[Iccz]

Just trying to get a feel for how much spending money is recommended per day, talking food wise mainly here, as i'd just like to get an idea how much i'll be spending on that on average, looked at the prices of food/drink in the hotel we'll be staying in and i'm thinking we'll be going out for food and drink

Gonna be staying there for 10 nights, anyone able to give me a rough estimate of what to take for food or even a whole amount to take?
Or even how much you've taken and how long you went for etc...

Would be appreciated, thanks!

[Dony]

No idea on Japanese prices, but I'd be looking at about £2k to cover everything for 10 days.

[Iccz]

Originally Posted by Dony

No idea on Japanese prices, but I'd be looking at about £2k to cover everything for 10 days.

The flights and accom are already sorted, so we're just looking for a rough survival cost food wise and maybe a few days out visiting places.
Don't play on getting hooked on their little gambling games either

I'm hoping food isn't going to be so expensive as to need £200 a day

[Dony]

Originally Posted by Iccz

The flights and accom are already sorted, so we're just looking for a rough survival cost food wise and maybe a few days out visiting places.
Don't play on getting hooked on their little gambling games either

Ahhhh, but dont forget, as a member of AV Forums you will be obliged to buy at least 1 expensive piece of electronics.

Any chance of bringing me back a nice Nikon Dslr??

Originally Posted by Iccz

I'm hoping food isn't going to be so expensive as to need £200 a day

Don't forget the evenings activities!!

[Iccz]

Originally Posted by Dony

Ahhhh, but dont forget, as a member of AV Forums you will be obliged to buy at least 1 expensive piece of electronics.

Any chance of bringing me back a nice Nikon Dslr??



Don't forget the evenings activities!!

Evening activities being... strip clubs?

5 of the evenings will be at gigs so i'm hoping I dont spend much money while i'm at them.

Good point about electronics!
I was thinking about getting a new camera out there, but i'm not sure I can afford a DSLR, though I dunno how much they are out there...
Don't know how much anything is out there to be honest!

[Dony]

Originally Posted by Iccz

Evening activities being... strip clubs?

5 of the evenings will be at gigs so i'm hoping I dont spend much money while i'm at them.

Woo Hoo

Mind your feet!

Seriously though, I'm jealous...would love to go to Japan......enjoy it

[Singh400]

Just say you are a friend of rubberduckzilla

[ste v p]

It depends on where you're going? I was in Tokyo recently, quite near Roppongi and it's a nice but busy area. However, Tokyo is VERY expensive. Fortunately, all our food was provided for me for no cost to me personally. The exchange rate is not particularly favourable ~ 150 yen to the £1. Considering a bottled beer costs around 800 yen and a pint lager/guinness cost 1,000 yen you're looking at around £6 - £7 per pint

Of course roppongi is a particularly flush area with lots of bars etc, it's quite westernised so it may be more expensive. When we complained to any barman/English speaking local they came back with the standard reply "yeah it's expensive, but hey, it's Tokyo".

I paid for one lunchtime meal in the hotel restaurant and it cost 2,500 yen for the all you can eat buffet. Ouch! I don't think this is particularly out of the ordinary. I went past a McDonalds but I can't remember how much a meal was (I'm not suggesting you eat there, but it's usually quite a good indicator of costing).

For electronics you need to head to "electric city" which is a district called Akihabara. There are plenty of shops (practically every shop there) with tax free stuff for travellers and from what I could tell, the photography stuff was well priced. I'm no expert on photography equipment, but I reckon you will be able to pick up a good deal, especially if you shop around.

I'm sure to think of more things soon so let me know if you have any particular questions.

[Iccz]

Originally Posted by ste1000

It depends on where you're going? I was in Tokyo recently, quite near Roppongi and it's a nice but busy area. However, Tokyo is VERY expensive. Fortunately, all our food was provided for me for no cost to me personally. The exchange rate is not particularly favourable ~ 150 yen to the £1. Considering a bottled beer costs around 800 yen and a pint lager/guinness cost 1,000 yen you're looking at around £6 - £7 per pint

Of course roppongi is a particularly flush area with lots of bars etc, it's quite westernised so it may be more expensive. When we complained to any barman/English speaking local they came back with the standard reply "yeah it's expensive, but hey, it's Tokyo".

I paid for one lunchtime meal in the hotel restaurant and it cost 2,500 yen for the all you can eat buffet. Ouch! I don't think this is particularly out of the ordinary. I went past a McDonalds but I can't remember how much a meal was (I'm not suggesting you eat there, but it's usually quite a good indicator of costing).

For electronics you need to head to "electric city" which is a district called Akihabara. There are plenty of shops (practically every shop there) with tax free stuff for travellers and from what I could tell, the photography stuff was well priced. I'm no expert on photography equipment, but I reckon you will be able to pick up a good deal, especially if you shop around.

I'm sure to think of more things soon so let me know if you have any particular questions.

Staying in Tokyo - Shinjuku, the prices for food in the hotel are pretty high...

Menu
Lunch: from JPY2,625
Dinner: from JPY 6,300
*Tax included. An additional 10% service charge will be added.

So i'm guessing that most meals will be out from the hotel, and we'll have a local to advise us a little on the best/cheapest places to eat which will be handy.

Some useful info in that post though!
Don't think i'll be eating in McDonalds, infact, I know I wont
I'd rather pay a bit more and have something i'd enjoy!
I'm not desperate for a camera but something a bit newer than my current 5mp Canon would be nice!

[richard plumb]

not sure you'll get any deals on cameras. The exchange rate is still pretty poor, and even when it was up at 200yen to the pound there weren't massive deals.

In Japan the big chains tend to not discount very much, and their RRPs aren't that different to ours. Instead they're very big on points cards, so you pay full whack but get decent bonuses for future purchases. Not much good if you're a tourist though.

I found eating out to not be that expensive, but I was with my family and using family restaurants which are cheap and cheerful - don't know about nightlife

[JackFord]

In Tokyo right now.

In terms of food me and my friend are trying to keep it quite cheap, we eat at fast food places, McDonalds and KFC some times, were a large (filling meal) stretches about 800￥ If you want a Starbucks the prices range from 350-450.

Eating at Japanese fast food places is cheaper, 600 for a curry and chicken with rice.

Stayed at 4 hotels so far, all have had boiling water on tap, so the cheapest bet is popping to the 7/11 and getting a noodle for syb-200.

Drinks are purchased from vending machines, a personal sized bottle is 150.

Train fare, we are spending around 800 a day with a Passmo card.

Message here or PM and I will keep an eye out for anything you request, only here a few days though. You`ll have fun.

[JUS]

oh man, I was really hoping to go in November for my 40th birthday treat. Getting made redundent in August and torn now between finding a job so I can go or loafing around til the new year

[ste v p]

Originally Posted by Iccz

Staying in Tokyo - Shinjuku, the prices for food in the hotel are pretty high...



So i'm guessing that most meals will be out from the hotel, and we'll have a local to advise us a little on the best/cheapest places to eat which will be handy.

Some useful info in that post though!
Don't think i'll be eating in McDonalds, infact, I know I wont
I'd rather pay a bit more and have something i'd enjoy!
I'm not desperate for a camera but something a bit newer than my current 5mp Canon would be nice!

Thinking about it, we probably paid 2,650 for our lunch too. About £18!

Some more things of interest...

Unless you're feeling particularly flush, don't get in the taxis. The starting rate is 700 Yen and they stay at that level for about 5 minutes. After that they go up by 90 yen every minute or so - based on time not distance travelled. So after a while in heavy traffic you'll soon be looking at a steep bill. The metro system is much better, costs around 150 yen for a single within a certain zone. Or there are day passes but I can't remember how much they cost.

Shibuya is a main shopping district. Very busy and home to a big crossroads that was featured in the film "Lost in Translation". It's almost worth going just for that. There are also some clubs here although when we went it cost 2,000 yen to get in (with two free drinks) and 500 yen a drink thereafter. Many more local people here than in Roppongi. They also go out very late, as we walked straight in at 11.30 but when we came out at 1.30, the queue was huge.

For souvenirs we went to a specialist souvenir shop called the Oriental Bazaar which is on the main street through Omotesando. We were advised of this place by some Americans who had lived there for a few years. it had most things Japanese - samurai swords, statues, kimonos etc. i got a silk kimono for my girlfriend for just under 10,000 yen. There are cheaper cotton ones from about 3,000 yen (£20).

Finally, i would definitely reccommend going to the fish market (apparently the world's largest) but you'll have to get up at around 4 am for that. We saw tuna worth tens of thousands of pounds each. Also, if you can, go and see sumo wrestlers training. We went early in the morning, it's free entry and they just let you in and you can sit on a pillow for a few hours watching as the youngest start off sparring followed by the older ones. by mid morning, the big daddy comes out, slaps around the young ones while he gets waited on hand and foot by all the minions. It's completely hierarchical, full of respect and very very interesting.

Edit: The toilets are amazing. they come with an in-built washing system that is electronically operated. Press a button and a jet of water will spray your behind. Some even have a dryer and a heated seat!