Cheapo Traveler's Guide to Tokyo : How to Have a Japan Holiday in a Pinch

7:27:00 PM

HEY GUYS!

So i made a poll in my Instagram a while ago on whether or not my friends and followers are interested if i make a guide on how to go to Japan for cheap - i got 100% vote for yes (i even announced the result already then a few secs later someone insignificant actually voted no and honestly it pissed me off a lot. The person is not a stranger, she's actually a relative and she has no business ruining my poll result WTF, but in hindsight... She's actually super dumb so i'm not even sure she understood what my poll was all about?) so i decided to not be a lazy ass and do it!

Disclaimer : Most of the photos in this post are taken from Google (some are my own), i don't claim to own any of the photos and i am only using them for illustration purposes

I'm sure y'all know that there are similar guides all around the internet, some are super extreme and some are super good - i am not trying to compete with anyone lah. It's just that i've been to Japan 3 times within 3 years, i did a semi tour, i did a big family semi backpacking tour and i did a leisurely trip that we spent mainly just doing nothing - i think i did almost all styles of traveling to Japan (except the super millionaire style that i spent my money like they grow at my back garden) so i think i roughly know a trick or two on how to keep your budget low.

So if you have a similar traveling style as me (the characteristics are easy to spot : i like to keep my budget as low as possible without compromising comfort or hygiene *LOL*, i also like to really explore a place to a point where i can even pretend that i live there. You can leave me in a small city for a month and i actually wouldn't ever be bored), you are very welcome to check out my tips for ya. For illustration, in our last trip to Japan we spent roughly IDR 25.000.000 (not counting the shopping ya!) for airfare, local transportations, accomodations, meals and entertainment for 8 days for 3 persons. That is roughly IDR 8.350.000 per person (a little over a million per day per person) and i can make it even less if i want *LOL*.

Anyway, for this guide, i am going to focus on Tokyo only, so if you want a guide for cheap travel to Japan that covers several cities... Maybe i can make a part 2? Haha.

Okay lah, no more nonsense chattering, let's start!

1. Fly Budget Airlines / Find Promo tickets

First and foremost : You gotta get to Japan first :)). Ideally if you want a really cheap airfare, i would suggest a low season date, but it's not always possible. Maybe your work only allows you to have a longer leave during long holidays like Eid or Christmas, or like me you have a school age kid that you want to take with you and can't just yank out of school in the middle of the school year - so the next option is to fly budget airlines or find promo tickets.

My last trip is actually the first time i flew to Japan on a budget airlines, i flew Air Asia X (Air Asia X is much more spacious than regular Air Asia, it's every bit as comfortable as more expensive airlines like CX or GA) because they have a new route, direct flight from CGK - NRT (most other airlines require transits, i personally prefer direct flights if i can choose) and we only had to pay IDR 2.350.000 per person (return!!!). Granted, you still have to pay for baggage - that is where another little tip comes in, try to visit Japan when it's almost summer but not quite *because summer in Japan is quite hot!* so you can bring light clothing (honestly i love winter the most so i would still prefer to go during winter tho!).

I am super good when it comes to travel light, we only bought 20kgs baggage allowance (from Jakarta to Tokyo, only add an extra 5 kgs on the way back because we didn't shop a lot) and i packed less than that for 3 persons for 8 days! Counting on the baggage for the return flight, we still paid less than IDR 8 mill for three persons! We also paid a little more to be able to choose our seats (budget airlines would make it a mission to separate your seats at all costs hahaha) because we didn't want to be separated. But if you fly solo/don't care where you sit or who you sit with, skip the paid seats altogether.

Last time we actually flew Cathay Pacific and we paid less that IDR 5mill per person, not quite as cheap as Air Asia ofc, but still very very cheap (and already including baggage allowance and meals)! My trick is to look for those travel fairs (they are constantly popping up nowadays, sometimes up to 8 times a year!), if you are a patient and kiasu person you can actually go and queue up there because they tend to offer cash backs on top of promo rates - but if you are willing to let go of the cash back like me (i guess i am kiasu but not THAT kiasu, eh?), i prefer to just check their website myself for the dates that are having promotions on because that's where you can spot a good price too.

It would also help if you follow airlines' social medias and check their page (or websites like Traveloka or Ticket.com) from time to time to spot promotions and special offers. Planning ahead is always a better choice because getting cheap air tickets' possibilities are bigger than if you suddenly want to fly next week or something.

FYI, Japan visa is actually very affordable, it's even cheaper than South Korea's (this is not a tip obviously but it's an info that some might not know about) so all in all, flying to Japan is no longer a luxurious thing like it used to be. In fact, loads of airlines are having special rates for Japan that they can be one of the most affordable airfare tickets! I actually checked for Hong Kong tickets in comparison (for our latest trip earlier this month) and it's 3x more expensive than the tickets we paid for Japan!

2. Find the Cheapest Way from the Airport

If you can choose, it would be better to arrive at Haneda instead of Narita because it's much closer to Tokyo. From Haneda i would just take a subway and it wouldn't cost too much and wouldn't be too long to get to Tokyo but most budget airlines would land in Narita and it's quite damn far from Tokyo!

We landed at Haneda the first two times in our first two trips so our latest trip was the first time for us to land at Narita and i almost choke when i saw how much it'd cost us to get to Tokyo if we take the train (needless to say it'd take a huge chunk out of your budget)! I did some research and found that the cheapest way to get to Tokyo from Narita is by taking the Keisei Tokyo Shuttle. It'd cost you 1000 yen for adult (for one trip) and 500 for children.

We took the Keisei Tokyo Shuttle to and from Narita and i would definitely recommend it! It's comfortable, clean and even though it'd take a little longer than if you take the train, it's not a big deal! Especially because our flight landed pretty early in the morning and most accommodation in Japan would only let you check in at 3 or 4!

3. Stay in an AirBnB/Hostel

Accommodation would also take most out of your budget, hotels in Tokyo are very expensive and even the tiniest business hotel (we stayed in a tiny business hotel in Kamata in our first trip to Japan ever) would cost you more than a million rupiah a night (and there's no way in hell the three of us can fit into one tiny hotel room). I am a homey kind of person and actually prefer to stay in apartments instead of hotels. I like to have more space, a kitchen to make coffee, heat up food (or sometimes even cook. My hubby cooks obviously, i don't cook!), washing machine so i can pack even less clothes because we can just wash them daily - so my choice is obviously AirBnB.

AirBnBs are far more affordable than hotels and if you are like me, you want to experience local's way of life - staying in a resident's place in one of the best way to do so. You can take your pick, from small, modern apartment (which is always my choice) to a traditional house (we stayed in one before and it's not ideal for winter *LOL*) and you can also take your time browsing to find the one that fits your budget. We stayed in Shibuya Ku (which is 3 bus stops away from Shibuya), in a charming studio apartment and it costs us less than 1 mill rupiah per night. It was very cozy, comfy and i loved it there. If you are willing to stay further than central, you can find even cheaper places (i saw places that costs IDR 500k per night!) but remember, you will spend more on transportations if you choose to stay further away so you really gotta be careful too. Btw, a lot of AirBnB (and hotels) in Japan provide free pocket wifi so that's another thing you can save your budget from!

If you are travelling solo/as a couple/with friends then you can also opt for hostels. We stayed in hostels in our second trip to Japan and it was really fun, but if you travel as a family then actually renting an AirBnB would still be cheaper.

One of the hostels that we stayed at last time

See it like this, if you are travelling in smaller numbers and paying individually, hostels can be better because you pay the price for one person's bed, you get (very simple usually) breakfast and you don't need to clean your place/bed yourself. Plus if you're single, you might make new friends and possible fling partner there *LOLOLOL*.

Personally i would choose renting an apartment/house, even if you are travelling with friends you can just split the rents and get cheap foods at combini (this is another tip, will talk about it further below) and we never bother cleaning the apartment until the last day anyway. Mind you, the owner actually said that we are super guests because we left her apartment in perfect, super clean condition!

6. Find the Cheapest Alternative of Transportation

One of the things that made our cash runs out the fastest in Japan is transportation. I don't have a lot of knowledge when it comes to buses in Japan, but i do know that there are buses that you pay a flat rate at, no matter how close or far your destination is - and that's mainly the type of buses you would find locally. If you are daring and more adventurous, then you can try to ride buses, but we personally prefer to take the subway because it's just easier (by easy i mean not very easy okay *LOL*, if you follow my Instastories you'd know i got separated from my husband one night and i got super lost! The good thing out of it is i made a friend with a very kind young man haha) it can also be cheaper!

We learned about this in our latest trip. From central Shibuya to our AirBnB apartment we can take a bus that would cost us 200 yen per person one way, if we walk a little (well, for Indonesian it probably is a little far, but i really love walking especially if the weather's cool so i didn't mind) to the subway, it's only one train stop from Shibuya and it costs around 100 yen - so half the fare!

Ofc, this can be a different story if our apartment is say, 5-7 bus stops away, then it'd probably be more effective to take the bus anyway so you really need to find the most affordable transportation alternative according to your needs and where you stay/heading.

Just remember one thing, this is how Tokyo Subway Map looks like :

Yep. Probably one of the most confusing and complex subway system in the world. Use Google maps to guide you and don't be afraid to ask (remember, Japanese are mostly very friendly and wouldn't mind helping). Some stations have many many different exits and taking the wrong exit can get you super lost too hahaha.

5. If Traveling with Young Kids, Make Sure You Pay Children Fares

You know, i don't judge. I didn't take Little O overseas with me when he was very young (because honestly i wanted to really enjoy my holiday and he wouldn't remember much when he was very little anyway :p - plus i had Little O when i was 23, we just started our business and didn't have a lot of money!), but i start taking him overseas by ourselves when he was around 5. We started taking him to further places (South Korea) when he was 7 and by now he's been to Singapore (many many times), Malaysia (also multiple times), South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan (2 times), not bad for someone who's not even 11, yes?

Either way, whether you take your kids with you to Japan or not, it's your choice and everybody should respect that. But if you do take your young children (12 and below), there would be special prices for a lot of things and you should know about that.

For instant, transportations. In Japan, you have to get yourself a PASMO or a SUICA card to be used on the subway and buses (much cheaper option than paying per trip), if your child is 12 or below make sure you get a special stamp at the station because children fare is half adult fare!

Also All You Can Eat spreads (this is not for me tho because i don't really like buffets!) also have special rates for children (unlike in Indonesia where they take one look of Little O, his height and built, and immediately charge adult rate on him hahaha) where they would actually check their age instead of their physical size.

Amusement parks and other touristy destinations usually have children rates too, so it's actually a good idea to bring your kids to Japan when they are around 8 to 12 because they are old enough to understand and remember the trips while still being young enough to pay children fares. I think i want to bring Little O to Japan again next year so we can enjoy the last year where we can pay children fares for him!

6. Know Where to Get Cheap Food

So you're in Japan and you want to have all those famous yummy Japanese food (it's not a myth, almost everything is super yummy in Japan), but eating them 3 times a day will definitely cost you. Standard food prices in central Japan is around 600 yen and up per portions, not to mention the specialties (you gotta be prepared to fork a LOT more money if you want to sample specialties like Kobe beef and the likes). My solutions? Eat whatever you like once or twice a day but try to minimize your budget at least once a day, maybe for breakfast because if you're anything like me then you'd be too lazy to go out first thing in the morning to have meals anyway.

Best affordable food around? Combini, of course! Combini is Japanese (sort of) slang for convenient store btw, you will be able to find numerous combinis everywhere. My personal fave is Lawson

Combini is definitely not as cheap as supermarkets, but they are super covenient and unless you buy in bulk (like to bring back to Indonesia) then combini makes more sense. In combini you can take your pick from ready to eat food

From onigiri, sandwiches, pastas to various bentos. Everything is freshly made and tastes super good - i think i can survive by eating ready to eat combini food for a month or more, no problem

They also have cup ramens, not super healthy but can be an options once in a while. Honestly this is one of the rare aspects where Japan lose out to other countries, because i strongly believe that Indonesia and South Korea have better cup ramens, but they are still okay. Oh, their instant curry are much better tho, hubby and Little O are big fans of the instant curry rice that we bought half a dozen to bring home

They also have ready to eat fried food (and also oden but i didn't see any last time maybe it's easier to find in winter?), you can buy like a katsu and ready to eat rice. Their microwavable hamburg patties are also super divine combined with rice. You can have endless choices of food pairing in Japanese combinis, trust me!

Other than staple foods, you can also find crazy variants of snacks, candies, chocolates (but if you want to buy in bulk then Don Quijote or supermarkets are better), bread, drinks, mochi, ice cream, cakes, or whatever your sweet/savory tooth can desire!

Like this Azuki mochi ice cream. I bought it in DonQ tho haha

It's really good although a little too sweet for me, but there are days when i want sweet things (it's rare and far in between, but they happen)

Also you should have heard that Japanese supermarkets reduce their ready to eat food at 8.30 PM, if you happen to be near one around this time of the day, do have a peek! They reduce up to 50% and it'd mean a super good deal!

Another trick is to upsize your order in restaurants (this trick should not be tried in South Korean if you don't want them to throw you out *LOL*. South Korean restaurants almost always would require you to order minimum of one portion per person) to split. I normally don't eat that much (because i prefer to eat light meals and try other foods instead of one giant food unless we're talking about nasi padang or friend rice...) so i am very reluctant to order my own food (i get nauseated and overwhelmed very fast *LOL*. Wonder why i am not skinny yet...) therefore we'd order the biggest size of the menu that we want :

Like this. It's huge okay, definitely more than enough to feed two unless you have Yuka Kinoshita's appetite

In some restaurants like curry restaurants, you can adjust your rice portion and we'd go for the bigger portion :

Like this massive portion of tonkatsu curry, we split this and ended up super full

Ofc, don't be too mean to yourself lah, treat yourselves to nice meals too just don't do it 3x a day for a week straight, then you'd really be broke leh :p.

As for drinks, most restaurants in Japan provide free drinking water. Tap water is also drinkable but i cannot get used to the taste of tap water so we buy big bottles of mineral water at combini, they are not as cheap as Indonesia ofc but they are not crazy expensive too.

7. Shop Wisely

Okay, i'm one to talk since i am very clearly a shopaholic. But do you know that i spent less than IDR 1.500.000 (this is around USD 120) on makeup and fashion in our latest trip?

Honestly, shopping in Japan can be super expensive. BUT, you can still shop in moderation without breaking your bank. It'd be great if you come to Japan during sale season (i once bought 18 pieces of stuffs in Japanese H&M and spent IDR 800k, that remains the best H&M spree that i've ever had so far) because when they sale things, they are not joking around because they would really reduce everything next to nothing. But even if you are in Japan during non sale season, there are still some places that you can get some nice, cheap stuffs.

My first recommendation is obvious

Daiso!

You can get anything and everything in Daiso. From souvenirs (i always, always buy my souvenirs at Daiso), snacks, knick knacks to things like art and craft (i bought my photo props at Daiso), accessories, Sanrio shit, even makeup. Daiso makeup are a hit and miss, but for the price, i actually find a lot of their products to be awesome! While in Japan, look for stuffs that are not available in other countries.

I bought myself lip products from Daiso Kansai collection. Even in Indonesia i don't think you can find makeup products that are so cute, safe and have nice quality at 100 yen!

The biggest Daiso is located at my fave street : Harajuku, but my fave Daiso is actually the much smaller, quiter one in Shibuya. The one in Harajuku is so massive and always crowded that they tend to run out of the more special products (like makeups) but for snacks the Harajuku one is the best to go.

My other suggestions are also very standard : Don Quijote (best option : go to the Mega Don Quijote, Hiro San took us to the Mega DonQ in Shibuya that i don't think existed yet last year, he also showed us the very naughty over 18 section that i had to wave Little O away from hahaha) - you can find everything especially cosmetics (there are TOO many of them too that i got super overwhelmed whenever i go there) and perfumes at super affordable prices. You can also find snacks, even branded fashion stuffs there (not too trendy ones tho hahaha). If you are looking for bigger quantities snacks, drinks, and things that are on trend like those highly overpriced instant Ichiran ramen, this is the place. Alternatively you can also go to Matsumoto Kiyoshi for cosmetic stuff.

But to be completely honest, i don't find Japanese cosmetics to be that exciting, i prefer to shop for makeups at South Korea because their products are much cheaper, cuter, and ever changing. I went to Japan 3x and i saw that most of the products are the same *LOL*. Ofc if you holy grail eyeliner/mascara/whatever is Japanese then you should stock up, but if you like to try out new things like me then you'd probably go crazy only on your first trip. Plus Japanese decorative makeup are not as pigmented as i want them to be.

Now, Japanese fashion is... It's wonderful. I LOVE how people dress up in Japan, everybody has their of distinct style and they wear whatever they want without anyone batting their eyelashes. I fell in love with so many girls' outfit and openly ogle them, i NEVER find myself doing this anywhere else. Ofc, Japanese fashion is not for everybody, but if you aesthetic is similar to me... You'd be in heaven! Most Japanese brands are quite pricey (i love Liz Liza but unless they are on a 50% and up sale i wouldn't buy anything except bags) and if you really have a tight budget, i suggest you go to Takeshita Dori and look for promo signs!

I went earlier this month and it wasn't in full sale season yet but i managed to get some stuffs. There is this store called WEGO that is pretty front from the Takeshita Gate, if you are into kawaii (or even simple) style CHECK IT OUT (they have simple clothing style but their acessories and bags are outrageously kawaiiii!!!). I got a floral top for 500 yen (that's less than IDR 60.000) and these kawaii items :

The bear bag is 1290 yen, the Sailor Moon inspired choker, transparent socks and dino earring are 300 yen each and the gothic rubber choker is 100 yen

If you come in January then hunt for lucky bags (fukubukuro) or if you are not into surprises, opt for happy bags (that is a bag filled with items that you can't choose for a very special price but with happy bags you can see what's inside) instead. I always get happy bags whenever i am in Japan, even in our latest trip even though we came in late May to early June! There is this makeup store in Takeshita Street (just opposite Daiso) that seems to always have some sort of happy bags any time of the year, i scored this :

Essence lucky bag with 5 full size items for 500 yen (plus 8% tax. Don't forget that you have to pay taxes in Japan, you can get a refund if you spend a certain amount of money, i think 5000?). I think it's phenomenal. They have a big rack filled with these Essence lucky bags so there are actually a few selections of varieties too

Another tip for me if you like my outfits, check out the smaller stores in Takeshita Street. Check carefully, they always seem to always have a sale racks. 500 yen clothings are possible but maybe not that many, i did find a lot of 900 yen dresses which are still very good deals too okay! (Japanese love oversized stuffs too so if you are not super skinny, don't worry. There are stuffs for most sizes. If you are plus size, then it might be a little harder, but if you are around my size *international Medium* then finding clothes in Japan is much easier than you'd think. Japanese are not as skinny as people think they are)

9. Find Free Tourist Destinations

There are plenty that you can find in Japan as long as you do your research. But even if you don't-once you reach one destination, just do a quick Google search and you might find other destinations within walking distance that can entertain you for a whole day!

Lemme give you a few examples, like this very obvious, a must visit one :

Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa

In the Senso Ji area itself you can spend hours strolling around. The street leading up to the temple is filled with snacks and souvenir stalls (i wrote in details about Senso Ji in this blog post in case you wanna check it out), then the temple itself has a lot of nooks and crannies where you can explore and snap photos at.

Take your time for some OOTDs, why not

A quick search on Google led us to Sumida river, a comfortable walking distance from Asakusa. Sumida Park is actually a great spot for Hanami, but we obviously missed the Sakura season (not a big deal for me as i am not a flower person and i don't have a burning desire to take photos with sakura *LOL*) but it was Ajisai (hydrangea) season and they are just as pretty.

This is no Ajisai, no idea what those flowers are but they are pretty so i took their photos too haha

I personally can stay at a sight seeing spot like this quietly for an hour or two, just taking in the scenery and snapping photos hahaha. You can see the famous Tokyo Sky Tree at Sumida River too.

Another free destination that we accidentally stumbled upon when we went to Tsukiji fish market :

Tsukiji Honganji Temple

The architecture is different and super stunning, a real wonderful photo spot!

Or you can also hunt for cosplayers and sub-culture fanatics in Harajuku (they are not that many as international media makes it out to be) and ask them for photos.

It's a free but fun activity, and give you the experience that you can only have in Japan too ^^

There are plenty more, do your own research lah don't be lazy :p.

10. Bring your own bottle and snacks to amusement parks

Okay this one is slightly illegal *LOL*, but not very :p. This is the trick that Stella Lee taught us in our first visit to Japan in 2016.

Amusement parks are damn expensive okay, especially the ones that are in the Disneyland/Universal Studios scale. Disneyland/Disneysea costs you more than a million rupiahs per person (kids fare is 800 or 900k), on top of that you would need to spend more fortune for food and amusement park foods are E.X.P.E.N.S.I.V.E.

There are people like CL who actually goes to amusement parks to eat *WTF*, not me. It pains me whenever i have to pay hundreds thousands of rupiahs for a disgusting bowl of food *LOL*. Don't get me wrong, i don't mind the snacks like the popcorn, ice cream, mochi, turkey leg or whatever - but the meals are really outrageously overpriced.

So you can actually smuggle smaller pieces of food (onigiri would be ideal) in your bag to amusement parks.

Okay but not like this ahhahaha

They would check your bags, hide your onigiri/sandwich/whatever under a scarf or jacket, they would not rummage through to the bottom unless you look very suspicious *LOL*.

Drinks are also very expensive in amusement parks, so bring an empty water bottle with you, i don't think it's forbidden at all. They have fresh drinking fountains scattered all around the park and all you need to do is fill in your bottle - voila, you will never run out of cold refreshments :p.

And that, my friend... Is all of the tips and tricks that i can think of at the moment for traveling to Japan (especially Tokyo) on a tight budget. Please feel free to add more tips and tricks if you have any...

If you enjoy this, please let me know in the comment section below and tell me - should i do this type of guides for other countries? I think i can do South Korea too....