What a trip to Japan costs
Japan has a reputation for being extremely expensive, and it isn't quite. Flights and Tokyo accommodation are the costly parts; food and transport are a pleasant surprise.
Flights
A return from Spain runs 700 to 1,100 euros depending on season and how far ahead you book. The priciest dates are cherry blossom (late March and early April) and autumn. Booking four or five months out drops the price noticeably.
Accommodation
This is the big expense. A decent double in Tokyo or Kyoto is around 80–130 euros a night. Capsule hotels and business hotels drop to 40–70 and are perfectly clean and well located. Outside the big cities everything is cheaper.
Food: the surprise
This is where Japan breaks its reputation. A bowl of ramen costs 6 to 9 euros, a lunch set 7 to 12, and convenience store food is surprisingly good for 3 or 4. Eating well every day, you can sit at 25–35 euros daily.
Transport and the JR Pass
The JR Pass has risen sharply in price and no longer always pays off. Rough rule: it's only worth it if you'll make several long bullet train journeys. If your trip is Tokyo–Kyoto–Osaka and little else, individual tickets come out cheaper. Do the maths with your actual itinerary before buying.
The final sum
Excluding flights, a full day runs 90 to 140 euros per person with comfortable accommodation, or 60 to 90 in budget mode with business hotels and eating local. Two weeks: 900 to 2,000 euros plus flights.
How to bring it down
Sleep in business hotels rather than Western-style ones. Eat the lunch set menus, when the same restaurants are half price. And avoid cherry blossom season and Golden Week, when everything rises.
Best time to go
April and May, or October and November, have the best weather. January and February are the cheapest months and the cold is perfectly manageable in the cities.
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