How much do I need to prepare before visiting Japan

[aimemories4109]

Hi ALL!

I want to visit Japanese within this year. Since I am 'absolute beginner' of Japanese, I need sometime to prepare, eg learning Japanese, and saving money for the trip.

I know that Japan's living standard is one of the most expensive among countries. I wonder how much do we need to survive in Japan for one day?

I need your suggestions to decide how much money I need to prepare before visiting Japan! Please give me some info!

[purpleama5366]

hiya,
I'm in the states and I'm going in September, but I've been planning to go since January. Mmmm i might be a little more particular than some folks though, hahah.

Uhm, keep track of the curreny exchange rate. It fluctuates so if you're serious about watching how much you spend then i would do this first. Also don't forget to tell your bank that you're going.

If you don't have friends to crash with make sure you read the details about any hotels you decide to stay in, it's all in the details they don't hide anything. These also just might be general travels suggestions for anywhere actually. i hope it was somewhat helpful.

[jaehwi]

Hi aimemories4109!

It 's great that you want to prepare yourself before the trip!

Yes, Japan is one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in. How much you are going to spend depends from the purpose of your visit. Are you coming here for a few days or a few months? Are you staying with friends or are you going to stay in a hotel, hostel etc.?

Everything depends on that initially. Also in which city are you going to be?

If you are staying here for a few days, maybe it won't be as expensive as you can imagine, but on the long term it is. What makes Japan so expensive is housing. The rent fees are very expensive. If you have a look at real estate companies on the internet you will get an idea. However for a short stay traveler you can find affordable solutions in cheap hostels by sleeping in a dorm for example. That means of course that you cannot expect luxury or the services and privacy of a hotel, so it depends on you.

Transportation is relatively more expensive than Europe for example, but again.... how much you spend, depends on how often you want to travel and where to. A different city? Within the same city and how often?

Food can be reasonably priced. You can choose to eat out and spend more, or buy cheap ready meals from convenience stores and use a microwave at your hostel for example. If you are staying with friends you can shop from a supermarket and cook, which it would also be affordable. Convenience store food can be Ok for a few days, but not on the long term!

So maybe you can tell us more details and we can give you a better answer

@purpleama5366:
Thank you for sharing here these suggestions. They are really useful!

Cheers everyone,

Stefania/JapanesePod101.com