How expensive is it to visit Tokyo these days? I understand PPP indices and know all the tales of $200 melons and beef protectionism. But how much does the place actually cost? When I visited in 1992 I stayed in a small but comfortable business hotel, traveled by public transportation, ate sushi, and had a relatively cheap trip. Is that old mental picture of mine now a delusion? Should I instead focus my travel attention on the worst currency manipulators?
Dunno, my friend went to Osaka for a week last month, spent about AUD$1000 (inclusive of airfare).
Its not as expensive as it is made out to be. You can stay at the Tokyo dome hotel, which is fairly high class, for around 13,000 yen per night. Regular business class hotel (salaryman hotels) like the Route Inn are around 7,000 yen per night.
If you eat your meals at the sobaya and kaiten-zushi shops, you will pay around 1,000 to 1,500 yen per meal.
The real cost is domestic flight and shinkansen. For example, the flight from Tokyo to Nagasaki will cost around 50,000 yen, return. This is quite expensive compared to Southwest in the U.S. The shinkansen from Tokyo to Osaka is around 15,000 yen, one-way.
So, travel in Japan is generally not any more expensive than the U.S. Korea is about the same. The rest of Asia is quite cheap.
I made 3 three-week trips to Asia (mostly China and Taiwan) and spent around $3,000, including the flight cost.
I think my recent trip to Japan ended up costing about US$200 per day, after airfare. That includes nice meals, transport, and some consumer goods.
Your previous experiences were not a delusion. Prices haven’t changed significantly since I lived in Tokyo back in 1997. In fact, some things are actually cheaper than they were 10 years ago.
I’m going this week, and will be spending $200/nt. for hotel (I could go cheaper, but my wife likes the location and amenities of the one where we usually stay). Breakfasts will be under $5/day. Lunches will be under $20. Dinners will vary, but it’s possible to eat extravagantly for less than US $50 per person. Take the train from the airport (the Keisei Skyliner is less expensive than the JR Narita Express and is the better choice if you’re traveling light). Subways are reasonably inexpensive, and a daily subway pass can sometimes save you a few dollars and let you hop on and off at will.
And if you’re in the Ginza area and want to bring back some sake, I recommend the Fukumitsuya Ginza 5-5-8 1F), the retail outlet for a Kanazawa sake brewer which sells tasty, attractively packaged sakes priced surprisingly low (many < US$20 per bottle).
Have fun in Tokyo!
While I personally haven’t noticed a any substantial change in cost in almost 20 years of visiting, I understand that economic growth is finally showing sustained traction after innumerable false starts. I expect that means prices will start rising. The prices I’ve seen quoted here strike me as pretty accurate. Like visiting anywhere, a lot depends on the traveler – eat in the hotel or fancy places and you pay a fortune. Eat like a local and save. No matter what, Tokyo is still cheaper than London.
I’m in Tokyo as I type this.
A Big Mac value meal at McDonald’s is 580 yen. A can of Coke from a vending machine is 120 yen. You can get a motel type room at Super Hotel (Japanese equivalent of a Super
for 5,800 yen.
Most of the Europeans I’ve met think its cheap.
Everything-Everywhere.com
shall be there on the 29th. from bookings/arranging transport it’s like way cheaper than most of Europe.
;/
If you’re going to go from Tokyo to Kyoto, I’d suggest sticking to the Shinkansen. The trip was expensive ($130 each way if I recall) but took only two hours and was extremely comfortable. The overnight bus that a lot of cheap backpackers took lasted eight hours and cost $90 each way, so there really are no cheap domestic travel options.
I last lived in Tokyo in 1995-1996 and thought it was horrendously expensive – I came back to live here again last year and found that prices had not really changed at all. Basically, if you decide to be cost-conscious you can have a very comfortable trip and not spend too much. Izakayas are often inexpensive dinner options, and pretty much anywhere is cheap for lunch – I eat around my office and have a hard time spending more than about $10 for an excellent course lunch in a decent restaurant. But it you want to, you can spend a shocking amount of money pretty easily. The nicer hotels, which are amazing, will run you $400-700 per night, and if you want to go to a swanky dinner and some nice bars in Ginza you can easily be out $500 in one night.
If the matter is this, I felt things became far cheaper than in those days of the Bubble Period. In those days, surely TV comedians smashed $200 melons in the small screens.
Certainly, if you want to have a Japanese gallon of milk like in the US, it would cost a fortune. But if you stick to what ordinary Japanese eat, at least there is no place for flashy tofu in the supermarkets like there was during the Bubble.
(If you must have fashionable tofu, go to the basement floors of department stores in Metropolitan Tokyo area. You can choose whatever brand of gourmet tofu you want. Of course, we do not have such items daily. In contrast, during the Bubble, even in the local supermarket, such-lookalikes could be found. Those were the days.)
Or, the garments. You may think Muji or Uni-cro is the Gap-equivalent in Japan. Wrong. In terms of pre-discount price, I found their range is closer to Target, or priciest items in Wal-Mart at least for my pay check. That’s not a bad deal.
I rather worry about the discussion started these days in Japanese media. As long as I know, there is no definitive evidence Japan finally has left behind completely the deflationary-tendency. But the news-anchors (say, in NHK, the Japanese version of BBC) often report “The horrible inflation is coming due to the higher global demand in China and India.† That’s stealth xenophobia, I guess.
Tyler,
I have lived in Tokyo since 2001 and prior to that from 1995-1997. Given the fact that we have had little inflation, the influx of cheap goods, deregulation, and the repeal of laws that limited retail space development, prices are not high compared to the US. My wife and I live in a two bedroom condo in central Tokyo overlooking a major park and pay 150,000 Yen a month, like $1350 at the present exchange rate. There are wonderful places to eat lunch that cost $8.50 to $20 inclusive. Dinner out can be expensive, but either the same or less than I would pay in Chicago, LA, SF, Boston, or NYC. Taxis are expensive, but the trains and buses are not. If you look at the Big Mac Index, you will see that the price is lower in Japan than the US. Of course, if you do want to buy $100 melons, you can do that, but it is not required. At the cheap end, Japan provides better value for food and accommodations and at the high end, better quality.
Tyler,
I am sure you are astute enough to figure this out on your own, but when someone from Europe or Australia says the price is about the same as back home, or a bit cheaper, what they are pointing out to you is that it will be expensive in US dollars.
As others have pointed out, and you no doubt also know as well, buyer beware with PPP. If you try to live like an American you will go home poor. But I am sure you of all people will want to go native and this will give you a reasonable approximation of PPP.
I have just returned from Tokyo and it was no dearer than Australia or the US at all. Subway to almost any station in Tokyo was 190 yen around $2, meals were as expensive as you chose to make them eg we spent $10 at lunch but could have spent less or more like any other city.
We stayed in a very nice hotel right in Ginza so paid extra for that privilege but could have stayed at much cheaper places if we chose to.
So in the end Tokyo/Osaka we the same as home and in some instances – cheaper.
To Floccina: I am 6’6″ and live in Japan, so I can respond to your question. Generally, it’s not too bad. Furniture and apartments are smaller, but that’s not an issue if you’re just travelling. The only place that I have issues with it is that some restaurants, especially smaller, more traditional establishments, have small chairs and low tables that you’ll have trouble getting your legs under. (Most modern or Western-style places have standard tables that don’t cause any problems.) The other problem is very traditional places where you have to sit on the ground – this is a challenge for everyone, but taller peoples’ knees tend to suffer a bit more. Airline and long distance train seats are the same as anywhere else in the world.
You also won’t be able to shop for clothes but, despite the amazing number and quality of shops, there’s better things to do in Tokyo anyway.
One advantage to being your size in Japan: you’ll travel more comfortably during rush hour – while everyone else has their faced pressed into someone else’s back or head, you’ll be able look around and breathe freely.
Tokyo, and Japan in general, is not expensive for a tourist. The hostels are a million times better than the ones in the US, and tend to be relatively quiet. I went with a Japanese professor who had led these trips for 15 years for three weeks over the summer. He knew which hostels were the nice ones, such as the one in the Osaka Olympic stadium. That one in particular was about half full of business men, and served breakfast in the mornings.
If you want to travel around, the Japan Rail Pass is a steal for visitors. I’d highly suggest looking into it.
This of course is the “easy living” way to go. Im sure its easy to visit and spend a small fortune, as it is anywhere.
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