How much?

[WCR91]

Hello, everyone. I need a bit of help. I am interested in taking a vacation to Japan next summer. I am interested in visiting Kyoto, Tokyo, and Sapporo for now. About how much money will I need for myself and one of my parents?

Arigato for your help.


Cody

[Bueller_007]

Hello, everyone. I need a bit of help. I am interested in taking a vacation to Japan next summer. I am interested in visiting Kyoto, Tokyo, and Sapporo for now. About how much money will I need for myself and one of my parents?

Arigato for your help.


Cody

Budget $100/per day per person living on a somewhat tight budget.

And take twice as much, because stuff happens.

BTW, you're not getting to Sapporo during the summer without dropping some SERIOUS cash.

www.japan-guide.com

[WCR91]

So I found out!

I rescheduled just to Tokyo and Kyoto.

$100 a day? That's a pretty good bit. I need to get a job, quicklike.

x_X that's not counting flight and hotel.

[WCR91]

*DOUBLE POSTING*

Okay, everyone. Here's the way I figured it up.

$1,113.52 for round trip flight (into Narita) per person, plus tax.
$654.00 for six nights in the Yushima Plaza Hotel Tokyo, plus tax.
$382.44 for a a JR pass (14 consecutive days), plus tax.
$648.00 for six nights in the Holiday Inn Kyoto, plus tax.
$200.00 for souvenirs (I won't need much.)
$400.00 for food. (I'll be eating Mcdonalds.)
------------------------
$3397.52 [taxes and fees not included]
Or for two people--$4893.92.

Let's not forget extras, and the fact that a homeless person could probably not survive on this budget. Oh, well. There's always next year.

I'm really beginning to lose hope on this.
Any suggestions?

[Andore]

In Kyoto, stay at the Uno House. It's a really cheap mattress-on-a-floor hostel, but there's a great atmosphere, you're right across from a shrine, and you meet great people. It's about 1800 yen a night. Not ideal for a parent, unless they're cool with the bohemian lifestyle.

Slightly upscale from that is another hostel, at which I stayed with my mom and it was fine. From wikiTravel:

K's House Kyoto, 418 Nayacho, Shichijo-agaru, Dotemachi-dori, Shimogyo-ku, (9 min walk from JR Kyoto Station, 4 min. walk from Keihan Line Shichijo Station) 075-342-2444 (fax 075-342-2440, email ), [8]. Opened in November 2003, this foreigner-friendly hostel has received favorable reviews for reasonable prices, cleanliness and amenities like Internet access and kitchens. English-speaking staff. Dormitory room ¥2500, twin/double/triple room from ¥2900, single room from ¥3500 (prices per person).

I'd also recommend looking into the Tour Club and the Budget Inn. I'm staying there this September; I'll let you know how it is.

Don't pay that much for a ticket, for God's sake. Are you a student? Go to STA, Student Travel Associates. Even if you're not a student, if you're under 26, they give you the full discount. I'm sure they will give you a better deal than that. Shop around.

Also, do you really want the JR Pass? It doesn't work for the Nozomi, the super-express between Tokyo and Kyoto. I think it's only good if you're going to three spread-out places.

Finally, you can totally eat for less than that. Live off onigiri, the 125 yen rice snack, and eat dinner at a local ramen shop for about 800 yen for a bowl and a half plate of gyoza. There's an excellent ramen shop near Kyoto Station. Not sure what it's called now. I read about it in the Lonely Planet guide. Turn right on the street in front of Kyoto Station, walk a few blocks, and it's on the right down one of the side streets.

[ANDS!]

Couple of questions:

Is there any reason you DEAD SET on going in the Summer (Im actually curious as to where they are even giving flights for that time). The easiest way to cut costs on that price check is to fly out at a different time, when numerous festivals are not being held. The "off-season" is the time you want to look for, and just because renowned activities arent being held, doesnt mean theres nothing to do.

As for lodging, again - are you absolutely dead set on staying at a hotel? Why not look into some of the hostels. They are clean, have travelers from various countries, and are generally more accomodating than a hotel might be. Theres no garauntee that the host will speak English (they more than likely will), but as you will be staying with other folks they dont need to. You can have the option of sharing a room or having it private, and while the private may be more costly - it will 100% be cheaper than staying at a hotel. 1200 dollars for lodging over two weeks is just. . .

The JR pass isnt neccesarily pointless, considering you want to hit up multiple cities. Of course, I would suggest working something out with the travel agency you go through to possibly fly in to one location, and out the other.

You say you arent going to spend money on items - Im willing to bet you do. You will NEED spending cash. Period. Not just for food and what not, but not all exhibits and buildings are "free" to get into. For a two week travel period with parents, I would say you - depending on your age and interests - should look to bring minimum 1000 spending cash with you. For two weeks - that should suffice, and make it so that anything you WANT to do - you will be able to do.

So, in summation, change your date, and your lodgining preferences, and Japan is very doable.

[WCR91]

Yes. Dead set on going in the summer. I have no other choice, with school and all. Plus. I don't mind sleeping on the street, as long as I get to go to Japan. Whatever's cheap. Hell, I'll stay wherever's the cheapest.

The date, really, can't change.
It's the only time that I CAN go.

The lodging is of course versatile.
Wherever's fine.

And lastly. What kind of job will get me over $4000 in 11 months?
I'd appreciate your help.


PLEASE. SOMEONE AIM ME. SN = SapporoIchbn

[Marshdrifter]

And lastly. What kind of job will get me over $4000 in 11 months?
I'd appreciate your help.

Not to be totally flippant, but any job where you can pocket roughly $100/week will do.

[Bueller_007]

To do Japan right, you have to splurge a little, and you can't have any reservations about throwing your money into the toilet. (That said, you can take some consolation in knowing that it will be the nicest toilet you've ever thrown money into.)

If you worry about money even a little when you're in Japan, you won't have any fun. Face the fact that IT WILL BE EXPENSIVE. There's no two ways about it.

The ultimate cheapie option is staying in hostels, cooking your own food. (If you avoid Daiei and import stores, most Japanese supermarkets are pretty reasonably priced, so long as you don't buy fresh fruit.)

The hell with that. Eat out. *I* don't even cook my own food. And I live here. My refrigerator is still unplugged.

And hostels are usually pretty inconveniently located, or at least the ones I've stayed at were.

Spend the extra money and stay at a cheap minshuku or ryokan whereever possible. It's Japanese-style, so that's a plus, and it's probably not going to be much more expensive if the two of you are sharing a room.

I don't particularly care for Lonely Planet, but it has a decent list of cheap lodgings.

Food-wise, yes, you can eat pretty cheap if you want. Full-size western breakfasts are hard-to-find and expensive. Japanese breakfasts are nothing special (natto on rice, miso soup, tsukemono, maybe some fish, and tea), so you can skip that and just grab an onigiri and a juicebox from the convenience store for $2.

For lunch, you can do a ramen shop, and that'll cost you $5 or $6. There are lots of lunch specials around, so it's easy to pick up something relatively cheap.

If you're hurting for money, you can pick something up for $4 or $5 from the convenience store for dinner and just eat it in your hotel room. But I'd recommend setting aside a relatively large part of your budget for dinner. Plan on spending $15-$20 per person per night. There's so much good food to try that you'd really miss out if you didn't have your fill while you were here.

Transportation will cost you a bundle no matter what. But yeah, try to fly into Tokyo and out of Osaka. If you do that, you won't need the JR pass, unless you decide to go to Hiroshima. Tourist buses in Kyoto are relatively cheap. NEVER take a taxi.

You're going to blow a HUGE amount of money on just general "getting around" and admission to tourist attractions. A single days worth of temple hopping in Kyoto can cost you $20-something bucks each on admissions alone.

If you drink coffee, avoid it in Japan. It's expensive as hell, and usually pretty crap quality. Bring your own Nescafe packets from home.

[WCR91]

Ah, naruhodo.

I guess the best thing to do is to save up for an additional year. That way, I can be completely comfortable with all of it and not have to worry about how much money I spend. Plus, it'll give me an extra year to study Japanese!

On the bright side, I've got a long time to study and research.

Arigatou once again.

[WCR91]

Good news, everyone. My japanese friend says I can stay at his house this summer for two weeks, but he says I'll need about $3000. He lives in Hamamatsu.

Is this a right estimate?

[Bueller_007]

Good news, everyone. My japanese friend says I can stay at his house this summer for two weeks, but he says I'll need about $3000. He lives in Hamamatsu.

Is this a right estimate?

$3000 for one person, living outside the major cities, with your accomodation already paid for?

No chance. You wouldn't even spend that much if you had to pay for a hotel room.

You'll need *maximum* $1400, plus whatever you spend on the plane ticket. And $1400 is a very high estimate.

[Alan]

I reckon Bueller-san's $100 a day spending money estimate is about right if you go out every day, as there will be transport, food and entrance fee expenses. Entrance fees can really rack up if you visit a lot of temples. How much you get through also depends on how much you eat out.

Maybe your friend was estimating $3000 all-in, including air fare, train fare from the airport as well as day to day living expenses (but excluding accomodation, which I assume is free). That would be in the right ball-park, particularly if he lives a way from the airport. Obviously if you find a cheap flight & don't go out every day, then you wouldn't spend as much, but in my view it's best to over-estimate and then be pleasantly surprised when you don't spend that much.

Probably best to ask your friend (tactfully) what was included when arriving at the $3000 estimate

[WCR91]

$3000 for one person, living outside the major cities, with your accomodation already paid for?

No chance. You wouldn't even spend that much if you had to pay for a hotel room.

You'll need *maximum* $1400, plus whatever you spend on the plane ticket. And $1400 is a very high estimate.

Yes, Bueller, but that's not to say that we might VISIT somewhere big for a day or two.

A plane ticket's going to run me $1200-$1400, Plus the $1400 you suggested. That's $2800.

Once again, if I visit some other city, buying a train ticket would cost extra, as well. I think I just might need more than $3000.

[Bueller_007]

$3000 for one person, living outside the major cities, with your accomodation already paid for?

No chance. You wouldn't even spend that much if you had to pay for a hotel room.

You'll need *maximum* $1400, plus whatever you spend on the plane ticket. And $1400 is a very high estimate.

Yes, Bueller, but that's not to say that we might VISIT somewhere big for a day or two.

A plane ticket's going to run me $1200-$1400, Plus the $1400 you suggested. That's $2800.

Once again, if I visit some other city, buying a train ticket would cost extra, as well. I think I just might need more than $3000.

Believe me, $100/day with the majority of your accomodation already paid for is extremely generous. Train tickets are not that expensive. And you can get a JR pass to save money.

I got my plane ticket open-jaw and round-trip from Osaka to Nova Scotia back from Edmonton to Osaka for $650 US.

Shop around.