Japan is expensive. They do not exaggerate when they say that. It really is. But that’s not to say it’s not a good place to travel in. Japan is incredibly tourist friendly despite the language barrier, and a lot of tourist attractions have free admission (well, mostly temples, shrines and palace grounds).
Now that more budget carriers are flying direct to Japan from Manila (including Jetstar), it’s cheaper than ever to go there. The biggest expenses in Japan are the transportation, accommodation and food. A ride in the subway costs a minimum of ¥200 (around Php 100), same with buses. But if you don’t mind walking, you can make most of Japan Rail’s network to get around for free if you’re holding a Japan Rail Pass. Accommodation costs can be driven down by staying in hostel dorms or even further down by Couchsurfing with a local host. As for the food, Japanese supermarkets and convenience stores offer bento boxes of real food, so you won’t have to live on instant ramen (unless you’re really strapped for cash). Onigiri (rice ball with filling or seasoning) starts at ¥68, bento at ¥350, depending on where you’re buying.
If you’re like me who have a weakness for shopping, you’ll go crazy in Japan. They have a lot of shops that offer the cutest things and brands that we don’t get in Manila. If you’re a toy collector, prepare to say goodbye to your money when you step inside Kiddyland, Mandarake or the Kotobukiya store. Toys and figures are for most part, cheaper in Japan. But for other things, it’s about the same or it’s more expensive.
The biggest savings I got for this trip was the Japan Rail Pass. Sure it cost me Php 23,000 for a 14-day pass, but considering that a one-way ride on the shinkansen starts around Php 3,000 and I rode 6 of them and a bunch of other trains, it really is worth the investment. Of course, that’s only applicable if you plan to move around a lot, like I did. If you plan on staying in just one city, best not to buy it. I’ll be posting about this in detail in a later post.
| Japan 2012 | |||
| March 26 – April 8, 2012 | |||
| In local currency | In PHP | ||
| Air transfers | |||
| Manila-KL (Cebu Pac) | PHP 5,299.00 | PHP 7,499.00 | 1 |
| KL-Manila (AirAsia) | MYR 388.00 | PHP 5,602.19 | 2 |
| KL-Osaka-KL (AirAsiaX) | MYR 205.00 | PHP 2,964.50 | 3 |
| Add-ons | MYR 223.00 | PHP 3,219.82 | 4 |
| Transportation | |||
| Airport transfers (Manila) | PHP 615.00 | PHP 615.00 | |
| Japan Rail Pass (Ordinary, 14-days) | JPY 45,100.00 | PHP 23,000.00 | 5 |
| Subway | JPY 2,510.00 | PHP 1,299.39 | 6 |
| Buses | JPY 5,280.00 | PHP 2,738.64 | 7 |
| Ferry | JPY 1,220.00 | PHP 634.40 | 8 |
| Accommodation | |||
| Osaka | |||
| Hotel Chuo (Single room, 1 night) | JPY 2,500.00 | PHP 1,306.82 | 9 |
| Hotel Chuo (Twin room, 1 night) | JPY 4,000.00 | PHP 1,304.00 | 10 |
| Kyoto | |||
| Nagomi Ryokan Yuu (Quad, 2 nights) | JPY 32,000.00 | PHP 4,137.93 | 11 |
| Tokyo | |||
| Sakura Hotel Ikebukuro (Twin room, 3N) | JPY 27,000.00 | PHP 7,282.85 | 12 |
| Sapporo | |||
| Sapporo-eki Kita-guchi (Single room, 2N) | JPY 9,960.00 | PHP 6,422.29 | 13 |
| Takayama | |||
| J-Hoppers (Single room, 2 nights) | JPY 7,000.00 | PHP 3,829.00 | 14 |
| Food and beverages | |||
| Manila | PHP 150.00 | PHP 150.00 | |
| Kuala Lumpur | MYR 28.50 | PHP 401.33 | |
| Osaka | JPY 4,012.00 | PHP 2,083.05 | 15 |
| Kyoto | JPY 4,830.00 | PHP 2,509.59 | 16 |
| Tokyo | JPY 10,262.00 | PHP 5,296.19 | 17 |
| Sapporo | JPY 7,973.00 | PHP 4,135.59 | 18 |
| Takayama and Shirakawa-go | JPY 10,095.00 | PHP 5,269.06 | 19 |
| Activities | |||
| Shiroi Koibito Factory Walk | JPY 600.00 | PHP 312.00 | 20 |
| Nekobukuro | JPY 1,100.00 | PHP 565.71 | 21 |
| Kinkakuji | JPY 400.00 | PHP 205.71 | |
| Fortune | JPY 100.00 | PHP 51.43 | 22 |
| Rotemburo | JPY 2,500.00 | PHP 325.00 | 23 |
| Miscellaneous | |||
| Visa processing fee | PHP 2,500.00 | PHP 2,500.00 | 24 |
| Travel insurance | PHP 1,063.00 | PHP 1,063.00 | 25 |
| Philippine travel tax | PHP 1,620.00 | PHP 1,620.00 | |
| Philippine airport tax | PHP 550.00 | PHP 550.00 | |
| Luggage Storage | MYR 28.00 | PHP 394.86 | 26 |
| Lockers | JPY 600.00 | PHP 311.86 | 27 |
| Souvenirs | JPY 9,192.00 | PHP 4,777.36 | 28 |
| Luggage Delivery | JPY 1,990.00 | PHP 1,023.43 | 29 |
| Total | PHP 105,401.00 | ||
| 1 One-way with 15kg baggage allowance, regular seat, and change date fee | |||
| 2 One-way with 25kg baggage allowance, regular seat and one meal. | |||
| 3 So much for free. | |||
| 4 Includes baggage allowance (15kg to Kansai, 25kg to Kuala Lumpur), meal, and seat selection. | |||
| 5 Bought from Attic Tours. Saved me lots of money, considering my route and the trains I rode. | |||
| 6 Had to buy tickets separately for subway and private railways | |||
| 7 Only rode the bus in Kyoto and Tokyo. The bulk of this is the JPY 4,300 round trip bus ride to and from Shirakawa-go from Takayama. | |||
| 8 Sumida River Cruise from Asakusa to Odaiba in Tokyo | |||
| 9 Western room. Had to stay solo for one night upon arrival. Shared toilet and bath. | |||
| 10 Shared a Japanese-style room with Jill. Shared toilet and bath. | |||
| 11 Stayed in a ryokan (traditional house) and shared a room with 4 people. Shared toilet and bath. | |||
| 12 Shared a room with Jill. Western style with ensuite toilet and bath. | |||
| 13 Western room, includes breakfast. Paid extra for late check out and video on demand. | |||
| 14 Japanese-style tatami room. Shared toilet and bath. | |||
| 15 Meals includes okonomiyaki, yakisoba, takoyaki, ramen, and haul from the convenience store. | |||
| 16 Mostly Japanese fast-food meals | |||
| 17 Includes sushi breakfast, ramen, different kinds of bento, dinner set meal from a Japanese restaurant. | |||
| 18 Includes yummy hot chocolate, cakes, fresh strawberries, train meals, and scallop butter ramen | |||
| 19 Hida beef in different forms: beef bun, beef skewer, beef soba, beef sushi | |||
| 20 View of the factory and access to galleries. | |||
| 21 Kitties! | |||
| 22 You drop a 100-yen coin in a machine and it spits out a fortune. | |||
| 23 Outdoor bath, cost split into four ways | |||
| 24 Visa application is free, but you need to go through an agency. We had our visas processed through Universal Holidays, Inc in Dusit Hotel | |||
| 25 From Blue Cross | |||
| 26 So I wouldn’t have to lug it around while wandering around the LCCT | |||
| 27 Coin lockers to store my stuff while I walked around | |||
| 28 Mostly chocolates, including different flavors of Kit Kat | |||
| 29 My suitcase was already full in Tokyo, so I opted to send it to Kansai Airport and just backpacked to Sapporo and Takayama | |||
Downloads
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Great hotel deals in Tokyo via Agoda
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