money worries

[godwine]

Originally Posted by Firebird

If you calculate my budget together for that month, than it will add up to around 220000, i also think 150000 or less will not be enough to have a nice trip, but maybe enough when staying in one city.
I just dont like it that people talk at about 20000 a day everytime someone asks for budget. I think that it is ok to spend that much if you stay 2 weeks or so, but i can have a really good day with 10000yen. I wouldnt know where to spend 20000 (well i would, but i would feel its a waste of money).
When i stayed in Sapporo for a few days, i ended up spending alot more than while travelling, so its very easy to come over "my budget".
But you can definetly have a great day with less money, and you dont need to spend that much money!
Lets say you stay around Ueno in a cheap place (3200yen). In the morning you get something sweet from the Conbini (300yen). You take a walk through Ameyokocho and buy some stuff (lets say 2000yen). For lunch youll get a 600yen bowl of rice topped with fresh raw fish. You jump on the train to Asakusa (160yen) and see the temple. Its free, but lets say you get a small souvenir 700yen. Later on you jump on another train going towards Shinjuku (230yen). You walk around and see all the "crazy Japan", maybe try pachinko (1000yen) or do some arcade games. Get some dinner (lets say 1500yen) and than 2 beers (1000yen). Head home with the train (230yen).
That day will than run you on 11000yen and you walked out with a little souvenir and some stuff from the market.
I wouldnt say that was a boring day!

But its definetly very easy to spend more than that and i never denied that. I just wanted to point out that you can do it with less. And i had a great time with my budget and ive seen many places others haven´t and i even got to waste quite some money on arcade/coin-games.

Oh and one more thing: Tonyuchia was asking how long he could survive if he watched the money carfully and stayed in cheap places and not how much he´d need to have the time of his live, so i answered that question.

Hmm, I sense that you misunderstood my posting a bit. By no mean was it to challenge your post/suggestion.

I didn't directly address his question because I don't have an answer. I am only posting my spending as a reference.

I also know you can go by very cheap in a day. Here is the cheapest day I've been through:

- Food - 900 yen total, all convenience sotre
- Hotel - 4000 yen
- Shopping - none
- Transportation 190 yen

Total is 5090 yen, call it 5100 yen, can someone live a day like that? Probably, I've done it, but do you want to live like this everyday? 2 months = 60 days, even with spending like this you are looking at 306000 Yen, if my calculation is correct, that will be just over USD$ 3000. Do you want to live everyday like that for 2 months though?

I did make suggestion in the past saying that assume on a daily basis, the average is 20000 yen or something to that extent. I am not sure what is there to not like about the suggestion. I did outline how I come up with that number, and where the money are spent.

Remember, this is "budgeting" you can't really break it down base on day to day activities, its a rough figure on an average

My recommendation was only made to help him better prepare for his trip, financially, so that he can enjoy his stay instead of living off bread and water for 2 months.....

[spicytuna]

Japan can be very cheap if you look around. Heck, you could stay at a 2000 yen/day internet cafe, snack on the free samples on the ground floor of a dept store and ride a bike everywhere. Some vacation that would be.

Of course it doesn't take much to run out of control either. My 3 week trip ended up costing me around 300,000 yen non including flight and JR Rail Pass. Sadly enough, that doesn't include accommodations (since I was staying with friends/relatives), dinner (since they treated me) and the only thing I bought for myself was a kanji-jiten.

But damn did I ever have fun! I guess most of my money went into the night life... and the taxi rides home at 4am.

[Onyx]

Before i went on my trip to Japan people always told me that tokyo is very expensive and advised me to bring $3,000 spending money I spent 2 weeks in Tokyo and spent $1,500..

Stayed at a Hostels the whole time

Ate out at restaurants most of the time, i did the 7-11 thing for like 2days though. I'm sorry but 7-11 actually has some decent food there for some reason. But aside from that, restaurants aren't really that expensive. My last day i ate dinner with 2 friends in shibuya at a traditional Japanese style place, ordered lots of stuff, drinks and everything i thought the bill would be well over 100 dollars but it was actually like 56 dollars i was so surprised i just payed the whole bill.

I went all around Tokyo, traveled by subway everyday, even made a 2day trip to Mt.Fuji.

Every night i was in Tokyo i went Partying, and im a heavy drinker and smoker . Although i didn't buy anything, just some little things for myself and people back home So ya, it can done on a minimal amount of money yet, you can still have a good time and be comfortable. If not for all the club'n drinking and smoking i did, i might have only spent $900. So, just over budget your trip. You wont need a fortune if your just mainly staying in one location.

[Onyx]

Originally Posted by spicytuna

But damn did I ever have fun! I guess most of my money went into the night life... and the taxi rides home at 4am.

lol Agreed! I used a taxi home the first night i went out, way to expensive, so every other night i went out i just partied till the sun came up and caught one of the first subways back to the hostel Ahh good times.

[Firebird]

Originally Posted by godwine

Hmm, I sense that you misunderstood my posting a bit. By no mean was it to challenge your post/suggestion.

I didn't directly address his question because I don't have an answer. I am only posting my spending as a reference.

I also know you can go by very cheap in a day. Here is the cheapest day I've been through:

- Food - 900 yen total, all convenience sotre
- Hotel - 4000 yen
- Shopping - none
- Transportation 190 yen

Total is 5090 yen, call it 5100 yen, can someone live a day like that? Probably, I've done it, but do you want to live like this everyday? 2 months = 60 days, even with spending like this you are looking at 306000 Yen, if my calculation is correct, that will be just over USD$ 3000. Do you want to live everyday like that for 2 months though?

I did make suggestion in the past saying that assume on a daily basis, the average is 20000 yen or something to that extent. I am not sure what is there to not like about the suggestion. I did outline how I come up with that number, and where the money are spent.

Remember, this is "budgeting" you can't really break it down base on day to day activities, its a rough figure on an average

My recommendation was only made to help him better prepare for his trip, financially, so that he can enjoy his stay instead of living off bread and water for 2 months.....

Yeah your right, i felt like you where challeging my suggestions. Of course it is better to have a little higher budget, i just felt that 20000 a day would make quite a few people scared. You also have to think about students or younger people who just dont have the money but really want to come here. If i would be older and fully in my working live and had 2 weeks off to got to Japan, than i would also spend 20000 a day. But now i dont have the money, but ive got time, so i can go slowly, taking the local train instead of the shinkansen, book a hotel outside the city center,..... save alot of money and still see the whole country.
I just wanted to say it is possible to go on less and still have a good time.
And the 260000 he would bring would not be enough for 2 month. I could go 1 month, maybe 1 and a half at the maximun.

Anyway, i didnt want to start a fight : )

[godwine]

Originally Posted by Firebird

Yeah your right, i felt like you where challeging my suggestions. Of course it is better to have a little higher budget, i just felt that 20000 a day would make quite a few people scared. You also have to think about students or younger people who just dont have the money but really want to come here. If i would be older and fully in my working live and had 2 weeks off to got to Japan, than i would also spend 20000 a day. But now i dont have the money, but ive got time, so i can go slowly, taking the local train instead of the shinkansen, book a hotel outside the city center,..... save alot of money and still see the whole country.
I just wanted to say it is possible to go on less and still have a good time.
And the 260000 he would bring would not be enough for 2 month. I could go 1 month, maybe 1 and a half at the maximun.

Anyway, i didnt want to start a fight : )

Me neither, and I truly wasn't challenging your post. I am only outlining a suggested budget base on cost and such. 20000 yen a day for a vacation is not a lot actually, its average. For student it might be harder, but I never get to travel when I was a student, never have the money, it was hard enough to make money for tuition and all the lab materials we needed, so I am only speaking from the perspective of:

1. Living there when I was a kid
2. My trips to Japan the last few years since I am more "financially capable"