Is Japan Expensive? What I Spent in 14 Days.
By Sadie | See with Sadie
Is Japan expensive?
This was one of the biggest questions I had before this trip, and I honestly didn't know what to expect.
I knew I wanted to see a lot of Japan. I wanted to go to Hokkaido, Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, take the bullet train, eat good food, have unique experiences, and do lots of shopping.
So I wanted to share what I actually spent on my 14-day trip, including flights, hotels, transportation, food, activities, and, of course, souvenirs.
My working total came to approximately $3,800, including airfare.
But there's an important note: this was not a typical round-trip-to-Tokyo trip.
This trip involved four separate one-way flights, multiple cities, a trip to South Korea, several paid experiences, and quite a bit of shopping.
Here's exactly where my money went.
My 14-Day Japan Itinerary
For the Japan portion of my trip, I traveled through Hokkaido, Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka
We started in Hokkaido, using Sapporo as our home base. From there, we took a half-day trip to Otaru and another day trip to Biei to see the flower fields, Blue Pond, and Shirahige Waterfall.
From Hokkaido, we flew to Tokyo, where we spent several days exploring Asakusa, Shibuya, Harajuku, and Akihabara. We visited the Meiji Shrine, Yoyogi Park, Shibuya Crossing, Shibuya Sky, and plenty of shops and restaurants.
We also took a day trip to Mt. Fuji for one of my favorite experiences of the entire trip: canyoning.
Next, we traveled to Kyoto, where we explored temples and shrines, walked through Gion and Nishiki Market, and did a kimono rental and matcha tea ceremony.
Finally, we headed to Osaka before continuing on to South Korea.
It was a packed itinerary, but it gave me a really good idea of what it actually costs to travel around Japan when you're trying to see and experience as much as possible.
So, How Much Did I Spend?
My current working estimate is around $3,800+ per person, including airfare.
Here's the approximate breakdown:
Category | Approximate Cost |
Flights | $1,800 |
Hotels | $500 |
Transportation & major bookings | $483+ |
Food, drinks & miscellaneous | $592+ |
Shopping & souvenirs | $400–450+ |
Estimated total | $3,800+ |
Important: This is a realistic estimate rather than an exact, audited total. I tracked expenses across cards, cash, group bookings, and individual purchases, and there are a few souvenirs where I don't have the exact price anymore.
For group purchases, I divided the cost by four to account for my share. I also excluded purchases that weren't mine.
So while $3,800+ is the number I'm using for this post, think of it as an honest estimate of what I spent rather than a perfect accounting down to the last dollar.
Flights: $1,800
Flights were one of my biggest expenses, coming in at around $1,800 per person.
But I did not book a typical round-trip flight to Japan.
This trip involved four separate one-way flights because we were traveling through multiple destinations and countries.
Our overall trip was essentially: Cincinnati → Japan → South Korea → Cincinnati
Instead of flying into Tokyo, staying in Tokyo for two weeks, and taking one round-trip flight home, we built a much more complicated itinerary.
So while $1,800 sounds like a huge airfare bill, it's important to understand that this wasn't simply the cost of getting to Japan.
If you're planning a traditional two-week Japan trip with one round-trip flight, you could spend significantly less on airfare.
Our airfare was higher because we prioritized the itinerary we wanted over having the cheapest possible flight.
Hotels: $500
My portion of our hotel accommodations came to approximately $500.
We were traveling as a group of four, which made a huge difference.
Our Japan itinerary included stays in:
Sapporo
Tokyo
Kyoto
Osaka
Splitting accommodations between four people kept my personal hotel cost very low, with how many cities we visited.
This is one area where your own Japan budget could look very different from mine.
Traveling solo? Expect to spend more.
Traveling with a partner or group? Sharing accommodations can make Japan much more affordable.
Transportation
Transportation was one of the categories I expected to spend a lot on because we were covering a LOT of ground.
We traveled from Hokkaido all the way down through Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, using:
Shinkansen
JR trains
Local trains
Subway systems
Airport trains
Taxis
Some of our major booked train journeys included:
Tokyo → Kyoto
Kyoto → Osaka
Tokyo → Mishima
Airport Transportation
Seoul → Busan during the Korea portion
For example, our Shinagawa → Kyoto Shinkansen was $444.45 for four people, which came to about $111 per person.
Our Kyoto → Osaka booking was $64.32 for four people, or about $16 per person.
We also had transportation for our Mt. Fuji canyoning excursion.
Transportation can be one of those sneaky travel expenses. A $5 train ride doesn't feel expensive. But when you're taking multiple trains every day for two weeks, those little expenses start adding up.
Considering how clean, organized, convenient, and extensive the system is, and how much ground we covered, it was one of the things that made this trip possible.
Food: It Doesn't Have to Be Expensive
We ate at restaurants, cafés, markets, convenience stores, and everywhere in between.
And yes, Seven-Eleven was absolutely part of our itinerary.
Our first night in Sapporo, after a very long travel day, we grabbed dinner from Seven-Eleven. We also had convenience-store breakfasts throughout the trip.
But we also had plenty of sit-down meals.
Our itinerary included everything from soba and ramen to soup curry, cafés, street food, and nicer dinners. In Kyoto, we had planned meals around our sightseeing days, including a vegetarian café, ramen, and other local restaurants.
And that's what I loved about eating in Japan: You can choose your price point.
You can grab breakfast and coffee from a convenience store for cheap, you can grab something quick from a market, or you can sit down for a nicer meal.
You don't have to eat at expensive restaurants every day to have an amazing food experience in Japan.
Activities: This Is Where I Splurged
This was definitely not a budget trip when it came to experiences. I wanted to do things.
Some of the activities we paid for included:
Shibuya Sky
Mt. Fuji Canyoning
Matcha tea ceremony
Various attractions and experiences
Shibuya Sky
Our tickets cost approximately $21.85 per person.
Mt. Fuji Canyoning
This was a much bigger splurge.
The canyoning experience cost approximately $157 per person.
We left Tokyo early in the morning, took the train toward Mishima, transferred toward Gakunan Fujioka, met our guides, and spent the morning canyoning before heading back to Tokyo that afternoon.
Was it one of the more expensive things we did? Absolutely. Would I do it again? Absolutely.
Shopping
This is where I could have saved a LOT of money.
I came home with:
Two pairs of Onitsuka Tigers ~ $225
Definitely one of my biggest shopping purchases.
Matcha powder ~ $35
I couldn't go to Japan and not bring matcha home.
Coffee beans ~ $35
I bought two bags.
Postcards ~ $30
Necessary? No. Did I buy them anyway? Yes.
Japanese skincare
I picked up several skincare products, although I don't have an exact final total for everything.
Korean skincare ~ $70
Since we continued on to South Korea, I obviously did some skincare shopping there too.
Hand-painted art
I bought five pieces of hand-painted art. I don't have the exact total anymore, so I'm not pretending I do.
Custom engraved chopsticks ~ $20
This was one of my favorite souvenirs because I had my name engraved in Japanese.
It was actually something I specifically planned into our Kyoto itinerary.
Tokyo hat
Another purchase where I don't have the exact price recorded. And there were definitely several other small things that I'm probably forgetting.
If you're planning your own trip and love shopping, I would absolutely create a separate shopping budget.
What About Cash?
Japan is pretty card-friendly, but some places (like the markets) are cash only.
Getting cash isn't the same thing as spending cash.
If I withdrew $300 worth of yen but only spent $250 of it, I don't want to count that $300 as an expense and then accidentally count the individual cash purchases again.
So my final numbers focus on money actually spent, rather than simply money withdrawn or transferred.
What Actually Made My Japan Trip Expensive?
A combination of:
Four one-way flights
Multiple cities
Paid experiences
Shopping
Eating out
Multiple hotels
So... Is Japan Expensive?
It can be, but it doesn't have to be. Japan has options at almost every price point.
You can:
Eat at convenience stores
Find local restaurants
Use public transportation
Walk through neighborhoods and temples for free
Stay in budget accommodations
Limit paid attractions
Visit fewer cities
Or you can:
Stay in nicer hotels
Take multiple Shinkansen trips
Book unique experiences
Eat at nicer restaurants
Shop extensively
Travel between multiple regions
Add another country to your trip
And your budget will reflect those choices. Japan isn't automatically an expensive destination, your travel style matters.
What I Would Budget for a Japan Trip
If you're planning your own trip, I wouldn't look at my total and think that's what you need to spend. Instead, I'd think about your trip in categories.
If you're traveling on a budget:
Focus on:
Budget accommodations
Convenience stores and inexpensive restaurants
Free attractions
Public transportation
Fewer cities
Limited shopping
If you're a mid-range traveler:
Budget for:
Comfortable hotels
A combination of inexpensive and nicer meals
Public transportation
Several paid experiences
Some shopping
A multi-city itinerary
If you're an experience & shopping traveler:
Give yourself more breathing room. If you want to do unique tours, take multiple Shinkansen journeys, eat at highly rated restaurants, and come home with a suitcase full of souvenirs, your budget can increase quickly. And that's okay.
My Biggest Takeaway
Japan isn't nearly as intimidating from a budget perspective as I thought it would be. The country has plenty of expensive options, but it also has an incredible number of affordable ones. I was able to eat cheaper meals, use public transportation, explore neighborhoods and temples, and have amazing experiences without feeling like every single day was financially overwhelming.
So, Is Japan Expensive?
It can be, but you don't need a huge budget to experience it. My $3,800 total reflects my choices, not a required budget. I spent more because I built a complicated multi-city itinerary, booked four separate one-way flights, traveled through multiple regions, paid for unique experiences, and did plenty of shopping.
If you want to travel Japan on a tighter budget, you absolutely can. If you want to splurge, you can do that too.
Planning Your Own Japan Trip?
If planning Japan feels overwhelming, I get it. There are so many cities, train routes, hotels, restaurants, activities, reservations, and logistics to figure out.
I planned this entire trip myself, from Hokkaido → Tokyo → Kyoto → Osaka, and learned a LOT about what works, what doesn't, and what I would do differently next time.
If you want to steal my itinerary and use it as a starting point for your own Japan adventure, you can get the guide here.
Want Me to Plan Your Japan Trip?
If you love this, but do not want to spend 40+ hours researching trains, hotels, restaurants, and activities, that's where I come in. I plan personalized trips based on your travel style, budget, interests, and bucket-list experiences so you don't have to figure everything out yourself.
See With Sadie
From the first idea to the final itinerary, I'll help you create a trip that actually feels like you.
Ready to start planning?
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