[JohnBraden]

Back when I went in Oct 2010, the people I know were surprised when I told them what I paid for the trip. It was through Japan Airlines which isn't the cheapest airline to Tokyo from Chicago. I spent 10 nights at a Prince hotel which is probably middle-of-the-road. Since most people don't know how much it is, most imagine it is a lot. When I told them I only paid $1800 for the whole trip, they were really surprised. Granted, that's just the bare essentials (trip and lodging), but it's not a bad start. But then you want to be able to take advantage of the trip, and like MMM always mentions, not eat like a bird and skimp on the good things the country has to offer. That's where things start to add up. It's not a cheap place to go to, by all means, but it is quite a ride for most of us. Both times I went as a tourist was for 10 nights, which really turn out to be 9 full days in country. To me it was worth it. The first time was to the Keio Plaza and that ran me about $2600 in 2005. The next time I go in March, I'm planning on adding a week to the aforementioned 10 nights and we'll see how much it costs me. I'll have to add a 2 week JR Pass to that, and with the ever strengthening yen (or weakening Dollar-not sure which one), the 45100 yen is going to be quite a bit.