A Budget Traveler’s Guide to
Surviving One of the World’s Most Expensive Cities
(As published in the December 2015 issue of Hardware Zone PH Magazine)
Oftentimes, fist timers and
budget travelers get intimidated about traveling to Japan, particularly it’s
capital city, Tokyo. It has been consistently listed in the top 10 most
expensive cities for the past few years, which shies away budget travelers.
On my recent trip to Japan, I
have realized that traveling to Tokyo can be cheaper than traveling to Hong
Kong, which is the usual destination of Filipino travelers. But now, you have
to know that Tokyo has fallen off from the top 10 most expensive cities due to
the weakness of the Japanese Yen against the US Dollar. While this is bad news
to Japan, this is good news for tourists as this would be the best time to
travel there. Their government is very considerate to tourists now. I got my
5-year multiple entry visa in just 2-3 business days.
Let me share 10 tips to help you enjoy
Tokyo without spending so much:
1. Plan ahead! Make an itinerary, have a
budget, make a shopping list, know what you want. This would help you save time
and money as you go around the city. In Japan, everything is on time. I’m glad
I brought my Veloci watch that got me constantly updated with the time.
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| Veloci Time |
2. Watch out for a seat sale! You would be
surprised that my roundtrip airfare only costs around Php 4,000 (roundtrip
Manila-Cebu-Narita), which I purchased during on April 2015. I took advantage
of the seat sale and bought another ticket from Nagoya to Manila at Php 2,000,
just so I wouldn’t have to pass through Cebu anymore.
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| a photo with Hachiko as soon as I arrived |
3. If you’re a solo traveler, CouchSurf! Not
only you would meet new friends, you get a free accommodation too. Visit www.couchsurfing.org for more info.
4. If you travel as a couple or a group, go AirBnB.
This is way cheaper than getting a hotel room. You get to have your own place
at the city’s top locations at just around Php 800 to Php 1,500 per person.
5. Try a capsule hotel or a manga kissa for a
unique experience. I don’t recommend this if you intend to sleep long
hours. Most capsule hotels have a spa and you can stay there comfortably at a
rate of Php 1,200/night. A manga kissa is a 24-hr internet café, where you can
read manga books, surf the internet, use the shower, etc. for 30 minutes up to
12 hours. I have tried Manboo, near the Shibuya crossing. I paid around Php 580
for 5 hours, inclusive of unlimited drinks. Since the lights are out, I was
able to use my Euroo LEDlit while I was searching through my stuff inside my assigned
cubicle.
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| checking in at Manboo! Manga Kissa in Shibuya |
6. Get a Suica or PassMo IC card. It costs
2,000 yen but 1,500 yen is all consumable and it’s for a lifetime use. It is a
reloadable card, which you can use for payments in the subway, convenience
stores, restaurants, etc.
7. Don’t miss shopping in Don Quixote, Daiso,
and in shopping districts: Ueno and Akihabara. Don Quixote is a cool shop
where you can buy a lot of interesting stuff. You can find one in Shinjuku and
Ginza. Daiso, of course, is a famous 100-yen shop. Ueno is an area where you can buy clothes, perfumes, bags,
chocolates, and everything Japanese at a cheaper price. For consumer
electronics, Akihabara is the place to be. But after all the shopping, use a
Euroo digital luggage scale to ensure you won’t exceed your baggage allowance.
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| Shibuya shopping district is the home of local designer brands |
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| crossing the famous Shibuya crossing |
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| You can buy these KitKat flavors from the stalls in Ueno |
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| Found a lot of Totoro items at a Game Center in Ueno |
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| fresh flowers at the Ueno shopping district |
8. Dine at hole-in-the-wall restaurants. Authentic
Japanese food is not as expensive as you think. An average set meal would range
from Php 200-Php400.
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| thanks to my friend Dra. Anika for the treat |
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| we spent around 2000+ yen for these yakitori goodness |
9. You need not spend for good photos. You
would spend a few hundreds for multiple subway rides but you don’t need to
spend for admission fees all the time. You can visit the Meiji Shrine in
Harajuku, Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa, and the Tokyo Imperial Palace for free.
You would only have to pay entrance fee if you would like to go up the Tokyo
SkyTree and the Tokyo Tower.
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| this was probably my third time in Asakusa temple |
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| Speaking of good photos, don't miss having a Purikura sesh! You may find them inside Game Centers |
10. Enjoy Tokyo! Go to Disney Sea, cross
the Shibuya crossing, visit the giant Gundam robot in DiverCity, take a selfie
with Hachiko at Shibuya station, eat at Tsukiji Fish Market, and more!
