so i have been obsessed with japan ever since i was about 14, way before i even got into toys.

i have been saving up for a while now with the goal of going over in mid-april this year and to spend my 21st there. originally the plan was to go to tokyo and then take the shinkansen to kyoto for a week or so and then go back for another week to tokyo.

i figured out it would probably be better just going/staying in tokyo and then visiting all the other places i'm interested in (kyoto, osaka, hiroshima etc) whenever i visit again.

so basically i'm looking at having about $5500 AUS ($4850 US) to spend on everything (acommodation, food, transport, toys, whatever else) whilst staying in tokyo for hopefully for two and a half to three weeks. do you think i'll be okay or would this not be enough for having a good time? i realise its an expensive place, especially compared to australian and english cities (where i've been my whole life). i earn jack shit at my job so its actually taken alot of dedication on my part to save this much.

thankyou in advance for any help.

ps i've studied japanese for almost two years now. reading stuff should be okay (kanji i'm hopeless at) but speaking is a different story altogether. lots of 'wakarimasen' from me i bet haha.

Don't forget the Toyko Underground book!

i will make sure to have that and lonely planet: japan (got two copies, one is a slightly older version) handy when i go.

Yeah! TU book will surely be helpful, i am currently reading it again everytime i do, makes me want to pack my bags and leave for Tokyo. Enjoy!

JAPAN RAIL PASS ...

Google it, & don't leave home without it.
You could save a LOT of money if you plan on travelling around.

Only tourists can get it, & (if I remember right)
you can only get it before you come.

The JR pass is good but kind of a waste if you're only going to be in the Tokyo & Kansai regions. The way to make the pass work is by extending out to, say, Hiroshima, Okinawa, or Sapporo.

If you're sticking with Kyoto and Tokyo, I'd recommend taking an overnight bus back and forth, which ranges from 4,500-8,000 or so each way. You save on accommodation and. the way I reckon it, it's worth putting up with a bit of discomfort since you save on a night of accommodation as well, and you don't blow a day (or half a day) traveling.

But you mentioned a bunch of places, so if you decide you want to get around a lot, I'd say stay in Tokyo till you're ready to travel about, and then activate/start using the pass. It's actually really easy/fast to shinkansen from Osaka or Kyoto to Hirioshima - 4-5 hours or so, if I remember correctly.

Now, the amt of money you suggest is PLENTY. You can easily find places to stay for less than 7,000 yen/night in Tokyo and Osaka. Kyoto may be a wee more. Depends on the comfort level you're after.

Relatively speaking, Japan is a traveling bargain compared to Europe and the US. Food is cheap (yep, *cheap* - you can easily find a set meal for 10 AUS dollars) and accommodation is not bad at all. Transportation does add up, which is why rail passes (if you boogie around enough) and highway buses are worth exploring.

Have a great trip, and happy 21st!

we're currently planning a trip to Tokyo as well (as a matter of fact last night got a lot accomplished), but there are definitely ways to save money on things.

we recently went to Paris and saved a ton of money by getting a rental apartment, and also just found one in Tokyo to stay in for $600 for the week. (yes it's fine, and it's a 5 minute walk from Nakano). sounds like you have a really good budget to work with though, that's a lot more than I'm planning to spend, but I'm also only going for about a week.

good luck with the trip! Happy 21st!

Im stationed outside of Tokyo. If you need some help getting around, hit me up. Ive gone everywhere there is to go here. theres some local attractions you cant read about in any books >D

atease - Can you pls post (or PM to me) a link to the site you used to set up the rental apartment? That's an area I'd definitely like to explore.

sure Andy, I'll look around for it now. if not, I'll check it when I get home and send it along. The place is a "1 BR" which I think translates to studio, but it has everything you need.

This is a cool thread. Me and the ol' lady have been talking about it ourselves, we're both big into Japanese junk overall, historical, pop cultural and other, so it's always been a dream. Depending on some life changes this year, we might start planning soon.

Good to have a thread on this with resources/planning tips.

Also, atease, just noticed your rank "Illuminati"

What if we keep this as a running thread for resources for folks who are considering a Japan trip? I am thinking about such a trip perhaps autumn 2008. If people have links to useful Japan resources for travelers, this might be a great place to post them (such as rental apartments, good places to visit that might not make it into travel guides, etc.) Money-saving tips are also really good!

This is a good idea.

Another good thing for the new folks to try is to use the search function and poke around the different threads about Tokyo. I've learned a lot, and there are some pretty amazing pictures out there of toys you won't see anywhere else.

Japan really is a bargain compared to the UK. The exchange rate with the Yen is much more favorable than the Pound. For those in the US, I've had good luck using JALPak for airfare/hotel combos.

I am curious if anyone has lodging recommendations for Tokyo -- good deal, great location, more of a Japanese vibe, versus standard international hotel. I want 50 buttons on my toilet and a nice Japanese bath/shower, that kind of stuff.

Also, where do folks think is good to stay in Tokyo, for a first visit? Are Shibuya or Shinjuku good ideas, or too crazy, or...?

I think my first Japan visit would be Tokyo-centric, and would probably be for a little over a week in-country. And yes, probably some of the trip would be guided by Tokyo Underground.

Shibuya is an OK area, though it gets very crowded. Towards the large park might be better... Don't think I'd want to lodge in Shinjuku. Hustling and bustling, sure, but I don't think I'd want to base there.

How is Harajuku for lodging? Being based around the stomping grounds of so many freaky young'ins sounds like a lot of fun, and of course a bunch of neat shops are there as well.

I stayed in Ikebukuro when I was there a couple of years ago. The great thing about the hotel I was at is that it was a 2 minute walk from the East exit on the JR line.
To answer the question: Is $4850 enough for 2 weeks? I guess it all depends on a number of things and how picky you are. Lodging is of course your biggest expense, then probably shopping or food. $4850 can be enough.

i highly recommend this also. I think i paid around $300 for mine for a 10 day, but defintely useful and convenient.
I went from tokyo to kyoto, to nara to hiroshima, a ferry to miyajima (so awesome) and back and were all covered.

got some sweet deals on 4 stars hotels through hotels.com and priceline.
lodging is probably the biggest expense.

I've actually had great luck in Shinjuku with the Keio Plaza (it caters to a Western crowd, but you DO get the 50 button toilet). It's about a 5min hike from the Shinjuku Station, but it's actually fun to people watch at night when everyone is heading home. Plus the area in and around the station is worth a wander, as well. This time we're going to try Ikebukuro (for something different), Sunshine Prince Hotel. It's right by Sunshine City (shopping area). Not a "trendy" area, but it should work fine. I think anywhere on the Yamanote train line works well.

Hey hillsy, it had the crazy toilets, but what about Japanese style shower/bath area? As a dude who loves lounging in the bath, I would be very disappointed if my hotel didn't have the "burn your flesh off hot" Japanese style deep bath, with little bench to sit on next to it to clean yourself before jumping in the tub.

Most Japanese hotels, inns, etc have shower facilities like you're used to back home (except they might be 1/2 the size or smaller!) I've stayed at a few places outside of Tokyo with the massive communal shower/spa set ups. One of the best, actually, was at a capsule hotel in Osaka. The problem there was I didn't get much sleep because of all the snoring in the sleeping area.

Harajuku is pretty quiet away from Takeshita and the other main street (Omoje Sando or something). I'd prefer staying in Harakuju over Shinjuku.

If you're looking for a good onsen (hot spring) experience, I'd recommend spending a couple of days in Hakone - a mountainous region a couple of hours outside of Tokyo. The area has a bit of a cheesy resort/playground feeling to it, but it sure is gorgeous!

If you really want to cheap out and are going to be in one place for a long time I would look into what they call guest houses. It's kind of like a hostel but smaller. We shared a room with about 10 other people and had bunk beds, which some people might not like but it was clean and in a good location, and only cost about $20 a night I believe. There are also some with private rooms (for more $$$) but restrooms and kitchens (can save on food if you cook) are usually shared. It worked out great for us.

some links:


http://www.sakura-house.com/ - very clean/new and the staff was nice/spoke english. Lots of locations. By the month but they also have a hotel which is by the night.

http://www.bamboo-house.com/ - good experience with them. We got a private room for 2 people for about $60 a night. Walking distance from Nakano Broadway (toy heaven ). The rates are monthly but they were willing to do it for 2 weeks.

Hey Conqueror, Im in Japan for about 3 and a half weeks from the 4th April. Im in Tokyo for most of the time. Hit me with a PM when things get closer and we can hook up for some dinner and birthday drinks. And some diggin for toys of course!

If anyone else is there around the same time, Hit us back!

Thx everyone for the accomm feedback!

Nope...the places I've stayed don't have that. Like Andy said, that's more of a communal bath.