8 tips that will save you money in Tokyo
It’s sounds weird but true: you can visit Tokyo, one of the most expensive cities in the world, without being ripped off. The global economy situation, the economy in Japan, and our great tips – can help you see Tokyo and get home with a few dollars left in your wallet.
This is a guest post by one of Japanite! friends, who visited Tokyo recently and collected some proven advices before his trip. Some veteran Tokyo tourists will find them familiar, but if this is your first time, you might want to print out the list for the road.
1. Sleep in a Japanese Inn
Accommodation is always a great part in any travel budget. If you are not fixed on sleeping in high-priced hotels there are some great alternatives.
The Ryokans are all around Tokyo and they are nice inns that can be found in prices starting from $40 per night. The bonus is that they styled in old fashion Japanese style with paper curtains and futon bed. This is not your regular king size you are used to in high priced hotels, but this will be a much better way to feel the Japanese way of life.
If you are not spoiled and feel you can share bathrooms you can found some Ryokans in central spots for as low as $30 per night. For example you can find Kimi Ryokan that offers English speaking staff and some Japanese atmosphere for $50 per night for a single room. Kimi Ryokan is conveniently located in the Ikebukuro area in close proximity to a subway station.
a typical Ryokan (photo by spinksy)
You can search availability and prices through the International tourism center of Japan for foreign travelers, and Japanese guest houses.
If you are staying for a long period and you are willing to share a room, you can try some of the hostels in the city that are called Gaijin (Stranger in Japanese) Houses. You can find room in rates from $15 per night, and who knows your roommate can be from country.
Start your search in Gaijin House Japan.
2. Travelling alone? try a capsule
We already mentioned here in Japanite! the capsule hotels that are scattered around Tokyo. This hotels (if we can call them one) are for the more adventurous type of tourist. For about $30-$40 you get a capsule with TV, internet connection, shared bath and some towels. If you are a female traveler who travels alone, some might prefer the capsule hotels who accept only women, and feel more safe in the hotel.
Geobeats have a nice video that shows what a sleep in a capsule is all about:
3. Sleep in a chair – for the really adventurous traveler
Some of the backpackers that go through Tokyo have found another way to save in this expensive city: they just sleep in their chairs.
They are called Mangakissa and they are actually internet cafes that are scattered around the city. For about a $1 per hour you will be able to enjoy an endless supply of Japanese comic books, Playstation and Xbox games, and hundreds of titles of music to listen too. Actually for some of the people I know, it will cost them less to be in Tokyo than sitting in their homes in the US doing exactly the same things. In many of this cafes the drinks are for free, and they sell lunch boxes. Some of them offer shower rooms and massage room with extra pay. Anyway it’s a great stop even if you’re not planning on a sleepover. Just don’t say we didn’t warn you: the comic books are in Japanese.
Search for internet cafes in PaperLantern.
4. Avoid the lunch rush hour
After a good night sleep, lunch is always hard to find. If you wake up early in Tokyo, you can find some of the best deals between 11am-14pm. Many restaurants will offer a lunch deal that can be as low as $10, for an plate loaded with sushi or a nice dish of Ramen noodles and meat.
The problem is that you want to try eating your lunch before 12pm and after 13:30pm, in order to avoid the “lunch rush hour” caused by the office workers around the city.
(photo by jetalone)
In the smaller restaurants you can eat while standing or sitting with a small table, and can find a good dish of ramen noodles for about $3.5-$6. Many stores like 7-eleven offers a lunch box (Bento) which can be bought for about $5. Avoid the lunch boxes that are sold in train stations, they tend to be less tasty.
If you are missing home, why not try the usual McDonalds. a BigMac will cost you only $2.5, and a meal is only $6. That’s lower than you might find in your regular McDonalds back home.
5. Shop in the markets, avoid the big stores
Tokyo may offer great deals for sleeping or eating, but unfortunately you might not find such cheap deals via the megastores around. Most brand name stores are pretty expensive, and even the smaller ones, aren’t the best deal around.
For a bit more Japanese atmosphere and much lower prices, head down to the flea markets that can be found around the city. paperlantern is a great source of markets locations.
Look around also for the “hyaku-en shoppu” or the 100-yen shops, which sells everything in about $1 (depends on the rate). You can found more details on this shops here.
6. Forget taxis, get on bikes
A great way to see the city is on bikes. You can rent bikes for about $5 per day and $10 in the weekends. There are many bike renting shops across the city, and you can find a list of shops in Cycle Tokyo.
You don’t need Hello Kitty bikes, but you get the idea (photo by doctorrow)
Another great way is of course trains and subway. The subway can get you anywhere and it’s clean and safe. In some train lines you can also find women only cars, so you can travel in confidence.
If you are on a tight budget, don’t get on taxis. Cabs in Tokyo starts at $7 per ride and adds about $1 for every few hundred feet. It’s a sure way to get your money disappear quickly.
7. A tour guide for free
It can be better than this: a free local tour guide that will show you around the city. As the name implies Tokyo Free Guide offers guides that are doing this completely free of charge. The volunteers students that want to improve their English or retired people that are happy to meet tourists from all around the world. As you know, good things aren’t easy to come by, so you’d better book you guide 2-3 weeks in advance.
Just our word of advice, we heard that some of the guides are not saying no for nice tip if you liked the trip. That’s more than polite to be generous to the guide, based on your satisfaction. You can also find more information on free tour guides through the Japanese National Tourist Organization.
8. Shop in Muji and Uniqlou
Muji is the Japanese equivalent of Ikea, and you can find tons of stuff there in very affordable prices, including toys and art times. Uniqlou is not so kept secret but will allow you to shop for clothes, without feeling you are
That’s all our tips for now. As we’ve said some of them maybe familiar to the locals and people who already traveled Japan. If you have any more tips, share them in the comments below.
(photo by 
