Is this a realistic budget for Japan?

[Shudacudawuda]

Hi, we are planning a trip to Japan for July 2027. We are a family of 4, kids will be 18 and 13 when we go.
Is £12k a realistic budget for 2.5 weeks? We want to include a couple of days at Universal Studios but other than that are at the beginning of the planning stages so looking to fit our itinerary to the budget..... but I don't want to start getting excited if the budget is completely unrealistic! We are happy to go low budget accommodation wise.
I'm thinking flights will be c£6k so that leaves £6k for 4 people for everything else. Can we do a decent trip with that?

No advice but following, as this is a trip I’d love to do with my lot.

Once you are there it can be very inexpensive. Especially if you take slow or local trains. Accommodation will always be clean and safe…but might be very small if cheap, tourist sites are relatively cheap. And the good thing is even walking the streets is interesting so you don’t have to ‘do’ lots of paid for stuff. Eating out is good and cheap, especially if you like noodles.

it’s not Indonesia or Philippines cheap but it’s not eye watering either.

It depends how much time you want in the cities. Cheap accommodation in Tokyo for instance will be difficult, and the rooms are small so you will probably need 2. Price in London plus a bit, so £100-150 a night per room. That’s going to eat at least 50-75% of your budget, but then you mention universal so will be more in Osaka where it’s a little (but not substantially) cheaper. Maybe more like £75-100 a night.

food is cheap, you can get a good sandwich for about £2, decent dinner for £10 a person (more if you want sushi, and wagyu steaks start at about £100 each), transport is reasonable.

it also depends on the time of year. Cherry blossom season is definitely out for that much. Summer is pretty horrific weather wise and v hot and humid, but cheaper. Autumn is good for the tree colours but will mean rain and needing a coat.

Tokyo inn is about equivalent to a travel lodge to get a feel for price vs quality.

Most of that will be swallowed by flights and accommodation. We did both for around 6.5k (for 3 weeks, 2 years ago). Flights now are more like 6k, but booking WAY in advance usually is cheaper.

Once you are there, with paid-for accommodation, life is relatively cheap. Food is cheap, transport is cheap, most activities are relatively cheap. Disney and Universal are SO CHEAP compared to US/Europe, so you must make the effort to go! I spent too much cash shopping! 4 suitcases worth of stuff bought because the shopping there is amazing and I like buying gifts😅

Also, please fly with Japan Airlines or ANA. JAL started the holiday early, and had remained the best airline I have ever flown with.

Just got back from Japan. Conversely to other posters, I think 4 of you will struggle to spend 12k unless you go high-end, tbh. It's a fairly affordable destination. We found Osaka flights cheaper than Tokyo and we were open to stopovers. I recommend the Hearton Hotel chain for accommodation in Osaka. We stayed at Kita-Umeda near Osaka station which made getting around easy. If you like Nintendo, the Nintendo Museum in Kyoto is a must; you need to book in advance as it's quite popular. It's an hour on the train from Osaka. Also be aware you need to book Nintendo Land in Universal separately to park entry - we got caught out but thankfully went on a quiet day and standby tickets were available. Weather last week was delightful, not too hot or cold, little bit of rain. Indoors is mostly AC so temperature only an issue when you're outside. You can keep food costs down by buying lunches at the abundance of 7-11 or Family Mart shops.

Oh and we flew with Air China and China Eastern which are both fine to get you there and back.

I have just got back from a 6 week trip to Japan. We didn't do any theme parks. (My kids have all left home thank god - I hate theme parks and regard them as one of the sacrifices I made for being a mum.😊) The most expensive part of the our trip was getting there.

Accommodation, food, drink and tourist attractions were all very cheap. Most museums etc were cost about £2 (there are family tickets.) and you could get a very nice sandwich in a convenience store for about a £1 or as little a 25p if 'yellow stickered'. Restaurants vary, as in the UK but even the top ones are cheaper than the here. We sampled the whole range: from Michelin starred to ready meals (cheap and very good).

We got some real bargains hotel wise including a couple of expensive suite/apartment hotels by paying extra to make all booking cancellable and doing just that after finding last minute bargains. That way we upgraded from an Ibis to a 5 star suite for the same price, the second hotel being directly behind the Ibis. This way we stayed in several places that were otherwise beyond our budget.

Public transport is also very reasonable. I got to travel first class for the same price as I can pay here, only to end up standing all the way to Yorkshire or Wales and that was on the supposedly expensive Shinkansen (Bullet) train.

If you want any other information feel free to DM me. I have also have a lot of experience of travelling with kids. I have 4 and have made many flights with them (family abroad) including long haul.

It's feasible. As one would expect, it depends a lot on your flying comfort level, what type of accommodation you're after and what you're planning on doing while over there, really. I'm currently just putting the finishing touches on a 3 week trip over there this summer, with myself, DH, and DDs aged 16 and 12.

Our flights were ~£5k + several years of airline points accumulation. That's in Premium Economy with a large British carrier. If you're happy in economy with a Chinese airline that can take the shorter route over Russian airspace, you should be able to get cheaper flights. Especially if you book as soon as the tickets release.

Our accommodation has clocked in at ~£5k, excluding the few nights at Tokyo Disney. However, we are mostly staying at Mimaru apartments so we have a bit more space, the kids can have their own room, we have laundry facilities to reduce the number of clothes we need to take, and we can make our own meals to keep food costs down. If you're happy all sharing a room in a small hotel in a less central area, or risking an AirBnB, you should be able to bring accommodation in cheaper.

Entertainment costs are very variable. From £0 to have an official guided tour of the inner gardens of the Imperial Palace, to £20-£60 to visit Osaka Castle, go up the Sky Building or visit TeamLabs, to £80-£400 for private experience classes such as mochi pounding or a cookery lesson. (Rough prices are for four people, not each!) Plan out your itinerary and book tickets early, as popular attractions can and do sell out quickly.

We're not doing Universal Studios, but saying on site and going to both the Disney parks over 2 days is an eyewatering ~£1.5k. However that's mostly the accommodation. If you're happy staying off site and travelling in, then park tickets for 4 people for 2 days (1 park per day) is ~£200

Oh wow thanks all so much, this is incredibly helpful and very encouraging!
Great tip on cancellable accommodation @Toooldforlonghair, love it.
Appreciate July isn't the best time to go weather wise but it the only time w me can go due to exams and work commitments so its that or wait another year. My son maybe away doing his own travelling by then so I dont want to risk it, so July it is! We went to Thailand a couple of years ago in August which is also usually to be avoided, and that was totally fine, so I think we'll be OK.

Would it be crazy not to go to Tokyo at all? There's so much to see in Japan I know we could fill the time with a million other places so given its a bit pricer I'm wondering if we just focus on the other areas we want to see.

@Shudacudawuda not crazy at all to skip Tokyo. I lived in Japan for a couple of years and only went to Tokyo once for work and don't feel like I missed out. Went back last year for a 3 week holiday and spent a very happy few days in Tokyo - it's a very green city and it was autumn and beautiful and did a day trip out to Nikko (just caught the train) which was well worth it.

It's perfectly possible to skip Tokyo. When I lived there I spent a lot of time in Osaka, Kyushu and Shikoku. The latter two are more countryside and really interesting and less touristy than the likes of Kyoto and Tokyo.

I'd try and make some time to do something a bit in the countryside....

PM me and I will invite you a FB group if you want.

Doing similar trip next year.

Following....so i can find this and read through later

We went last Spring for the same amount of time. Spent one week in Tokyo/Yokohama area and then went on a road trip into the countryside, also including one day at Universal and two days at Disney at the end. I reckon you will be absolutely fine on your budget. Try and book excursions/attractions before you go so you know how much you have to play with for food etc.

I have been three times now. My favourite trip ever I didn't step foot in Tokyo (apart from the airport!) so no, you absolutely don't NEED to go there. There is so much to see and do.

Also most if not all hotels offer a laundrette so you can do your own washing.

I think that budget is plenty. July is very much off-peak for Tokyo hotels. You’ll need two rooms or a larger family style room. The latter are often more expensive than just booking two rooms though.

You don’t have to see Tokyo, but if you want to, then it is achievable on your budget. Especially if you time it so that you are in Tokyo on weekdays and stay somewhere cheaper (like Yokohama or Osaka) over weekend. Doing more expensive places on weeknights is a good way to make your budget stretch further.

Sotetsu Fresa are a good budget hotel chain. I’ve also had good experiences with Henn na Hotels and Daiwa Roynet. Daiwa Roynet are often a bit more expensive though.

Thanks everyone for taking the time to reply, I really wasn't sure if I was kidding myself that we could have a decent trip on our budget, but I feel very reassured.
Hotel chain recommendations are much appreciated 👍
I have so much to research and so many decisions to make! I can already tell we will be making a return trip and we haven't even been yet 😆.

We went in July last year because of exams and I agree with others, it’s definitely doable on that budget. We had the most amazing time, incredible food and you can make it as cheap or expensive as you like. We didn’t go to any theme parks or pay for entrance to eg Osaka Castle, there are so many free things. Like others suggest, see what’s the most important things for you and price them up. We did pay for Teamlab planets ( borderless last time but much preferred planets). We found some really reasonable accommodation shopping around and trains are reasonable especially if you don’t use the Shinkansen ( you have to experience those though!!) . July was ok weather wise, not as humid as other places I’ve been. There’s a great Japan planning thread on here with so much info. Happy planning and holidays!

We went to Japan 2 years ago with 2 teens. We spent double your budget but we also went to New Zealand and Hong Kong afterwards and were away for 6 weeks. We don’t skimp on hotels so I think your plan is perfectly doable on that budget.