How much does a trip to Tokyo cost? Budget, tips

Today I’m helping you make your dream come true! 🙂 I’ll explain how much a trip to Tokyo costs, or similarly a trip to Japan, what the minimum prices are for flights, hotels, accommodation, and cost of living, the necessary budget, and some general tips, especially for Tokyo.

In this article, we’ll see how much a 10-day trip to Tokyo can cost.

Flight prices to Tokyo

The first step for your long-dreamed-of trip to Tokyo is the flight. You don’t want to go there on foot, do you? (Although you could actually try, you wouldn’t be the first!)

You need to budget a minimum of 600-700 euros for a round-trip journey to Tokyo.

The price can clearly increase if you book with little notice or during peak months like August (which I don’t recommend due to the extremely high humidity and heat), or spring, a popular period for tourists for the cherry blossoms, or if your departure airport has few connections.

Direct flights to Japan?

If you’re looking for a direct flight to Japan, you can many from european major hubs, with Tokyo Narita or Tokyo Haneda airports as the destination (if possible choose Haneda airport as it’s closer to the center).

Otherwise, you can get there with one layover at one of Tokyo’s two airports or at various other airports in Japan such as Osaka, Nagasaki, Fukuoka.

To find the best flight for your trip to Tokyo at any time, without manually searching on each airline’s website, use the box below: enter your dates and you’ll see all available flights, you can filter by price or flight duration and you can enable email alerts for when prices change.

Accommodation costs in Tokyo

The second step for your trip to Tokyo is finding a place to sleep 🙂

And here the slightly more complicated part begins.

Read also: Where to stay in Tokyo to avoid mistakes

Space standards in Japan are much tighter than what we’re used to, so start by keeping in mind that if you find a 14 square meter room with a bathroom for 3 people, that’s what’s considered “large”.

For your trip to Tokyo, staying in an area that’s convenient enough to reach public transport, such as Shinjuku (but there are many others, given the vastness of the metro and public transport) the average costs you’ll find will be these:

• For a room in a hotel, no less than 60 euros per night per person;
• If you choose a hostel, therefore with a shared bathroom, prices drop but not by much, from 45-50 euros per night;
• The cheapest solution, if you’re feeling brave, is the so-called Capsule Hotel: a hotel where you only have a bed inserted into a “capsule”, which is basically a compartment in the wall 😆 and obviously shared bathrooms. I recommend watching some YouTube videos to see what they’re like and then, if you decide it’s for you, you can find them starting from 30 euros per night.
• A final good alternative if you’re with several people is an apartment (which is then as big/small as a room) on Airbnb or similar sites, because it may be the cheapest solution. With a bit of luck, you can find something for around 40 euros per night per person by splitting the cost.

You can take a look at the availability of hotels, hostels, and rooms in Shinjuku by clicking here, or first read the guide to the best areas to stay in Tokyo.

Eating in Tokyo

And now for a plot twist: eating in Tokyo is often cheaper to go to a restaurant than to buy stuff at the supermarket and cook it.

Lunch or dinner in a restaurant costs between 500 and 1200 Yen, which is about 4-7 euros at the current exchange rate, depending on what you order.

This applies to street restaurants, classic ramen restaurants, and various more refined restaurants, perhaps less visible because they’re “hidden” on the upper floors of some buildings.

The situation is different, however, for many desserts and street food, which are certainly good and worth trying, but cost more. For example, at the Tsukiji fish market, fish or seafood skewers, although small, can cost 600 yen each.

Other desserts, including the various typical Japanese sweets (a must-try, like the MelonPan), usually cost around 200 Yen.

Finding bad food in Tokyo is difficult, even in street restaurants in most cases you can eat very well and at a good price.

An important thing to remember is that in Tokyo, the use of credit/debit cards isn’t widespread, and if you want to be sure not to go hungry, better have some cash with you.

At the supermarket, however, some food items are particularly expensive, such as fruit; you can end up spending almost 1 euro per single fruit.

As for breakfast, I recommend trying a MelonPan or Dorayaki, at a bakery or market: they’re excellent and abundant typical Japanese sweets for 100-200 Yen.

A classic breakfast (for us Westerners) with coffee-cappuccino and a croissant or pastry, however, costs around 500 yen, which is almost as much as a meal.

Cost of transport on a trip to Tokyo

Transport in Japan is reliable, frequent, and punctual. If you visit Tokyo for about ten days, the best solution is to get around by metro and the JR Line.

Traveling by public transport during a trip to Tokyo is very simple because you can take different types of transport with the same electronic ticket, onto which you load a certain amount of money and then the relative fare is deducted at each entry/exit.

An urban journey usually costs from 160 to 250 yen (about 1-2 euros) for medium-short routes, up to 500 yen for long routes that go from one side of the city to the other.

So, budget 1000 yen per day to be comfortable, you’ll need it.

If you already have clear ideas about the journeys you’ll make during your trip to Tokyo, there are also 72-hour tickets for the Tokyo Metro for 1500 yen, which can save you a lot if you make many trips within 3 days.

Insurance for your trip to Japan

Something never to be underestimated: being outside the European Union, travel insurance is essential for any medical need.

The good news is that it won’t affect your expenses much, about 40-50 euros per person. You can get a quote here for example.

Miscellaneous

Then add something to the budget for what’s not listed 🙂 bars, drinks, and the like cost about the same as in Italy, without particular excesses, even a bar with a view at the top of a 22-story building had absolutely affordable prices.

If you’re passionate about museums, temples, monuments, entrance fees vary greatly, some you can enter for only 200 yen, others for around 1000-1500, but always check the updated price at the entrance or on official websites.

If you plan to enjoy some nightlife, watch out for club prices: few are free, while others can cost 2000-3000 yen just for entry, sometimes even in small, simple bars of a few square meters.

Finally, among other visits, don’t forget to go up to some observatories at the top of skyscrapers to see all of Tokyo from above, it’s worth it. Here you’ll find the list of Tokyo’s main observatories, with all prices and opening hours, and if you want to save on your budget, there are also free ones!

An amount that you’ll see is definitely well spent! Now that you know how much a trip to Tokyo costs, take a look at the Japanese rules and habits to know before your trip to Tokyo! 🙂

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