For a long time, travelling to Asia was expensive, something impossible for many or something that required savings and time. I'm not saying that it's cheap these days, but judging by the tremendous number of tourists from all over the world, including Spain, that you see on the streets of Tokyo... well, something must be happening.
And for some time now, the yen has fallen in value against the dollar and the euro, and so one can think twice less about whether or not to travel to Japan. Today, How much does a trip to Japan cost?
Travel to Japan
Traveling to Japan is not for everyone. Nowadays, I get the feeling that everyone travels, out of curiosity more than anything, to be cool, to not miss a destination that has historically been a bit difficult.
And so, you walk around Tokyo and see people of all colors, heights and nationalities. 24 years ago I set foot in Japan for the first time and for a month I didn't hear anyone speaking Spanish. In July 2024, when I was last there, Spanish seemed to be the second or third language, even for some vendors.
Do I like it? No. I am quite jealous of my favourite destination, but to be honest, the value of the yen is also very convenient for me and that is why I go there often. And then we get to the question of costs. Let's talk numbers: How much does it cost to travel to Japan?
At first The final number will depend on how you want your trip to be: low cost, comfortable or first class. The first two have quite possible numbers, the last one, first class, is still only for the chosen ones.
Let's talk about a number we can't avoid: the price of the plane ticket. We can play with the dates, sometimes we can sign up for offer alerts and make stopovers to lower the price, but ultimately we have to pay for it. So, thinking about travelling from Spain, there are many companies that fly this route: Iberia, KLM, AirFrance, British…
By KLM, for example, you have flights that leave Madrid at 11 am, make a brief stop in Amsterdam, and continue on to Tokyo, making the trip in almost 17 hours. Just to give an example: a flight from Madrid to Amsterdam takes XNUMX hours. ITA Airways in economy class, with a very brief stopover in Rome, arriving at Haneda Airport, and a return flight with Iberia on a direct flight costs 1900 euros, including carry-on luggage and checked luggage that is folded on the return flight (better, with purchases we have more space).
So basically a flight From Spain to Madrid it is around 1900 euros, but depending on the dates and taking advantage of some offer there will surely be cheaper ones.
Another topic that cannot be avoided is the accommodation. We have to sleep somewhere. Here we also have low-cost, medium-cost and expensive options. I have been to all of them, depending on the money I had on the trip.
At 24 I went to youth hostels, a hostels. At that time there were not many of us adventurers in Japanese lands so they were empty, but they are today great options, for its price and to make friends or traveling companions.
Hostels in Tokyo are the most expensive, followed by those in Kyoto., of course, but as you go further into other destinations the prices go down. A well-known chain is the Sakura House with offices in Asakusa, Ikebukuro, Nippori, Jimboho and Hatagaya, that is, in both tourist and quieter and residential locations.
Prices here start at $18, but they depend a lot on the day of the week and the season. In general Prices drop in February and August, and the best deals are on Mondays and Sundays.
With respect to Hotels, There is a range of possibilities. The Appa chain It is popular and cheap. The rooms are narrow and small but its branches are everywhere. For example, at Apa Shibuya, 500 meters from the station, you have 14.100 yen for a non-smoking single roomYou can hire the breakfast service and they are great.
Then you have many other hotels, well located, but you have to know something about Hotels in Japan: Rooms tend to be small, sometimes the windows can't be opened and it can be a bit claustrophobic. Even more so the budget hotels. I only recommend them for one or two nights. Do you like capsule hotels? 4o to 0 euros per night.
Of course there are other hotels with larger rooms. I have stayed in hotels in Sendai, for example, which were cheap and super comfortable. The same goes for Hida Takayama, but in cities like Tokyo or Kyoto the cheapest hotels tend to be small by our standards.
If you travel inland my advice is that, if you have money, try a couple of nights in some ryokan. A night for two people is around 250 euros but it is worth it. The ryokans are The best Japanese accommodation experience that you will experience: from the clothes you wear inside the hotel, its breakfasts and dinners, the thermal baths, the quality and detail of the service. Unforgettable.
In the middle are the Airbnb apartmentsThere is everything here, but as with hotels keep in mind that Japanese apartments tend to be tiny., and your suitcases and things will be in your way all day, at least in the cheaper ones. A few years ago the offer was better and more numerous, but for the Olympic Games the regulations were changed to benefit the hotels and many good apartments were removed from the catalogue.
We talked about the plane, the accommodation and now it's the turn of the Services. For a first-time traveler, of course, if you are going to stay for a long time The Japan Rail Pass is still an option, but not the only one nor the cheapest,
A couple of years ago JRP prices increased by 70%, and now we are forced to do the math, see where we want to go and if we have other options. For me It is still convenient if you are going to use the shinkansen, the bullet train. A trip to Kyoto costs over $100 one way, so if you want to get around quickly…
Of course you can take Bus and cheapen. The night buses They are very good and nowadays you can buy them in advance from their website. This year we almost travelled back to Tokyo from Sendai on one, but in the end we decided to pay for the shinkansen and go faster. Six or seven hours… we slept badly…
Today, a night bus from Tokyo to Kyoto for January, it costs 7.900 yen on Wednesdays and 6900 yen on Thursdays. Mondays and Tuesdays are cheaper. They leave from Tokyo Station bus station at 9:40 pm and arrive around 5:30 or 6 am the next day.
Finally, food. You have to travel, stay and eat, right? Here there are also many options. In the most touristic areas A bowl of ramen costs around 10 dollars., but if you move a little to less visible places or to the interior of Japan you can have a lunch set with ramen and gyosas for 5 dollars.
You may have heard about the conbini, Lawson's or 7Eleven stores. They are cheap, especially after 6 pm, but even cheaper and more varied are the supermarkets (which also lower the prices of their food prepared at that time).
The question was How much does it cost to travel to Japan? The answer is that with A budget of 4 or 5 thousand dollars will allow you to travel for 15 to 20 days. between low cost and moderate. 1900 euros for the flight, 50 euros per day for accommodation plus another 50 for food (you will have leftovers if you choose what to eat), plus a JRP of just under 500 euros. Including money for shopping.