evilerniex
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"How much $$ should I bring for a Xdays trip to tokyo?"
"Is $XXX enough if I going Japan for Xdays?"
Seems like these questions always pop up every now and then.
While there is no definite answers to these questions, we can nevertheless break down the daily expenditures to get a rough feel on how much to bring. Our daily expenses can be broken down to the following categories: food, shopping, transport, admission ticket. So by listing out the cost of these items, buddies here can total up and estimate how much to bring.
Thus, I hope the veterans here can contribute to this list by stating the price of items they spent on. An estimate is also ok. Also state the total amount spent on expenses during previous trips, with maybe a brief description. Do let me know if there are other categories that contributes to the total expenses.
Thanks all for contributing
How to budget for a Japan trip
This is a short write-up on how I usually budget for my trip.
The total cost of a trip can be broken down into these few components:
- Airfare
- Accommodation
- Transportation
- Admission Ticket
- Food and Snacks
- Shopping
Airfare and Accommodations
The cost for airfare and accommodation are already known, as you would have already book these before you travel there. If you are planning to pay your accommodation by cash, then budget the amount in.
Transportation and Admission tickets
Transportation cost can be worked out using hyperdia. Admission tickets to various attractions can also be found from websites or japan-guide, so these can be easily calculated once you have fixed your itinerary.
Example – Staying in Shinjuku and going Disneyland:
Transport – 380yen x 2 for the train from Shinjuku to Maihama and back
Admission Tickets – 6200yen for ticket to Disneyland
Total for the day – 6960yen
Example – Staying in Hiroshima and going Miyajima:
Transport – 2000yen for 2-day pass which covers tram from Hiroshima to Miyajima-guchi, ferry to Miyajima, and the cable car ride up Mount Misen
Admission Tickets – 300yen for admission to Itsukushima shrine
Total for the day – 2300yen
Food and Snacks
For food, it really depends on what you want to eat. You can get cheap meals from Yoshinoya or Matsuya for less than 500yen, or dine at Michelin star restaurants. For me, I usually budget 500yen for breakfast and 1000yen each for lunch and dinner, and another 500yen for snacks/supper. This amount is enough for a decent meal at ramen joints or small restaurants in train stations. Breakfast I usually go for buns/bread from bakery or origini from convenient stores. Supper will be cup noodles and maybe some discounted stuff from supermarket.
Shopping
Shopping is a bit tricky. From souvenirs to toys to branded bags… you wouldn’t know what catches your eye along the way. Fortunately, most big ticket items can be paid for my credit cards, so you don’t need to budget them in when calculating how much yen to change. I usually give myself a budget 10,000yen for shopping for stuff such as toys and clothes, as I try not to use credit card. This amount will of course depend on how much you like to shop, and whether you want to use credit card for these purchase.
For souvenirs, a small keychain or magnet is about 300-500yen. Personally, I do not budget anything for souvenirs. I just spend whatever leftover from the previous day’s food budget.
One last thing to note. It is always better to over cater than to end up searching for atm or charging to credit cards. Leftover yen can always be kept for the next trip, an believe me, there will be a next trip
Tips for buffering:
I usually pay for all my accommodations in cash. If for whatever reason I overspend my budget during the trip, I can always pay for the remaining accommodations with credit card and use the cash for other things. of course this only works for longer trips where you are not based in just one location.
So far I haven't have the need to use credit card yet. But one of my travel mates did coz he shopped too much early in the trip. He paid for all our remaining accommodations with credit cards and we paid him back in cash so he has extra cash to spend.
Note: all prices are in Yen.
Yen Exchange Rate Thread:- http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/japan-271/yen-exchange-rate-watch-2118409.html
Food
Small restaurants: 500 onwards for lunch, 800 onwards for dinner
Ramen joints: 290 for chuka soba 中華そば at 幸楽園, other ramen, 390 onward
Restaurants: 3000-28000
Bento from supermarket: 400-2000
Bento: 290 (Roppongi hills, beside tv asahi, there is a supermarket call FOOD MAGAZINE)
Bento from 7-11 7-11: 400-700
Yoshinoya: 300-400 (for cheapest meal)
Tokyo Banana: http://www.tokyobanana.jp/
Fast food: 600-800
Macdonald's meal: 600 on average
Mcpork: 100
Tenya: 500 http://www.tenya.co.jp/index.htm
Jap pasta restaurant (NOT sakae pasta): 1000-1500
Tabako: 300
Drinks from vending machine: 100-150
Live Karaba crab: 7800-15000
Live scallop: 1500
Kobe beef AA grade: 8000 (200g)
Potato Farm fries: 840
Royce: 660 (additional 100 for cooler bag)
Shiroi Kobito: 600-2000+
Shopping
Gundam: 30% off the listed price at Yodobashi camera
PSP: http://kakaku.com/game/game-console/se_3/
NDS: http://kakaku.com/game/game-console/se_6/
100 Yen store/ Daiso: 105
Burberry black label t-shirt: approx. 8000
Burberry blue label: ??
Agnes B bag: approx. 5000
Transport
Train: refer to http://www.hyperdia.com/cgi-english/hyperWeb.cgi, min 130 on Yamanote Line
Bus from Shinjuku to Lake Kawaguchi: 1700 (one way), 3200? (return)
Domestic flight from Hanade to New Chitose: 11000 (ANA), 9800 (Skymark), 7800 (??)
Bus in Yokohama (akai kutsu): 100 (single trip), 500 (unlimited bus + train)
Sendai Loople bus: 250 (single trip), 600 (1 day pass)
Daypass to various places: http://www.odakyu.jp/english/freepass/index.html
Kyoto city bus: 500 (1 day pass) http://www.city.kyoto.jp/koho/eng/access/transport.html
Tram (Hiroshima): 150
Tram (Kumamto): 150
Tram (Nagasaki): 120
Tateyama Alpine Route: 10560 (from Shinano-Omachi to Toyama)
Kamikochi: 4400 (round trip from Matsumoto)
Admission Tickets/ Entertainment
Onsen: 300-500
UFO Catcher (small): 100 (1 try), 500 (6 tries)
UFO Catcher (large): 200 (1 try), 500 (3 tries)
Tokyo
Disneyland/ Disneysea: 5800
Roppongi Hills Observatory: 1500
Tokyo Tower: 820 for main observatory floor and extra 600 to go up the other top special floor
Ghlibi Museum: 1000 (must buy tickets in advance)
Osaka
Universal Studio: 6100
Osaka Aquarium: 2000
Osaka Bay Cruise: 1600
Osaka Castle: 600
Umeda Sky Building: 700
Kyoto
Kiyomizudera: 300
Kinkakuji: 400
Nijo Castle: 600
Chubu
Matsumoto Castle: 600 (300 if you purchase the tickets from Toyoko-Inn)
Matsumoto City Museum or Art: 400
Matsumoto Timepiece Museum: 300
Nagoya Castle: 500
Chugoku
Hiroshima Castle: 360
Iwakuni Castle: 930 (include Kintaikyo, ropeway and castle admission)
Kyushu
Fukuoka Tower: 800 (640 using discount coupon)
Kumamoto Castle: 500
Suizenji Jojuen park: 400
Beppu Hells: 2000
Hokkaido
"Is $XXX enough if I going Japan for Xdays?"
Seems like these questions always pop up every now and then.
While there is no definite answers to these questions, we can nevertheless break down the daily expenditures to get a rough feel on how much to bring. Our daily expenses can be broken down to the following categories: food, shopping, transport, admission ticket. So by listing out the cost of these items, buddies here can total up and estimate how much to bring.
Thus, I hope the veterans here can contribute to this list by stating the price of items they spent on. An estimate is also ok. Also state the total amount spent on expenses during previous trips, with maybe a brief description. Do let me know if there are other categories that contributes to the total expenses.
Thanks all for contributing
How to budget for a Japan trip
This is a short write-up on how I usually budget for my trip.
The total cost of a trip can be broken down into these few components:
- Airfare
- Accommodation
- Transportation
- Admission Ticket
- Food and Snacks
- Shopping
Airfare and Accommodations
The cost for airfare and accommodation are already known, as you would have already book these before you travel there. If you are planning to pay your accommodation by cash, then budget the amount in.
Transportation and Admission tickets
Transportation cost can be worked out using hyperdia. Admission tickets to various attractions can also be found from websites or japan-guide, so these can be easily calculated once you have fixed your itinerary.
Example – Staying in Shinjuku and going Disneyland:
Transport – 380yen x 2 for the train from Shinjuku to Maihama and back
Admission Tickets – 6200yen for ticket to Disneyland
Total for the day – 6960yen
Example – Staying in Hiroshima and going Miyajima:
Transport – 2000yen for 2-day pass which covers tram from Hiroshima to Miyajima-guchi, ferry to Miyajima, and the cable car ride up Mount Misen
Admission Tickets – 300yen for admission to Itsukushima shrine
Total for the day – 2300yen
Food and Snacks
For food, it really depends on what you want to eat. You can get cheap meals from Yoshinoya or Matsuya for less than 500yen, or dine at Michelin star restaurants. For me, I usually budget 500yen for breakfast and 1000yen each for lunch and dinner, and another 500yen for snacks/supper. This amount is enough for a decent meal at ramen joints or small restaurants in train stations. Breakfast I usually go for buns/bread from bakery or origini from convenient stores. Supper will be cup noodles and maybe some discounted stuff from supermarket.
Shopping
Shopping is a bit tricky. From souvenirs to toys to branded bags… you wouldn’t know what catches your eye along the way. Fortunately, most big ticket items can be paid for my credit cards, so you don’t need to budget them in when calculating how much yen to change. I usually give myself a budget 10,000yen for shopping for stuff such as toys and clothes, as I try not to use credit card. This amount will of course depend on how much you like to shop, and whether you want to use credit card for these purchase.
For souvenirs, a small keychain or magnet is about 300-500yen. Personally, I do not budget anything for souvenirs. I just spend whatever leftover from the previous day’s food budget.
One last thing to note. It is always better to over cater than to end up searching for atm or charging to credit cards. Leftover yen can always be kept for the next trip, an believe me, there will be a next trip
Tips for buffering:
I usually pay for all my accommodations in cash. If for whatever reason I overspend my budget during the trip, I can always pay for the remaining accommodations with credit card and use the cash for other things. of course this only works for longer trips where you are not based in just one location.
So far I haven't have the need to use credit card yet. But one of my travel mates did coz he shopped too much early in the trip. He paid for all our remaining accommodations with credit cards and we paid him back in cash so he has extra cash to spend.
Note: all prices are in Yen.
Yen Exchange Rate Thread:- http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/japan-271/yen-exchange-rate-watch-2118409.html
Food
Small restaurants: 500 onwards for lunch, 800 onwards for dinner
Ramen joints: 290 for chuka soba 中華そば at 幸楽園, other ramen, 390 onward
Restaurants: 3000-28000
Bento from supermarket: 400-2000
Bento: 290 (Roppongi hills, beside tv asahi, there is a supermarket call FOOD MAGAZINE)
Bento from 7-11 7-11: 400-700
Yoshinoya: 300-400 (for cheapest meal)
Tokyo Banana: http://www.tokyobanana.jp/
Fast food: 600-800
Macdonald's meal: 600 on average
Mcpork: 100
Tenya: 500 http://www.tenya.co.jp/index.htm
Jap pasta restaurant (NOT sakae pasta): 1000-1500
Tabako: 300
Drinks from vending machine: 100-150
Live Karaba crab: 7800-15000
Live scallop: 1500
Kobe beef AA grade: 8000 (200g)
Potato Farm fries: 840
Royce: 660 (additional 100 for cooler bag)
Shiroi Kobito: 600-2000+
Shopping
Gundam: 30% off the listed price at Yodobashi camera
PSP: http://kakaku.com/game/game-console/se_3/
NDS: http://kakaku.com/game/game-console/se_6/
100 Yen store/ Daiso: 105
Burberry black label t-shirt: approx. 8000
Burberry blue label: ??
Agnes B bag: approx. 5000
Transport
Train: refer to http://www.hyperdia.com/cgi-english/hyperWeb.cgi, min 130 on Yamanote Line
Bus from Shinjuku to Lake Kawaguchi: 1700 (one way), 3200? (return)
Domestic flight from Hanade to New Chitose: 11000 (ANA), 9800 (Skymark), 7800 (??)
Bus in Yokohama (akai kutsu): 100 (single trip), 500 (unlimited bus + train)
Sendai Loople bus: 250 (single trip), 600 (1 day pass)
Daypass to various places: http://www.odakyu.jp/english/freepass/index.html
Kyoto city bus: 500 (1 day pass) http://www.city.kyoto.jp/koho/eng/access/transport.html
Tram (Hiroshima): 150
Tram (Kumamto): 150
Tram (Nagasaki): 120
Tateyama Alpine Route: 10560 (from Shinano-Omachi to Toyama)
Kamikochi: 4400 (round trip from Matsumoto)
Admission Tickets/ Entertainment
Onsen: 300-500
UFO Catcher (small): 100 (1 try), 500 (6 tries)
UFO Catcher (large): 200 (1 try), 500 (3 tries)
Tokyo
Disneyland/ Disneysea: 5800
Roppongi Hills Observatory: 1500
Tokyo Tower: 820 for main observatory floor and extra 600 to go up the other top special floor
Ghlibi Museum: 1000 (must buy tickets in advance)
Osaka
Universal Studio: 6100
Osaka Aquarium: 2000
Osaka Bay Cruise: 1600
Osaka Castle: 600
Umeda Sky Building: 700
Kyoto
Kiyomizudera: 300
Kinkakuji: 400
Nijo Castle: 600
Chubu
Matsumoto Castle: 600 (300 if you purchase the tickets from Toyoko-Inn)
Matsumoto City Museum or Art: 400
Matsumoto Timepiece Museum: 300
Nagoya Castle: 500
Chugoku
Hiroshima Castle: 360
Iwakuni Castle: 930 (include Kintaikyo, ropeway and castle admission)
Kyushu
Fukuoka Tower: 800 (640 using discount coupon)
Kumamoto Castle: 500
Suizenji Jojuen park: 400
Beppu Hells: 2000
Hokkaido
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