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Our Real Japan Budget: 22 Days, Every Yen Planned
What three weeks in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka costs when you book everything yourself. Flights, hotels, trains, food and theme parks, line by line.
This is our planned budget, built from real bookings and current prices. We travel in January 2027 and will update every line with what we actually spent.
Who this budget is for
We are two adults and one child under six, traveling in January without a tour or a travel agent. If you are traveling as a couple, these numbers are close to yours: young children ride free on Japan's trains and get into many sights for free. If you are bringing grandkids, the theme park section is for you.
The route
Twenty-two days, four bases, no daily packing. We stay put for four to eight nights at a time and do day trips from each base: Uji from Kyoto, Nara and Kobe from Osaka, and Mt Fuji from Tokyo.
The full budget
| Item | Yen | US$ |
|---|---|---|
| Flights Already paid | ¥990,000 | 6,600 |
| Hotels 21 nights, four hotels | ¥456,212 | 2,887 |
| Booked before we fly | ¥1,446,212 | 9,153 |
| Bullet trains Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and back | ¥80,000 | 533 |
| Local trains and buses Two adults, child free | ¥27,000 | 180 |
| Theme parks Tokyo Disney and Universal Studios Japan | ¥76,500 | 510 |
| Sights Aquarium, museums, temples | ¥40,000 | 267 |
| Food Lunch and dinner; breakfast is included | ¥235,000 | 1,567 |
| Shopping and souvenirs | ¥75,000 | 500 |
| Snacks and small extras | ¥20,000 | 133 |
| Spent in Japan | ¥553,500 | 3,503 |
| Total trip | ¥1,999,712 | 12,656 |
Flights: more than half the trip
Long-haul flights were our single biggest cost at $6,600. We booked them first and built everything else around those dates. If you are flexible, moving your dates by a few days usually saves more than any other change in this budget.
Hotels: four bases, $137 a night on average
| Hotel | Nights | Total | Per night |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tosei Hotel Cocone Ueno Okachimachi Tokyo, Ueno | 8 | $1,311 | $164 |
| The Royal Park Hotel Kyoto Umekoji Kyoto | 5 | $423 | $85 |
| Fraser Residence Nankai Namba Osaka, Namba | 4 | $756 | $189 |
| Ryogoku View Hotel Tokyo, Ryogoku | 4 | $502 | $126 |
We chose neighborhoods with a station a short walk away rather than the busiest districts. Ueno and Ryogoku cost less than Shinjuku or Ginza and are still a few stops from everything. In Osaka we picked a serviced apartment in Namba for the extra space. All four hotels include breakfast, so our food budget only covers lunch and dinner.
Getting around: $713 for trains
Bullet trains between Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka are the second-largest line in Japan at about $533. Everything else, from city subways to buses, adds up to only about $180 for two adults over three weeks. Most single rides in Tokyo cost ¥180 to ¥210.
- Suica on your phone. We set up a digital Suica card in Apple Wallet before flying. You tap in and out of trains and can pay at convenience stores.
- Arrival day. From Haneda to Ueno, the train costs ¥620 per person and takes about 50 minutes with one change. A taxi costs roughly ¥6,000 to ¥8,000. After a long flight with luggage, the taxi is worth considering.
- Children under six ride free on public transport.
Food: about $68 a day for the family
We set aside ¥235,000 for lunches and dinners, about ¥10,700 a day. Japan makes this easy: good food at every price, and quick, cheap options everywhere.
- First-night dinner from a convenience store: about ¥1,500.
- Conveyor-belt sushi lunch with touch-screen ordering: about ¥4,000.
- Ramen dinner: about ¥6,000.
- Pork cutlet dinner at an 11-seat counter: about ¥8,000, booked ahead online.
Theme parks with kids or grandkids: $510
This is where a family budget jumps. We plan a day at Tokyo Disneyland, a day at DisneySea with a paid fast pass for the most popular ride, and a day at Universal Studios Japan including Super Nintendo World. Traveling without children? Drop this line and save $510.
Cash and cards
Cards work in most hotels, chains and department stores, but small restaurants and temples often want cash. 7-Eleven ATMs accept foreign Visa and Mastercard cards, and there are currency exchange counters at Haneda airport.
Where we'd save, and where we wouldn't
Easy savings
- Skip the theme parks if there are no children: $510.
- Halve the shopping line: $250.
- Eat your main meal at lunch, when set menus are cheaper.
Not worth cutting
- A hotel near the station. Less walking with luggage and an easy rest in the afternoon.
- The 15% buffer. Exchange rates move, and so do plans.
- Reservations at small restaurants. A long queue in January cold is no fun.
What happens next
After the trip we'll publish the real numbers next to these, line by line, plus what we'd change. Subscribe to The Weekly Go and you'll get the update first.
The Weekly Go
Get the real numbers when we're back from Japan.
Prices are planned figures in Japanese yen, converted at ¥158 = US$1, and include a 15% buffer. Check current prices before booking.
Photos in this article are stock photos from Unsplash. We'll replace them with our own after the trip.
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