The awesome thing about vacationing in Japan is you can do it on a budget and don’t need to go the luxury route to have an amazing trip!
1. Book Capsule Hotels!
Capsule hotels are a special kind of accommodation in Japan that quite literally involves sleeping in a capsule! These pods are comfortable, cozy, and surprisingly not as claustrophobic as you’d think. The inside is rather spacious and the entrance can be left open or closed with a curtain shutter, so you’re never totally locked into the capsule. You can book these cozy capsules for as low as 20 USD per night, and they can be found everywhere from bustling cities like Shinjuku to quiet towns like Gotanda.
2. Overnight Buses instead of Bullet Trains
Shinkansen, or “bullet trains,” are one of the most iconic and effective forms of prefecture-to-prefecture travel in Japan, allowing you to go from Osaka to Tokyo in just a couple of hours. However, a one-way trip can be quite pricey, costing something like 100 USD for a 2-3 hour trip. A budget-friendly alternative to this is Japan’s overnight buses, which are significantly cheaper, with options as low as 10 USD to get from Osaka to Tokyo (depending on the company and time booked). Of course, as its name suggests, overnight buses are quite long trips, typically running from around 11 pm until 7 or 8 am the following morning (don’t worry, there will be toilet stops along the way!)
3. Maximize Combinis!
Convenience store food in Japan is the real deal, earning a global reputation as delicious, aesthetically pleasing, and ridiculously cheap! For the equivalent of a couple of US dollars, you can have a succulent bento box consisting of steamed seasoned rice, marinated chicken cutlets, and a side of vegetables. It can definitely help you save money if you have, say, your breakfast at a convenience store and save the restaurant experiences for dinner!
4. Chain Restaurants
Beyond convenience stores, Japan is known for its 24-hour establishments serving up rice bowls at a similarly low price. Restaurants like Sukiya can be found all over the country at every corner, with menus featuring delicious gyudon (Japanese-style beef and rice bowls) for about 2-3 USD per dish! Other notable places with super affordable food include Nakau (chicken and egg bowls), Saizeriya (Italian cuisine), and Coco Ichibanya (Japanese curry house).
5. Free Nature Activities
Forget about crowded Universal Studios and expensive geisha experiences and breathe the free air at Japan’s massive selection of nature hikes! Beautiful scenery with breathtaking mountain views is open to the public without costing you a single yen; just pop on your shoes and get moving! I highly recommend routes like Mt. Daimonji and Mt. Hiei in Kyoto to experience incredible autumn leaves, World Heritage Sites, and spectacular views from the summit. There are also countless temples and shrines you can visit for free or for a very low entry fee of 500 yen or less (particularly in cities like Kyoto).
To learn more about life in Japan, check out my book: The Japanese Pursuit of Perfection. This book features my most profound observations of Japanese culture and society as a foreign resident. Available in e-book, paperback, and hardcover. Grab your copy today!