A common complaint among travellers: Japan is expensive! Don’t worry: Even in Tokyo or Osaka, there are hotels that offer good, clean rooms with breakfast for as little as 60 euros. For just five euros you can get a tasty ramen noodle bowl or curry. To reduce your travelling costs, mix must-sees like Kyoto or Tokyo with less crowded places …
Japan on the Cheap starts with a real challenge: airfares are the main spoilsport. They vary greatly depending on the airline, the time of year, the holiday season and the destination. The war in Ukraine is is forcing airlines to make detours that add three, four hours to the “normal” flight times. This is driving up prices, as well as increasing demand and airlines’ limited capacity.
A 12.5-hour direct flight in the off-season with Lufthansa costs between 1,060 and 1,150 euros. Finnair sells its flights with a stopover in Helsinki (gross flight time of 18 hours) outside the German holiday season from 850 euros. For 650 euros more, you can travel relaxed in Finnair’s new Premium Economy Class.
A bitter pill for families: during almost all German holiday periods, flights with Turkish Airlines and Finnair are a good 60 per cent more expensive, while Lufthansa’s surcharges are much more moderate. Savings tip: Do not book flights via smartphone, otherwise they will be 15 to 20 per cent more expensive.
The weak exchange rate provides noticeable compensation. The yen has depreciated massively against the euro in recent years: while one euro was worth just 128 yen in 2022, it was worth 175 yen in 2024 as of July. This makes travelling through Japan noticeably cheaper.
If you want to travel around Japan cheaply, combine busy hotspots such as Kyoto, Osaka or Tokyo with places off the beaten track. The diverse islands of Kyushu and Shikoku, as well as the Tohoku region a good 400 kilometres north of Tokyo, are attractive and worth exploring.
Some of the lesser-known but often beautifully situated cities and towns that are worth a visit include Kobe, Okayama, Sendai, Matsumoto and Takasaki. Hotels and restaurants there are a little cheaper than in the hotspots.
When it comes to your travel budget, it’s important to think about where you’re going to stay overnight and where you’re going to get enough to eat. The following insider tips for Japan Budget Travel are all about finding good, cheap places to stay and eat. Just remember that 1,000 yen is around 6.20 euros.
Japan on the Cheap
Book Japanese Hotels
Hotels of the national brands “Toyoko Inn” and “Smile Hotels” are both relatively unknown in Europe, with 330 and almost 70 hotels respectively. They offer cost-conscious travellers a double room with breakfast from 45 euros outside the high season. These are mostly large hotels with small rooms of 12 to 14 square metres.
“Daiwa Roynet” offers larger rooms and comfortable bathrooms in its 67 hotels across the country, with prices starting at 60 euros for a double room with breakfast. The chain also offers launderettes with washing machines and tumble dryers.
Japanese business hotel brand “Dormy Inn” goes even further, offering guests at its more than 90 hotels in Japan their own onsen bath with sauna and bilingual services in all public areas.
Rooms at “Dormy Inn” are generous for Japan, measuring between 18 and 22 square metres, and cost between 65 and 95 euros per night, including an excellent, freshly made breakfast.
“Dormy Inn” is popular with Japanese businessmen for its dependable cleanliness and onsen. Other services: Manga library, massage chairs and a launderette with washing machines and tumble dryers, ideal for long-term travellers.
Comparable services, quality and prices are offered by the 170 hotels of the “Super Hotel” chain throughout Japan. They offer breakfast, sometimes organic, with freshly baked bread, complimentary welcome drinks and often an onsen, and check-in machines have multilingual menus.
All of the hotels recommended here can be booked easily via booking.com, but also and often at better prices via their own websites.
Japan on the Cheap
Sushi for little Money
If you eat sushi in Germany, you usually get cream cheese rolls with cucumber and avocado and maki with cheap salmon – or you leave the restaurant with a hole in your wallet.
Not so in Japan. Large chains such as “Kappa Sushi“, which has been around for over 40 years and has over 320 restaurants across Japan, offer sushi at affordable prices. “Kura Sushi” is also good, with 450 outlets across the country, some of which are staffed by the cute Kurabot robots.
But the king of the hill is “Sushiro“, with 500 branches across Japan. Reservations can be made on the spot or via an app, which can also be used to check in. The sushi is ordered to your seat via a touchscreen. Even the beer mug (see photo below) arrives on the conveyor belt without spilling a drop.
The price for two pieces of tuna nigiri, octopus nigiri or mackerel nigiri at Kura Sushi is around ¥110. The price for aged fatty salmon is ¥350 per piece, while eel (unagi) is ¥260. A platter of 12 pieces of tuna, fresh yellowtail, salmon, squid, shrimp and whelk starts at ¥700. Another advantage of the big chains is that they also take credit cards, accept Apple Pay and offer free WiFi.
Artistry and quality cannot be compared to the sushi created by the great masters such as Masaaki Miyakawa from Hokkaido in Tokyo’s “Sushi Shin”. However, an omakase menu at their restaurants also costs from ¥37,500.
The above-mentioned sushi chains always serve fresh nigiri, sashimi and maki sushi, and even aburi sushi of reliable quality.
Japan on the Cheap
Gyoza: Crispy and affordable
Gyoza are Japanese dumplings filled with pork, cabbage and leek. They are steamed and then fried until they are crispy. THese dumplings are available as yaki-gyoza (fried), sui-gyoza (boiled) and age-gyoza (deep-fried). There are also chicken, seafood and vegetarian fillings. Gyoza are eaten with a dip of soy sauce, vinegar and chilli oil.
The “Gyoza Ohsho” chain sells more than 600 million “dumpling” portions a year in over 700 stores nationwide. The preparation of the dumplings varies somewhat depending on the region in which the shops are located, but the quality is consistently good.
Six gyoza cost from ¥320, as does wakame seaweed soup. The menu also includes Chinese-style steamed shumai dumplings (three for ¥230), stir-fried prawns in chilli sauce for ¥730 and kimchi fried rice or ramen for ¥570.
Japan on the Cheap
Ramen, Udon & Soba
Cold sushi should not be overdone. And if you are travelling through Japan in spring or autumn, you will need hot soup now and then. In the hot summer, noodles are served cold. Here is a brief overview of Nippon noodles.
Udon are thick, soft wheat noodles that can be recognised by their light colour. They are served in a spicy broth made from dried seaweed and bonito flakes called dashi and come with ingredients such as tempura, spring onions or tofu.
Cold udon is called zaru udon because the noodles are served on a bamboo screen (zaru). They are dipped in the cool tsuyu dip with wasabi, ginger or spring onions.
Ramen noodles are also made from wheat, but are much thinner and often slightly wavy. This gives them a special texture. The ramen broth is based on meat, fish or vegetables. It is accompanied by thin slices of marinated pork belly (chashu), nori seaweed, egg and spring onions.
Soba noodles are made from buckwheat flour, which gives them their brown colour and nutty taste. Soba is served both warm in broth and cold with a tsuyu dip. There is also a cold version called zaru soba.
As with sushi, there are also nationwide chains for ramen fans. One of the big and good ones is “Ichiran Ramen”. This popular chain prepares its soups without trans fats and without any flavor enhancers. It is known for its tonkotsu ramen and spicy red sauce. The (really filling) portion costs just under five euros at 780 ¥.
But it can be even cheaper: “Kinryu Ramen” from Osaka charges 350 ¥ for a portion of Cashu Ramen. The first restaurant, which opened in 1982, is located in Osaka’s Dotonbori district and cannot be overlooked due to its huge dragon sculpture and the usually long queues.
Good ramen can also be found at Ippudo, which has over 50 branches nationwide. Shirimaru ramen is the classic version with tonkotsu broth made from pork bones, thin hakata noodles, pork belly, kikurage mushrooms, red ginger and spring onions.
The modern Akamaru version contains the mysterious umami dama miso paste, garlic, thick pork belly chashu, cabbage and sesame kikurage mushrooms, portion from ¥1,250.
The “Ramen Hidakaya” chain has over 400 shops nationwide and was founded almost 50 years ago.
Japan on the Cheap
Yes, we Curry!
Curry rice (kare raisu) is a national dish in Japan. It’s made with beef or chicken, potatoes, onions, carrots, ginger, garlic, nashi pear, and curry powder, plus pickled vegetables (fukujinzuke) on top. In fact, almost 8,500 tons of curry powder and five times that amount of sauces were sold in Japan recently.
It goes without saying that such a popular dish is also offered by chain restaurants. “CoCo Ichibanya”, also known as CoCoICHI, is a Japan-wide chain founded in the late 1970s that charges ¥850 for vegetarian curry rice and from ¥930 for curry rice with meat.
There is also Chicken Katsu Curry with chicken cutlets and Yasai Curry with lots of vegetables, as well as Ebi Nikomi Curry with steamed seafood.
Customers can choose between 150 and 900 grams of rice, as well as the degree of spiciness from mild and child-friendly (“amakuchi”) to 15 times hotter than “normal”!
Japan on the Cheap
Izakaya. A beer and a few bites
Izakayas are typical Japanese eateries that could be described as a cross between a pub and a tapas bar. Izakayas come in all shapes and sizes, from small to large, from cheap to Michelin-starred restaurants, from traditional tatami mat restaurants to those where you can order via an iPad.
Some izakayas sell tasty and filling dishes from as little as ¥340 a plate, and many offer all-you-can-drink and all-you-can-eat deals at very reasonable prices. A culinary and cultural experience not to be missed.
Japan on the Cheap
Gyudon. Nippons Soul Food
Gyudon is a bowl of rice under a sweet and salty mixture of beef and onions, slowly cooked with mirin and soy sauce. At Yoshinoya, the company motto is “Delicious. Cheap. Fast!” and they’ve been around for over 100 years. You can eat gyudon from ¥470 per bowl. This popular chain has over 1,220 outlets across Japan. The restaurant also offers deep-fried chicken karaage, yakiniku BBQ and tonkatsu dishes.
Japan on the Cheap
Katsuya or Steak?
Tonkatsu are pork cutlets that are breaded and deep-fried. Katsuya is a popular chain with 400 outlets in Japan. It is known for its varied tonkatsu offerings, including katsudon, pork cutlet on a bed of rice, katsu curry with curry sauce and rice.
While eating on the move is frowned upon, standing snack bars and eateries are widespread. You can get soba or udon there from ¥350. Sometimes the stand-up stores, tachigui in Japanese, are long, narrow hole-in-the-wall eateries, sometimes just a folding table with cooking utensils in a covered shopping street.
The tachigui concept is becoming increasingly popular all over Japan, with even steaks being served at bar counter by the brand of “Ikinari” all over the country. You pay by weight: 300 grams of chuck eye steak from 2,560 ¥, sirloin from 3,770 ¥ (23 euros).
Japan on the Cheap
Shopping Frenzy
No matter what you have forgotten and now need: plugs, cosmetics, briefs, irons, adapters, perfumes or watches. You can find this and much more in one of the more than 150 branches of the discounter ‘DonQuijote’, usually just called Donki.
From the original Rolex with certificate to kitchen utensils and wonder trees with a ‘Pooh’ fragrance to funny sex toys. Donki is a busy, cacophonous and colourful shopping frenzy.
It’s a whole different story at, in and around Japan’s railway stations. There’s a lot more peace and quiet, and you’ll find hundreds of shops catering to the needs and appetites of the millions of daily commuters in long passageways with an enormous range of quality and prices.
Japan on the Cheap
Take the Train
Driving on the left and the hassle of having a certified translation of the international driving licence required to hire a car make the rental car option less attractive. Unless you are travelling in small groups, then it is the cheapest option.
Strike- and delay-ravaged European rail travellers are in for a treat in Japan. Trains are super-punctual and always very clean. The train stations in the big cities are more like upmarket shopping and dining malls with rail sidings.
The fare and price structure can be a little complicated, as several major railway companies run trains across the country. Rail passes are therefore a good idea, although the Japan Rail Pass, which is popular with tourists, went up by 65 per cent last October and now costs 321 euros for 7 days and 513 euros for 14 days.
Regional rail passes are an interesting option. The Kansai Hiroshima Area Pass, for example, covers the entire region from Kyoto/Osaka to Hiroshima, but is only valid for five days and costs ¥17,000, or just under 105 euros.
The JR East-South Hokkaido Rail Pass covers the large area between Tokyo and Sapporo on the island of Hokkaido, including the Tohoku region, which is well worth a visit. However, it is only valid for six days and costs 35,000 yen (about 220 euros).
In Japan, you eat as little on trains as you do on the street. Unless you are on a long-distance train such as the Shinkansen or Limited Express Intercity. Every seat has a tray and a cup holder. It is best to buy a so-called ekiben at the departure station, as there are no dining cars on the trains, only mobile vendors.
The word ekiben is a combination of the Japanese eki for ‘train station’ and bento, the traditional lunch box. The regions of Japan are proud of their respective ekiben, which often reflect their culinary traditions and idiosyncrasies.
Japan on the Cheap
E-SIM. Surf a lot, pay little
The easiest way to travel is with an E-SIM. Then you don’t have to fiddle around with two SIM cards. Via Airolo, a surfing volume of 10 GB with the Japanese provider Moshi Moshi regularly costs 18 US-$, sometimes only 9 US-$, so you can surf and make calls via Whatsapp, Threema or other providers.
Japan on the Cheap
Where can I get Cash?
Despite Japan’s affinity for technology, the following still applies in some restaurants in large cities, on buses, in many museums and small shops: only cash is king.
To withdraw cash from ATMs, it is best to go to one of the ‘7 Eleven’ convenience stores, where you will almost always find a Seven Bank ATM. There are over 27,000 ATMs nationwide that accept Visa, Mastercard, Maestro (=EC card), American Express and Diners Club.
Another good place to go is post offices, which usually have an ‘International Service ATM’ that accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Diners Club.
Third safe option: In the ‘Family Mart’ and ‘Don Quijote’ shops there are ‘E-net’ ATMs where you can get money with Visa, MasterCard and Maestro (= EC card).
Click here for our stories Shikoku and Temple Stay and 22 Tips for Tokyo
IInformation about Japan is available from the country’s official travel guide by the JNTO
This article was originally written in German. It was translated into English with the help of Artificial Intelligence
