Is Japan affordable? Looking for cheap tips.
 

Hi - I want to travel to Japan in April but know the country is very expensive. Looking for any tips on inexpensive, but good places to stay, eat, visit, etc.
Thanks

Visited Japan (Yokohama area, Mt. Fuji) 2001.

Just a couple tips:

Lodging: Japan has "Business" hotels. Sort of the no frills type hotel. Similar to our Hampton Inn. These are usually very reasonable. Many have restaurants that serve western style breakfast; if so, this can be affordable.

Food: If you can find a "Ramin" shop. Usually this is a good vaule. Various types of ramin, very filling.

Be interesting to see what others have to say...since it has been a while since I was in Japan.

Hi There,
Japan is not that expensive. Similar to Sydney (my home town) and cheaper than UK and Norway.

For good cheap food, go to the small restaurants around the train stations and in the underground shopping complexes. Go where the locals go! If you don't know Japanese, don't worry, they have plastic models you can point to. You are looking at 500-800yen for a good meal. 1000yen+ being a very good meal. Another option is the lunch boxes sold in the food level of the big department stores like Takashimaya and Parco, Seibu etc... These are very good value. Starting from 300yen you can get set lunchs with rice, noodles, meat, veggies. Problem will be choosing one! And finding a place to sit down and eat it. But in April, buy your lunch and head for the parks to enjoy the cherry blossoms. Oh and don't miss the dessert section. Heavenly!!!

Places to stay can be quite expensive. Try the toyoko inn. They are a business hotel chain and have great rooms for 4500yen+ go with a friend to share the room would make it cheaper cos Toyoko charges per room, not per person and the cost includes a simple Japanese breakfast. They have a website for online booking and you can check out their specials too. If you want a cheap hotel in Osaka, try the Kinki Hotel. Don't be discouraged by the name. Kinki in Japanese describes the whole area of Osaka, Kyoto, Nara etc.. Rates are cheap, location is central, free internet access, service very friendly and with english speakers to help you BUT rooms are small, be warned.

Places to visit, well most major temples charge entry, anywhere between 300-1000yen. On average you're looking at 500yen. YOu can't escape this one. But shopping centres are free and some are very nicely built.

Transport is very expensive. Go to Hyperdia and you can check out the timetable and cost of every trip you want to make and then decide if you should get the JR pass or not.

Anything else you want to know?

Are you travelling by yourself? A cheap alternative to hotels are the hostels. In April, they shouldn't be that crowded, and you may get your own room for a cheap price.

If not, at least you get a little "cabin" type bunk in many hostels. They have a privacy curtain with a light and little table area inside your bunk. I've stayed at the the International hostel above Iidabashi station in Tokyo (great views and japanese furo), one on the beach in kamakura, and one in Nikko. All nice.

Eating, as posted above can be quite reasonable if you stick to noodles and other japanese food. Forget the orange juice at $4 a glass! Supermarkets are great places to get food too...they have lots of take out items.

To save on transportation costs, stick to a small area...fly in and out of Osaka and vist Kyoto and Nara, or visit just Tokyo. There is plenty to keep you busy in either of those cities.

Let us know more about you, and we can help more!

Take a look at the following website for information about the Welcome Inns in Japan.
http://www.itcj.or.jp/

The food courts in the Japanese department stores offer good value for take out foods. If you go in the last hour that the store is open you can get the freshly prepared food that is left for significant, say 50% discount. Restaurants in department stores and near train stations are often decent bets. Noodle shops for Ramin, Udon and Soba are good choices. Lastly for snacks you can try your friendly 7 11 type stores. Cannot help you much on budget housing. Have fun. April should be a good time for Japan.

For hotels on a budget, try Club Tocoo (www.2.tocoo.jp/english/). You can book at 60 to 30 days before you go, and you can get up to 60% off hotel rates. They have hotels all over Japan.

There are some further more ways to save a bit of yen on entry fees. There are "Welcome Cards" you can get for certain regions that offer discounts when you use the cards at museums, hotels, stores, and restaurants. I have a printout from JNTO that I got at their NYC office, and I think if you go to the JNTO website you can get info on these Welcome cards. Also, I just received a great English map of Tokyo (that includes the subway and JR rail systems also) from the Tokyo Visitor's and COnvention Bureau and it indicates that if you show that map you get reduced entrance fees at many museums and other places in Tokyo. Email is: [email protected] They will send you all sorts of discount info if you ask.

Eat local food (noodle soups, carousel sushi), stay in a lower priced traditional hotel. Japan was no more expensive than Europe, in our experience (Kyoto and Tokyo and Nara).

I found Japan much more affordable than most of Europe. Had no problem finding restaurants that were cheaper than here in Chicago for super food and found good accomodations for decent prices. It's certainly not as cheap as some other places in Asia but is also not nearly as expensive as it once was.