Is Tokyo expensive? 7 ideas to save money on your trip to Tokyo

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Traveling to the distant and mysterious city of Tokyo is a dream come true for many of us who love to travel. However, from an early age, we got used to associating the idea of ​​traveling to Tokyo with the high price associated with that trip and that has always been one of our concerns, especially since we started traveling with our son because Family travelers know that travel costs increase with parenting.


Trying to overcome these fears, it was not until 2018 that we finally managed to make one of our dreams come true and to know one of the cities that most delighted us to know, and that we really advise visiting, because we had a wonderful experience that we will surely repeat.

Is Tokyo expensive?


Before answering this question, we invite you to visit our post to get to know our Tokyo city trip and itinerary in detail (click here for our 4 day Tokyo itinerary).

But let's go looking to answer the real question and the reason for our post: is it expensive to travel to Tokyo?

Traveling to Tokyo by plane often tends to be very expensive. However, we will not address much about the price of air travel to Tokyo. Of course, this always depends on your place of origin and, in our case, a trip from Europe to Tokyo is never cheap, but we can also guarantee that it is currently possible to do it at prices that would have been impossible to reach a few years ago. which has allowed more and more people to visit the city, the capital of Japan.

Now what we were afraid of was the cost of living in Tokyo, because for many years we had heard stories of the absurd prices of, for example, buying a watermelon in Tokyo, which really made us terrified and wondered how we could afford our money. stay in the city.

However, after our experience in Tokyo, in a nutshell, we are forced to say that while this is not the cheapest destination in the world, we can consider that a good holiday can be spent at prices that are cheaper than for example, many of the European cities we have visited.

So let's get down to business and leave our suggestions on how you can save money on your trip to Tokyo.

1- How to save on your stay in Tokyo?



This is a question that can scare a lot of people and the truth is that it scared us a lot. However, if you book in advance, you will find that you can get a very acceptable price for a good room in Tokyo. One of the issues for those traveling with children is the increased price for family rooms, but what we found is that there are hotels that allow a child to stay up to a certain age free of charge if they sleep in their parents' bed. So that's what we did, during our stay our 7-year-old son slept in our room and we just had to pay his breakfast apart. For a reasonable quality room, 3 stars, well located in our opinion, we paid in July 2018 less than € 80 per night which we considered a very good price when compared to cities like Paris, New York or London where we paid much higher values.

In addition to the need to book several months in advance, we recommend that you book with the possibility of free cancellation and, as your travel date approaches, go through the different offers to find better options.

Another of the secrets of marking a good hotel is the location. Unlike other major cities, Tokyo cannot be said to have a center. Instead, it has several centers, and the key to a good location for your stay is to stay by the Yamanote train line. This is a circular line that runs close to the city's main attractions, and being located at a station on this line will ensure you quick and easy access to just about anything you want to see in Tokyo.

Another option we didn't use because we don't consider it the best for our family but may be great for many travelers is the ability to sleep in a Capsule Hotel. In addition to being a different and very “Tokyo” experience, it is one of the best ways to get accommodation at really low prices.

2- Always ride on public transport  (or walk)


Another issue we recommend to save money is to always use public transport. In Tokyo, Taxi and Uber are extremely expensive and we only recommend them as a last resort. Even in the last need, it is to be avoided. For example, the train crashes near Haneda Airport shortly after midnight, but there is still a chance to go by night bus (see here our post on how to get from Haneda Airport to the city center) If you prepare your trip well, you'll almost always find affordable alternatives.


The cost of train and subway tickets in Tokyo does not differ much from those in other major cities, so your budget will not go down. In order to save even more, what we recommend is for those who like to walk to organize their itinerary so as to walk as few public means of transport as possible and also to walk to the fullest, which is always a wonderful way to know a city like Tokyo.

As we made our itinerary to see the city of Tokyo (click here to see), we tried to organize ourselves to divide the areas we wanted to visit, so we never had to ride more than 3 times by metro or train in one day, sometimes even just twice, so it was not worth buying the daily ticket, we just bought the tickets for each trip. Naturally, one is afraid to imagine what it will be like to buy transport tickets in a city like Tokyo, but you will find it easier than it sounds (click here on our post to find out how to do it).

3- Don't buy internet


The truth is that nowadays it is becoming increasingly difficult to travel on the internet and it is something that many people do not dispense with when traveling outside of their country. And in Tokyo, the internet really serves as a powerful aid to your trip. However, what we tried to do was get the benefits of the internet without paying. We'll explain how we did it, but for more detailed explanations, we invite you to visit our post on the best free apps for your trip to Tokyo.


The way we organized to save money on the internet was, at home, by organizing our itinerary and booking ahead in the free GPS app with the Tokyo map (see here to learn more). This way we always had our destinations organized and we didn't need the internet to reach them. However, as you can see in our post, there are still other applications that are extremely useful but that need the internet. One of the great aids was to be able to organize our metro/train trips and help buy tickets. But here comes another good news, is that all the metro/train stations we walked had free and good quality wifi. What's more, it is not very difficult to find free wifi in Tokyo (there are such apps that help, as you can see in our post) and also in the hotel room we had internet which helps a lot to organize the next day as well as to share and communicate with family and friends.

This way, with just some organization, we can make our trip without having to pay for the internet. Is it a bit more work? Yes. But it's cheaper and for those who save every penny when traveling, this option is a good way to save a little.

4- Don't buy water


Another way to save money is to travel with your reusable bottle and fill up. The water in Tokyo is very good and you will have no problem drinking it. Walking around Tokyo will have to consume a lot of water, especially in hot weather, and a good way to save money (and the environment) really is to use a reusable bottle and not buy any water. Throughout the city, there are several fountains in which you can safely fill.

5- Save on food


By this we do not mean to stop eating or to eat less than you need. The cost of food in Tokyo can be very expensive but it can also be very affordable.



We live in Portugal and we consider that Portugal is one of the best places in the world to eat well (and accompany with a good wine, for those who like), for very affordable prices. Now what we can guarantee is that after our trip to Tokyo, you can eat very well at very affordable prices.

One of the questions that make this possible is to study the places to eat. If you are going to see our Tokyo itinerary (see here), we refer to several places where we ate and many of them had already done some research on where to eat well and cheaply in the areas where we would be. And often the secret is going to eat where the Japanese eat.

Something very good is that you only pay the price of the dish you eat. Nowhere did we have to pay for the drink as there is always water and often tea available. Often there may even be soup at the entrance, for which you will not have to pay.

However, we can guarantee that we eat very good sushi, soba, ramen, for prices that would be perfectly acceptable in Portugal (around € 7 per person). By the way, the most expensive meal we had was about € 15 per person but it was a wonderful sushi lunch by the fish market Tsukiji (you can see our description here) and we can guarantee that for a meal of that quality, in Portugal we would pay at least double.

Another way to save money on food was to use the Kombinis, which are small supermarkets, or convenience stores, which are on every street in Tokyo, especially Family Mart and Lowson, something like 7 Eleven stores.

The point is that in these stores you can eat really good food and for very cheap prices. They sell packaged meals, which they call “Bentos”, with traditional Japanese dishes, at really affordable prices, and even better, when they are not sold soon, after a few hours they get even cheaper so you can buy your meal. really affordable prices and eat wherever you want. If they wish, they can heat their plate in the store and in some there are even small spaces to eat your meal.

If you want to try different types of local beer, these are the places to buy them, as you can try different types of cold beer for less than half the price you would pay at a bar.

Also in larger stores, you will find the famous Depachika, usually on the lower floor or in the basement. These Depachika are an ideal way to sample traditional dishes as they sell food to take with you, although here you can also find places to eat. Generally, the prices are great compared to eating in restaurants and believe me it is a wonderful way to eat traditional Japanese food at truly affordable prices.



Another excellent option is eating street food. This concept that wins fans around the world has a place of excellence in Tokyo. Personally, we loved the chicken kabobs, called Yakitori by the locals, which we highly recommend.

6- Visit Tokyo's free attractions


Many cities in the world have a lower cost of living than Tokyo, it is a fact but not many can visit so many attractions without spending any money. By the way, the vast majority of Tokyo's main attractions are free or for very low prices. Which is really amazing, because we can spend extraordinary days without spending any money, hard to come by in most of the big cities we know. A wonderful example of what we are talking about is something always important to accomplish, which is being able to climb to the top of one of the largest buildings in a city to see the view. In Tokyo, you have 3 possibilities to do this activity, two of which, the Tokyo Skytree and the Tokyo Tower are really paid and its cost is high but, Tokyo offers the possibility to climb to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building and enjoy the skyline of the city totally free, a must-see (see here on our third day in Tokyo for more information on how to climb the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building for free).


We invite you once again to visit our 4-day Tokyo itinerary, where you can confirm that we spent little money on attractions throughout our trip to Tokyo.

7- Buy your souvenirs at ¥ 100 shops in Tokyo


Isn't it like going on vacation and buying souvenirs for yourself and your family? Well, don't worry that in Tokyo you can bring wonderful and funny memories without your budget exploding. To do this, we recommend you take a walk around the 100 Yen stores, where for 100 Yen, as the price indicates, you can buy souvenirs (and not only that but you can also buy everyday items you need) for 100 yen, a value of less than one euro or one dollar.


We invite you to read this article on Time Out about the best ¥ 100 shops in Tokyo to discover the best places to shop.

Conclusion


By way of conclusion, and once our trip is over, we can guarantee that you can have a great vacation in Tokyo without having to spend all your bank account money.

Of course, everything depends on the type of trip and traveler you are. If it is your wish, and not about to give up certain luxuries, Tokyo can and can really be a very expensive city. We, as travelers, are not properly tied to luxuries, and we do not mind waiving certain luxuries if this allows us to travel further. However, we have our needs and requirements for family travel. We don't dispense with our comfort and safety and we love to try new foods, new flavors, and new experiences.



The point is, in Tokyo, it is possible to get a good 3-star hotel for a reasonable price (when booking well in advance) and if you choose to eat where the locals eat (which is often a sign of food) you can have wonderful dining experiences at very good prices. As for getting to know the main attractions of Tokyo City, there won't be many places in the world where you can see so much, spending so little.

Regarding travel, as we mentioned, public transport within the city of Tokyo is affordable and of course, we highly recommend walking. Those who wish to ride a taxi will surely spend a lot of money.

Remember, when making your reservations, trying to avoid peak seasons, and booking your hotel along the Yamanote line, you'll find it will be of tremendous importance both in financial terms, but also in community and time wasted in travels.

We hope our ideas may help you plan your family trip to Tokyo. We would like to invite you to follow our experience with us for the 4 days of the trip, in which we describe in detail our entire trip and we believe that it will help you to plan your trip to Tokyo.

Don't forget that hotels can be very expensive in Tokyo and, you should start searching for accommodations early before the prices get really high. We always do our reservations with booking, they are our partners and it’s with them that we get the best deals. You can look for the best deals by clicking here, it won't cost you any money and, it helps us to support our blog.

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We also would love to invite you to comment and give your opinion, and we thank you very much for your visit to our Non Stop Family travel blog, which we hope you have liked and continue to visit us.

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