Japan Travel Cost: How much I spent on a 3 week trip to Japan

How much does it really cost to travel to Japan? There’s a lot of consider when planning a trip to Japan and when it comes to budgeting, this was one area that I wasn’t sure what to expect.

I recently came back from a three week trip Japan and have put together a detailed breakdown of every expense—from transportation and accommodations to food and attractions.

In this blog, I’ll be walking you through:

• How much I spent on flights, local transportation (including the Shinkansen and local metro costs), and even airport transfers.
• My daily average food budget, shopping expenses, and the cost of the attractions I visited.
• The average cost of a 4-star hotel room in September.
• Essential tools like the Airalo eSIM that made my trip easier.

When it comes to any trip, your costs will vary based on the type of traveler you are. Factors such as how long you plan to stay, what season you are visiting and what you enjoy doing, will all influence your overall trip cost.

This budget breakdown is based on 2 adults travelling to Japan for 3 weeks. This means that the hotel costs and food costs were split between the two of us. Everything else including transportation, attractions and shopping, I listed as my own cost.

On this trip, we visited Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo, which meant factoring in Shinkansen ticket costs. For attractions and things to do, I’m big into theme parks, shopping and visiting cafes, so this budget is a reflection of that.

Please note that some links on this page contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Quick Overview: Total Cost to Travel to Japan

1. Transportation

Transportation can be one of the larger parts of your budget once you factor in your flight costs, airport transportation costs and local transportation. My total transportation costs came up to $1852.17 CAD. Here’s how my costs broke down:

Flights

Cost: $1287.19 CAD

This was the cost of a roundtrip flight from Calgary International Airport to Narita International Airport. I flew with WestJet and booked my flight in February 2024 for my trip in September 2024.

Money Saving Considerations:

• Consider booking flights at least 6-8 months in advance. Generally the earlier you book, the cheaper the flight costs are. In addition to booking early, it gives you time to look out for sale dates. 
• Google Flights is a helpful tool to look at some pricing trends, that way you can also compare prices all year round.
• Typically the month you choose to visit Japan will impact your travel cost. Know that if you are going around peak travel times such as cherry blossom season in March-April, the flight prices may be higher.
• If you are planning to do the Osaka – Kyoto – Tokyo route for your Japan trip, consider booking 2 separate one way tickets depending on the price (one way from your home city to Osaka, and a one way from Tokyo to your home city). If it makes sense cost wise, you could save up to $155.00 CAD on a Shinkansen ticket.

Airport Transportation

Cost: $27.51 CAD

I purchased a low cost bus ticket for 1500 yen (~$13.60 CAD) for a one-way bus ride from Narita International Airport to Tokyo Station. When leaving Tokyo, we took the same 1500 yen low cost bus ticket from Tokyo Station straight to Narita International Airport.

Money Saving Considerations:

• From what I’ve researched online, the low cost bus ticket for 1500 yen seems like one of the cheapest options for transportation to and from the airport to/from Narita.
• You can book these tickets the day of at the Low Cost Bus Ticket kiosk at the Narita Airport. You can choose between Tokyo Station or Ginza Station.
• You can also just use your IC card on the low cost bus. If you have some yen remaining on your IC card at the end of your trip, fill it up to 1500 yen and just line up at the bus station. That way you can make use of the left over cash you have on your IC card on your last day!
• There are lots of other transport options including local trains, express trains and taxi’s. All of these range in pricing, with taxi’s being the most expensive option.

Shinkansen (Bullet Train)

Cost: $335.45 CAD

Our trip itinerary consisted of visiting Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo. We purchased a Shinkansen ticket from the self serve kiosk for 19790 yen (~179.46 CAD), which took us from Tokyo Station to Shin-Osaka Station. It was a Reserved Seat – Green Car (1st Class) with oversized luggage option.

On the way back from Kyoto to Tokyo Station, we purchased a Reserved Seat Ordinary Car (2nd class) ticket through Klook in advance for $156.00 CAD (with oversized luggage option).

Money Saving Considerations:

• Depending on where you are transporting to and from, you may not need a JR Pass. The JR pass prices have gone up significantly through the years. You can use this Japan Rail Pass Calculator to see whether it would be worth the cost based on where you’re travelling to. I did not purchase a JR Pass for my Osaka – Kyoto – Tokyo route.
• The Shinkansen has 3 different seat options which vary in pricing. On KLOOK, the prices are as follows:
  • Non-reserved seat – Ordinary car (2nd class) for $145.83 CND.
  • Reserved seat – Ordinary car (2nd class) for $152.69 CND.
  • Reserved seat – Green car (1st class) for $203.85 CND.
• As a new member, when you sign up for KLOOK, you can get $5.40 off your next booking. What I also love about Klook is that you can often apply different Klook discount codes, which gives you additional savings off your purchases. This is why prebooking your tickets to different attractions in Japan can save you money too.

Metro and Local Transportation

Cost: $202.02 CAD

Transportation in Japan is efficient with their many metro lines and I hopped onto a metro pretty much everyday during my trip. On average, I spent about $6.00 a day.

My local transportation cost was a bit higher, as I also utilized a couple Uber rides when I had my luggage. It cost 3500 yen ($32.10 CAD) to Uber from the hotel in Tokyo to Tokyo Station. And it was a $40.97 Uber ride from the Calgary airport to get me home. Sometimes spending a little bit extra is helpful when you’ve got too much luggage to manage!

Money Saving Considerations:

• When I was in Tokyo, I used my IC card daily to commute from one area to another. If you search on google maps, it will tell you the approximate cost of the metro trip.
• You don’t need to spend money on a deposit for a physical IC card (500 yen). You can easily get an IC card on your iphone wallet app. Find the option to add, select “Transit Card”, scroll all the way down to the bottom to “Japan” and select your metro card.
• When creating your Japan itinerary, group places to go by location to save you on travel cost and time on your commute.

Summary: Total Transportation Cost to Travel in Japan

2. Accommodations

Total Cost: $1659.97

Accommodations can be another large travel cost on your trip to Japan. I travelled with my partner, so the $1659.97 was the hotel cost after splitting it (total cost for 3 weeks was $3319.94 CAD).

Here were the hotels I stayed at and the cost in September 2024:

Money Saving Considerations:

• I always use Expedia to help me find the best rates for hotels in the city. And if you’re a member, you get extra discounts on hotel rooms.
• Travelling with your partner or friend can help you save on costs, as you can split the hotel cost.
• Book early! As the longer you wait, there will be less there is available, especially if you’re looking for certain spaces.
• Hotel costs also vary depending on the travel season, and you will see that they are increased during special events and holidays.
• Make sure you also book your hotels from Expedia with a Rakuten account set up. It’s an extension you can add to your browser that activates when you do online shopping. Anytime you make qualifying purchases, you get a percentage of cash back from things you buy. I received a cheque of $108.40 after our hotel bookings were finalized!

3. Food Costs

Total Cost: $1283.65

My average daily food cost came up to about $61.13 CAD/day. My food spendings ranged from convenience store eats, cafe visits, and eating at casual restaurants. We kept our food budget fairly low, as we did not go and experience any fine dining.

Sometimes, I found that I lived off coffee that day, and only ate out at a restaurant for 2 meals instead of 3 (Oops, just too busy exploring!!). The cost of a latte at coffee shops were very comparable to Canada. Expect to pay about 800 yen ($7.40 CAD) for a latte. We’d go to 711, Don Quijote or Family Mart at the end of our evenings to have snacks and unwind with our favourite show when back at the hotel.

It depends on where you go, but I found that generally the food in Japan was relatively cheap. For example a bowl of ramen was about 1200 yen ($11.00 CAD), compared to in Canada where it will cost about $24.00 CAD. The days at theme parks were our highest food budget cost, which made sense, so be prepared for that! During our visit at Tokyo DisneySea, I spent $152.15 CAD on food that day.

Money Saving Considerations:

• There are convenience stores every few steps you take in Japan. I think it really speaks to the every day life of living in Tokyo. It’s a busy and fast paced city, with so many people on the go, the ease of convenience stores on every block seems essential! I typically have a small breakfast at Lawsons in the morning rather than eating the breakfast served at hotels.

4. Attractions

Total Cost: $497.22

Here is a detailed breakdown of all the attractions I went to on this trip:

Money Saving Considerations:

• I try to purchase most of the attractions in advance where I can. Typically the ticket price is slightly cheaper on Klook. And you have the peace of mind that you already have an entrance ticket prior to getting to Japan. Attractions such as Teamlab Borderless is so popular that you will unlikely be able to purchase tickets at the door the same day.
• Some people have difficulty with their credit cards on the official Universal Studios Japan or Tokyo Disney websites, so booking on Klook is the way to go. You simply get a QR code to scan in at the entrance. I’ve booked Klook so many times for Universal Studios and Tokyo Disney, and I’ve never had a problem getting in.

5. Shopping

Total Cost: $1993.95

My travel budget for merch was $2000, as Japan is really the only place I set aside a large budget for shopping. On my shopping list, I was looking out for skin care products, unique snacks, matcha and stationary. Some of my larger expenses included stationary, the merch I picked up at the Studio Ghibli Museum and Harry Potter World.

Some of my favourite shops for stationary shopping in Tokyo included LOFT Shibuya, Tsutya Books, MUJI Flagship Store, Kakimori Stationary. In Kyoto you much visit the Travelers Factory Kyoto.

Money Saving Considerations:

• Shopping in Japan can drastically increase your travel cost, so be sure to think about this prior to your trip.
• Most places are still very much cash based, and paying by cash really helps you stay on budget if you give yourself a daily allowance. With that being said, most places do take card, but I noticed they do charge a small fee when used.
• Make sure you take your passport with you when shopping, as many places offer tax free for foreigners.

6. Miscellaneous: eSIM

Cost: $45.54 CAD

I use Airalo eSIM on my trips, because it’s easy to download the app and install the digital SIM. I initially purchased the 20 GB eSIM for $36.37 CAD, which lasted me about 2.5 weeks in Japan. I did end up topping up another 2 GB for $9.17 CAD near the end of my 3 week trip.

Airalo saves you time and the hassle of going out to find a shop to purchase a physical SIM or pocket wifi. I’ve used Airalo when travelling to destinations such as the US, South East Asia and I’ve had no troubles with staying connected. The most frustrating thing is when you run out of data trying to find your way in a new city.

Money Saving Considerations:

• Use wifi when available (remember not to do any personal banking on an open source wifi to protect your information)
• Pre-download an offline map, such that if you lose data you can still find your way
• Don’t scroll on instagram, youtube or any other apps that require lots of data usage when on paid data. Download Spotify albums offline if you’re going to be listening to music during your commutes
• Download Airalo to avoid roaming fees and stay connected during your travels

Summary: Final Thoughts

What do you think? Is travelling to Japan expensive?

I think looking back there are areas that seem reasonable. The average cost of food and local transportation were less than I expected. We ate out everyday at a restaurant, and I feel like if I did that here in Canada, the prices would be 3-4 times that in Japan.

The travel cost of attractions in Japan was higher than I expected, but of course if you leave out the theme parks in your itinerary, you can definitely cut costs there as well.

My shopping budget also exceeded all the other costs. But if you take that out of the equation, you could likely travel to Japan keeping under 5K if you plan a 2 week trip.

I hope this helps you plan your next Japan Trip!

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