Ok so I've seen a few threads on how people have fun sounding stories when they come back from Japan. I've been out of the country once to Canada (which was awesome), but my dad paid for everything on account of me being 14. I'm older and want to plan a trip either alone or with a friend.
A couple questions i had are:
-How much should i budget (being realistic with me probably buying too much shiat there)
-Is it better to go alone or with another person?
-Any other valuable resources or things i should watch out for?
As always any answers are greatly appreciated ^^

I managed to survive in Japan for a month with about 7000AUD. This was including flight tickets, accommodation, food and buying random stuff.

Depends on how long you go for.

The main thing I'd focus on is getting an affordable ticket. If you approach an asian travel agency, they can give you good rate. For example, I went to China for a month, the ticket was $1000 (where most people would pay easily twice that), and I stayed with a friend for 3 weeks, and then 1 week on my own. In addition to that, I spent about $700 on food, 1 week of hotel, some shopping, and a few nights out.

Good luck planning your trip. I'd recommend going alone unless you have a friend that is equally passionate about traveling and Japan.

I went on a month long tour spanning 10 cities (Fukuoka up to Hakodate) in 2007 and spent about $5000 AUD. This was considered outrageously cheap by all of my friends in Japan but it's because a Japanese teacher who has been running tours for 30 years does it, and doesn't charge anything above his own cost (that is he does it for free but doesn't pay anything). With a rail pass, you can do a lot in Japan- we all had a 28 day rail pass which only cost about 6万 - めちゃめちゃ安かった！

I also came back at the end of 2007 and stayed with a friend for about 2 months in Tokyo (with a short trip to Kobe). I spent somewhere between $2000-3000 AUD I think, but I didn't do much besides go out with my friends and study.

It all depends what you want to do and how many nice people you know

edit: I was with 20 people the first time, and alone during the day the second time. Going with other people was so much fun- it was the best vacation I ever went on.

O ya sorry I completely forgot that I plan on staying for about a week. I don't plan on staying in Tokyo but maybe somewhere cheaper where I can get to big cities without spending too much on a ticket. I didn't even think of doing an itinerary sort of plan but that sounds good too. I have around $4500 saved for this trip so hopefully I can do it with around that much. Also I don't know anyone in japan, bbut I've heard of people that speak English and will rent out their apartments. My Japanese isn't very good so this trip is more of a "hey let's see if this place cool and if it's good enough for me to devote slot of time in my life towards learning the language, customs, etc.

I like the message board at japan-guide.com for travel advice. Not as dogma, but as suggestions. I also double-check any recommendations with tripadvisor.com, to see just how "nice" that nice ryokan is. You get what you pay for. I used a lot of sites in Japan when I was traveling.

I used rakuten.co.jp (they have a hotel search that's pretty good.) Travelocity, Expedia, and hotels.com were also useful for Tokyo. One of them eventually got me a good deal there. Can't remember which one. Also, as I mentioned previously, Comfort Inn has a chain in Japan as well: AAA members get 10% off even in Japan. I used that a few times. Welcome Inn can hook you up with all kinds of cheap lodging, too. Google it.

I'm of two minds about a budget. If you're still young and carefree, you can go the dirt-cheap route and slum it across Japan. Nothing wrong with that. You can always send excess souvenirs home instead of carrying them all over the country with you. Travel light, sleep in manga cafes, use the public baths, etc. You could probably do that for dirt cheap, get a really interesting cultural insight, and save a heap of cash. The downside is that you wouldn't really have a 'home base' to work out of.

Also, if you're not so young and carefree, you might trash your back after a few weeks of this. It mostly depends on your need for comfort. The more comfort you need, the more it's going to cost you.

There are other options like WWOOFing, Hostels, etc.

I'm not so young and carefree anymore, so I mostly stayed in 4000-6000 yen/night business hotels, which are easy to find through the Welcome Inn system.

Lodging can be a lot cheaper if you go with a friend, but traveling with someone else brings other problems, like having to compromise on where to go, what to do, etc. If they're not really into your trip, or into whatever it is you want to do, they can be a real drag on the whole trip, and make you miserable. On the flip side, the right partner can make a trip awesome. Don't travel with someone you don' trust.

I budgeted $750-$800/week, not including airfare, for 5 weeks. Some weeks were cheaper than others. I did the dorm thing for a couple of weeks, which saved a ton of money (but trashed my back), and I spent the last week at the Sunroute in Shinjuku, which was only about 11,000 yen a night, and it was 5-10 minutes from Shinjuku Station. (And every train stops in Shinjuku.)

There are a ton of ways to cut corners. Depachika (dept. store basements where they sell the good food) at closing time is always nice, if you know how to time it. I got a lot of cheap dinners that way. Sometimes they'll cut the prices of food just so they don't have to deal with it.

Read menus *before* going into restaurants to avoid nasty surprises. Tokyo is the land of the $7.50 ginger ale. Buy food at shops instead of restaurants when you can, and picnic if possible (not always feasible). But don't completely miss out on the good stuff in Japan. The restaurants are awesome.

Best advice: ONE BAG. Seriously. Just one. Bring clothes you can wash in the sink and dry on the shower rack. Don't bring a lot of crap with you, especially if you plan to take a lot of trains. This is from my harrowing experiences. Good lord, it's murder taking more than one bag around Japan. Think minimalist.

Dude, I spent 5 weeks traveling the whole country for $5k US. It can be done. You might want to rethink that.

Well every post sofar has been helpful. I'm still in the early stages of planning too so I'm soaking all of this info up. I'm 19 so the freeloader route could work, but it's something I would definitely have to make a map/itinerary of or else I would freak out. Rich_f if you don't mind could you describe how your expenses were spread out? How much did food cost you for the trip? Thanks for the info so far ppl ^^

Food can cost as much as you want it to. You can have dinner for 300 yen ($3) or maybe less. You can go to くるくる寿司 (cheap sushi where it comes on a rotating belt) and spend $10 and be stuffed, or you can go out and easily spend $100. Like rich said- watch out, you may walk into a bar that advertises cheap beer or food and then find out they have a "seating fee" which usually ranges from $2-5- if you were just planning on having a beer, your $5 beer all of the sudden cost $8. Surprise!

If you plan on spending $4500 in a week, you can come stay in Fukuoka with me and we'll blow it all Seriously though, you shouldn't spend that much. $1000/week is waaay more than enough (not including airfare). Depending on airfare, you can spend a lot less. If you're a student keep an eye out at StudentUniverse.com for cheap airfare.

Jon_B Wrote:How much did food cost you for the trip? Thanks for the info so far ppl ^^

This is going to vary a great deal on your taste. In Japan you can eat cheap or you can spend a lot and really get what you pay for.　Decent noodle shops can feed you for under 1000円 or so for a meal. I rarely pay more than 3000円 for a meal in Japan, and that's if I'm out with friends at a nice place and having a drink. One of my favorites for cheap eats is Otooya - chain restaurant, and filling meals including rice, miso soup and a main dish are typically about 800円。

But it would be worth it to splurge at least once while you are in Japan and have a kaiseki (maybe in Kyoto) that might cost you upwards of 15,000円 but be one of the best gastronomic experiences of your life.

Haha ya definitely not looking to blow it in a week if I don't have to. Are there any tell tale signs to look out for with resteraunts that charge for seating? Like is there usually a sign or is it just certain types of resteraunts?

Jon_B Wrote:Haha ya definitely not looking to blow it in a week if I don't have to. Are there any tell tale signs to look out for with resteraunts that charge for seating? Like is there usually a sign or is it just certain types of resteraunts?

I've only run into that at bars, which I rarely visit anyway.

IMO, you should be able to do it on $1500 total. Maybe you'd rather spend a bit more, but I'm a big believer in setting a limit before hand and trying to stay within that. Save your Savings!

The biggest cost is going to be the ticket. Find a local asian travel agency, even a chinese travel agency would probably be able to hook you up with a good rate. Aim for $1000 or less, I hear airfares have really dropped since the recession, might be able to get a round trip for $800? Look around a bit.

a great place to stay is at a 民宿 (its kinda a pension/guest house)its essentially a cheaper version of the 旅館. Depending on the place, some of the people who run them end up drinking with you all night because they arent used to guests and they want to hang out - ive had great experiences with it

consider this for cheap domestic airfare http://www.jal.co.jp/yokosojapan/

my favorite travel agent in america http://www.iace-usa.com/

there is little to see in tokyo for a tourist that you cant accomplish in a day or 2(some of the worst museums of any major city I have been to) and its really pricey - go anywhere where there are fewer foreigners and you increase your chances of hanging out with random strangers all night

duder Wrote:there is little to see in tokyo for a tourist that you cant accomplish in a day or 2(some of the worst museums of any major city I have been to) and its really pricey - go anywhere where there are fewer foreigners and you increase your chances of hanging out with random strangers all night

I couldn't disagree more with this, particularly regarding the museums. The Bridgestone has world class art in several genres, likewise the National Art Museum in Ueno (European) and the National Art Museum (Japanese). That's just for starters. There are small gems all over the place, like the New Otani Art Museum. Granted, people aren't usually coming to Tokyo to see Western Art but there is almost always something good on.

In a different vein, the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Museum in Western Tokyo is a great place to see a range of authentic Japanese buildings including some really cool old farmhouses in a nice park setting. And the Edo-Tokyo museum can easily take up an afternoon with its various recreations of periods of Tokyo.

To name just a few.

Of course, one has to be interested in these kinds of things...

Don't forget the parasite museum in Meguro! That's pretty unique I reckon...

Ah, I totally wanted to go to the parasite museum when I was in Tokyo, but I didn't have time for it.

You don't just have to go to museums and do stuff like that in Tokyo. Part of the fun for me was just wandering around town. (Okay, shopping was part of it, too.) And if you like electronics in the slightest, a trip to the giant Yodobashi Camera in Akihabara is fun.

If you're a hard-core electronics nerd, just wandering around the little shops tucked away in Akihabara can be fun, too. You can find shops that sell all kinds of stuff.

If you really like stationery, especially Japanese paper and calligraphy supplies, a trip to Itoya in Ginza is totally worth the trip. There's another stationery store nearby called Kyukyudo that had a beautiful calligraphy exhibit on its top 2 floors, too. It's on the same main street as Itoya, near the Sony Building. (Another fun thing to visit in Ginza.)

If you like books, and can read Japanese, there's Maruzen in Marunouchi, which was fun. There's also a really good Kinokuniya in Shinjuku by Times Square (near the Krispy Kreme), right near the JR. And of course for used books, there's Jinbo-cho, which has all kinds of cool shops. (Including one that just sells brushes.)

Odaiba isn't bad. You can ride the monorail, walk around, and play the game of "What's wrong with this place?" (Answer: it doesn't feel like the rest of Tokyo. It's too wide-open. It's kind of weird.)

Then of course there's always Shibuya, which is just fun to go to to people-watch... Then there's Kiddyland in Harajuku, which has toys you can buy for souvenirs for friends, the Metropolitan Building in Shinjuku has a free observation deck on the 45th floor, etc.. etc.. etc.. There's a hell of a lot to do in Tokyo.

Time-Out Tokyo has a guidebook that is full of good ideas. Also, grab a copy of the Tokyo Street Atlas so you don't get lost. It saved my butt quite a few times there.

2 days in Tokyo? Please. I was there for a full year and there's TONS of stuff I never saw. That city is enormous and filled to the brim with things to see, restaurants to eat at, clubs to dance at, you name it.

I can't wait for the food! So much planning to do. I think I'm going to restrict my trip to a single week because of how much money I might spend on stuff. Still soaking in info thanks for all the input. I'm thinking in about a month that I'll be going. Tickets on expedia start from slightly over $800 so hopefully I can find an Asian airline that will hook it up

Tobberoth Wrote:2 days in Tokyo? Please. I was there for a full year and there's TONS of stuff I never saw. That city is enormous and filled to the brim with things to see, restaurants to eat at, clubs to dance at, you name it.

while it certainly is true that the club scene is perhaps unrivaled, you can find "Tons of restaurants" and all sorts of things to see in other parts of Japan for a fraction of the price of tokyo. I think its important to visit the place, but after shopping and people watching - you can really do everything elsewhere.

The architecture is mostly miserable and uninteresting, drinks and being out all night can be very expensive and its a town that requires a lot of "knowing where to go"

I wouldnt suggest that one living there one wouldnt constantly make new discoveries, but why spend a ton of money as a tourist when your money goes further elsewhere.


Yes - i was specifically talking about the museums in ueno park and how crappy my experience there was - but i guess i have different standards

duder Wrote:The architecture is mostly miserable and uninteresting,

I'm a bit surprised by that statement. There are so many weird looking buildings in Tokyo. But it's probably easier to watch them on photos and Google Streetview than in reality where you'd have to know exactly where to go or walk forever.

Go and see for yourself. I agree that 2 days is far too few for Tokyo, and one week isn't enough if you're going to shell out $800 on airfare. You don't know when you're going to get the chance to do it again, so make the most of it.

Actually, if you fly out of LA, you can fly for cheaper than $800. Just checking with the travel agent I used, and they're quoting $628 if you fly out of LA to Narita. (Dunno about the hidden charges.)

Either way, if you're shelling out that kind of cash just to get there, you might as well make the most of the airfare. Why limit yourself to a week and one city? I'd recommend at least spending 2 weeks and going to Kyoto and Osaka.

Kyoto because you can hit a few temples/shrines in a few days, and get a little culture. Osaka because the food is great, and it's less than an hour away from Kyoto. You don't need to spend more than 3 days in each city. Nara is also 45 minutes away from Kyoto, but that's a judgment call.

You can stay pretty cheaply in either city. I had nice hotels in both places for around 5200 yen a night. The one in Kyoto even had WiFi.

if you stay in tokyo, i recommend http://www.yoshidahouse.net Very cheap rate and they don't charge per person like a lot of other places do... so you can take a friend along and split the price (which is also really great if you want to *cough* bring a girl that you meet to spend the night with you)... i've stayed on 2 occasions at this place and have nothing but great things to say about it... tickets should be dirt cheap coming from California... i live in Georgia and including the price of my ticket and place to stay and everything plus a decent amount of spending money, $3000 should be fine to cover you for a month...

Hashiriya Wrote:if you stay in tokyo, i recommend http://www.yoshidahouse.net

Do they have wifii or other internet? If so, looks perfect.

The site says they have wi-fi. Then again, having internet is kind of like a crutch. It keeps you in your room.

Looks like a nice place. 50,000 yen a month is very good. And a communal kitchen isn't bad, because you can save a ton cooking your own meals. Sharing facilities isn't bad if you can save a lot of cash by doing it. Having a coin laundry right there is handy, too.

I see that the shower is coin-operated.. how much did it cost, and how long do you get?

How long did it take for you to get to Ikebukuro from there on average?