Japan - costs
Apr 5th, 2017, 08:44 AM
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Japan - costs
patriciatbrogan9
patriciatbrogan
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Hello,
We are firming up on taking a holiday in Japan for just over 3 weeks last week October and 2 weeks beginning of November: the main thing I am concerned on though, is costs, I have always believed Japan is a bit expensive - AND - we like relatively good hotels, really medium standard, and like to drink wine (or whatever) with sit-down meals when on holiday. As it will be our first time in Japan we shall go to the obvious places (so perhaps you can base your advices with that in mind): so please can I have ideas on costs?
Thanks in advance
patriciatbrogan
ONLINE
just now
Hello,
We are firming up on taking a holiday in Japan for just over 3 weeks last week October and 2 weeks beginning of November: the main thing I am concerned on though, is costs, I have always believed Japan is a bit expensive - AND - we like relatively good hotels, really medium standard, and like to drink wine (or whatever) with sit-down meals when on holiday. As it will be our first time in Japan we shall go to the obvious places (so perhaps you can base your advices with that in mind): so please can I have ideas on costs?
Thanks in advance
Apr 5th, 2017, 10:42 AM
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patriciatbrogan
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Definitely shall go to Tokyo. Osaka. Kyoto and a few other places, it will all jell once we are sure we are going: it looks like a 4-star hotel in Tokyo would cost me about £80 plus per night double (about the same price as Mexico City); how much would food cost and can one get wine with one's meals (after all, it will be a holiday!): we don't mind splurging out on a nice meal or 2; maybe save money on buying one's own beers from the supermarket and drinking a couple in one's hotel room, will not travel to too many places, so hopefully reasonable travel prices.
Thanks!
patriciatbrogan
ONLINE
11 minutes ago
Definitely shall go to Tokyo. Osaka. Kyoto and a few other places, it will all jell once we are sure we are going: it looks like a 4-star hotel in Tokyo would cost me about £80 plus per night double (about the same price as Mexico City); how much would food cost and can one get wine with one's meals (after all, it will be a holiday!): we don't mind splurging out on a nice meal or 2; maybe save money on buying one's own beers from the supermarket and drinking a couple in one's hotel room, will not travel to too many places, so hopefully reasonable travel prices.
Thanks!
Apr 5th, 2017, 05:13 PM
#4
I don't find Japan overly expensive but I stay in business hotels - Toyoko Inns, Dormy Inns. And I don't drink wine with every meal - you might try sake instead. For transport costs see hyperdia.com.
Apr 5th, 2017, 06:38 PM
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In general Japan is expensive country to travel in. Almost everything is expensive compared to other countries in Asia. Wine is expensive, but beer or sake is not quite as expensive. In supermarket beer costs about $1.7 USD a 12oz can (no discount for six-pack) and in "Conbi" (ubiquitous convenient markets like 7-11 store) a can of beer costs about $2 USD. I think this explains why Japanese per capita alcohol consumption is 71st in the world.(per Wikipedia)
In most places the local bus/train fare is not a fixed rate. So remember to get a ticket showing the station you got on when you get on a bus/train. Need it when you get off to pay the driver. Transportation expense within Japan is significant. The only thing I found less expensive is beautifully pre-packaged sushi products in supermarkets.
Another way of looking at this looking at their currency. The lowest denomination of of Japanese paper currency is 1,000 Yen note (about $10 USD).
In most places the local bus/train fare is not a fixed rate. So remember to get a ticket showing the station you got on when you get on a bus/train. Need it when you get off to pay the driver. Transportation expense within Japan is significant. The only thing I found less expensive is beautifully pre-packaged sushi products in supermarkets.
Another way of looking at this looking at their currency. The lowest denomination of of Japanese paper currency is 1,000 Yen note (about $10 USD).
Apr 5th, 2017, 07:10 PM
#6
It all depends on what you consider expensive. People keep complaining that London is expensive, I don't find it particularly expensive but then I visit free museums and eat Pret a Manger sandwiches for lunch.
I spent 38 days in Japan last fall. I traveled solo, which is always more expensive. All my hotel rooms were en suite, with AC/heat, free wifi, TV, hair dryer, etc. Some were very small, but not all. I think all of them came with public baths. I ate quite well, but not generally high end. I did a lot of sight seeing and took a lot of trains.
I checked my records and my average cost per day was $171. Is that expensive? I could have spent less and still have had a good trip. I could very easily have spent a whole lot more, although I'm not sure how much better the trip would have been. Certainly, I would have spent less in SEA, but I consider Japan more comparable to western Europe.
Lonely Planet has some sample budgets:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/japan/money-costs
I suggest you buy or borrow some guidebooks and figure out what it would cost for the hotels and restaurants that appeal to YOU.
I spent 38 days in Japan last fall. I traveled solo, which is always more expensive. All my hotel rooms were en suite, with AC/heat, free wifi, TV, hair dryer, etc. Some were very small, but not all. I think all of them came with public baths. I ate quite well, but not generally high end. I did a lot of sight seeing and took a lot of trains.
I checked my records and my average cost per day was $171. Is that expensive? I could have spent less and still have had a good trip. I could very easily have spent a whole lot more, although I'm not sure how much better the trip would have been. Certainly, I would have spent less in SEA, but I consider Japan more comparable to western Europe.
Lonely Planet has some sample budgets:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/japan/money-costs
I suggest you buy or borrow some guidebooks and figure out what it would cost for the hotels and restaurants that appeal to YOU.
Apr 5th, 2017, 07:57 PM
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I do not find Japan to be particularly expensive but it depends on what you mean by medium standard. I generally eat for less than $20/day and my costs for hotels are not that different than in major US cities.
Apr 6th, 2017, 11:20 AM
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Medium standard has no meaning.
Japan is not expensive - you can get meals at the mainline train stations with their ubiquitous food courts, the department stores (which have ton(ne)s of restaurants), random noodle shops or wherever for a wide range of price points. Tom's comparison is the key - Japan is more expensive than many SE Asian countries, which tend to be quite inexpensive. Japan is famously clean and modern.
Japan is not expensive - you can get meals at the mainline train stations with their ubiquitous food courts, the department stores (which have ton(ne)s of restaurants), random noodle shops or wherever for a wide range of price points. Tom's comparison is the key - Japan is more expensive than many SE Asian countries, which tend to be quite inexpensive. Japan is famously clean and modern.
Apr 7th, 2017, 09:19 AM
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Yes, I can't tell what your idea of medium budget is anymore than you'd know mine!
I would say, from my purely personal perspective, I find that accommodation is a little more expensive in Japan than many other places I've travelled, especially in Asia. And the size of rooms is generally smaller on average.
However, I've found that food costs are much lower, in that it's perfectly possible to eat really really delicious food for a very low cost and without need to resort to supermarket or convenience store picnic meals either. You can spend more, and we did on some nights, but our lunches and many of our dinners were pretty cheap. I'd say we rarely spent more than 800-1000 Yen per person on lunch, and would not have struggled at all to stick to 2000 Yen per person for dinner.
The trick is your requirement to have alcohol, and more specifically wine, with your meal. In my experience, drinks served at a restaurant are often pricy, even in budget places. We often ate at places where a filling and fabulous meal was 800 Yen but the single large beer to go with it was another 500 Yen or more, almost the cost of the food! Likewise for sodas, not quite as high but still...
For us, we're not that needy to have alcohol with our meals so we happily stuck with the free cold water, cold tea or hot tea provided without charge for most of our meals, and enjoyed trying sake, beers and other local drinks from vending machines and convenience stores and in cafes when we fancied a break. Our style of travel is pretty relaxed so we'd often return to our hotel for an hour or two rest late afternoon before heading out for dinner, and having a drink at that time suited us perfectly.
I would say, from my purely personal perspective, I find that accommodation is a little more expensive in Japan than many other places I've travelled, especially in Asia. And the size of rooms is generally smaller on average.
However, I've found that food costs are much lower, in that it's perfectly possible to eat really really delicious food for a very low cost and without need to resort to supermarket or convenience store picnic meals either. You can spend more, and we did on some nights, but our lunches and many of our dinners were pretty cheap. I'd say we rarely spent more than 800-1000 Yen per person on lunch, and would not have struggled at all to stick to 2000 Yen per person for dinner.
The trick is your requirement to have alcohol, and more specifically wine, with your meal. In my experience, drinks served at a restaurant are often pricy, even in budget places. We often ate at places where a filling and fabulous meal was 800 Yen but the single large beer to go with it was another 500 Yen or more, almost the cost of the food! Likewise for sodas, not quite as high but still...
For us, we're not that needy to have alcohol with our meals so we happily stuck with the free cold water, cold tea or hot tea provided without charge for most of our meals, and enjoyed trying sake, beers and other local drinks from vending machines and convenience stores and in cafes when we fancied a break. Our style of travel is pretty relaxed so we'd often return to our hotel for an hour or two rest late afternoon before heading out for dinner, and having a drink at that time suited us perfectly.
Apr 8th, 2017, 01:03 AM
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We found beer very affordable in vending machines, convenience stores, supermarkets etc. but less so in restaurants when considered against the cost of the food. It's probably fair to say though that the food was unexpectedly cheap than the beer was outrageously expensive...
Apr 9th, 2017, 05:47 AM
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I find that costs in Japan are comparable to other large developed cities. A bowl of ramen is about 10 USD while a kobe beef dinner will be 100 USD. Just depends on what you eat. Subway and buses average about 2 USD per trip. 4 star hotels for under 100 USD is rare in Tokyo though. They must not be centrally located. In Hiroshima, absolutely, but I find hotel rates in large metropolitans like Tokyo to be more than that. Entrance fees to temples and shrines range from free to 5 USD. Museums and palaces are something like 10 USD.
Apr 9th, 2017, 06:29 AM
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As has been mentioned above if you eat at small local places its not that high. We discovered that as well and beer is not too high and hey Japanese beer is very good too! We found the food in the local places to be quite good and you are getting a sample of local culture as well.
Yes go with sake vs. wine.
We found japan to be very clean and the people to be very polite too. Just loved it.
Enjoy!
Yes go with sake vs. wine.
We found japan to be very clean and the people to be very polite too. Just loved it.
Enjoy!
Apr 10th, 2017, 12:59 AM
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Wine is very expensive. I have been drinking Japanese beers (Kirin, Asahi) my whole time me but found myself going into wine withdrawal after 2+ weeks with no wine. As it is a beautiful day here in Kanzawa, I came back to the Hotel Trusty after spending 3 hours viewing the spectacular sakura at Kenrokuen. I ordered a nice, basic Soave to enjoy out on the sidewalk. That bottle would not probably cost me more than $20 in the US. The one glass was 1800 yen or roughly $16.50. But the worst part was the dinky little pour that couldn't have even been 4 ounces.
Apr 10th, 2017, 05:09 AM
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Thank you so much all for such helpful replies - I appreciate it. Yes, thursdaysd, I definitely shall get a guidebook, I just wanted an indication before quickly booking my flights, it's early days, we fly in October/ November - flights now booked based on all this advice.
Thanks again!
Thanks again!
Apr 10th, 2017, 10:57 AM
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Japan *can* be expensive, but it doesn't *have to be*, if you know where to save money.
Your main costs are food, transport, and accommodations, and a lot is up to how much you want to splurge.
You can eat quite decently for 1000 yen a meal, but the booze costs a lot more in restaurants, same as anywhere, so a glass or two with your meal could easily double that.
As mentioned, I also stayed in Toyoko Inn a few times - nothing fancy, but very conveniently located, quiet, decent, clean, free internet in my room and they throw in breakfast for free. There are many others as well - Superhotel, Comfort Inn, Route Inn, Dormy Inn, Hotel 123, and so on.
There are cheap wines and beer to drink too - although for the latter I find that happoshu is almost undrinkable. But if you're in Japan, try something new - there are many kinds of chuhai you can try as well. If you really want wine but are worried about the cost, you could go to any 7-11 and get a bottle of wine these days for as low as 400 yen. Maybe no award winner but drinkable. Kick back on a bench by the river and city lights and people watch - loads of relaxing fun. Apologies if you only drink some $30+ pinot or cab.
One good site to look through is www.bento.com
It lists a lot of restaurants and bars. Watch about a lot of travel books - many haven't been updated in a while and restaurants and bars have a much higher turnover rate than hotels or sightseeing places.
Your main costs are food, transport, and accommodations, and a lot is up to how much you want to splurge.
You can eat quite decently for 1000 yen a meal, but the booze costs a lot more in restaurants, same as anywhere, so a glass or two with your meal could easily double that.
As mentioned, I also stayed in Toyoko Inn a few times - nothing fancy, but very conveniently located, quiet, decent, clean, free internet in my room and they throw in breakfast for free. There are many others as well - Superhotel, Comfort Inn, Route Inn, Dormy Inn, Hotel 123, and so on.
There are cheap wines and beer to drink too - although for the latter I find that happoshu is almost undrinkable. But if you're in Japan, try something new - there are many kinds of chuhai you can try as well. If you really want wine but are worried about the cost, you could go to any 7-11 and get a bottle of wine these days for as low as 400 yen. Maybe no award winner but drinkable. Kick back on a bench by the river and city lights and people watch - loads of relaxing fun. Apologies if you only drink some $30+ pinot or cab.
One good site to look through is www.bento.com
It lists a lot of restaurants and bars. Watch about a lot of travel books - many haven't been updated in a while and restaurants and bars have a much higher turnover rate than hotels or sightseeing places.
