Cost of Travel in Japan as a Foreign Resident: My New Year's Trip
My passport and the Seishun 18 ticket were necessary money-savers for my trip.
I’m in that awkward position where I have a work visa in Japan, so I can’t qualify for rail passes reserved only for those with tourist visas, but I can still find discounts in random places because I have a foreign passport. So if I know where to look, it’s not such a bad deal. Plus, I like the slow trains. I’ve still been able to get around to most of the country during school breaks while still saving extra money each year. For each trip I take, I’ve also been able to find new ways to cut costs and still have amazing experiences.
My trips always cost me more than I estimate because the little expenses add up, so for my New Year’s trip, I decided to record every expense meticulously to see where my money was going. I wrote notes at the end of each day and referred to all my receipts, so this record is as accurate as I can make it. Use it as a measure for how much your next trip in Japan will cost. However, note that for this trip I was lucky with finding new friends who let me stay the night a few times, which cut costs a bit.
Before I show the breakdown of expenses, here are a few things to take note of: First, for the Seishun 18 train ticket, I divided the cost between the five days I can use it, so ¥2410 per day. I used one day of the first ticket I bought before this trip, so I only included the cost of the four other days. Second, I used my Suica card for luggage lockers and short train and bus expenses that are not covered by the Seishun 18 ticket. Some lockers only accepted coins, so included those in the “Fees” section. Lastly, my food costs vary depending on if I ate out, was fed by my hosts, or bought food from a grocery store. I spent more time at grocery stores than usual on this trip, and I discovered that I could buy dinner along with breakfast for the following day for under ¥1000 because of evening price mark-downs.
December 26th (Day 1)
| Transportation: | |
| Train Aomori to Morioka | ¥2,000 |
| Airfare Sendai to Osaka | ¥6,100 |
| Seishun 18 ticket | ¥2,410 |
| Bus | ¥210 |
| Suica card reload | ¥2,000 |
| Lodging: | |
| Capsule hotel in Himeji | ¥2,280 |
| Food: | |
| Convenience store, sushi, grocery store | ¥2,461 |
| Shopping: | |
| Gifts for people on my travels | ¥1,510 |
| Total | ¥18,971 |
It’s unfortunate, but I can’t get to Morioka using the Seishun 18 pass because the Iwate Galaxy Line is not a JR line, and they do not accept the pass. I have to buy a separate ticket instead. Once I reach Morioka, I can use the pass all the way to Sendai on the JR Tohoku Line.
December 27th (Day 2)
| Transportation: | |
| Seishun 18 Ticket | ¥2,410 |
| Lodging: | |
| Stay with friend in Tottori | Free |
| Food: | |
| Convenience store, cheese tarts, Indian curry, vending | ¥2,284 |
| Total | ¥4,694 |
The day was mostly spent riding local trains between Himeji and Tottori along with stopping in Kinosaki Onsen for some delicious cheese tarts.
December 28th (Day 3)
| Transportation: | |
| Tottori area bus pass | ¥600 |
| Lodging: | |
| Capsule hotel in Tottori | ¥2,600 |
| Food: | |
| Soft cream, tofu steaks, farmer's market | ¥2,211 |
| Fees: | |
| Sand Museum, Folk Craft Museum | ¥750 |
| Luggage locker | ¥400 |
| Shopping: | |
| Souvenirs | ¥3,760 |
| Total | ¥10,321 |
Food expenses worked out really well today because my host fed me breakfast, and then the farmer’s market and fish market areas had many free samples. I bought a couple tofu steaks after I already ate a whole tofu steak worth of samples. Tottori is the best city I’ve seen for free samples at the markets and station shops.
December 29th (Day 4)
| Transportation: | |
| Train to Izumo Shrine | ¥1,000 |
| Seishun 18 ticket | ¥2,410 |
| Lodging: | |
| Guesthouse in Matsue (two nights) | ¥5,600 |
| Food: | |
| Bakery, convenience store, vending, grocery | ¥3,074 |
| Shopping: | |
| Take-home Izumo soba, omikuji (fortunes) | ¥848 |
| Total | ¥12,932 |
I found the best bakery ever in Tottori where most the breads were only ¥100, and the orange juice was cheap. I was able to buy for breakfast and lunch. Then in the evening I went grocery shopping for dinner, and also bought enough food for breakfast and lunch the following day.
December 30th (Day 5)
| Transportation: | |
| Bus pass Matsue area | ¥520 |
| Horikawa tour boat | ¥1,200 |
| Food: | |
| Izumo soba, sweets shop | ¥1,770 |
| Fees: | |
| Various museums and tourist sites | ¥1,080 |
| Shopping: | |
| Postcards, dorayaki | ¥1,146 |
| Total | ¥5,716 |
It seemed like every admission fee in Matsue was discounted for foreigners. I learned that I should always bring my passport when I travel, even if I’m not flying or leaving the country. However, I did not even need to show my passport at most places. They just looked at me and assumed I was not born in Japan. But it is still good to bring along just in case. A couple places did want proof.
December 31st (Day 6)
| Transportation: | |
| Seishun 18 ticket | ¥2,410 |
| Lodging: | |
| Guesthouse in Hagi, Yamaguchi | ¥2,600 |
| Food: | |
| Convenience store, vending | ¥1,269 |
| Fees: | |
| Adachi Museum | ¥1,150 |
| Laundry | ¥500 |
| Shopping: | |
| Postcards, notepads | ¥920 |
| Total | ¥8,849 |
I went to the Adachi Museum in the morning, and like everything else in Shimane, it was discounted for showing my foreign passport. I then spent the rest of the day riding trains to get from Matsue to Hagi City.
January 1st (Day 7)
| Transportation: | |
| Bus in Shimonoseki | ¥480 |
| Seishun 18 ticket | ¥2,410 |
| Lodging: | |
| Hotel in Shin-Yamaguchi, breakfast included | ¥3,960 |
| Food: | |
| Soba, convenience store | ¥1588 |
| Castle ruins, burial site, and ceramics museum | ¥740 |
| Shopping: | |
| Souvenirs, omikuji, gifts for Hiroshima hosts | ¥4,830 |
| Total | ¥14,008 |
I discovered on this trip that I really like ceramics and pottery. The castle town of Hagi in Yamaguchi had numerous shops selling hagiyaki, and I spent hours looking at this beautiful pottery and ceramics, and of course bought some for myself and my mom.
January 2nd (Day 8)
| Transportation: | |
| Bus in Iwakuni | ¥600 |
| Seishun 18 ticket | ¥2,410 |
| Lodging: | |
| Stay with friends on Etajima, Hiroshima | Free |
| Food: | |
| Convenience store, vending, croquette | ¥748 |
| Fees: | |
| Iwakuni combined ticket, luggage locker | ¥1720 |
| Total | ¥5,478 |
I bought a combination ticket for the Iwakuni bridge, castle, and ropeway, which also gave me a discount for the White Snake Museum. For my lodging, I was very lucky my new friends in Hiroshima decided to pick me up from the station and bring me to their home on Etajima. They also provided a fantastic dinner of the local specialty: fried oysters.
January 3rd (Day 9)
| Transportation: | |
| Ferry from Etajima to Hiroshima City | ¥460 |
| Bus | ¥190 |
| Lodging: | |
| Stay with friend in Hiroshima City | Free |
| Food: | |
| Curry dinner | ¥930 |
| Fees: | |
| Given to shrine | ¥10 |
| Total | ¥1,590 |
My cheapest day because I stayed with friends, they fed me, and I did not travel far.
January 4th (Day 10)
| Transportation: | |
| Miyajima ferry | ¥360 |
| Ropeway on Miyajima | ¥1,010 |
| Lodging: | |
| Stay with friend in Hiroshima City | Free |
| Food: | |
| Convenience store | ¥650 |
| Fees: | |
| Temples and shrines | ¥180 |
| Shopping: | |
| Postcards, cup | ¥1,800 |
| Momiji manju | ¥3860 |
| Total | ¥7,860 |
Yes, I bought a ridiculous amount of momiji manju, which are little bean paste cakes that Miyajima is famous for. They have so many unique flavors you can find only on the island and in Hiroshima city, so I wanted to try them all while I was there. I also got quite a few to bring home and share with friends. Each one is usually about ¥100. I know I will spend just as much on them if I went back again.
January 5th (Day 11)
| Transportation: | |
| Seishun 18 | ¥2,410 |
| Suica reload | ¥2,000 |
| Lodging: | |
| Guesthouse in Okayama | ¥2,700 |
| Food: | |
| Convenience store, lemon daifuku, grocery store | ¥1,641 |
| Shipping gift to a friend | ¥1,100 |
| Shrine entry | ¥100 |
| Shopping: | |
| Gifts for work and friends, clay cat, daruma figures | ¥5250 |
| Total | ¥15,201 |
Expenses really added up today as I was coming to the end of my trip and wanted to buy a few things for friends and work.
January 6th (Day 12)
| Transportation: | |
| Street car | ¥100 |
| Seishun 18 ticket | ¥2,410 |
| Lodging: | |
| Guesthouse in Kobe | ¥1,955 |
| Food: | |
| McDonald's, Lindt chocolate, grocery | ¥2,310 |
| Fees: | |
| Okayama castle and garden, combined ticket | ¥580 |
| Shopping: | |
| Postcards, Bizen pottery, kibidango | ¥4,231 |
| Total | ¥11,586 |
Almost at the end of my trip. Did some last minute shopping and spent the day getting the most of the seishun 18 ticket by traveling back and forth on trains in Okayama and then to Kobe.
January 7th (Day 13)
| Transportation: | |
| Trains Sendai airport to station, Morioka to Aomori | ¥2,660 |
| Seishun 18 ticket | ¥2,410 |
| Suica reload | ¥2,000 |
| Airfare Osaka to Sendai | ¥5,500 |
| Food: | |
| Convenience store | ¥280 |
| Fees: | |
| Parking for full trip | ¥2,600 |
| Total | ¥15,450 |
Last day. Transportation really added up in order for me to get myself from Kobe to Aomori and back home again.
Summary of Full Trip
| Transportation | ¥50,680 |
| Lodging | ¥21,695 |
| Food | ¥21,216 |
| Fees | ¥10,910 |
| Shopping | ¥28,155 |
| Total | ¥132,656 |
So the total cost of this trip was ¥132,656. With the current exchange rate, that is roughly $1,200. It definitely cost more than I planned. I was hoping it would be under ¥100,000, but I bought more gifts for myself than expected, and transportation costs really added up.
Overall, it was a very satisfying trip and the experiences I had were worth the cost. I am very interested in seeing what my other trips will cost in the future and how I can cut costs.
Let me know how I did. Got any tips to save more money, especially on transportation costs? Let me know in the comments below!