Is Japan really that expensive?
Japan has had a reputation as being expensive for a very long time, people paying hundreds of dollars for a piece of Kobe beef or a sliver of the finest bluefin tuna. Prices of hotels can be among some of the most expensive in the world. Public travel, whilst incredibly reliable can also make your eyes water.
Well, some of this is true and some of it is a little more than a rumour that we have all perpetuated. Many people are put off traveling in Japan for a long period of time because they believe it’s so expensive. This isn’t always the case. We spent two months in Japan and it is comfortably cheaper than Australia, New Zealand, Western Europe and in some cases in is even cheaper than China! It sounds crazy, but here are a few really simple tips that could save you a few pennies.
JR Rail Pass
This is a no-brainer. Anyone traveling between cities in Japan should consider investing in one of these. However be very careful about which JR pass you choose as you could end up spending more than you need to. I’ll use our situation as an example.
We spent our first 12 days in Hokkaido, which is absolutely incredible and definitely our favourite part of Japan. From Sapporo we flew down to Hiroshima. From here we planned to go on to Miyajima, Osaka, Himeji, Nara, Kyoto and Tokyo. A few of these were day trips and a few were for a bit longer, but as you can see we had a lot of travel ahead of us.
A regular JR pass that allows travel across the whole country costs 29,100 yen. This is incredibly reasonable. If you take a return trip from Tokyo to Kyoto and throw in a day trip to Nara and you will have saved money.
Our plan was as follows:
3 days – Hiroshima and Miyajima
2 days – Osaka
1 day – Himeji
1 day – Nara
4 days – Kyoto
5 days – Tokyo
We decided to purchase a Kansai-Hiroshima pass through JR West for 13,500 yen per person. We activated this when we travelled from Hiroshima to Osaka and used it for our day trips to Himeji, Nara and our trip to Kyoto. From Kyoto we took a night bus to Tokyo for 6500 yen per person. A total of 20,000 yen, 9000 yen less than a 7 day rail pass. We would not have had time to do everything we wanted to do around Kansai and get to Tokyo in 7 days.
The JR pass website states that a JR pass cannot be used on the Nozomi or Mizuho trains. However if you purchase ANY JR west railway pass, which ours was, you can use these trains. This is great for longer routes, notably Hiroshima to Osaka/Kyoto.
Plan where you want to go and what you want to see and then search on the JR website to find the pass that best fits your plan. Most people will plump for the nationwide JR pass, however at 29,000 yen for 7 days this is expensive. Flying in and out of Tokyo and then ustilising this pass to make a loop through Kyoto, Nara and Osaka example will mean that this pass is worth the investment. However for our trip, tis would not have been a sensible option. You can use the app Hyperdia (which is a must for train travel in Japan) to check the cost of tickets to see what type of pass is worthwhile for your trip.
Internal Flights
I read about this little deal on the amazing website Japanguide, a very useful website for anyone planning a trip to the land of the rising sun. In essence this deal covers cheap flights all over Japan for any visitors to the country. It’s advertised as a 10,000 yen deal however there are some flights that are cheaper and some that are slightly more expensive. We paid 10,000 yen each to fly from Sapporo to Hiroshima. If we were to booked these flights without this deal it would cost us closer to 50,000 yen per ticket.
We also used this deal to fly from Fukuoka to Tokusima and then from Tokushima onto Tokyo, again saving a considerable amount of money.
There are two airlines that participate in this amazing deal JAL and ANA. We ended up flying with both. One thing to remember is that for this to work you usually have to book from outside Japan. As always in Japan there are a variety of travel deals available. The deals that we researched are linked below, but the link above has information on all of the different deals available.
Both of these links take you straight to the booking page where you can research and compare prices. This deal is a must for anyone looking to get away from the Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka route. This was one of our best money saving findings and it makes Japan far more accessible.
Night Buses
As mentioned above, we took a night bus from Kyoto to Tokyo for 6500 yen. There is an extensive bus network across Japan. Naturally bus services on the southern portion of Honshu are more numerous than in other parts of Japan. However night buses between major cities are generally quite common. Willer Express is the largest bus company in Japan, and with an extensive network and excellent online booking service its an excellent resource for travelling in Japan.
Day Passes
Many of Japans cities have a variety of day passes allowing giving unlimited rides and even discounts to various attractions.
Fukuoka
There are a number of subway passes to get around this small city. We never actually purchased any day passes in Fukuoka, due to the fact that Fukuoka is quite a small city and a lot of it can be covered on foot. To make most of the day passes worthwhile you would need to take between 3 and 4 subway journeys depending on how far you are travelling.
Hiroshima
In Hiroshima you can purchase a 1 day street car and ferry pass for 840 yen. This is a great option if you are doing Miyajima as a day trip.
Street Car to Miyajimaguchi = 280 1 way – total of 560
Ferry to Miyajima = 180 yen 1 way – total of 360
560+360 = 920.
This also means that you can use the streetcars to get around in the evening as your legs will be knackered after a day on Miyajima.
Kyoto
Possibly the most popular tourist destination in Japan (it certainly felt that way when we were there). Kyoto’s subway system is quite useful for accessing Northern Higashiyama and the city centre, but other than that it’s the bus and JR that are king. However the JR routes to Arashiyama and Inari are very cheap so it’s not worth activating a rail pass just for this. Save it for intercity travel.
Kyoto’s bus network is both extensive and convenient. For 500 yen you can pick up an all day bus pass. You end up saving money if you take 3 or more buses as each single ride is 200 yen. With Kyoto’s sites spread all over the city, taking 3 bus trips will not be a problem.
Nagasaki
Street cars are the best way to get around Nagasaki. Day passes can be purchased for 500 yen or alternatively each individual trip is a flat rate of 120 yen, regardless of where you are going.
Osaka
In Osaka you can pick up the Amazing Osaka pass that covers subway and entry in a huge number of attractions for one day. When we used it we headed to Osaka Castle, did the HEP5 ferris wheel, went to the top of the Umeda tower and took in an evening cruise (which was not that great to be honest). It costs 2500 and it ended up saving us 2500 yen in transport and entrance fee’s. A worthwhile purchase for sure.
There are also subway day passes available.
Tokyo
Japans greatest urban metropolis has one of the most impressive and confusing transportations systems on planet earth. The truth is there are huge number of tickets. Outlines of all of them are listed here.
Suica: This is just a simple subway card, like the oyster card in London or the octopus card in Hong Kong. You need to pay a 500 yen deposit for the card, but this is returned to you when you return the card at the end of your trip. Also the fares a few yen cheaper than if you buy tickets at the machine. They can be used on every line in Tokyo.
All Day pass: There are 2 all day pass options. The all day metro card for 600yen which can only be used on the Tokyo metro, or you can include the Toei lines for 900 yen. We found the all day metro card fantastic value. If you take 4 trips you will be saving money. Both all day passes are valid for 24 hours, which can end up being a nice money saver. Just remember, neither of these passes include the JR lines, so sometimes the journeys are a little longer.
Eating and Drinking
Rough pricing guides by cuisine
Eating out in Japan can be extremely cheap, in some case it was far cheaper than eating similar food in Beijing. Obviously eating out can be as cheap or as expensive as you wish, but here is a very rough price guide based on 2 people eating.
500-1000 – Bento boxes – can be brought from any convenience store
1000-1500 – Ramen and Udon
1500-2000 – Katsu Curry
2000-3000 – Tempura Sets and conveyor belt sushi.
3000-5000 – Yakiniku (Japanese BBQ), Izakaya/Yakitori (Japanese style pub serving sticks of meat, sashimi and other wonderful delights), Sushi and Sukiyaki (type of Japanese hot pot)
This is not a definitive list, but it’s generally a good guide as to what type of food is generally cheaper or more expensive.
The big thing that raises the cost of meal is alcohol. A couple of draft beers would generally add at least 1000 yen to the bill. So an easy way to save is to limit your alcohol intake.
Chain Restaurants
Japan also has a number of cheap chain restaurants that serve up mouthwatering food at low prices. These range from fast food to 100 yen sushi restaurants.
Mos Burger – Japans number one fast food restaurant serves standard western fast food with a distinctly Japanese twist.
Sushiro (スシロー) – This biggest 100 yen sushi chain, found all over the country. A huge menu featuring plenty of non sushi dishes.
Kura Sushi (くら寿司) – Another 100 yen sushi chain with an extensive menu including noodles, friends snacks and deserts.
Hama Sushi (はま寿司) – A chain that manages to do 90 yen sushi Monday to Fridays (not on holidays). Like the above two conveyor belt sushi restaurants, the menu here is extensive and delicious.
Joyfull – This cheap and cheerful diner chain offers a variety of simple Japanese style dishes. We discovered this chain in Kyushu, and didn’t find them elsewhere.
Hiroshima to Tokyo
Expect food prices here to be slightly higher than in other parts of Japan.
Hokkaido
In the national parks such as Shiretoko and Akan food options are generally limited, however it is cheaper than in other parts of Japan. Eating in Sapporo or Otaru is slightly cheaper than Tokyo, but is significantly more expensive than the rural regions.
Kyushu
A huge range of food options with prices being noticeably lower than the Hiroshima to Tokyo trail, around 20% cheaper. There are numerous specialities in this region of Japan including live squid sashimi and Nanban chicken. We generally found izakayas here to be far more affordable than anywhere else in Japan. Cheap and excellent food can be found all over this stunning island.
Shikoku
We generally found food prices in Shikoku to be reasonably similar to Kyushu. However, there are times where the cost of food can be surprisingly expensive, particularly around the Iya valley in the centre of the island. This was both food purchased from the supermarket and when eating out.
Accomodation
Usually the most expensive part of any trip.
Rakuten – A Japanese website that lists a huge number of hotels, ryokans and onsen hotels that are not listed on western booking sites. There are some excellent hotel deals here, particularly onsen hotels.
Hokkaido
hotels.com and agoda.com offered us the best rates for anything outside Sapporo. In this region of Japan airbnb’s can be pretty pricey. In the national parks it can be around 9000yen per night, with breakfast included. However this is offset by the cost of food being much cheaper than other parts of Japan.
Hiroshima to Tokyo
Here airbnbs was generally cheaper and that was what we used the majority of the time. We managed to rent entire apartments for half the price of a hotel room in Hokkaido.
Another thing to be aware of is that paying for 2 beds in a dorm is usually more expensive that getting a room in a hotel or guesthouse, so plan accordingly.
Kyushu
Here hotels.com generally offered the cheapest prices. Another advantage is that they are more likely to allow online payments, meaning slightly fewer ATM visits. Booking.com can be quite inconsistent regarding this, not just here, but all over Japan. However pricewise there are good deals to be found.
We generally found that hotels here were some of the cheapest we’d found in Japan. There are a number of business hotel chains that operate on the island, the two biggest being Mystays and Nest Hotels. We paid 6000yen per night and an additional 1000yen for 24 parking, which is a must in Kyushu’s major cities of Nagasaki, Fukuoka, Kumamoto and Kagoshima. Most dorms in Japan charge 2500 to 3500 yen per bed, so 7000 yen for parking and a hotel room is extremely good value for money.
Shikoku
Of Japans found main islands, little Shikoku is probably the least visited. Prices here are reasonably similar to Kyushu with regards to both accommodation and food. The exception is the Iya valley, which is one of the most expensive places on the island. Rakuten and hotels.com are the most reliable accommodation booking sites.
In truth Japan is much more affordable than people would believe.
Truly one of the most incredible countries we have ever visited.
