It’s a wrap! Although we’re not usually big city people, we truly believe Tokyo…the biggest metropolis on the planet of 37 million…should be on every traveler’s list. This fascinating, futuristic and other world is a thrill for the senses and the mind in every way possible, with an abundance of new and edgy experiences you cannot get anywhere else.
And, contrary to popular belief, it does NOT have to be expensive. Below is our budget, personal list of stats and some of our favorites, and also our personal upsides and downsides for the city.
In Summary…
Time Spent: 14 nights
Money Spent: $1047.78 or $74.84/day
Places Visited: Tokyo (13 nights), Yamanouchi/Snow Monkeys (1 night)
Favorite Area: Harajuku
Least Favorite: Shinagawa
Best Hotel: Almont Inn Nihonbashi
Best Hostel: Wise Owl
Best Value Stay: Lodging Tokyo Tj03
Would we return? To Japan, undoubtedly. We’d love to spend our full 90 days here and go more off the beaten path in small villages/cities
The Budget: $75/day
That said, Tokyo certainly tested our budgeting prowess, and many challenged we couldn’t do it cheaply. Although we didn’t stick to $50/day, we’re happy to note we did it for $75/day because we originally anticipated $100. To reach this number involved thorough planning, travel hacking, and lots of challenges with our usual ways. For example, housesitting is not common, and couchsurfs are challenge to pin down.
Accommodation: $361.07
-(3) nights free Couchsurfing
-(2) nights free with points from United Explorer card
-(3) nights in hotels discounted to be in our normal accommodation price range thanks to Hopper credits ($22-$28)
-(1) $8 due to Chase Sapphire Preferred $50 annual credit https://www.referyourchasecard.com/19l/X4TWECG3QB
-(4) nights of fully paid accommodation ranging from $26/night (Lodging Tokyo Tj03) to $74 (ryokan near Snow Monkey Park). This included 2 private room hotels or hostels, and 2 nights in capsule mixed dorms.
Restaurants: $278.97
We found that it is very easy to eat out affordably in Tokyo so long as you’re willing to eat locally. What does this mean? It means street food, conveyer belt sushi, noodles, and mall food courts. Our meals averaged $11-12 for both of us.
Transportation: $162.25
$11.20 of this budget line was for the small fee for our flight from Seattle to Tokyo. (The rest was free thanks to our Capital One Venture card.) The remainder was for moving around by subway, train and bus in Tokyo and to see the Snow Monkeys.
Ways to save more:
-Make sure to use Google Maps to find the cheapest transportation option. There are a million ways to cross Tokyo and Taiwan and the prices are far from the same on each journey
-Book long haul flights ~11 months in advance using points and use the “convert to rewards” tool on your Chase or Venture to save more. We booked through Virgin last March and saved 30%.
We also got $13 back this month from Agoda and Booking cash back on our Capital One Venture card which we deducted from the total. https://capital.one/3UCKWIN
Groceries: $188.73
Never before have we spent almost our entire grocery budget on convenience stores. Welcome to fast travel in Japan 
Fortunately, the convenience stores here offer many healthy ready-made meal options unlike the States. Many early meals in Tokyo came from Lawson or 7/Eleven until we learned these important tips:
-These two stores, and Family Mart to some degree, charge significantly more, most likely because they’re targeted towards non-locals. Go to a local convenience store like “My Basket” (written in Japanese but English on Google) to save substantially more. One example is at 7/Eleven, a banana was $1. At My Basket, it’s 4 for $1.20.
-Also, local supermarkets are way cheaper
-Go after 8 pm for substantial discounts
General: $56.13
This category was spent on our Tello data plan which houses our US phone number ($5), laundry, gifts for couchsurf hosts, luggage storage, and sightseeing, which was very reasonable.
*Please note, we also put $96.44 on our splurge account***for the 8-hour round trip bus tickets to see the snow monkeys. This is where costs can really get you Japan and why we didn’t leave Tokyo otherwise.
**We also put our $26 visit to MiPig Cafe on this account.
***What is our splurge account? It’s $250 in 2024 and came from gifts. It stuff we probably wouldn’t do otherwise.
Some Favorites
Food:
- Japanese curry at Raisukarē Manten, super cheap, local and delicious, best we had
- Uobei: our favorite conveyer belt sushi, has other options too
- Monja in the Tsukishima District
- Ramen at Yoriya Ramen
- Taiyaki Fish
Experiences:
- Takeshita Street for people watching on a weekend
- 11th floor of of Shibuya Hikarie building for a free and spectacular view of Shibuya Crossing (better at night)
- Yoyogi Park on a weekend
- Shinjuku 3D cat
- Sensoji Temple on a weeknight
- MiPig micro pig cafe
- Hands Department Store for shopping
- Big O Ferris wheel karaoke
- Sleeping in a capsule
- Staying in a ryokan/onsen in Yamanouchi
- Snow Monkey Park (winter)
Upsides of Tokyo
- Public restrooms are everywhere
- Water on tables, which is absolutely pure
- Buses have WiFi and it actually works
- Food can be very affordable
- Very little noise pollution, quietest major city we’ve ever experienced
- Otherworldly toilet and shower experiences
- Tipping is not required. In fact, it’s rude
- It is pristinely clean
- It’s really safe
- The Tokyo subway system is easy to use…so long as you use Google Maps
- There is plenty of English
- Homelessness is present, but seems very rare
- The people are exorbitantly polite
- It’s a culinary superstar, so long as you’re willing to be a little adventurous
- Storage lockers are everywhere and cheap
- Convenient store food is somewhat healthy and affordable. Sweet potatoes are a normal snack
Downsides of Tokyo
- The use of plastic is disappointing and excessive
- -There are very few public garbage cans which means everyone carries around a sackful of trash to throw away once you get home. Remarkably there is no litter either.
- -The fruit is very expensive
- -Transport outside of the city is quite $$
- -Getting enough vegetables (and fruit) in your daily diet can be challenging
- -Overall, the pillows were horrendous
- -It’s more cash-based than we thought
- -there is a true lack of diversity
- -It’s challenging to get couchsurfs
- -Being a vegetarian can be difficult (pescatarians much easier thanks to sushi but still challenging)
