How Expensive is it to Travel Japan? 🇯🇵 2 Weeks on $1,000

As recently as 10 years ago, the words Japan and affordable trip didn't quite compute. It always felt a world away, a trip of a lifetime, perhaps out of reach for many. And yet today, with a significantly weakened yen and a country that's put tourism at the absolute forefront of its future, you might be surprised to learn that a trip to Japan isn't quite as expensive as you might think. Flights aside, it's currently possible to spend 14 days in Japan on a budget of just $1,000. For overseas tourists, it's almost as if all of Japan has a voucher code on right now. According to the economist's tongue-in-cheek Big Mac Index, while the cost of a Big Mac is almost $6 in the US and the UK respectively, Japan is almost half the price, nestled all the way down the list between Romania and Vietnam, at just over $3. From accommodation and transport to dining out and attractions, we'll discover just how much it costs to get around Japan, as well as if the JR Rail Pass is actually worth it, and how much you can expect to pay for a convenience store lunch. And at the end of the video, we'll put it all together to give a breakdown of the total cost of a trip. Whatever you want to do, and however you want to experience Japan, we've got you covered in this video. Flights aside, the biggest expense when coming to Japan is of course the accommodation, and you're certainly spoilt for choice when it comes to the sheer variety of options on hand. From tiny capsule hotels and traditional ryokan inns, to creepy themed love hotels and sprawling palatial rooms fit for a king. Out of curiosity, I wanted to find the cheapest hotel room I could in all of Tokyo, and you know, just because it's Japan, a land of cleanliness, honour, respect, doesn't mean that all accommodation is going to be good. You know, I've stayed at hotels here that I still have nightmares about. Case in point, a few years ago, stayed at a hotel with mould in the wallpaper, blood in the sheets, and a floor that looked like it hadn't been cleaned since the fall of the Berlin Wall. I've actually found a single hotel room here, one stop away from Shinjuku, the absolute centre of Tokyo, at the insane price of 2,500 yen, about $16. Again, that's not a bunk bed, this is a room, a whole room to yourself, with a double bed. There's just one catch, look at the reviews, and it reads a little bit like a Stephen King novel. Kana says, I didn't have a room key, there were dead cockroaches, and the bed and the floor were dirty. Could have been worse. Living cockroaches. Martha, from America, says, do not stay here, scammers, no lock on the door. And then she provides a photo of the door, held not in place by screws, but by scotch tape. Haha, don't worry Martha, no one's coming through that door. Scotch tape. Oh my god, it's almost audaciously brilliant, I'm actually tempted to stay there, to see it for myself. So when you see accommodation that's cheap in Tokyo, please read the reviews first. Because while this place was $16 a night, you can find good accommodation in central Tokyo for about $25. Hotel rooms where you don't have to end up with cholera along the way. Having nearly frozen to death on an island camping trip in a previous episode, I'm making it up to my good friend Natsuki today, with a luxury weekend away in Tokyo. But before it gets underway, I've lined up a capsule hotel for us, that I suspect he won't be very happy about. Alright Natsuki, your hotel, Rembrandt. Rembrandt? It's not luxury, it's non-luxury. Oi, oi, oi. Seriously? Thank you so much, good friend. So at a capsule hotel, the first stop is the locker, where you can keep your valuables because you don't want to clutter up your capsule, given how small it is naturally. My room. This is the capsule. With 45 capsules packed into one dorm, aesthetically, it does all look like a futuristic spaceship. Life on Mars. Down control to major Tom. One. Oh my god. It's Natsuki's first time in a capsule hotel and he seems to have been won over by the atmosphere. But as he clambers up into his capsule, it's time to deliver the verdict. Welcome to my doghouse. Doghouse? Doghouse. Oh dear. It might seem like a doghouse, but from my personal experience, I generally sleep better in a capsule hotel than I do in a hostel dormitory, as the capsules are cosy and the capsule dorm tends to be quieter. However, two areas where hostels do win are generally on price, with an average of ¥3,500 per night. And above all, they're far more sociable, typically featuring bars and more friendly conversational staff, as opposed to the more introverted capsule hotel experience. Either way, you can stay in a good hostel or capsule hotel in Tokyo for around ¥25,000 per week, and that is pretty damn good value for money. Even if Natsuki might disagree. I do have one surprise. We're not actually staying here. Really? My God, I don't think I've ever seen Natsuki so relieved. We'll be catching up with him in this luxury skyscraper hotel room later on. So, this room is 9 square metres, and if you bring enough luggage, you may need to become a world-class gymnast to move between the bed and the bathroom. Nevertheless, for ¥9,000, this is what you get, your own private room, your own private slice of Tokyo, complete with a humidifier and fridge, TV, rudimentary coffee-making facilities, a bed with no less than three pillows, and of course, the iconic modular bathroom, with a tiny albeit usable tub. You also get a good old Tokyo view, complete with a pachinko parlour thrown in. Woo-hoo. But that's a pretty good price, given we're three stops away from the action in Shibuya. And if you want a double room for two people, because God forbid you try and pack two people into this thing, it costs about ¥12,580 for a double room. But I'd say for a compact hotel room in Tokyo, you're looking at around ¥7,000-9,000 a night. Bearing in mind we're on the west side right now, where things are a little bit more pricey, over in Ueno and Asakusa, you can find somewhere for about ¥1,000 cheaper than this. Now if you want a more western-sized hotel room, prices are generally closer to ¥25,000. Just outside the window, I can see Mitsui Garden Hotel, la-di-da, where for ¥23,000 you get an 18-square-metre hotel room and a nice lavish double bed. And perhaps more importantly, sound insulation. Something you come to appreciate staying in compact hotel rooms, where you can often hear your neighbours every move. There are some more niche hotels aimed at families and group travellers. For example, Nimaru Hotels offer more spacious apartment-style rooms, complete with a kitchen. To best of all, they've infused it all with a pleasant Japanese aesthetic, with tatami mats and shoji sliding doors. As you travel around Japan, you'll come to associate different cities with different types of accommodation. And in more traditional cities like Kyoto or Kanazawa, I'd recommend staying in a Matsuya townhouse. Staying in a Matsuya used to be a luxury, but given the recent boom in renovations, you can now find a really impressive townhouse between ¥20,000 to ¥50,000 a night. Meanwhile, I associate party capital Osaka with love hotels. While you can't typically reserve a love hotel, and it's certainly not fun turning up to one with luggage, it is worth trying one for the night, as they're so damn bonkers and you get more bang for your buck here than you could ever hope for at a business hotel. An overnight stay typically costs ¥8,000, but of course you can also swing by for an hourly rate of between ¥2,000 to ¥3,000. Now let's catch up with Natsuki, who's switched out his so-called doghouse for a luxurious Tokyo penthouse suite high above the city. Good key! Open the door! Open the door! I need the door! Even the key is better. Wow! Thank you so much. Better than a capsule hotel? So... Good pick. I feel like a god. Oh! God... Godzilla. Oh yeah! Yeah! Godzilla, down there. Tiny. Tiny Godzilla? I'm... I'm God. You're braver than I am, going on that ******* window. Oh, ******* window. I'm not going to lie, this is a terrifying view. I think it's because there's no other tall buildings in this area, so you do feel like you're almost in the clouds. Like a god view, as Natsuki put it. I must say though, I don't really see the attraction to staying somewhere like this. This is ¥150,000. You can get this view for free, just across the road, as we'll see later on in the video. If you do have the money to spend on a room like this, maybe you're on your honeymoon, I'd say save the money, go somewhere a little bit cheaper, with a slightly less good view, but that money will go a lot further out in the mountains, staying at a Japanese inn, like a traditional ryokan, where you'll get a nice kaiseki, multi-course dinner, and if you're lucky, you might get a private hot spring bath in your room. And I think that's where the money will go a lot further, than just getting a room that is incrementally higher up, with a bigger view, spent elsewhere. Unless you're trying to impress Natsuki and repay him after nearly freezing to death camping on an island. Now even though the Japanese yen is at a magic price right now, I still think a trip here can get very expensive, very fast indeed. And so I want to share with you three quick tips for saving money, with today's sponsor, ExpressVPN. ExpressVPN is an app that lets you change your online location. And why is that useful? Well, number one, when searching for accommodation, hotels often give you different prices, depending on which country you're searching from. Sneaky. Case in point, so I'm looking for a hotel in Tokyo at the end of February. Here in Japan, this one costs $142. But if I pop over to ExpressVPN and switch my location to the US, check this out, it's only $129. And that's for two nights and a whole trip. This can add up to hundreds of dollars in savings. Saving number two, by the time you get to your now discounted hotel, and crash on a bed to watch your favourite Studio Ghibli movies on Netflix, you quickly discover they're not available in Japan. And yet, thankfully, a couple of clicks and we're off to Canada, where it's all yours for the watching. Who needs $800 of endless subscription services a year, when you can jump around the world at the click of a button instead? And finally, while on the go travelling using public Wi-Fi, your devices are at the most vulnerable from hackers. I personally never use public Wi-Fi without ExpressVPN running in the background. Save yourself the time, hassle, and genuine nightmare of stolen passwords and credit card details by encrypting all your traffic online with one simple click instead. I've been using ExpressVPN for many years now, and you guys can grab three months free for yourself over at expressvpn.com forward slash abroad in Japan, linked in the description box below. Now, first things first, let's cut to the chase on the Japan Rail Pass. Is it worth it anymore? No, unfortunately not. Until last year, it was a pretty sweet deal. For 29,650 yen, you got seven days of travel on Shinkansen, buses, local trains, all included. However, at the end of last year, the price went up 70% to 50,000 yen. And for some context, if you make a return journey between Tokyo and Kyoto with stops at Osaka and Nara, that still comes in at only 30,000 yen. Likewise, Tokyo to Hiroshima, a return ticket is about 39,520 yen. I don't think it's worth it, and most people that I polled online didn't either. Unless, of course, you intend to speed run all of Japan in seven days. Get off the train, Himeji Castle, take a photo, back on the train. Look at Sensoji Temple. It's a good and empty historic cultural history. Red lacquer facade. Back on the train. Oh, it's Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine. And it's red and lots of wood. Oh, I could die. I hate this. But that's not to say there aren't still some good bargains out there on regional Japan rail passes. Last year, while riding a train in Hokkaido, I met a guy who was travelling the whole of the island for seven days for 27,000 yen, having a whale of a time until he was forced to sit next to Natsuki and I for the duration of the journey. Likewise, Tohoku, North Japan, has a rail pass for 30,000 yen for five days. It costs 20,000 yen to get to Sendai and back alone. And if you're doing a trip to multiple cities in the north, like Aomori or Akita, then you should definitely be able to save some money. I used to live and die by the night bus. It's such a great way to save money. Not only is it cheap, but you save the money on the accommodation that you would have slept in as well. When I used to travel in my 20s around Japan with friends, we would always get the night bus between Tokyo and Kyoto, or Kyoto and Hiroshima, where it costs as little as 5,000 yen one way. On a weekday, compared to the Shinkansen, which is 14,000 yen. But it means you can have a good night out in Tokyo, eat, drink, be merry, and then at 10pm, call it an early night, hop on the night bus, and arrive in Kyoto, having saved 8,000 yen on accommodation in Tokyo and 9,000 yen having not ridden the bullet train. One important note to add is why you may save some money. If you're like me, you might not sleep on the night bus at all. And your day walking around Kyoto may be somewhat ruined as you're turned into a walking, talking zombie from your sleep-deprived state. Definitely something to weigh up and consider when choosing the night bus. One of Japan's most overlooked budget travel options are actually low-cost airlines. There's companies like Peach, Skymark, Jetstar, and Airdo. It's kind of annoying, it looks like air-do, but it's pronounced air-do. And I hate that name, it's just really annoying. Anyway, point is, it's quite cheap. A lot cheaper using one of these carriers than ANA or Japan Airlines. Case in point, to travel from Tokyo to Sapporo. Costs around 20,000 yen on Peach Airlines. The same route on ANA costs a whopping 62,000 yen. Three times the amount for a slightly bigger chair. Money much better spent in Hokkaido on miso ramen and cookies, of course. God bless low-cost airline travel. Most people will be travelling around on local trains, especially in cities like Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka. And it is very reasonable to go on the Ginza Line subway train from Asakusa in East Tokyo all the way west to Shibuya. 34 minutes, 19 stops, all for the price of just 260 yen. It's a real bargain. To put it in perspective, to make that same journey in a taxi costs 6,000 yen. Absolute joke price when you can almost do it for free on an underground train. Likewise, to get across Kyoto by train costs around the same amount and honestly, if you're riding around local trains in Tokyo, Kyoto or Osaka, odds are you're not going to be spending more than around 500 to 700 yen a day to get around. Just make sure you grab yourself a Suica card the moment you arrive in Japan. It's the first thing you should do because it will mean you can tap in and out of stations without needing to fumble for coins or cash. Because there's a chip shortage right now, it's actually really tricky to get hold of one of these green Suica cards. However, for tourists, you can get a welcome Suica card at the airport which works for a limited 28 day period or you can grab a Suica card like this on your phone. Just a nice NFC card on your phone there. However you choose to do it, make sure you get one of these and it will save you an absolute nightmare getting stuck at ticket booths around stations. I love Shinkansen. It might be my favourite thing. Fast, comfortable and frighteningly reliable. You can get from Tokyo to Kyoto in just 2 hours 12 minutes all for the price of 14,170 yen one way. And when you do it, make sure you're sitting on the side facing Mount Fuji. It's half the fun of making that journey. And if you're feeling not so thrifty, there's Green Car Japan's answer to first class or traditionally it was first class as we'll see in a minute. With bigger, more comfortable seats, leg rests, a seat light and all for the price of 19,000 yen. It is a pricey upgrade but maybe if you're looking to get some work done or you just want to have a nap maybe you can justify it. Might be a little bit more difficult to justify Grand Class where the seats almost recline into a flatbed. You get a complimentary meal and drinks and a sound insulated cabin so nothing interrupts your precious journey. You can only get it on JR East going to places like Sendai and Aomori and you do have to pay a steep price for it. One way from Tokyo to Sendai in a regular seat costs 10,000 yen Green Class costs 14,000 yen and Grand Class costs a whopping 19,000 yen almost twice the amount. I'm not sure what situation really justifies Grand Class. Maybe you just want the best train seat in the world maybe you want free flowing sake as you rocket 320km per hour across the Tohoku countryside. Now that really is a premium experience and we did film a video on it if you do want to see just how far the rabbit hole of luxury travel goes. Now before we talk about dining out on a budget under 2,000 yen a day I've noticed more recently restaurants popping up catering towards tourists charging ridiculous prices. In fact, it's got a name Inbound Don a reference to inbound tourists and Donburi the rice bowl dish. As a rule of thumb if you're in a touristy area like Toyosu Fish Market or Sensoji Temple and you see a shop plastered in English usually that means bad food and extortionate prices so bear that in mind. I mean, just the other week I was in Osaka and I saw a restaurant simply called Sushi Wagyu Samurai the physical manifestation of tourist cash grab and yet surprisingly it was somehow very busy. Who knows? Maybe Sushi Wagyu Samurai is the hottest ticket in town I missed it should have should have gone in. Now naturally while travelling around Japan there's going to be a day or two where you pop into a convenience store for lunch or dinner. What can your money get though? This is some stuff I bought from Family Mart let's have a quick rundown on the prices. Starting over here with lunch I think this is a good little lunch here a cheeky lunch that I might modify in just a moment but you've got a Philippines Highland Banana oikos protein yoghurt a apple drink and good old tuna and egg sandwich all washed down with some delicious Family Mart coffee for 180 yen. Now this is pretty good value for money about six dollars for all this but I'm going to add in a few optional extras and make it a bit more realistic for what I would probably have for my lunch and of course it starts with adding in Family Mart chicken that's 220 yen then we've got Pringles they're about 159 yen and onigiri rice ball with some tuna mayonnaise that's about 155 yen. So now this costs about 1400 yen that's still under 10 dollars so for less than 10 dollars a day you can have a fairly well rounded lunch at a convenience store in Japan. I might make a few other adjustments I might have maybe more than one maybe three maybe two maybe four Coke is obviously ubiquitous the world over and here in Japan a 500ml bottle costs 172 yen from Family Mart you can probably find it a little bit cheaper in some places and that is I believe cheaper than you'll find in the UK or North America by a fair bit. Best beer in Japan Sapporo beer 224 yen very reasonable this is kind of worrying this is Strong Zero the Chuhai drink and it's 9% right and it costs 162 yen which is a joke they're actually considering banning Strong Zero drinks at the moment because 9% at such a ludicrous price is rather dangerous 3 cans of this you won't remember your name 4 cans you get a free ticket to Narnia. Now of course you didn't come to Japan just to eat from a convenience store hopefully Japan's most nourishing budget meal is Gyudon the hearty beef bowl found at stores like Tsukiya Yoshinoya and Matsuya expect to pay about 400 yen for a regular sized beef bowl one well-rounded option are Japan's family restaurants my favourite of which is Royal Host where Natsuki and I find ourselves grabbing lunch back over in Shinjuku so Japanese family restaurants often get a bad rap usually from me admittedly but there's one that is good and it's called Royal Host look at this first of all this costs 1,700 yen you've got chicken, avocado, bacon, tomato egg, potato garlic bread onion soup again all for about 11 dollars isn't that insane welcome morning beer and also you get a drink bar thrown in as well all you can drink like an alcohol you can find much cheaper family restaurants but the food is not to this sort of quality Royal Host I like it very good that's puffy now if there's one meal you break the bank for on your trip to Japan make it teppanyaki whenever friends visit Japan I find this is the meal they remember the most as much for the theatrical experience of watching a master chef meticulously prepare the meat as the taste of the rich buttery beef itself and as I continue my charity work of appeasing Natsuki we find ourselves devouring a plate of Kagoshima raised Wagyu beef 1 to 10 19 why not a little bit more over 10 while teppanyaki is pricey one little hack is to visit the restaurants at lunch time where set lunch courses are typically several thousand yen cheaper than the dinner time option but what's the verdict Natsuki finally let me off the hook good friend so nice good friend good man no shit he was a good man you heard it here first not shit next up guys we've got attractions and things to do in Japan like come on down to Tokyo Disneyland where it's a small world after all except it's not is it it's a green screen after all because I'm a grumpy 33 year old man and I don't want to queue for 4 hours to ride Space Mountain never again ok so clearly I have some issues to work through after some traumatic experiences at Disneyland but let's start by seeing what kind of attractions and things you can do in Japan on a budget of 500 yen or less one of the highlights of exploring Japan is getting lost around a temple or shrine and for the most part they're free to do so including the biggest shrines in Tokyo and Kyoto Meiji Jingu and Fushimi Inari respectively three of the most popular spots that do have a fee are Kiyomizudera Kinkaku-ji and Todai-ji but seeing as Todai-ji is home to the spectacular Daibutsu it's money well spent whilst strolling around Ryogi Park is free the slightly more curated Shinjuku Park does cost 500 yen although up until a few years ago it was free well sort of in a wild story it turns out the park attendant was so scared to charge foreign tourists money he let 160,000 tourists enter for free costing the garden 200,000 dollars and lost revenue my god if only he worked at Shake Shack meanwhile games arcades are reasonably cheap as well costing me just 400 yen to get beaten by Natsuki at Taiko no Tatsujin it's broken broken maybe broken broken still revenge is swift as I cough up yet another 400 yen for the both of us to play Mario Kart and in which victory is finally mine the key word is humble a humble victory the last second not broken good game now while Tokyo has no shortage of observation decks with which to enjoy the city it can get pricey pretty fast to enjoy the privilege with the newly opened Shibuya Sky Deck costing 2,200 yen with a nasty queue to match or the Tokyo Skytree clocking in closer to 3,000 yen per person but why bother queuing or paying at all when you can visit the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building home to the office of the mayor no less and having spectacular views of the city all for the price of free just make sure if you do go up you pick a better day than we did weather wise this is the OG of observation decks this is actually where I came for my first day in Tokyo jet lagged dead I came up here and I sat by the window and had a chocolate cake the chocolate cake wasn't free that was very expensive don't do that when I'm up here though I feel like nostalgic kind of remember you know how I felt that first day confused jet lagged tired and it's crazy to see how much Tokyo's skyline has changed in that time probably 30% more skyscrapers no but no changes the Yogi Park's the same Meiji Jingu yeah yeah yeah you can see the top of the Meiji Jingu Shrine Meiji Jingu Jiji Meiji Jingu Nobunaga Nobunaga Oda I don't know what that was but it was funny and that's how we roll let's get out of here while visiting a Japanese inn and getting your own private hot spring bath is certainly pricey getting to experience a Japanese sento public bath house is surprisingly cheap where you can enjoy the soothing waters and retro atmosphere for as little as 500 yen maybe you're travelling solo or with a friend but swing by one and I promise you you won't regret it moving up the scale visiting a theme park here might be pricey but compared to the US or Europe it can be a lot cheaper Disneyland Tokyo is almost half the price of Disneyland Orlando so if you've got kids or you want to meet Goofy Japan might well be the best place to do it my favourite theme park is called Fuji-Q it's 90 minutes from Tokyo and as well as having the biggest baddest rides in Japan you get a spectacular view of Mount Fuji thrown in and as a bonus you get to terrify Charlotte what a bargain now over the years we've gotten to do some pretty luxurious things on board Japan and two luxury attractions that I think justify the price tag are number one taking a private plane over Sakurajima Japan's most active volcano I'm someone who doesn't enjoy flying but this was easily one of the best things I've ever done it cost 44,000 yen for the three of us to fly for about 45 minutes but the view was honestly jaw-dropping and it's a journey I'll never forget likewise for a trip to Okinawa we chartered a yacht for the day which cost 100,000 yen which wasn't so bad when you factor in there were six people in our group and it was a 800,000 dollar catamaran if you've got a group of friends who can split the cost it's definitely worth doing still both of these pale in comparison to Japan's most luxurious sleeper train the Seven Stars where for three nights aboard Japan's answer to the Orient Express you'll be coughing up 1.3 million yen for the cheapest room even if you could justify the cost good luck getting on it as it has a formidable waiting list but as far as luxury experiences in Japan go it can't be beat now we've covered every aspect of travelling in Japan let's put it all together and see how much a 14 day trip here would cost we're going to do it at those different price points again budget and standard I don't really see the point in doing luxury like a luxury mega trip by Jeff Bezos or Mark Zuckerberg although as we've seen by Mark Zuckerberg he eats McDonald's and thus he's a simple man just like everyone else that being said the trip we did on our 14 days in Japan itinerary video was kind of between standard and luxury so we'll put a figure on that trip as well so first off overall what is the cheapest possible trip that you can have in Japan for 14 days staying in capsule hotels and hostels you're looking at about 70,000 Yen for transport that comes in around 18,000 Yen with an average cost of 600 Yen per day and including that night bus to West Japan and back spending 2,000 Yen per day on food that's about 28,000 Yen and finally for attractions about 7,000 Yen put it all together and you get 123,400 Yen a rather perfect number very bizarre but if you add 20% because these things always cost more than you expect you get 148,000 Yen which comes to 987 dollars or 780 pounds which is an insane price point you know this is a pretty strict holiday it is a no frills trip you aren't going to be going to the best hotels or the finest restaurants but it is still a good solid 14 days in Japan you can see and do a lot next up standard travel now the cost can go up dramatically here particularly when switching capsule hotels and hostels for actual hotel rooms with an average of 8,000 Yen for 14 days that takes us to 112,000 Yen switching out night buses for bullet trains almost triples the cost there as well eating out at slightly pricier restaurants doubles the cost there to 56,000 Yen and likewise going to attractions like Universal Studios or Shibuya Sky quickly raises the price there too again adding a 20% risk margin taking us to 267,000 Yen finally for the 14 days in Japan itinerary we did go on a slightly longer route around Kanazawa and Takayama and we also stayed in those townhouses and a ryokan traditional inn factoring all that in this trip was closer to about 350,000 Yen while I can't predict what the Japanese Yen will do next there's no doubt it is a very good time to visit the country and I hope if this video has done one thing it's perhaps encouraged some of you guys to come here and see Japan for yourselves now we do have a series of budget travel Japan videos including that aforementioned 14 days in Japan trip itinerary and an entire video on dining out in Japan on a budget be sure to check those out as well many thanks for watching though guys if I learned one thing from this video from this experience it is don't ever do anything nice for Natsuki the ungrateful swine did you sleep ok Natsuki? NO! because tonight oh noisy animal sound what do you mean? Midnight I don't listen to you oh woodpecker woodpecker Chris Pecker oh my god this is you were way worse than I was that was you were just as bad right? I couldn't sleep I must have woken up 30 times because of you going there's that ******* Dyson stuff full of tissues honestly stupid I'm not sharing a room with you again honestly