In this article, I would like to simply share with you the expected one-day expense if you are staying in Osaka / Tokyo for each item.
The items which are going to be covered are...
- Hotels
- food
- transportation
The reason why I put Osaka and Tokyo together into one article is that in Japan, there is not so much cost of living or cost of expense difference among the main cities.
The purpose of this article is to offer the essential information in one article, so the whole article will be very long.
If you already know some information written here, please skip to the information that you need.
Let's jump into it.
Hotels
The expense for hotels or accommodation differs very much depending on which level of accommodation you choose.
By this, I mean the possible accommodations in Japan can include luxurious hotels, franchised business hotels, youth hostels, and Airbnb.
So here's the list of possible accommodations.
- business hotels
- Airbnb
- youth hostel
- luxurious hotels
Please note that depending on the season you come, the price differs, so the information written here will be just a sample of the average cost throughout the year.
Let's take a look at them in detail.
Business hotels
This is what I love to do when I travel domestically to Japan.
There are several business hotel franchises in Japan and the best one is called APA hotel.
If you are visiting Japan off-season, the price of APA Will be very cost-efficient.
The room is not that fancy but it's with the least equipment and services which you can expect.
Beyond everything, it's very clean.
If you are a cost-efficient oriented person, the Business hotel would be your choice.
Expected expense: 5,000-10,000 JPY / room (2 people)
Airbnb
Airbnb will suit you if you are looking for a bigger space for your accommodation.
When we talk about the cost, it's much more expensive than choosing business hotels or youth hostels.
One positive point of choosing Airbnb in Japan will be the fact that you'll be able to find larger space for your accommodation than any other accommodation and a place to cook if you choose so.
Expected expense: 10,000-15,000 JPY / room (2 people)
Youth hostel
The youth hostel is one of the options of course.
Some may prefer to use the youth hostel to get interacted with the locals or other travelers.
That's fun!
According to the Japan youth hostel website, they say one bed is approximately 3,000 JPY per bed.
For the people who have used the youth hostel before I think I don't need an explanation for it, so just please remember the approximate cost.
Expected expense: 3,000 JPY- / bed
Luxurious hotels
No comment because it is super expensive that all of us know.
Expected expense: up to your credit card limit (lol)_
Food
The second one is the food.
I hear a lot of people come to Japan with a love of food.
Yes, Japanese food is so delicious and mouthwatering but the fact is if you choose the place to eat with the correct information, your expense will not be that much; meaning there are so many ways to eat delicious food at a decent price.
Here, I would like to cover several patterns of meal choice and would like to write the expected average expense with useful notes.
The items are...
- Breakfast at the coffee shop
- Lunchbox from Izakaya
- Lunch/dinner at a Japanese franchised restaurant
- Dinner at Izakaya or a pub
Breakfast at the coffee shop
Many of you may prefer to have a cup of coffee with breakfast at the coffee shop.
As written in the article The 10 Best Specialty Coffee in Tokyo 2022, there are so many great coffee shops in Tokyo and Osaka, and of course other cities as well.
It is a great choice to spend a couple of hours at the coffee shop for your breakfast before getting boosted for the whole-day journey.
A cup of coffee: 300 - 500 JPY (usually half price for a refill if you ask for it)
Any type of bread at the coffee shop: 200 - 400 JPY
Expected expense: approx 1,000JPY / person
Lunchbox from Izakaya
If it's weekdays, it is very common that you see restaurants (Izakaya) to sell lunchboxes in front of their premises.
The people working at the company use this lunchbox takeaway service pretty often, but we see lots of types of people purchasing the lunchbox takeaway including uni students and of course foreign tourists.
Even in Tokyo, one lunchbox cost only from 500 JPY to 800 JPY, so if you are a quick eater or cost efficiency oriented person, this is the best choice for you
What you see is usually white rice + veggies + any kind of meat dish in one box.
Izakaya, the Japanese style bar+restaurant, opens in the evening for its main business.
If you are a vegan, a takeaway lunchbox in Japan wouldn't be your choice because unless the restaurant itself is a vegan restaurant, 99.9% of lunchbox includes meat.
It is also interesting to find a Chinese restaurant or Korean restaurant selling lunchboxes for takeaway as well.
Japanese locals love to buy that lunchbox I think.
Here, I will leave one Japanese sentence you can use to ask whether the restaurant sell lunchbox or not.
EN: Do you sell lunchboxes?
JP: Bento arimasu ka ? (お弁当売ってますか？)
If you're not sure about your pronunciation you can show this written Japanese.
One negative thing about taking away the lunchbox is that you need to find a place to eat.
However, there are many parks in Japan even in the city area, so when you take away the lunchbox, you want to find a park to eat.
If I take away the lunchbox I'll do it in the same way and you see a lot of people doing it during lunchtime so you don't need to be shamed or worried about eating lunch box at the park.
Expected expense: 500-800 JPY / box
Lunch/dinner at a Japanese franchised restaurant
In Japan, there are several franchised restaurants offering healthy plates from morning to night.
Here are some lists of those types of a franchise restaurants.
- Otoya (very standard and most famous. trustable)
- Yayoi-ken (another standard one)
- Miyamoto-Munashi (unique to Osaka)
- Shinpachi-Shokudo (mainly offers white rice + baked/grilled fish plate)
- and some more
Almost every single franchise restaurant accepts credit card payment so don't worry about it.
Most of the places offer bear as well, and we see a lot of Japanese Salary-man (the way to call the people working at the company full-time) having fun doing so after work.
If you are tired and if you want to sit down and have lunch/dinner in a relaxed mode, choosing a franchise restaurant will be very smart.
Expected expense: 1,000-1,500 JPY / plate
Dinner at Izakaya or a pub
This one gonna be interesting.
I have written about the Izakaya takeaway lunchbox, right?
Their main opening hours are usually from five or six in the evening till midnight.
Having dinner at Izakaya is I think once in a lifetime experience if you are coming to Japan.
If you're with a vegan person or if you are a vegan person, I do recommend going to Izakaya after eating a proper meal because Izakaya will not serve plenty of vegan meals based on my experience.
(There are some but you wouldn't feel full with the food from Izakaya)
The style is very close to a Spanish or Italian bar, so if you have been to a bar in Spain or Italy, it's almost the same system; you order small plates or meals one by one including beer and beverages, and pay before you leave.
The expected expense below is based on my experience; when I have been to Izakaya, this would be something I have paid.
Of course what you eat and how much you eat decides the final expense.
Expected expense: 5,000-10,000 or more JPY / person
Individual-owned Izakaya may not accept credit cards in high possibility, so please go with enough amount of cash.
Dinner at the authentic restaurant
By the way, as written in the article Seven Eleven coffee in japan. 100 yen coffee in Japan is absolutely amazing., you can access very tasty coffee 24/7 in Japan.
Isn't it just amazing?...
This article is quite valuable reading.
Transportation
The last one I'm covering is transportation.
In Japan not so many people drive a car for their daily lives; instead, they use the developed public transportation such as trains, buses, subways, and taxis.
Let's take a look at deep item by item.
- Train/subway
- Bus
- Taxi
Train / Subway
If you are in the city area, one ride will not exceed 300 yen for 3 to 5 stations.
If you go further, of course, it will cost more.
If you want to know the specific cost of train fare, you should use Google Maps.
It is very accurate and I trust it.
If you want to minimize your train fare during your stay in Japan, please read this article All you need to know about Japan rail pass tickets.
Expected expense: approx. 300 JPY or more / ride
Bus
Fare for the bus does not differ much nationwide.
I lived in Tokyo for five years when I was working at the company, and I didn't find any difference between my hometown Kobe and Osaka.
Regardless of the distance you ride, one ride will cost about ¥200.
Expected expense: approx. 200 JPY / ride
Taxi
The fare for a taxi differs depending on the city you are in.
Tokyo: initial fare is ¥410, and the price goes up pretty slowly.
Osaka: initial fare is ¥680, The price goes up much slower than the taxi in Tokyo.
(Kyoto: initial fare is ¥460, if exceeds 1,200m, the price goes up pretty easily so be careful)
Expected expense: approx. 1,500- or more JPY / ride
Hope your next Journey to Japan is amazing!
I'm not going to do the calculation for each pattern of combination, but based on the information written here and depending on your preference, now it is very easy to assume the expense you will pay during your trip.
My purpose is to share the correct and informative article about the Japan trip, so I hope this article will help help you very much when you come to Japan next time.
Please leave a comment if you have any questions about this topic.