How much does 2 weeks in Japan cost? A budget breakdown
Travel planning can present all sorts of challenges, from budgeting to itineraries. If you’re planning a two-week holiday in Japan for the first time, knowing how much it will cost can feel like a minefield. This guide provides a transparent breakdown as well as advice on how to save to make the most of your budget.
I had avoided travelling to Japan for years because I assumed it was simply out of my budget. Everyone I knew that had visited had always remarked that it wasn’t a cheap destination and that made me put it off until later.
That was until we decided to plan a trip for my partner's 30th birthday. We decided it was a big enough occasion to splurge a little, but when it came to planning a budget for our Japan trip, we didn’t know where to start.
Having now visited a few times and planning an upcoming month-long trip around the land of the rising sun, I know a thing or two about what to expect when it comes to the cost of a 2-week trip to Japan.
It’s one of the most-asked questions I get from anyone I speak to about travel in Japan. ‘But isn’t it expensive there?’ comes up in almost every conversation. Before we dive into the details, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to know Japan wasn’t as expensive as I once thought.
Unlike destinations like Norway and Finland where there isn’t a huge range of flexibility in costs aka expensive or more expensive, other than flights, you are given a big range to play with when it comes to planning a trip to fit your budget.
Flights to Japan
Our flights to Japan cost £1067 per person.
Flights will be one of the largest costs for your trip to Japan other than accommodation. Prices will vary depending on your point of origin, time of year you’re travelling, and the route you take. The price above is for flights in 2023 based on economy class tickets with British Airways direct from London Heathrow to Tokyo Haneda.
On previous trips, we’ve secured flights for as low as £489 per person. There are a few factors influencing the rise in flight prices including increased fuel levies globally, rising costs due to inflation, and many airlines looking to recoup lost income throughout the pandemic. This doesn’t mean you can’t find a good deal though.
Here are a few tips for finding the best prices available on flights to Japan:
Use Skyscanner to compare | I always start any search for flights with Skyscanner. This means I can compare airlines, routes, and dates to find the best deals. It’s worth noting that while I use Skyscanner for my initial search, I always book directly through the airline. This makes it easier if there’s any need to change your flights, or if there are changes implemented by the airline, as you’ll deal with them directly and not through a third-party.
Set up route alerts | You can set up route alerts for your preferred dates and destinations with Skyscanner and Google flights to receive notifications on pricing. This will help you identify if the flight prices are trending up or down, and you’ll be able to keep on top of sales throughout the year if they are applicable to your prerequisites.
Consider a layover | Direct flights are almost always more expensive. If you can afford the time of a layover, it may be worth considering it if the price is more favourable. Our first flight to Tokyo from London was several hundred pounds cheaper as we booked via Etihad with a short layover in Abu Dhabi. It meant it took us longer to reach Japan, but the savings meant we could make the trip work without our budget.
Accommodation in Japan
There’s nothing I love more than a destination that offers a wide range of accommodation for varying budgets. It makes the destination more accessible to more people and means there is a lot more room for flexibility regardless of what you can spend.
For our November 2022 trip, we stayed in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima. I’ve broken down the costs by each destination below, all of which are for 3 or 4 star hotels except for Kyoto. More on that below.
Tokyo - 3 nights - £242.61 (41,522 yen)
Kyoto - 4 nights - £1326.66 (227,052 yen)*
Hiroshima - 3 nights - £231.08 ( 39,548 yen)
Osaka - 3 nights - £177.50 (30,378 yen)
Tokyo - 2 nights - £92.45 (15,822 yen)
15 nights total £2070.30 / £1035.15 per person
These prices are based on the exchange rate the at time of our stay which was approximately 1 GBP = 166 yen
*This was more than we would usually spend on accommodation as it was for a special occasion and we had waited three years to return. We stayed at the beautiful Small Luxury Hotel’s ‘Luxury Hotel SOWAKA’ which was right in the heart of higashiyama in a traditional machiya townhouse. We could have easily found accommodation for half the price or less if travelling in our normal style which is highly rated 3-4 star hotels with good transport connections.
Tips for accommodation in Japan
Don’t skimp out | I have a few rules I live by when booking accommodation. There must be clean facilities, a rating of 8 or higher, and well located based on my itinerary. All of these things make for a more enjoyable stay. So don’t skimp out on accommodation, as this is essentially your home for your trip. You’ll do a lot of walking and sightseeing in Japan, so you’ll want to make sure it’s somewhere clean, comfortable and relaxing for when you return each evening.
Pin your points of interest, then book | I pin all the locations and activities we want to visit while we’re in a destination in Google maps. From there, I plan out which area I want to stay in based on transport links and proximity to the key locations I have pinned. It means we can spend less time commuting all over the place to visit everywhere on our list and make the trip as efficient as possible.
Save with capsule hotels | If you’re a solo traveller, a couple, or group looking for an unusual and low-cost accommodation option, then why not try a capsule hotel? These range from funky ultra-modern designs to interiors filled wall-to-wall with books in a library-style setting. These are usually affordable but give you more privacy than a dorm if you aren’t fond of sharing a room.
Transport costs in Japan
We spent £334.45 per person across the two weeks.
14-day JR Rail Pass - £282 per person
Suica/Pasmo card - 500 yen per person
Metro/buses - 9000 yen per person (suica/pasmo top ups)
If you’re visiting Japan for two weeks, you’ll likely be heading beyond the reaches of the Tokyo metropolitan area. Most travellers also want to experience the bullet trains (shinkansen) that Japan is famous for. Depending on your itinerary, most two week trips will only require a 7-day pass which brings your JR pass costs down to around £183 per person.
Our itinerary was mostly focused outside of Tokyo and we made a few days trips to Miyajima and Nara using our JR Pass outside of the main long journeys between our base destinations - we saved over £60 per person by using the rail pass. It is worth noting that an announcement was recently made that JR Pass prices will be increasing from October 2023 - so definitely check to see if you will still get value for money by using the pass before you purchase.
Get a commuter card for metro transit | For travel inside the larger cities, such as Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, a Suica, Pasmo or IC card are the best way to go. These top-up cards work similarly to London’s Oyster card where you can top up and use the card to tap in and out of each station on your journey. We also used our Suica card for some bus journeys in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Hiroshima too.
Food and drinks
A lot of people head to Japan for the food, from ramen and katsu-don to okonomiyaki and yakitori, you’ll be spoiled for choice. And, the great news is that you can eat well for any budget in Japan.
We spent approximately £346 per person. This was a mix of convenience store snacks and light meals, bento lunches on the shinkansen, budget-friendly dining, and a few mid-tier yakiniku and yakitori experiences.
One of my favourite things that I learned on our first trip to Japan was that you can find really good food for just about any budget. Forget what you think about convenience store food, Japan convenience stores (konbinis) rule when it comes to quality meals on a budget.
On our trip to Japan in November 2022, we both celebrated our birthdays. This meant there were a few nicer dinners and some evenings at cocktail bars to celebrate, overall this increased our spend but not by a huge amount. We also more than made up for it on days where we managed to score dinners for less than £10 per person at family-run restaurants in the back streets or chains such as Ichiran for ramen, CoCo Curry, or beef bowl eateries.
You can get quality without a huge price tag | There are so many options for good food in Japan that you will be spoiled for choice. We didn’t have a bad dish and most of the time we spent less than £25 per person per day. We use tripadvisor and Google maps to look up highly rated restaurants in the area we’re in or sometimes just wing it based on whether it is popular with locals.
Save by avoiding the tourist trails | Hotspots like Omoide Yokocho are a great way to experience izakaya dining, but the costs reflect the popularity too. Instead, opt for alternatives like Ebisu Yokocho for a great meal without a hefty price tag.
Don’t underestimate convenience store meals | Japan is known for its incredible konbini cuisine - forget your Tesco Meal Deal, because this is the real deal. From quick bites like Katsu sandos and onigiri (rice balls with filling) to rice bowls and hot snacks, we have picked up something to eat from FamilyMart, 7/11, or Lawson plenty of times. They also have a huge range of hot and cold drinks for your morning tea/coffee and the bakery sections are some of the best I’ve seen from a convenience store.
Cost of activities and attractions in Japan
We spent approximately £140 per person on entertainment. This was mostly spent on ticketed attractions such as TeamLabs, a few museums, and vantage points like Shibuya Sky. We also enjoy arcades, claw machines, and gashapons so a decent amount of money was spent there too.
A lot of shrines and temples have free entry or a nominal fee from 200-500 yen. For special viewings such as autumn at Eikan-do the price increases - that cost us 1,000 yen and was worth every bit.
TeamLabs Planets - 3,200 yen per person
Shibuya Sky - 2,200 yen (online) per person (2,500 yen if bought at the ticket counter)
Tokyo Art Aquarium - 2,300 yen per person
Somekobo Yumeyusai art gallery - 2,000 yen per person
Arashiyama Monkey Park - 550 yen per person
Kyoto International Manga Museum - 900 yen per person
Peace memorial museum - 200 yen per person
Orizuru Tower - 2,200 yen per person
Arcades - approx 7000 yen per person
Various temples, shrines, and gardens - 3,400 yen per person
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Souvenirs
In total, I spent £146.78 on souvenirs. The most expensive items were handmade ceramics in Kyoto, Miyajima, and Nara, followed by a limited edition bottle of Umeshu from Choya. Everything else was small items, Japanese beauty essentials - the sunscreens are amazing - and small keepsakes and snacks.
I am a fiend for souvenirs. Apart from our obligatory magnet that is more ritualistic than practical since our fridge door isn’t magnetic, I enjoy buying handcrafted goods, local produce, and in Japan I can’t go past some character merchandise too - I am a huge Gudetama fan!
Otis tends to spend a lot more on souvenirs in Japan as he loves collecting retro video games and consoles, as well as vinyls.
Extra miscellaneous costs in Japan
We spent around £70 on miscellaneous costs. This was 10,000 yen for a 16-day data sim and around 2,000 yen for ATM fees, which are standard across Japan. We would limit how many of those we incurred by taking money out in batches as it’s capped so the fee is the same whether you withdraw 10,000 yen or 50,000 yen usually.
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How much money do I need for two weeks in Japan?
Our total spend for a 15-night/16-day stay in Japan was £3,193.38 per person.
I’d class our trip as mid-tier to ‘affordable luxury’ in terms of comfort and if we hadn't treated ourselves to a luxury 4-night stay in Kyoto, we could have easily saved around £350+ per person.
I would suggest for an average mid-tier two-week trip to Japan, you would need around £2,500 for the whole trip. This of course would depend on your preferred comfort level, whether you are willing to take a flight with a stopover instead of a direct flight, and how much you want to spend on activities, shopping, and eating out.
On our first one-week trip to Japan, we spent a lot less as we opted for flights with a stopover and cheaper hotels. You can easily drop a few hundred pounds off our two-week budget by opting for cheaper meals and fewer drinks out as well, or if you don’t need a rail pass based on where you’ll be visiting.
At no point did we set a budget for spending once we were in Japan, as we had waited three years to return and wanted to enjoy every moment. At the time of writing, the pound is still standing strong against the Japanese yen (approx 170 yen to £1 as of May 2023) which certainly helps your money go further too.
The most expensive part of our trip that we had the least control over was the cost of flights. These have increased a lot since our first visit in 2019 and I don’t expect these will drop in the near future - but do shop around, compare prices, routes, and dates to find the best deal you can.
Is Japan expensive?
If, like me, you’ve heard that Japan is super expensive, rest assured it’s not as bad as it may initially seem. The biggest influence will be your flights, followed by accommodation. There are certainly ways to keep costs lower once you’re on the ground and daily spending is significantly cheaper than in cities like London, Paris, or Sydney.
While you won’t consider Japan a low-cost destination like Poland, Thailand, or Cambodia, it certainly doesn’t have to be as expensive as it might initially seem.
We’ll be returning to Japan later in 2023 for a month and I’ll share a budget breakdown for that trip once we’ve returned to help if you’re planning a longer visit. Remember, you only have to pay for your flights once, so the cost won’t automatically double for every additional week you stay.
Continue planning your Japan itinerary with these handy destination guides and planning tips.
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