Cost of living in Japan
Discussion
My friend is travelling out to Japan for 2 weeks and is wondering what is the cost of living. I am guessing very expensive !
What would be a budget for a typical day which would include lunch and dinner ?
How about things like wine, cinema, excursions, etc
Also what are things that must be done whilst there ? Sumo tournament ?
Thanks all.
What would be a budget for a typical day which would include lunch and dinner ?
How about things like wine, cinema, excursions, etc
Also what are things that must be done whilst there ? Sumo tournament ?
Thanks all.
Hi Coneyhurst Blue.
There are loads of threads on this, but some tips from when we went are - buy train railcard from UK before you go - if plannig to go outside Tokyo (got ours from STA - student travel shop - and no, you don't need to be students).
Cost of living is no more than other big cities if you are not too extravagant. Remember that tipping in restaurants is a no-no. Also, for hotel stays etc, tipping is still frowned upon, but we had a tip to take 'Western' magazine (no, not THOSE kind!) eg Vogue, FHM etc and gave them to hotel room cleaners etc and they were very appreciated (for 'western styles and learning English from). Places to go include Hakone (http://wikitravel.org/en/Hakone) and the electronic shops district in Tokyo Also, Hiroshima is definitely worth a trip out for a few days, as is Kyoto - whilst in Hiroshima, then this Island is amazing - http://wikitravel.org/en/Miyajima, . (As I said, do a search on here for loads more places mentioned). The Sumo can be RIDICULOUSLY expensive to watch, but we went to one of these places http://www.quirkyjapan.or.tv/asageiko.htm - basically as the link says, this is a chance to see the Sumos practising - so you get to sample the Sumo, but more close up and (most importantly) for FREE! (as with everywhere if you go in a cab, get the hotel to ring the place 1st and then get them to write the address down for you to show to the driver - lots don't speak English - and the hotel address for return journey!).
This is just a taster.
HTH.
Cheers, Jon
There are loads of threads on this, but some tips from when we went are - buy train railcard from UK before you go - if plannig to go outside Tokyo (got ours from STA - student travel shop - and no, you don't need to be students).
Cost of living is no more than other big cities if you are not too extravagant. Remember that tipping in restaurants is a no-no. Also, for hotel stays etc, tipping is still frowned upon, but we had a tip to take 'Western' magazine (no, not THOSE kind!) eg Vogue, FHM etc and gave them to hotel room cleaners etc and they were very appreciated (for 'western styles and learning English from). Places to go include Hakone (http://wikitravel.org/en/Hakone) and the electronic shops district in Tokyo Also, Hiroshima is definitely worth a trip out for a few days, as is Kyoto - whilst in Hiroshima, then this Island is amazing - http://wikitravel.org/en/Miyajima, . (As I said, do a search on here for loads more places mentioned). The Sumo can be RIDICULOUSLY expensive to watch, but we went to one of these places http://www.quirkyjapan.or.tv/asageiko.htm - basically as the link says, this is a chance to see the Sumos practising - so you get to sample the Sumo, but more close up and (most importantly) for FREE! (as with everywhere if you go in a cab, get the hotel to ring the place 1st and then get them to write the address down for you to show to the driver - lots don't speak English - and the hotel address for return journey!).
This is just a taster.
HTH.
Cheers, Jon
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