Below is the basic budget I used during my recent 8 days 7 nights (13th – 20th February 2015) trip to Japan including transportation, accommodation, activities and daily meal. Based on the table below you can adjust accordingly if you would like to go shopping, add activities, or visit other tourist attractions that require entrance fees.
I have divided the budget into 2 categories which are before trip and during the trip itself.
Before Trip
Expenses that you could spend in advance to make sure your trip are well planned.
| Expenses before go to Japan (RM) | ||
| Expenses per person | ||
| Return flight tickets Kl- Haneda (Air Asia Promo Fare) | 408 | |
| Check in lugage (15kg per way x 2) | 64.5 | |
| Meal on Flights (RM15 x 2) | 30 | |
| Tokyo hotel (3 nights, 3 stars hotel, twin sharing) Sotetsu Fresa Inn Nihombashi – Kayabacho |
354.3 | |
| Yamagata Hotel (1 nights, 3 stars hotel, twin sharing) Richmond Hotel |
107.2 | |
| Kyoto Hotel (3 nights, 3 stars hotel, twin sharing) Green Rich Hotel Kyoto |
301.62 | |
| JR Pass (7 days) | 902 | |
| Visa (for Indonesia normal passport holder) | 95 | |
| Total | 2262.62 | |
I always prefer to pay full for flights and hotels in advance so that I could spread the spending over few months. For example I purchased the flight ticket on November 2014 and then pay for hotel booking on December 2014. On January 2015 I spend money on Purchasing the JR pass and Pay for visa. This way, I have my whole money on February for the trip itself and I am not broke after I come back.
CLICK HERE for 10% discount voucher for booking accommodation at Expedia
CLICK HERE to see how to apply for Japan visa
CLICK HERE to see how to purchase your JR Pass in Malaysia
From the above table, If you couldn’t get promotion fare or if you prefer to flight with non-low cost airlines, on average the return flight tickets Kl- Tokyo is around RM1500. If you are from country that could enter Japan visa free then you may take out the Visa fee from the table to adjust your budget accordingly.
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During Trip
Expenses in Japan (YEN) Expenses per person Haneda Airport – Hotel Via Metro 740 City – Airport Via Metro 420 1 Day Ski trip: 1. Yamagata – Zao ski resort bus return ticket 2000 2. ski+clothing rental ( 1 Day) 6000 3. Zao resort pass (1 Day ) 5000 Osaka trip: 1. Osaka Castle entrance fee 600 2. Osaka Metro 180 Kyoto trip: 1. One day bus pass (500/day x 2days) 1000 2. Single trip bus ticket 230 3. Temple entrance fee 600 Tokyo trip 1. Metro tickets 1940 Meal (3000/day x 7 days) 21000 Total 39710 Total in Malaysia Ringgit is RM 1215
So the total of basic budget you need is only RM 2262.62 + RM 1215 = RM 3477.62
Budget is below RM4.000 / USD1.000 / RP 14.000.000 for ONE WEEK trip to JAPAN inclusive of ski trip and visiting 3 main must visit cities!
Moreover, the hotels I select are minimum 3 stars hotel which mean you will have proper bed to rest at night which come with attached bathroom and bath-tub to soak into hot bath after the whole day touring the cities. Our Kyoto hotel even have public bath which was really a great bonus.
In conclusion, below is the basic budget you should prepare if you plan to go to Japan for a week:
- Return Flight Tickets : RM 500 – Rm 1500
- Transportation : RM 1200 – Rm 1500
- Accommodation : RM 800 – RM 1400
- Meal : RM 700 – RM 1000
- Activities : RM 400 – RM 1000
If you have time to hunt for promotions and discount websites, you will be able to go with the minimum budget, otherwise, prepare for the maximum budget and you will be good to go.
Don’t forget to add extra bucks for shopping. There is so much to buy from souvenirs, make up, fashion to unique flavor of chocolates and cookies.
CLICK HERE for 8 days 7 night Japan Trip Itinerary
CLICK HERE if you need help to decide on whether to go to Tokyo or Osaka/Kyoto
I would like to say that this blog really convinced me, you give me best information! Thanks, very good post.
Hi which hotel you stayed in Kyoto ?
Hi, It Green Rich Hotel Kyoto. It’s about 5 minutes walk from the Kyoto Station. You may klik the link on my post to learn more about the hotel
Hi there,
I’m planning to bring my family for a trip to Japan by the end of the year. But I have a question, why did you have to pay for the metro tickets since you already got the Japan Rail Pass?
Hi Allen,
JR Pass give you access to most of transportation in Japan but NOT ALL. For example, Metro in Kyoto are run by private company thus JR pass does not have access to it. If you go to the JR Pass website, you can find detail information in which type of transportation you can use the JR Pass at.
In my opinion, JR pass really useful in term of cost saving if you planning on having intercity trip.
If you only plan to visit single city example Tokyo or Osaka Or Kyoto only then JR Pass is not really necessary.
Hi,so you are from malaysia or indonesia? Im from indonesia, planning to have japan trip to osaka kyoto and tokyo just like you did.
Hi Erfan, I’m Indonesian but currently staying and working in Malaysia. If you plan to visit the 3 cities during your trip, I will strongly suggest you to buy the JR Pass. You can buy it in Jakarta. You will save a lot on the transportation cost with that pass.
Enjoy your trip 🙂
Thanksssss so much for this article. I’m so gonna refer to this for my Japan trip January next year! =)
Glad could help and you have plenty of time for planning, surely can save even more. 🙂
[…] For the budget needed on this trip, you may check my other post : One Week Japan trip Budget […]