Japan Travel Expenses

We had such a great time in Japan. It was so unlike anywhere else we had been. It was ancient and modern all at the same time. You could be walking down a bustling and chaotic street one minute and the then the next duck into a perfectly serene garden in the middle of the city. It wasn’t out of the ordinary to see a man in a business suit strolling through a Shinto shrine or a woman in a kimono riding the subway.

A small temple surrounded by Fukuoka high-rises.

This huge open space is part of the Imperial Palace in the very center of Tokyo.

Japan had a never-ending list of quirks that were fun to experience. Placing food orders at vending machines, having an entire restaurant staff greet you when you enter and thank you when you leave, the utter silence that falls over everyone on trains and subways, the flashing lights and sounds of arcade centers, cab doors that automatically open for you, and ordering food by grabbing it off a conveyor belt or tapping it into a tablet screen. The list goes on.

Many restaurants use plastic food displays so you know exactly what you're getting.

Kyoto was a chance to feel like you'd gone back in time, but it could get very touristy.

The single greatest highlight of Japan was most definitely the food. Every meal was an experience. It was always delicious. If we think about returning one day it will be primarily driven by our desire to enjoy more Japanese food. Ramen, sushi, tempura, tonkatsu, curry, and udon. The thoughts of these dishes are enough to make my mouth water. We never even went anywhere fancy. It was too expensive for us to go anywhere fancy, so I can only dream of what more awaits if we returned one day with a bit more money in our pockets.

Every meal was delicious. This was from a restaurant at the onsen in Magome.

Waiting for our favorite pieces of sushi to come around on the conveyor belt at a restaurant in Hiroshima.

We found Japan to be a very easy travel destination. Even though most things are in Japanese, the essentials can always be found in English and plenty of people spoke English fluently. The train and bus systems are extensive, and you can get just about anywhere in the country fairly easily. Initially, the trains and subway systems seemed quite complicated, but after a while we got the hang of them. Transportation prices depend on speed. The faster the transportation the more expensive the ticket. Although most people travel by train around Japan, we primarily traveled by highway bus, which was slower but cheaper.

The Asian Art Museum in Fukuoka was only $2 a person.

Hiking in Magome was free.

Accommodations were always expensive, and it was almost comical sometimes how small they were. But I think the typical living space in Japan is tiny, so it felt more like a cultural experience than an inconvenience. We stayed almost exclusively at Airbnb accommodations. Checking in was always easy as every apartment had a self-check-in system where the key was usually stored in the mailbox. No need to coordinate meeting up with anyone. We were in a hostel for two nights in Magome. It was nicer than most hostels and we each got our own capsule-type bed. They were made of wood so they kind of resembled coffins, but they were spacious enough to not feel claustrophobic.

Our capsule-like accommodations at a hostel in Magome.

We were in Japan for three weeks and we would have loved to stay longer, but Japan was really stretching our budget. During our 20-day visit we spent an average of $134 a day. Compared to our previous two months in China, everything in Japan seemed expensive. Accommodations and transportation expenses added up fast. Food was reasonably priced, but we were eating inexpensively. We never went to a proper sushi restaurant or anything fancy. We didn’t even drink that much while we were there. We usually opted for the small-sized beer at dinner, if we even ordered one. Just going out for coffee set us back nearly $10. The one thing that was surprisingly cheap were museum entrance fees. I couldn’t believe it, but most museum entrance fees only cost a few bucks. It was perfect for when we needed a cheap activity to do and Japan had some great museums in every city we visited.

Accommodations: We used Airbnb to stay in small apartments. The level of service from the Airbnb hosts was always excellent, in line with the first-rate service industry in Japan in general. We stayed in one hostel in Magome (it was really the only option for us), but it was just as expensive as any of our Airbnb apartments.

Restaurants: We never wanted to waste an opportunity to eat. Most diner-type restaurants set us back between $15-20. We would occasionally “splurge” on restaurants that might cost us $30, like at a tempura restaurant.

Transportation: We flew from China to Japan on United miles. We used highway buses for our long-distance transportation as they were cheaper than trains. Getting around cities was always easy with the metro system, but we usually spent around $6-7 on tickets for a return trip for the two of us.

Drinks: Drinks were priced similar to home. Around $4 for a coffee or $6 for a pint of beer during happy hour or if we found an unusually good deal.

Tourism: Karaoke, arcade games, museums, and trips to onsens!

Grocery: We cooked a few of our own meals and we would occasionally picked up a light lunch or breakfast from the grocery store or 7-Eleven.

Other: Only our usual items. A Japanese SIM card and laundry.

Walking around Fukuoka Castle.

We would love to return to Japan one day. It was exciting to experience the culture, and I feel like there is still a lot of the country we’d be interested in seeing. It was also great to catch up with friends in Kyoto and Tokyo over a night of karaoke. I think a return trip would make more sense for us if we were working though. It would be nice to have a little more money to play with. Japan is an expensive travel destination and we steered away from even moderately priced activities. Despite the expense, Japan is firmly on our list of placed we’d like to return to sometime in the future.