Five items and only two that really hurt

A trip costs you flights, accommodation, local transport, food and attractions. The first two are usually 70 percent of the total - and that's where dates and booking early save the most. The rest is surprisingly predictable in Japan.

Flights from Europe

  • Off season (February, June, November): 650 - 900 EUR return with one change.
  • High season (blossom, autumn colours, summer holidays): 1,000 - 1,500 EUR, more if you book late.
  • There are no direct flights from Poland - a change is standard, usually Helsinki, Istanbul, Doha or Seoul.

Book 4 - 6 months ahead. For cherry blossom, earlier still.

A room per night

  • Hostel dorm bed: 3,000 - 4,500 yen.
  • Capsule: 4,000 - 6,000. Worth trying once, they're clean and surprisingly comfortable.
  • Business hotel (small room, great location, everything works): 8,000 - 14,000 per room.
  • Four-star hotel: 18,000 - 30,000.
  • Ryokan with kaiseki dinner and breakfast: 25,000 - 60,000 per person. That's an attraction, not a bed.

The business hotel is the sweet spot and where you'll spend most nights. The room will be small, but clean, quiet and five minutes from a station.

Food and transport per day

  • Eating cheaply: 2,500 - 3,500 yen a day (convenience store breakfast, set lunch, ramen for dinner).
  • Eating normally: 4,000 - 6,000.
  • Getting around town: 700 - 1,200 a day on an IC card.
  • Attractions: temples 300 - 600 entry, museums 1,000 - 2,000. Plenty is free.

Three levels, everything included

For two people over 12 days, flights included, per person:

  • Budget: 2,000 - 2,500 EUR. Hostels and capsules, convenience store and cheap restaurants, single tickets instead of a pass.
  • Comfortable: 3,000 - 4,000 EUR. Business hotels in good locations, normal restaurants, shinkansen, one night in a ryokan.
  • Premium: from 6,000 EUR up. Ryokan, kaiseki, wagyu, private transfers. There's effectively no ceiling.

What moves the budget most

  1. Dates. By far the biggest lever. Cherry blossom, Golden Week (late April into early May), Obon (mid-August) and the autumn colours are the priciest windows. February and June can be a third cheaper for the same route. June is the rainy season, but rain in Japan usually means two hours, not a whole day.
  2. Hotel location. One station out from the main terminus is often 30 percent cheaper and four minutes further away.
  3. Pace. The more moves, the more you spend on transport and the less you actually see. Three bases instead of six saves money and nerves alike.

Where to save painlessly

  • Lunch instead of dinner at the expensive places. Same kitchen, same chef, half the price. In Japan that's the rule, not the exception.
  • Tax free. Spend over 5,000 yen in one shop displaying the tax free sign and you get the 10 percent consumption tax back - bring your passport. The system is due to change, so ask in store how it currently works.
  • An IC card instead of single tickets - a few yen cheaper per ride and much faster.
  • Free attractions: most temple grounds, parks, neighbourhoods, and city hall observation decks (the one in Tokyo is free and has a better view than the paid towers).

What not to save on: hotel location and a sane pace. Both come back at you as exhaustion, and exhaustion costs more than the 50 EUR you saved.

💡 From me: you give me a budget and I tell you straight what fits in it and what doesn't. I'd rather say "this won't work" than sell you a disappointment.