Is there really no other way to save money while travelling in Japan?

Question

maybe planning a trip to tokyo, osaka, nara, kyoto and hiroshima. generally. probably for around 3 weeks. main visiting area would be tokyo...seems gonna be very very expensive!!!!!!

Answer 1

eat at Yoshinoya, McDonald's, kaiten sushi (conveyor belt sushi). Buy food at 99 Yen stores. You can actually get fresh food like fruit and vegetables there.

get a Rail Pass or take overnight buses which are cheaper than the trains and you save on accommodations.

buy return tickets.

some places offer tickets where you can visit a number of temples and such at a discount - Nikko for example.

Stay at internet cafes. They have overnight packages from 1000 to 2000 Yen. Some of them have reclining seats or booths that you can lie down in plus shower facilities.

Buy day passes for the transportation. Both Tokyo and Kyoto you can buy passes that let you ride all day at a discount.

Answer 2

Well, Japan is an expensive country to live in, but your trip to the cities you mentioned is going to be really expensive regardless.

The best thing for travel is a Japan Railways Pass. They come in three varieties - 7, 15, and 21 day passes. They are expensive, but you essentially have free access to all the cross-country train networks (I've taken rides on the shikanzen just for the hell of it). Try to get one that will cover the most days of your trip.

For places to stay you should check out the capsule hotels just for their unique experience. Youth hostels are ultra cheap (cheaper than some equivalents in the US) and some even offer some ammenities such as a community kitchen and place to wash clothes.

Eating, you can eat for pretty cheap and still keep some class. Ootoya is a nice sit down restaurant for the evenings. Yoshinoya and Freshness Burger (no joke, that's the name of a very reputable burger chain in Japan) are good for lunch. Breakfast, you can get away with whatever comes to mind.

Answer 3

You can get food pretty cheaply, even in Tokyo, if you look around for inexpensive restaurants (they're everywhere, though there are a lot of expensive ones too) or eat at convenience stores.

For traveling, you may be able to save money by getting a Japan Rail Pass before you go, but if you're going to be staying in Tokyo most of the time, it's probably cheaper to not get one and then take a bus or a local train instead of the shinkansen when traveling between cities.

As for lodging, if you are concerned with price over quality, I'd recommend looking for youth hostels. They may not be as nice as hotels, but I know there are at least some hostels in Tokyo where you can get a private room for around 3000 yen a night, which isn't too bad, and it's even cheaper than that if you want to stay in a large room with a bunch of strangers.

Answer 4

You have to think Japanese, and if your doing a multi-city trip, take in to consideration using non-express trains, local trains, when staying in hotels, there are alot of moderately priced hotels, and with food be more ofa local, there small places that sell very reasonable and tasty meals.

I made a trip there for 2 weeks when in the Hotel business, stayed at small inns, and had my meals in the small local restaurants, do not be tempted to eating at the American style or fast food places, KFC, McDonalds and Pizza Hut are very expensive and can be a big chunk out of your budget.

You do not have to eat weird or foods you do not normally consume, and travel is much more relaxing when you take your time and see the country and the beauty that is Japan.

Answer 5

Well, if you're going to visit so many places, i can tell you that it's gonna be very expensive as transportation is damn expensive in Japan.
However, if you're concentrating on one area like tokyo, i can tell you how to save money.

First, in tokyo, cheap food are readily available. At places like Yoshinoya, Matsuya and Tenya, food are sold at cheap prices and they are very delicious. For example, at Yoshinoya, a bowl of beef rice, with soup and a cup of green tea only costs 290yen, which is abt US$2.40. Not to mention, it's sooo delicious. Even kaiten sushi is cheaper in Tokyo, and the quality is soo much better.

Second, know where to shop. Never shop at shopping centres as they cost a bomb, unless they have sales, but window-shopping is fine.
Also, shops like Muji, ABC-mart, Uniqlo sell clothes of good quality at cheaper prices, so you can get your shopping done at these shops.
Additionally, shop at Daiso-the 100yen shop.
Everything at Daiso is only a 100yen. So you can shop till you drop and don't have to worry about money. (100yen is abt US$0.85).

Third, transportation is expensive over in Japan, a shinkansen ride will cost you at least US$50. But quick enough to send you to osaka, and kyoto etc. So consider, you wanna stay in one area and learn more about that area, or do you wanna hop all over the country and learn bits and pieces?
If you're staying in Tokyo only, you just need to take the JR Yamanote line which will bring you to places like Shinjuku, Shibuya, Harajuku etc whereby you can visit all the attractions located over there.

Fourth, most tourist attractions are free of charge, like the shrines, temples, gardens, imperial palace etc. Unless you wanna go to those theme parks, then you'll burn a hole in your pockets. Otherwise, attractions in Tokyo are mostly free admission. Thus, you don't have to spend a lot on attractions.

Lastly, accomodations like hostels and ryokans are cheaper than hotels, so you can consider staying in these places while travelling in Japan. However, if you're lucky like me, you might be able to find some good travel bargains in your own area. For instance, i paid US$912 for airfare with JAL and hotel accomodations at Ikebukuro for 8 days and 7 nights.

So look around for bargains, research further about the places you wanna visit in Japan. It doesn't necessarily mean that you'll spend a lot over there.

For further details, check out the website below:

Answer 6

I stayed at youth hostels in Hiroshima and Beppu (Kyushuu). They were clean, cheap, and the caretakers were very helpful.

Here's a link to the Beppu Youth Hostel: http://hihostels.com/dba/hostel32035.en.htm?shop=32035

Here's a link to the hostels in Hiroshima.
http://hihostels.com/dba/list.php?lang=E

You can also try staying in capsule hotels (like this one: http://www.yesicanusechopsticks.com/capsule/).

Have fun and good luck!

Answer 7

One more to add to all o fthe great advice, try staying in capsule hotels. Look for coin operated laundry to wash your clothes.

Answer 8

you said it right...no other way to save money because tokyo is a very very expensive city.