@angelstar513 Unfortunately with the rise in cases they've now banned international tourists from all countries. A while ago they said they were planning to open in April on a trial basis, but not heard any updates on that since so I think we have to wait and see how it goes.
@@cakeswithfaces tysm! It's for a gap year, so I can learn and spend time in another country - it's got lots of benefits like adaptability and finding solutions afterwards, which is something I struggle with as an autistic person. I'm soon to be 15 at the end of this month, and have an account that me and my family deposit money into over time. I should be able to get a part-time job this year, and then next year I'll be paid a significant a bit more when I turn 16. I have lots of time to plan and, especially with the pandemic haha (also I'm dragging my friend along, which is a bonus because it'll be a bit cheaper as we can share costs for some things and get deals). I went to Tokyo for three days three years ago as a part of a big family trip to some countries, and ever since I've been wanting to go back there! I feel very lucky and very grateful to be able to do this, although it's going to require a bit of work. Sorry I kinda overshared lol, just excited :)
@@IATEALLTHECHEESE That sounds amazing! (Maybe it should be called the plandemic, more time for planning your trip...!). It'll be worth all the saving up! And I know that feeling of wanting to go back only too well - no matter how many times I go to Japan, I always want to go back. You'll be able to experience the culture more like someone who lives there - it'll be really special!
@@cakeswithfaces aww tysm! And yeah I really hope so too. Being able to travel around a place which I've loved ever since I was a little girl will probably be one of the best trips of my life time. And yeah, haha "the plandemic". Love that name. Are you planning a trip again, and where in the country?
@@IATEALLTHECHEESE I had to cancel my trip in May 2020 & can't wait to reschedule! I'm waiting for news of when the border's re-opening before booking anything though. There are too many places I want to go! I think where I pick will depend on what time of year it is - Kyushu's a strong contender though!
I definitely recommend having cash on you for most of the trip, I was glad I didn't have to keep going to the atm and it sucked if you ran out of money somewhere nice and had to keep going and finding an atm like my friend had to.
Definitely! I don't trust ATMs to work either, there was a time (in the USA) that my card got cancelled, even though I told the bank I'd be travelling.
@Car Guy I'm presuming they meant they already exchanged their cash at their bank before they left, so they wouldn't have to pay those egregious fees at the currency transfer kiosks in airports. Other than that, I'm pretty sure most places, even some vending machines, take Visa cards or perhaps Google Wallet.
This video was so helpful! Thank you for putting the American dollar with the pounds for us Americans! That makes it much easier for me to understand. lol
Another fantastic video! My friends thought it was amazing that I did a 2 week trip to Japan for about $3,000 a person. Loved staying at the capsule-type hotels, eating street food, and using the heart out of the JR Pass.
I've had the bank freeze my account on every abroad trip i've been too, so you can say I'm pretty good at being thrifty in a crisis. There's good tips in this video but none really relates to me? Food - Don't like noodle or fish based meals, I can live on crisps if it gets that bad... do they have monster much?? Travel - oddly have a good sense of direction, even in places I haven't been too. Manage to find all my hostels by accident. Tourist attraction - I always plan ahead before the trip, so it's unlikely I can't afford it. Gifts - Customs scare the crap outta me, so unless it's a keyring I won't be buying stuff like that Ps if anyone is going to ask, yes I do tell my bank before I leave the country but Halifax are a bunch of c%£ts
We lived in the UK for a few years and our American Bank would cut my wife's card off every now and then, and they knew we lived there. It was annoying to say the least.
That's happened to me too, when I went to the USA - even though I told my bank I was travelling my card still got frozen. That's why I take a good amount of cash and don't rely on ATMs (I don't trust them to work!). There's lots of food that isn't noodles or fish (I don't eat fish at all). As well as other types of Japanese food, there's other cuisines like Italian, burgers, curry, etc. I haven't seen any Monster Munch but all convenience stores have crisps. There's more about what food there is in this video (more than I can type out here!) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-TQU_qmSme9s.html
@@cakeswithfaces I was really fussy eater as a kid, I would even eat curry for a christmas meal ...so I'll probably be good with just eating curry everyday
If you are on a budget but want a private attached bath be sure to check the hostels. Some will have rooms with an attached bathroom. It may also have kitchen type facilities or lounges that you will also have access to and it’s a way to meet new people on your trip.
I have always had travel insurance and can not believe how many people never have it. Travel insurance is SOOOO cheap and covers you for EVERYTHING!! I have used it a few times and never had a problem and for those who say "But travel insurance doesn't cover pandemics" YES IT DOES like everything read the fine print and if you go with the right company as I always do things like Pandemic cover is included. It makes my head spin all the thousands of people still complaining about not getting a refund when the pandemic hit yet none of them had travel insurance... I have used travel insurance for the pandemic, for lost luggage and even a death in our family to bring their body back home. So the point being if you don't buy or cant afford travel insurance then DO NOT GO ON HOLIDAYS. there is NO excuse not to have it
Yes, I'd hate to think of all the things that could happen - it's always best to have travel insurance there as a back-up. A boring thing but you'd wish you had it if something went wrong.
I figured around 150 dollars per day. That’s after I paid my plane ticket & hotels & ryokan. Plus extra money for shopping. Can’t wait to go. 14months I hope
If your phone has a mobile hotspot option, I'm pretty sure it's me much cheaper to get a SIM card, especially for an extended stay. Just make sure to bring a decent power bank, since it'll suck your phone's battery dry.
Yes it could be cheaper. Pocket wifi's just my personal preference, because of that battery issue, it's easier to share between you can connect multiple devices.
Haven't seen you in a long time but I just wanted to say that I hope you have an early happy thanksgiving! Also, maybe you can make a video on how thanksgiving is celebrated in japan?
Happy Thanksgiving to you too! :-) Actually as it's american I don't think it's celebrated in Japan... We don't have it in the UK either! Everyone has to wait till Christmas over here!! :-)
3 года назад
Hey, if I paid £1000 for the flight and had £2000 left over for the hotels and everything do you reckon I would have enough for 8 days
If your hotel was say £80 a night, £80 x 8 = £640. That leaves you £1360 for everything else which is £170 a day - I'd say that'd be more than enough for food, transport, admission fees and spending money.
In 2018 me and my partner budgeted 10k for 3 weeks. We had some cash left over. This included everything except spending money for things like figures et. We had a JR Pass and travelled to, Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Takayama, Kamakura and Chiba. Most expensive events/elements were Disney Sea, a 2 night stay at a ryokan with private onsen +Kaiseki meal and one of the flights business class. Both flights were direct. I think our flights was huge chunk (4k maybe?). Also travel wifi and a bike tour of Japanese countryside. This also included a taxi back to airport in Japan and taxis to and from airport in UK. Other costs were kept low - e.g. eating at combini a lot and reasonable hotels. Of course there were others costs e.g. Ghibli museum etc Btw - I wouldn't recommend Skytree - instead go to the Tokyo Metropolitan government building. Free and I think much nicer as you don't have to queue for 5 years.
@@cyberdynemodel1032 It depends on various factors. When you go, What you want to do, where you want to stay. It seems doable to me but you probably wouldn't be able to splash out on expensive activities or decent hotels.
Wow what a helpful video! I remember when we went how many videos we watched, but I'm happy to see a very compact video of the various things that you may have said once in other videos. I really miss the videos of both of you in Japan (as do many many others including you I'm sure), but it is so awesome that you're still making content and uplifting our days while *most* of us sit at home. Thanks for everything!
I lucked out since my sister had gone to Japan 5 months before I did while she was working in China. Since she knew I was going anyway she exchanged way more then she ended up needing since the Chinese Renminbi was doing crazy good against the yen at the time. When she came back to Canada over the summer I bought her yen off her for the exchange rate at the time. Meaning I got about $5000 Cad worth of yen without any exchange rate fees. I never had to go to the ATM once during my whole month-long trip and that included me lending some Yen to my friends.
Wow that worked out well for you, very lucky! Sometimes exchange rates can work in your favour! I tend to keep my yen instead of swapping it back but I never have that much left over!! :-)
Here in the midwest US, the two Japanese restaurants in my town charge $8 and 9$ for two yakitori. I see signs advertising them for 100 yen.... that's dangerous. I'm going to die from eating too much yakitori.
I know right???!! It's unbelievable - Japanese restaurants are so expensive here in the UK too. And the price of sushi compared to when you're in Japan...!
just got a job! gonna start saving some money each month to go on my dream trip. I really want to go during the spring but unfortunately, I won't be able to do that this year...guess that gives me more time to save for next year
Congratulations! Good plan, it'll definitely be worth it! And yes, going the following spring means more time to save, plan, maybe learn some Japanese, and most importantly more time to look forward to your trip and get excited!
I love your videos and find them all extremely helpful in planning my first trip to Japan. I’ve seen your video on being a vegetarian and traveling to Japan, but I’m a Type 1 diabetic. Is it hard to carbohydrate (carb) count? Please help me...! Thanks for all your help, Danny!
Hi Danny, Glad my videos are helping! Before I first went, being vegetarian was a big concern, especially with some of the things I'd heard online, so I'm sure carb counting is something you've been thinking about a lot too! While I don't have experience of it, if you're buying food in the convenience store or food in packets, nutrition info is displayed on the packaging. It's all in Japanese of course! But I checked a couple of items I have here and the nutrition info's quite easy to locate because it has numbers, "g"'s for grams and "kcal" for calories (in western letters). For carbs you'll need to learn to recognise these kanji: 炭水化 It's actually not that difficult to spot, if you learn the fork-shape of the top of the first character - it's different to the others. As for eating in restaurants, that might be more tricky. I'm not sure what you'd usually do when you go out - whether it's enough to learn the common carb counts for various types of foods, but the nutrition info might not be available at the restaurant. Anyway good luck - I'm sure it'll all be worth it!!
So helpful, thank you! I was confused about the 24, 48, and 72 hour subway passes because it's hard to tell which lines they cover. I think it would be best to stick to Suica for the Tokyo area.
The train lines in Japan are run by several different companies, and different passes are valid for different lines. It can be awkward if you can't use all of them, so I'd definitely say a Suica card is the best (and easiest!) way to go. You can use it for local trains in other areas of Japan too.
i have been 8 times from New Zealand , basics per person for us is 100pound per day for food/hotel combined . I always use a rail pass they are worth there weight in gold if you want to travel out of tokyo . On top of this we save our own spending money for extras like , disneyland, gifts an purchases .Air fares are on a par with the UK. Listen to Amy , she is spot on , kia kaha
Thanks for sharing your budget - sounds good!! Absolutely agree about a rail pass for travelling around Japan. Fingers crossed for safe travels again soon!
....a lot! That said, I, too, live in Rip Off Britain so the food prices seem astonishingly cheap. If I can fend off the old Covid over the winter, I am seriously tempted. I'm not getting any younger, and some of the countryside and mountains seems stunning. I wonder if there is any motorcycle hire for gaijin lol?
I'm sure you'd love it - I haven't met anyone who hasn't enjoyed a trip to Japan! Did you see my video about my cancelled trip? The Nagano region has beautiful mountains and scenery. I don't know about motorbikes, but I'd guess that if you can hire cars in Japan, there must be places that rent motorbikes too!
Hi. I have met a quite lot of people in America who would like to visit Japan. Many of travel books you find at Barnes and Noble(USA) are pretty intimidating, So your book will be a big help.
I find the prices better in Shinjuku, and it's slightly better connected at the station (you can also get to Shibuya really easily from there). Really I'd pick any hotel that's in your price range, that's near a station. I haven't stayed anywhere that's bad! :-)
Cakes with Faces thank you sooooooo much for helping 💋 can you please make a video talking about good hotel in shinjuku with good price & again Thank you so much
@@anthonychami4150 No problem! Here's a video about a really good hotel in Shinjuku (a bit more pricey than I'd usually stay in, but it's the Godzilla Hotel!!) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-QEfa-PxO78Y.html And there's a bit about another hotel (also good) in this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-EFfbGb7U1Tk.html
I've ran pretty good on around 2100-2300€ overall on my 14 day trip to Japan (Tokyo->Hiroshima->Osaka). Around: 650 for the flight, 500 for hotels, 70 for wifi, 245 for a one-week JR-Pass. I personally was fine with less than 50€ a day for food, transport and entrance fees. But depending on what kind of hotels you stay and at what restaurants you eat can be a huge difference.
That's why it's such a tricky question to answer!! Thanks for sharin gyour budget - it's unbelievable how little you can spend on food and day-to-day expenses and still have an excellent time!
One thing that helped me budget was booking different types of of hotels for different areas, for example Osaka and Tokyo we are going to be out all day and will be only really using the hotel for sleeping so I went with cheaper business style hotels were as in hakone it will be more relaxed and most things shut earlier. So I’ve went with a higher end ryokan, were we can spend the evening relaxing in onsen and enjoying the dinners and the view.
Thanks for another great video! I'm still hoping I'll be in Japan this time next year, fingers crossed! I'd say that with food I always end up spending a little more than that because I usually eat lunch and dinner at vegan cafes and restaurants. You can get a vegan curry at Coco now and vegan ramen is around the same price as regular same with conbini breakfasts but for example a lunch set at Brown Rice Cafe is around 2,200 yen and a burger and fries at Ain Soph Ripple is around 1,800 yen. I also like to drink fancy soy lattes as cute cafes which can be as much as 700 yen!
Well done, Amy! Even though you get asked the question a lot, the only good answer is "It depends." But you covered a good range of categories and price ranges. I would add that if you make lunch your "splurge meal" you can eat well for about half of what a dinner would cost.
Some great info Amy. I have already booked my flights and hotel. I went for a business hotel which had good reviews and was pretty much near to where I wanted to be. All in all I think I have been good to get those costs out of the way. There are a lot of places I'd like to visit but as I am travelling on my own I know I can budget so much easier. Definitely going to check out your other videos though as any hints and tips are always useful to know
Great, sounds good! You're right, flights and hotel are the two main big expenses (plus JR Pass - although you won't need that if you're staying in Tokyo). So now on to the fun part - planning what to do!! :-)
Hi I’m going Japan next month with me and my 5 year old I have paid for hotel and theme park and I got tail pass I’m jsut trying to work how much spending money I will need any advice. We on a budget so nothing over crazy I do want to buy some some figure of demon slayer and can we bring back swords from Japan to the uk. If you can help please let me i just need roughly how much I should take for spending money I was thinking 1000 pound for the 10 days for me and my son but not sure if that’s ok or lest
Fantastic - it's so warm in Japan in June, it's like the height of summer here in the UK! I usually take £100 a day and it's always enough for spending money as well as essentials. Food, etc is cheaper in Japan than in the UK (and usually excellent quality even at cheap places!). I'm no expert on buying swords, but you should check the regulations carefully. It looks like there's paperwork to buy one in Japan and export it, which may take some time, so you might need to have the shop ship it to the UK for you. I'm sure the shop would know the process, as they'll often sell to tourists I'm sure. Also check the regulations on what types of swords are allowed in the UK: www.gov.uk/guidance/import-controls-on-offensive-weapons#importing-knives-swords-and-other-offensive-weapons-into-the-uk
@@cakeswithfaces wow thank you so very much I have pack umbrella cause they say it rains in June but thanks for quick reply so that’s should be enough for me and him he’s all excited and yes will check on the sword they are for my other son cause he’s away for university he can’t make this trip so next time. So he given me all the list but glad it’s gonna be warm need some warmth.
@@cakeswithfaces aww I see well I guess even if it rains we still enjoy the beauty right. We going mid June so we will see how it goes thank you so much again
Many thanks for the upload Amy! It's great to see a ball park figure on what things would cost so it gives an idea how much things are to save up in advance! It was like when I went to Denmark in 2018, as soon as I booked my flight about 6-7 months in advance, every month I got paid leading up to the time I went, I put around £100 or so aside and converted it so it was ready before I travelled. Luckily enough it was just the right amount to spend out there and didn't have to worry about converting any extra cash to spend incase I fell short. What I would probably do is, with the aid of the book I bought from you, to get some ideas on where to go, what to do, who to go with that wants to travel and 'Japlan' in advance!! hehe.
I found that I got really lucky with my trip last year, especially with the timing 😂 it was sandwiched in between their typhoons and us coming back to the Australian bushfires 😅 But I found that my friend and I got cheaper flights and hotel rates compared to when I was looking at them when I got back, and obviously now it's not really a good time to try and plan :c But I found for me personally, I had heaps of money and I was shopping like mad xD my suitcase was so full I even had to go and post stuff back to my house... The first time I've ever had to pay $100 for postage 😂😅 I found For 2 weeks and the price of my flights and splitting accommodation with my friend, it was about $7500aud for my trip because I wanted lots to spend and didn't want to stress or hold myself back from my first trip overseas. I got $3000 cash in yen to spend there for 2 weeks and I think I only ran out a day before the end of my trip mainly because I did have to pay alot for the parcel I was sending back home. I think it just depends outside of the essentials how much you want to spend.
Great video! Just wanted to add (although it might not be relevant for short trips) that as we tend to go to Tokyo for a few weeks at a time, we always use Airbnb instead of hotels and have had very good experiences. You can cook (which saves money) and it’s cheaper than hotels for longer stays.
Good to hear Airbnb's worked out well, when you hear bad stories about it! I guess it's a matter of checking the reviews and making sure you've chosen somewhere legit. It'd certainly be a good option for families and groups too, to be able to stay in an apartment and have somewhere to relax together when hotel rooms are so small.
@@cakeswithfaces yes it’s true it’s good for larger groups too, I think that if you stick with superhosts or hosts with lots of nice reviews you can’t go wrong.
Hi, i cant find Answers Anywere on RU-vid. I live in USA, if i travel to JAPAN and buy stuff like example: 10 t-shirts , 10 anime figures and 10 plushies, do i have to pay any tax or fees for these items when i board the airplane back to USA , or in the USA airport when i get back from Japan? I plan to travel to Japan and would like to buy a lot of stuff, but need to know if i also have to pay taxes ect when i get back with all stuff i bought. Thanks for the help.
With regards to import taxes, etc, there are limits on the value of how much you can bring back. Generally, unless you're buying LOTS, or purchasing restricted items, as a normal tourist buying souvenirs and going shopping in Japan, you probably don't need to worry. I've always just put my clothes/figures/souvenirs in my suitcase and brought them home with no problems (I don't buy a *huge* amount!). If you ship items home in a box at the Post Office, there's a chance you'll get a customs charge, just like when you buy something from abroad online. Please note this is just based on my experiences and not proper legal advice, etc! :-)
I went also to "Toei Animations Studios and Museum" Nerima-Ogaku, Tokyo. Bring your passport to security and he will give you a passes-free. No charge necessary.
I never had problem with the cheaper pocket WiFi rental company that I used as the actual LTE provider was Softbank. BTW, it was iVideo, but I heard that they use a terrible LTE provider in Europe.
At this point there's no way of knowing unfortunately! There's been no word of when the border will open to international tourists. The situation's so unpredictable that right now there's no way of knowing. All I can say is Japan's been quite slow with the vaccination programme, and I think it'll depend on the final decision on the Olympics.
what about the Shinkansen seat booking/reservations? apparently having your luggage beside you means you need to reserve the end row to place the bags behind you and not by your knees? otherwise you need to store your stuff on the racks.
I think the same about UK vending machines! :-) All we have is Coke and Sprite - so many more choices in Japan. The credit might still work on your Suica card if you go back!
I think I took out about £1,600 worth of yen for my trip in 2019. The rail pass was great value for money but it ran out and paying for one way tickets on the nozomi shinkansen from Kyoto to Tokyo was expensive. Something like nearly 14000 yen.
I budget 5000 - 6000 yen per day for food and train fares (not inter-City trains) 1000 yen on the IC card every morning, 1000 yen for a coffee in the morning and lunch, 2000 yen for dinner. Then a spare 1000-2000 for a few drinks at night or entry to an attraction or a few hours in the arcades. I tend to stick to Konbini for food at lunch, the food in Japanese convenience stores is fantastic. I also try to have 1 day per week where I don't spend any money, (easier to do if you stay somewhere that has a kitchen) then save that for a weekend treat. A good tip if you want a fancy meal, go at lunchtime, often the same meal will be much cheaper than at dinner/night I also take a flat £500 to spend on computer stuff/video games in Akihabara.... The tech prices for graphics cards and motherboards were the cheapest I've ever seen last year, beating any online or brick and mortar store in the UK by quite a bit...... Oh man I could hunt through those stores all day, I can't wait to get back, we have nothing like it here. .
Good tips! Thanks for sharing your budget! The choice in shops in Tokyo is amazing. We were browsing headphones in Yodobashi Camera and there were way more than in shops in the UK (and you could try them out). The same for musical instruments and equipment.
@@cakeswithfaces Oh yeah the choice is amazing. It's nice to be able to actually see and try things in person before buying. Plus they have all the latest stuff, they had the new Sony mirrorless cameras on shelves as soon as they released, still not in physical stores here more than a year later.
Hi Amy, I think Japan is no more expensive than the UK. London is mostly more expensive than Tokyo. I live in London area just like you. I was on my trip to Japan last year, it was good to see Japan again in your video. If there was no covid virus in 2020, I would be heading back to Japan for a 14-day trip in a few days. Unfortunately, my entire trip has been canceled. I hope to return soon. Your video has been very good and you are also very pretty. Greeting from Sutton Surrey.
Sorry to hear that - my trip this year got cancelled too! (That's why there are no new travel vlogs for a while). Every time I go to London it seems so expensive!!
Cool tips, my hotels in Japan are usualy around 36 euro for a 3 star hotel. Ofcourse it would make a difference what period you go, but I have been to some, most are like this price!
@@cakeswithfaces yeah, I use 3 star biz hotels always during touring in Japan, for me it works best to book only my first hotel in Japan and find the rest of my hotels during my stay there. Prices variable but usualy between 35 and 45 euro a night. Best place to be imo
I'm hoping to go on a tour holiday to Japan this year if the tourists ain't restricted but if not I got it insured to when I can ^_^ most of it is covered aside from the odd days for food and gifts that'll I'll be buying to take back to England
@@cakeswithfaces Thanks! Even if it doesn't open by then I at least have a plan for when they do open up. I'm buying your book tonight so I can plan everything. I don't usually like researching through books but the style of your book is so adorable and I am excited to use the planner section of it!
I hope so too. We are staying in some ryokan as well as a few days in a resort so that made the cost jump quite a bit. I'm most excited and nervous about the hotel I've chosen for Tokyo because the pictures look amazing and to location seems close to everything. There is this amazing garden with a waterfall right there however reviews say that the pictures are deceiving so I'm not sure what to expect. Have you heard anything about the New Otani Tokyo Garden Hotel?
@@chan_me4524 Ah I've seen pictures of that hotel - it looks amazing! I've not stayed there but it looks fantastic and always meant to pop in and see the garden if I'm ever in the area! I think it was in a James Bond film too? :-) And I'm sure the ryokan experience will be worth it - even if it's a bit pricier than a regular hotel.
Ah really I didn't know it was featured in a movie. I was really interested initially to stay at Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo but its so far away. It also has a really nice garden! I feel like with Ryokan the extra cost is justified because it includes 2 meals which takes away to cost for other areas while offering a unique experience. However, at the same time like when we are visiting Shibu Onsen in order to have access to the 9 onsen and do the stamp rally thats the only option. Though at the same time when we are in Nagasaki the hotel offered this shippoku meal included which was something we were interested in doing and it ended up being more affordable to stay there with that dinner added on than to go to a restaurant to try it. The same thing with the resort there was a lot of really cool activities I wanted to do but because transportation is difficult on Ishigaki as well as I was unable to figure out how to do the stuff I wanted to do it was easier to just go to the club med resort.
@@chan_me4524 Sounds like it'll be worth it - you'll have some amazing experiences at the ryokans and onsen! Nagasaki's on my list of places to visit; we missed it when we went to Kyushu but I'm hoping to go back in 2022 when the extension of the Kyushu shinkansen opens. This sounds like a really amazing trip! :-)
It's difficult this year when I can't get back to Japan to film more travel videos as I'd planned to. This is based on a topic from the Q&A, and something people ask me about a lot. Can't wait till its safe to travel again to show some more places in Japan, but right now when we're barely leaving the house, it's difficult for a travel channel!
