trains were covered by the JR Pass. I took one taxi from Haneda to Tokyo (Minato) because trains weren't running, which was very expensive and cost me £100. Exchange rate may help reduce the cost if you can go when the rates are favourable. All in all a fantastic country, culture and people. I loved it & will be back soon..! Idea for content - what western food have Japanese tried and liked or disliked...👍🍜

Loved this video! So informative ❤

Great Takashi content as usual

I went to Tokyo for my birthday during cherry blossom season (end of March), which is the most expensive time to go, however, I’m blessed because I’m a U.S. Based Flight attendant so I only payed taxes for the international country I’m flying to (obviously being Japan), which would be about $500 round trip and I was able to get first class. I only could stay for 4 days but my hotel was about $500 for those 4 days and my hotel included free breakfast, I ate at 7Eleven and occasionally had ramen and other street food. I also went out to the club scene and had some drinks with friends and only did a lil but of shopping + transportation of Uber and trains. I also did a couple of tourist attractions. All in all, i think I spent about just under $1000. Best gift to myself I’ve ever experienced.

I bought a SB cup for my friend. It was 4,400 yen and American dollar wise, it was 29 bucks. So I took advantage lots because I ate and bought lot of cheap stuff. Something that was, like, 30 bucks is 19 USD.

Thank you for your very informative and helpful videos!

You are the most efficient, no nonsense, straight information, reality, interesting channel about Japan.

I bought a ticket to Japan for $700 with Singapore airlines out of LAX and my accommodations for 12 days was about $90 a day ($1,100). So far just getting to Japan and having a place to stay has totaled $1,800. I’m visiting in February and I’m expecting to spend another $1,000 or so 🇯🇵 - a hopeful budget of $2,800 for 12 days!! (that might get pushed to $3,000 if I have too much fun 😅)

5:31 Zip does NOT have first class. They don't even have business class. Instead, they have business class-style seats with the service of an ultra low cost airline. You need to pay to rent a pillow and blanket, if you want it. You need to pay for food, drinks, and luggage. You don't even have a separate check-in counter, you stand in the economy line. It is a Spirit Airlines customer service experience, in a JAL business class lie-flat seat. It is a great value, but it is not "first class" in any sense of the word.

TAKA keep it up, I enjoy this very much

Great video! Thank you for sharing! ✨😉👍

I did a solo trip to Japan right after they opened in Nov 2022. For a 2 week trip it was about $2200 USD all-in including a direct flight from the east coast USA and a JR Pass. I stayed in an onsen hotel in middle of each city I visited (Ginza Tokyo, 3 blocks from Ebisubashi Osaka, and 1 block from Peace Memorial Park Hiroshima) About $1000 of it was just for food, which included six Michelin Starred restaurants. I'm quite the foodie, so my food budget was actually unlimited, but the restaurants are very affordable in Japan as a whole. I wasn't on any set budget for this trip, but if I was, I think I could've done this trip for under $700 for 2 weeks, using budget hotels without onsens, and no Michelin Starred restaurants.

How. Do. People. Have. So. Much. Money? I’m guessing finding a relationship does a lot for saving up money? But for someone like me who is not in a relationship or have family that can help, traveling to Japan just seems impossible at this point. Which is heartbreaking. I know I would work hard to be a kind visitor and want to know more about the place too. But I still cannot do with the hand I have been dealt…

Good video! Been enjoying your content for a while now. My family are traveling to Japan (Kyoto then Tokyo) soon. Hopefully we run into you!

Great video Takashii! I would love to see some in-depth documentaries like those from Asian Boss though! Time to take it to the next level, dont forget your filmmaking dream! 💪🏻

Man this makes it sound a lot more affordable than I originally thought it was.

I think if you stay in ur relatives or friends house there as a guest. It won't cost you much. But if you go as a tourist there, It will be a dilemma.

I like this format of different perspectives on how much it cost them their trips

Tysm for this video 😊

How much did you spend in Japan? If you came to Japan before, Please lmk in the comments!

So cheap! I recently bought 80 books from Japan with only 11000 yen!

This is great content. Learning a lot about Japan. I now know that where I live it is very very expensive. To eat out would cost easily $60 a day for one person without drinking. To know you could get by there with $25 a day is amazing.

Now that's slick! Putting the product being promoted as a "free giveaway" in the video!

I came from Switzerland and been living here in Tokyo for almost a decade. One of the reason why I love Japan is because it's very affordable...everything is much cheaper than my own country ! I can even buy 2 houses in here ( one in Tokyo, the other is in rural area ). I absolutely would NEVER be able to do that in my country!

a place to stay for more than $100 per day is quite a bit pricey...

Tokyo is the most expensive city in Japan, but even though much cheaper than USA like NY/Boston/Miami/LA/SanDiego. Specially food! Good healthy food for less than USD15.

American and I love your videos, learning so much thank you very much.

I wish Japan was cheap. Otherwise, I'd be there already. Lol

Hi Takashii! Awesome! I was looking for something just like this to plan my budget to Toyko this upcoming March-April! Thank you! I am going with my wife and son...I wonder if the budget will be different with families vs solo travelers? anyways... We are excited to finally visit your country. I have 4 months to learn Japanese! Ahhh! Wish me luck! LOL.

Awesome Takashi. Food is so good and cheap. I loved it 😃

I just came back from Japan for three weeks and here was what I spent for my partner and I! Hotels: 3,200€ - we stayed in various cities (Tokyo/Osaka/Kyoto/Takayama/Hiroshima/Nagoya etc) and we stayed at 4-5 star hotels. Food: Probably for the two of us we spent maybe 50-60€ a day, so 1300€ in total, food is very cheap - this was mostly restaurants, a few kombini trips Flight - 3600€ round trip for both of us, we were in premium economy with Lufthansa Transportation - we had JR pass, which was 800€ in total for the both of us and Suica, to which we added 100€ on each card. So roughly 9,100€ for two of us for three weeks, this does not include shopping or entertainment.

You content is a must watch for me especially now that I will be traveling to Japan later this month with my wife. Now I don’t feel so bad on what we’re planning on spending after seeing this 😅😂

Im going to Tokyo myself soon. SO this video is very helpful. Thank you very much

I think the biggest money saver is usually the hostels. When I go to Osaka I stay in a place that's basically $15USD a night. Spending one meal a day at the convenience store is also super cheap, like $5USD. Souvenirs can be expensive but honestly, it's so much cheaper than, for instance, getting something at an anime convention or at a kinokuniya. The flight was the most expensive part for sure. I think I budgeted $5K USD for my last trip and only spent just under $3K, with most of that being for the flight and shinkansen.

planning to go back in japan next year on january. hope to see you and make a collab video!

good timing, I am currently looking into flights around this summer for a vacation

Good video. It Helps you with your budget 💰 🇯🇵

英語の勉強に見てます！！！めっちゃ勉強になるし面白いです｡

$2500 rounds trip. $60-100 per night.hotel $35-50 day 3/meals $transport $10-15 a day depends on where.

I went to Japan with my girlfriend in 2018. We were there for 26 days and stayed 4-6 days in Fukuoka, Osaka, Kyoto, Tokyo and Sapporo each. Including the flights, trains, hotels, food, activities and souvenirs we each spent roughly 2600€. So a 100€ per day. In general I would recommend to travel with another person, as a 2-Person Hotel Room is basically the same price as a Single Bedroom. So it becomes quite a bit cheaper. Our flights were from Berlin->Helsinki->Fukuoka. We had 2 inland flights, from Tokyo to Sapporo and back. Then we flew from Tokyo->Helsinki->Berlin. And we used the train to travel to Berlin from Hanover and back.

I'm going to be solo traveling Japan in May/June and I love your videos, hope I run into you!!

I LOVE your channel!

I went to Japan last month for 14 days. My airline from the Philippines is $267 via Zipairrrr!! My accomodation from 4 different hotels is about $62/night. Food around 1.5k-2k yen per day or $10-13 per day. Transpo is probably the same as food plus the train from Narita to Tokyo around 2.4k yen per way. Then train from Tokyo to Nikko probably around 2.5k yen per way. And a bus going to Fujikawaguchiko, around 2k yen per way. In total, about $1,700.

That was interesting. I like the travel content.

I love how varying it is per person you can really make it as crazy as you want. One thing was consistent and that is the flight in general is expensive.

Things have really changed. The last time I was in Tokyo (which was almost 20 years ago), I got a 6 piece shrimp plate, and it was actually two pieces of shrimp cut into three pieces each, and it was $65.00 US.

I can do two weeks in Tokyo Japan for just $1,500 + 1,500 for the Round trip which would all equal to $3,000 for the Trip all together. Pretty much the $1,500 will cover the 1) Private Capsule Hotel every night, 2) Breafast at 7/11 3) Lunch at Ichiban Ramen, 4) Some capsule toys, a shirt, merch, 5) Dinner, 6) 1 can of Japanese beer per night and midnight snack at 7/11. (During the day, simple walk around, go sight see, go to free events, and other public historical spots, and shrines and parks, and relax, have fun.

I always support you Takashi.こんにちはfrom Malaysia ❤

0:30 Wow! Talk about worlds colliding! I watch a lot of Toripeebs content about Japan and how to travel there too!

A trip to Japan will be beautiful!! 🔥🇯🇵