Guide

How much a trip to Japan costs

The short answer: the flight and the lodging are two thirds of the bill, and the attractions are the smallest line. Most people who come back from Japan with a surprise on the credit card were not surprised by the museums, but by the trains and the ryokan. This page breaks the trip into lines, gives a number for each one, and shows exactly where people go wrong.

All the yen amounts were checked on 10 September 2026 against the sources at the bottom of the page. The conversion to dollars is at 157.82 yen to the dollar.

What it costs per day, per person

Without the flight and without travel between cities. Lodging is calculated per person assuming there are two of you in a room, because that is the situation of most travellers, and a per-room number is the most common budgeting mistake.

Flights from Israel

This is the biggest line in most trips, and also the only one that changed for the better this year. El Al operates a direct route to Narita, about 11 hours of flying, and round-trip tickets start at around 999 dollars. From 25 October 2026 Arkia joins the route with two weekly flights on an A330, at an opening price of 750 dollars each way in economy. Competition on a route that was a monopoly is good news for prices.

A flight with a connection through Abu Dhabi, Addis Ababa or Istanbul is usually cheaper and adds six to ten hours. A rule of thumb: if the difference is less than 300 dollars, the direct flight is worth it, because you arrive at the first day able to function.

A tip that saves real money: you can land in Tokyo and fly back from Osaka (Kansai) or the other way round. It is called an open-jaw ticket, it usually costs the same, and it saves you a whole shinkansen journey back and the day it takes.

JR Pass: the real maths

Now the part that matters more than the price: for most travellers the pass does not pay off. A single Tokyo to Kyoto ticket on the Hikari with a reserved seat costs ¥13,850. The one-week pass costs ¥50,000, so you need about three long journeys like that and a bit more within seven days to pay it back. A Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Tokyo itinerary comes to around ¥29,200 in single tickets, so the pass loses almost ¥21,000 on it.

• When to buy

  An itinerary that touches Hiroshima, Kanazawa, Tohoku or Hokkaido in the same week, or anyone who makes more than one long journey every two days.

• When not to buy

  Tokyo and Kyoto only. Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka. Any itinerary that stays in one region.

• What to check instead

  Regional passes. A Kansai pass or a JR West pass costs a fraction of the price and covers exactly the region where you really travel.

• If you bought a pass

  Nozomi and Mizuho require a supplement even with the pass. Hikari and Sakura are included, and add only about 25 minutes between Tokyo and Kyoto.

Lodging

• A capsule or a hostel bed

  From ¥2,000 to ¥5,500. Per person. In Tokyo a good capsule is ¥3,500 to ¥5,500.

• Business hotel (Toyoko, APA, Dormy Inn)

  ¥6,000 to ¥9,000. Per room. A small, clean room, usually with a shared bath at Dormy Inn.

• A mid-range double room

  ¥12,000 to ¥18,000 in Tokyo and Kyoto, ¥10,000 to ¥15,000 in Osaka. Per room. In Sapporo and Fukuoka it is lower by about 20 percent.

• A ryokan with two meals

  Median ¥44,660. Per person per night, including dinner and breakfast. This is the big point of confusion.

• A luxury hotel

  ¥30,000 and up. Per room, and in Tokyo and Kyoto it easily reaches ¥100,000.

In sakura and autumn colour season add 30 to 40 percent. In January and June take off about 20 percent. A full guide to ryokan and to what the price includes is on the ryokan page.

Food

Japan is one of the few countries where you can eat very well very cheaply. Konbini food is not a compromise, and lunch at an izakaya costs a third of what the same restaurant charges in the evening.

There is no tipping in Japan, and nobody expects it anywhere. The price on the menu is the price, and in many restaurants it already includes tax. An izakaya sometimes has a seating charge (otoshi) of ¥300 to ¥500, which comes with a small dish.

Transport inside the city

• A Suica or Pasmo card

  Top up and tap. It works on trains, the metro, buses, drink machines and at the konbini. You can add it to the wallet on your phone and top it up with a credit card, and that is the simplest solution.

• A single ride

  ¥180 to ¥330 for most rides in the city. A full day in Tokyo is about ¥800 to ¥1,200.

• Taxi

  A flag fall of about ¥500 and then it climbs fast. In the evening after the trains stop (at about 00:30) the price jumps, and this is an expense that does not appear in any budget in advance.

• Buses in Kyoto

  Kyoto is a city of buses, not of metro. A flat fare of ¥230 in the centre, and you pay when you get off.

• Internet on your phone

  An eSIM is installed at home before the flight and switched on when you land, with no hunt for a shop at the airport. It is far cheaper than roaming through your home carrier, and it is what runs Google Maps and the translator all day. You can order one from Yesim (affiliate link: if you order through it we earn a commission, and your price does not change).

Attractions

This is the line that people fear for no reason. Of the 375 attractions in the site's library, 183 are completely free: temples, markets, public gardens, districts and viewpoints. Among those that charge entry, the median is ¥800, and 128 of 192 cost ¥1,000 or less.

The exceptions are few and known in advance: Universal Studios from ¥8,400, Disneyland and DisneySea, and a full kabuki or bunraku performance. These are the items worth budgeting separately, and everything else fits into ¥1,500 a day without effort.

An example: 14 days, two in a room

A classic Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka itinerary, at the "Standard" level, for one person.

At the "Budget" level the same itinerary comes down to around $1,938, and at the "Comfort" level it rises to around $4,244.

The five mistakes that cost the most

1. Buying a JR Pass because everyone does

   This is the most expensive mistake on the list. A Tokyo and Kyoto only itinerary does not pay back the pass, and even Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka does not pay it back. You need about three long journeys or more in a week.

2. Budgeting a ryokan like a hotel

   The price of a ryokan is per person and includes two meals. A couple that budgets ¥30,000 a night finds that the bill is ¥60,000. On the other hand, on a day like that you buy neither dinner nor breakfast.

3. Forgetting that the attractions are cheap

   Of the 375 attractions in our library, 183 are free. Among those that charge, the median is ¥800 and 128 of 192 cost ¥1,000 or less. Attractions are the small line in the budget, not the big one.

4. Booking lodging in peak season too late

   In the autumn colour week in Kyoto and in Golden Week prices rise by 30 to 40 percent, and in some hotels more. At the same Kyoto hotel that costs ¥6,250 in February, the price in the autumn colour week is ¥22,600.

5. Assuming the yen rate is fixed

   Every dollar amount on this site is calculated at 157.82 yen to the dollar, the rate of 28 October 2026. A move of ten percent in the rate is a difference of hundreds of dollars over a whole trip, in either direction.

What next

• Seasons and festivals

  When to go. The difference between November and February for the same lodging is a factor of three.

• Ryokan and onsen

  What the price includes, and why a couple has to double it.

• Day itineraries

  Every itinerary shows the actual cost, hour by hour.

Sources

• JAPAN RAIL PASS, official prices
• JR Group, notice of the price change dated 9 April 2026 (PDF)
• El Al, direct flights to Tokyo
• Bizportal, Arkia opens a direct route to Tokyo
• Exchange rate, Frankfurter

The lodging and food prices are market ranges and not the price of a particular supplier, and were collected in September 2026. The attraction prices are taken from the site's library, and most of them were checked one by one against the operators' websites.Check the numbers on this page again in January.