How much does it cost to travel Japan?
Everybody says Japan is an expensive country, a night in a hostel dorm could cost about 30$. To give some detailed information about costs in Japan I made the following overview. And if you plan a bit it’s not that expensive.
I did several trips across Japan and took this experience and prices from September 2014 to prepare this 18 days sample trip.
| General: | |
|---|---|
| Japan Rail Pass 14 days 2nd class | 46.390 Yen |
| Kaiten Sushi | 750 Yen |
| Curry Udon | 450 Yen |
| Ramen | 680 Yen |
| Lunch-Set | 500-1000 Yen |
| Kyoto: | |
|---|---|
| Shinkansen to Kyoto, duration 2,5 hours | 0 Yen (JR-Pass) |
| day pass bus | 500 Yen |
| Kinkaku-ji (Golden Temple) | 500 Yen |
| Ginkaku-ji | 500 Yen |
| Philosopher’s Walk | free |
| Fushimi Inari Schrein | free |
| Hana Hostel, 8 bed dorm | 2500 Yen/night |
| Nara: | |
| Kyoto-Nara with JR Nara Line | 0 Yen (JR-Pass) |
| Nara Park | free |
| Todai-Ji Temple | 500 Yen |
| Osaka: | |
| Nara to Osaka with JR Line | 0 Yen (JR-Pass) |
| Osaka Castle | 410 Yen |
| Shitenno-ji | 230 Yen |
| Local food in Tsutenkaku Tower street (Okonomiyaki) | 750 Yen |
| Tani9 dorm bed | 2700 Yen/night |
| capsule hotel | 2900 Yen/night |
| Hiroshima: | |
| Shinkansen Shin-Osaka to Hiroshima, duration ca. 1,5 hours | 0 Yen (JR-Pass) |
| Atomic Bombing Museum | 50 Yen |
| Atomic Bombing Dome and Peace Park | free |
| Train and ferry to Miyajima | 0 Yen (JR-Pass) |
| Hiking Mount Misen on Miyajima Island | free |
| JHoppers Hostel dorm bed | 2500 Yen/night |
| Nagasaki: | |
| Hiroshima to Nagasaki, duration ca. 3 hours | 0 Yen (JR-Pass) |
| Atomic Bombing Museum | 100 Yen |
| Peace Park | free |
| Onzen Fukunuyu with transfer | 700 Yen |
| Glover Garden | 600 Yen |
| Casa Noda dorm bed, breakfast included | 2400 Yen/night |
| Tokyo: | |
| Nagasaki to Tokyo, duration ca. 5,5 hours | 0 Yen (JR-Pass) |
| Observatory 45th floor Governmental Building | free |
| Yoyogi Park and Meiji shrine | free |
| Shibuya intersection | free |
| Zojoji Temple | free |
| Odaiba with Yurikamome-Line Roundtrip | 740 Yen |
| 2300 Yen/night | |
| Transfer to airport with bus | 1000 Yen |
Everything together results 90780 Yen, also etwa 700€ or 39€ per day, but flight and food is not included. Of course compared to other Asian countries Japan is quite expensive. But Hostels are more like hotels and as Japan is a very modern country it is more expensive than other Asian countries.
To prepare this sample trip I mainly took highlights and there are many other awesome places to discover in Japan. If anybody wonders why Himeji isn’t included, the castle is currently under construction (until 2015).
I hope this post is helpful to get an overview on costs in Japan or helps backpackers planning a trip in this wonderful country.
Don’t Panic!
Backpacking is my favourite "hobby" and here I write tips, tricks and reports about it.