Visit Japan on a Budget

Traveling in Japan with a limited budget is possible. The islands’ life might seem costly, however the archipelago offers a wide range of transportation and accommodation services adapted to all budgets. Planning in advance remains the best solution to dig out the best value for money.

For those having time, long distance trips between larger cities can be done by night buses or boats. Also, hitch hiking works in the countryside.

There are several solutions to sleep at lower costs such as "manga kissa", capsule hotels and minshuku guest houses. Couch-surfing, that is to say free lodging at an inhabitant’s house, is less developed than in Western countries due to the small size of houses and the difficulty for Japanese people to welcome strangers at home.

On site, the country offers numerous free visits and combined tickets for several places, or comprising the transportation to get there from the closest train station. You can find here our information and advice to stay in Japan with a smaller budget and free destinations to visit.

Finally, to better estimate your spendings during your stay in the Japanese archipelago, you can use our Travel Budget Calculator.