Japan next year. Help with budget please!

[squid12346]

So, family of 4 wanting to go on holiday to Japan next summer(August). Can I get some ideas on how much we will need please?

Details as follows:
Family of 4, 2 adults, children 9 and 4 (when travelling)
For 2 weeks
Flights and hotels
Want to go to a few places taking bullet train- Tokyo, Osaka, kyoto.

How much should we save for this?

And what spending money would you suggest?

Also any suggestions of things we should see/do? My son is a massive Godzilla fan so would want to see things to do with Godzilla!

Thanks for all the help ☺️

Japan is horribly humid in August. I lived there for three years and found August really hard going. Saps energy like nothing else. Is there another time of year you could go?

Agree with going in the spring. We did 10 days a couple of years ago and it was fab. We did Tokyo- Kyoto (day trip to Hiroshima and Marijiama shrine) - Tokyo, with a day staying with a friend in between the two cities. We loved the Robot restaurant in Tokyo, which, if you have kids into Godzilla type stuff and don't mind noise and lights, they will love. Book in advance. Rail passes are a must and have to be bought from the UK and picked up in Japan. If you like the Studio Ghibli films- this looks awesome but I missed the ticket dates so we didn't go. www.ghibli-museum.jp/en/ Otherwise we did a lot of walking and looking- there is sooo much to see, and it is free. Best family holiday we have had in years.

We were due to be in Japan at the moment (and indeed originally last July) for the Olympics. Two adults and two DDs, currently 16 and 13, for almost three weeks; similar itinerary to your suggestions with 4-5 changes of accommodation, visiting a few different cities, and rail pass included.

We've ended up cancelling but had booked through a specialist Japan travel company and a travel counsellor. It was about £12k though accommodation particularly for a few nights in Tokyo was due to be particularly expensive due to demand at Games time.

Still hoping to rearrange, though as others have said if we're not tied to the Games then another time away from the heat and humidity in July/August may be better. Though we're entering a stretch of A levels and GCSEs over the next couple of years that make timing it tricky, we may end up having to stick with summer!

We stayed here in Osaka and location is excellent for restaurants, shopping, metro etc,.
en.hoteltheflag.jp/
Disney Sea is worth a visit.

@squiglet111

Does the travelcard work for going all over Japan? Or just for each city?

You can buy a JR rail pass which works all over Japan but not on local lines and subways. You can get pretty much anywhere on it and you can use it for the bullet train. It's definitely worth it if you are travelling around.

We brought 4 children aged 11,9,9 and 3 to Japan for 2 weeks about 7 years ago and it was amazing.
We went in the spring and were there for the cherry blossom and also for the geisha dances in Kyoto.
Spend at least one night in a tradition ryokan with a traditional Japanese meal if you can.

We didn’t go to Disney Sea which I really regret.
Would echo what everyone else had said about rail passes.

It’s amazing and you’ll love it! I was £700 for flights via Amsterdam 4 years ago. That was return to Osaka.

I made a big mistake with a ‘cheap’ hotel. Shifted after 1 night! Pay more and go for a Western hotel, that was my learning. I stayed at a known brand in the end, the ‘Weston’, twas fantastic.

Ooh great timing!
We initially wanted to go this year as DH's big birthday. We're a family of four too, but with teenagers, we were looking at 20k all in.

@ThisIsStartingToBoreMe

Watching this thread with interest and wondered if anyone has ever stayed in a capsule hotel in Japan?

Yes, in Osaka for one night. Interesting and unique experience but not for more than one night for me.

For cheap accommodation there are many hostels and guest houses (minshuku).

Japan (excluding flights) is as expensive as you wish to make it.

My favourite Japan tour guides are Paolo
and Chris

We had an amazing time there in April 2019, when the DC were 9 and 6. We probably spent around £11/12k all in, flying business one way and premium economy the other. We did Disneyland/DisneySea, other theme parks, general sightseeing, animal cafes in Tokyo and a great river trip and geisha show in Kyoto. Back next April.

We went for honeymoon and had the best time, definitely planning to go back with kids when they're big enough.

There was an amazing (v funny, so tongue in cheek) ninja museum, we traveled ages to get there but it was worth it.

We booked everything through Inside Japan, they make custom individual tours and you can adjust to cost. Realky recommend, they made it easy and we went to fantastic places, sone really remote and out of the way with almost no westerners and so special for it.

In Kyoto we stayed in a youth hostel in a temple. Oh it was all so brilliant.

@Springspringhurrah

We went for honeymoon and had the best time, definitely planning to go back with kids when they're big enough.

There was an amazing (v funny, so tongue in cheek) ninja museum, we traveled ages to get there but it was worth it.

We booked everything through Inside Japan, they make custom individual tours and you can adjust to cost. Realky recommend, they made it easy and we went to fantastic places, sone really remote and out of the way with almost no westerners and so special for it.

In Kyoto we stayed in a youth hostel in a temple. Oh it was all so brilliant.

So great to hear a recommendation for InsideJapan! We are planning to book through them for our 2023 trip.

Can I ask what kind of price the insider experiences are?

Hello, I'm afraid I really don't remember..I know it was the most expensive holiday I've ever been on! But was honeymoon and we asked for contributions rather than wedding presents.
Of I remember you could do many price variations with inside Japan and our accommodation varied widely eg we had 4* fairly western style hotel in Tokyo, (to get over jet lag, crikey o don't fancy that with little kids?!) Then tiny b and b style place out in the sticks, rooms above a restaurant somewhere else, and they were all different prices, we went through multiple versions of the itinerary before booking.

These budgets seem mad to me (unless you want luxury!) we did it in 2018, family of four. £2k for flights and around £3k for two weeks including all travel, accommodation and food. We ate mostly in ramen bars / fast sushi places and did lots of walking. We did get trains and managed Disney for two days :) we stayed in family rooms in Japanese hotels and bought lots of packed lunches in 7/11 stores - best holiday of my life!

I am not in Japan but have quite a few business contacts there.
When I mentioned that I was considering coming over next year for a family holiday they said to postpone for a couple of years.
We are considering Korea instead

We went in July/August 2019. The heat was manageable except in Kyoto where we didn't do half as much as we wanted to as it was blisteringly hot and we just had no energy after a few hours outside.

As far as budget went, we spent around £2k on flights (Alitalia via Rome - pretty uncomfortable packed aircraft) and then around £3.5k while there. We had some amazing experiences (temple stay in Koyasan), used bullet trains (bought passes before leaving UK) and we can't wait to return. Such an amazing country and lovely people. Next time I'd go in spring.

your very lucky to be going to japan , id love to go there , personally id love to go to cat island , if your interested on what it looks like exploring with josh on youtube had a video of his trip to it

We went a few years ago during Easter holidays, family of 5, kids were 10, 13 and 15. Spent approx £10k. Worth every penny, was our best family holiday! Stayed in mix of hotels, ryokans and air b & b’s . Used railcards, public transport fairly easy to use, esp in cities.

I just remembered something. Totally amazing ninja restaurant in Kyoto. So much fun. Magic shows and amazing food dressed up as ninja things - eg throwing star crackers .
Also the Ninja museum which was somewhere remote and we traveled a long way ( with dreadful hangovers I remember) but it was worth the trip. There was a Ninja castle/ house full of hidden door,traps etc - also the live show, totally hammy with batman style 'pow' 'smash' dubbed over sound effects. It was so much fun.

We plan to return when our kids are a bit bigger and definitely go back to both these places

@Scottishmum1984

These budgets seem mad to me (unless you want luxury!) we did it in 2018, family of four. £2k for flights and around £3k for two weeks including all travel, accommodation and food. We ate mostly in ramen bars / fast sushi places and did lots of walking. We did get trains and managed Disney for two days :) we stayed in family rooms in Japanese hotels and bought lots of packed lunches in 7/11 stores - best holiday of my life!

Agree with this. Buy bento boxes before you get on the train, that’s a cheap meal sorted.

Definitely stay in a few ryokan, it’s a fantastic experience and often cheaper than western style hotels. We loved Matsubaya Ryokan in Kyoto.

Don’t bother taking toothbrushes or toothpaste with you, the hotels provide them.

Getting around on public transport is super easy and the iPhone maps app helps you plan your trips even on buses etc.

Be prepared to use a lot of sign language, you will meet lots of people who don’t speak English!