Hello all. Due to the changes after October 11, I decided to solo visit japan. However, I’m not too sure about the budget id need.
I plan on flying out on February 6 into Tokyo from Perth and returning on march 1.
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Looking at purchasing a 21-day JR pass
I will spend the 6th-11th in Tokyo, and then the 11th-20th in the Kansai region. My mum and her boyfriend are also in Sapporo for a week-long ski trip between the 20th-28th. I plan on joining them on the trip, by taking a shinkansen up to Sapporo on the 20th and returning to Tokyo to fly back on the 28th, with my flight planned for March 1st.
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The money I can save up for between now and then is about 2000-3000 (not including money for flights) and wanted some advice if possible on if 50-100 is enough per night, with about 30-50 a night on food. I also plan on staying at a ryokan for one night.
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Furthermore, I wanted to know if walk-ins would be feasible at this time, as id like a lot more freedom in terms of where I can stay. I’m open to capsules, hostels or any other hotel
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Thanks
3 comments
I’m assuming your numbers here are AUD?
$50-100 AUD a night, assuming that is all-inclusive with hotel, is going to be a VERY budget trip. You are going to be pretty much limited to hostels and konbini food at that price point.
One thing to note on your trip to Sapporo – the shinkansen stops at Shin-Hakodate. You’ll then transfer to an express train to Sapporo. The whole trip from Shin-Osaka to Sapporo is around 11 hours. Be prepared to spend an entire day on travel.
Are you sure you need JR Pass… Instead, I would just take the train from Tokyo to Kansai, fly from Kansai to Sapporo and if you go to a popular ski resort, there might be a direct bus to go there, and fly back to Tokyo. This will also save you lot of time in the train.
With low budget, you can expect to go to hostels for 2000 to 3000 yen a night for the cheapest place, count at least as much for food if you go to cheap restaurant, but you can always go cheaper with eating cup ramen… however, considering how food is good, it would be a waste to just eat cheap konbini food to save money.
If you book nothing, you also run the risk for the cheaper places to be booked.
It’s totally doable, but don’t expect anything fancy. I’ve done something similar a while back in Kansai with a daily budget of $100USD per day including hotels. For that price you’re going to look for budget hotels of around $40-50/night. The rooms will be small (<20sqm) and won’t come with any amenities. Try looking for business hotels, they are exactly the low price, no frills accommodation you need. Meals will be bakeries and simple meals from grocery stores as you get the best bang for the buck. One suggesting would be to have a few days of simple meals and save the extra money towards a more expensive/nice dinner. Also make sure to plan all the places you want to go in advance and do all the sightseeing in one area together to save on transportation costs (not all accept JR, especially in Kansai). You will be walking a lot but IMO that’s the best way to sightsee. Good luck!