Before you scroll down, allow me to tell you that one can decide on his budget to Japan. I didn’t have much the first time I went there as I was going through a dark financial patch in my life at that time. I lived on Kumbini food so I can buy pasalubong for home, and also because I did not have enough money.
I vowed to myself that I will prepare for my second trip (Mary’s first). Also because, the food there is part of the culture, it simply cannot be ignored. Plus we also came up with a buy and sell plan to somehow compensate for the expenses.
And so, the story went. I had to prepare this itinerary in between work, for maybe 6 weeks? It involved a lot of research and time. I hope you can find something useful in this blog. This is just a truthful account of our personal travel.
Day 1 Sunday June 26
0100 wake up
0200 ETD house grab car GRABANDFLY
₱ 200
0230 ETA NAIA travel tax
₱1260*2
0535 ETD NAIA to Narita
1035 ETA Narita breakfast at McDonalds in the airport
JPY 600 for two
1220 ETD Narita to Ikebukuro Sunshine 60 Limousine bus
JPY 9000 RT*2
1430 Lunch at the Sunshine 60
JPY 1800 for two
1500 Leave luggage at the Locker
JPY 500 until 1am
1530 Ikebukuro to Shibuya (train) Free activities: Hachiko, Shibuya Crossing
JPY 200*2
Walk from Shibuya to Meiji Temple
1800 Meiji Shrine to Ikebukuro (train)
JPY 200*2
1830 Dinner, Cafe, Relax, wait for the bus
JPY 1600 for two at the Ramen house
JPY 1000 for two at the Cafe de Crie
2210 ETD Willerexpress paid in advance
JPY 13,400 for 2 (paid for in advance)
TOTAL EXPENSES DAY 1: PHP: 3,440 JPY: 15,300 (PHP 6,758 ) Grand Total: PHP 10,198
This is how I prepared our budget and itinerary – researching the transpo cost, and the duration of each ride
Mary walking down the Shibuya Crossing on a summer day
This is the Torii Gate at the entrance of the Meiji Shrine, which closes at 5pm. Upon entering, you have to bow done once, and once more when exiting.
This locker is located at the Sunshine 60 bus terminal in Ikebukuro. Most bus and train stations have these so tourists can roam the place in their idle time without pulling luggages. The amount depends on the size of the
Day 2 Monday June 27
0650 ETA Umeda Sky Building (from Willer Bus) walk from the building to the subway
Train from Osaka to Tennoji (AirBNB)
JPY 280*2
0730 ETA AirBNB to shower, change, leave luggage
0830 Breakfast at a nearby restaurant
JPY 1600 for two
0900 ETD AirBnB to USJ
JPY 430*2
0945 ETA USJ (Regular Tickets, no express passes)
JPY 7400*2
1900 End of USJ (snacks and water)
JPY 3150 for two
1930 USJ to Osaka Station
JPY 170*2
2000 Dinner (kumbini)
JPY 500 for 2
2200 Lights off
TOTAL EXPENSES Day 2: JPY: 21,810 (PHP: 9,633)
Hogwarts – worth the queue, I should say. Oh and there’s that butterbeer for Y600 a glass
Mary holds the 3,300-peso (times 2) ticket to USJ. This does not include express passes as they ran out when we got there. We also didn’t plan on buying any. LOL
Snacks inside USJ: Turkey leg at JPY 850, Churros at JPY 600, Frozen Mango at JPY 600. In the background is one of the craziest roller coasters we saw in the park.
On the way to USJ, backpack contains biscuits, water, coffee in a starbucks tumbler and mints
Definitely worth every penny. Just don’t do this every year. =)
Day 3 Tuesday June 28
0600 Wake Up
0800 Pack Up, Check Out, Leave Luggage
Breakfast (from the Kumbini)
JPY 650 for two
0830 ETD for Osaka Castle from Tennoji
JPY 280*2
0910 ETA Osaka Castle (didn’t enter as we were pressed for time)
Snacks (ice cream and squid – good combo?)
JPY1200 for two
1100 ETD for Fushimi Inari (train)
JPY 400*2
1200 ETA Fushimi Inari
Snacks (Pork like Liempo on a stick, orange juice)
JPY 1200 for two
1630 Got lost aboard the bus looking for Kinkakuji, decided to go back to Osaka so we won’t miss our bus back to Tokyo – there was no English translation on the bus!
JPY 400*2
1730 Dinner
JPY 1500 for two
1830 Pick up luggage, take cab to Umeda
JPY 4500 for two
2100 Willerexpress Bus Osaka to Tokyo
JPY4800*2 (paid for in advance)
TOTAL EXPENSES Day 3: JPY: 11,210 (PHP 4,950)
Willer Express Night Bus from Tokyo to Osaka vv, with a cocoon for one’s privacy when sleeping. We saved 2 nights’ worth of accommodation here.
The AirBNB we rented had rooms available at the 3rd floor, after a spiral staircase, for us who have 2 luggage. No need for AC as it was still cold in the summer, and was also drizzling
Umeda Sky Building – where WillerExpress bus drops off and picks up its passengers from this side of Osaka. They have a waiting lounge and a powder room too.
This experience – walking from Umeda to the subway, and from the subway to the AirBNB accommodation, made us decide to take the cab going back. It would have been okay to walk without these.
Getting lost in trying to find the next Kyoto spot. Each bus stop was announced in Japanese without English translation, unlike in trains where it’s both in English alphabets and Japanese characters. The people in the streets are also less conversant in English than the ones in Tokyo.
Osaka Castle – you can take a picture of the outside without paying the entrance. If you have time and extra yen, entrance is at Y600 per person
Temples in the Fushimi Inari Shrine (10000 Torii Gates)
Day 4 Wednesday June 29
0620 ETA Sunshine 60 Ikebukuro
0700 ETD for AirBnB (Sunshine 60 to Komagome cab)
JPY1500 for two
0730 ETA AirBnB
Check in, change, shower, change
I had a different itinerary for today but Mary requested for something light as we haven’t really rested well since we came from Manila.
0930 Breakfast
JPY 1450 for two
1000 Komagome to Asakusa (train)
JPY 330*2
Pasalubong (ref magnet and key chain at Y700 each)
JPY 5000 (estimate)
Matcha Parfait
JPY 950 for two
1400 Asakusa to Tokyo Station
JPY 310*2
Tokyo station has a Ramen street, an anime street, that you can spend half day in it and feel it’s not enough.
1430 From the Tokyo Station, exit at Marunouchi
Walk to Imperial Palace and head back to Tokyo Station
1830 Queue at Rokurinsha for about 45 mins
JPY 2000 for 2
2000 Tokyo Station: Pikachu store, Character street, LEGO, Star Wars, Tamiya, anime, premium KitKat, other pasalubong
2100 ETD Tokyo station to Komagome
JPY 170*2
2130 ETA AirBnB
2230 Lights off
TOTAL EXPENSES: JPY: 12,420 (PHP 5,486)
One of the views near Asakusa is the Asahi Beer Hall near the Sumida River. And yes, that’s the Tokyo Sky Tree to the left on this gloomy day.
Mary and some tourists clad in the Kimono, pose at the Sensoji Temple
Mary at the Kaminarimon Gate in Asakusa. This is my second time in the area so I’m just taking her pictures =)
Please don’t cut your budget on food. Japanese food, from Matcha, to Sushi, to Ramen, and everything else in between, is a must experience. Matcha Parfait at Y950
The queue outsid Rokurinsha, a small but very popular ramen restaurant in Tokyo Station (Ramen Street)
A 15-walk to the Imperial Palace from the Tokyo Station (drones not allowed by the way). This is the closest we could get as we were told the Imperial Family is inside.
Day 5 June 30 Thursday
0600 Wake up, breakfast (kumbini)
JPY 900 for two
0830 Komagome to Yokohama (express train)
JPY 950*2
Meet up with Tet, a high school friend
Toll, gas for Tet’s car
JPY 5000 (estimate)
The drive from Yokohama to Mt. Fuji 5th station was more than 2 hours one way. We only had time to take a few pictures and time lapses as we left the house kind of late.
Snacks at the stop
JPY 1400 for two
1700 Yokohama to Ikebukuro Station (more pabili requests)
JPY 470*2
Chocolates galore at Don Quijote
JPY 8000
1900 Ikebukuro to Komagome (train)
JPY 160*2
2000 Dinner (kumbini and pizza place nearby)
JPY 1200 for two
TOTAL EXPENSES: JPY 19,600 (PHP 8,657)
Mt. Fuji in its naked summer beauty
From the viewing deck (Climbing starts the day after we visited)
Mary, myself and Tet after a long drive that cuts through mountains. Why not? I first took a guided trip to Fuji in 2015 for JPY 17,500 which includes a boat ride at the lake, a cable car to the top of Komagatake. That was the first time I experienced snow and Fuji wasn’t visible then.
Day 6 July 1 Friday
0700 Wake up, light breakfast (own food)
0900 Meet Tita Nene / Tito Rolan
Komagame to Kanagawa (train)
JPY 700*2
Brunch at Cowboy (Tita’s treat)
1200 Nike store (5 pairs and 1 pair Adidas)
JPY 20000 (for reselling)
2000 Dinner near Komagatake
JPY 2120 for two
2100 Home / Pack up
TOTAL EXPENSES: JPY: 23,520 (PhP 10,389)
My Tita and Tito, who’ve lived for almost 3 decades in Japan.
Nike Roshe for Mary (originally for sale but she said she wants it for herself)
Nike Kaishi (sold)
Adidas Gazelle (sold)
For my brother’s birthday!
Nike Suketo (unsold – guess who will use it?)
For our last dinner, this and something with eel and nori in it which Mary didn’t like (nori).
Day 7 July 2 Saturday
0500 Wake up, breakfast
0600 ETD AirBnB to Narita Airport
Taxi from AirBnB to Ikebukuro
JPY 1500 for two
0620 Ikebukuro Limousine Bus
0900 ETA Narita Airport
1145 ETD Narita to NAIA
1545 ETA NAIA to Ortigas
₱200 promo code: GRABANDFLY
1700 Home
TOTAL EXPENSES: JPY: 1,500 (PHP 662) PHP: 200 GRAND TOTAL: PHP 882
All the luggage and a box of Ramen, while waiting for the limousine bus at Sunshine 60
Flying with Cebu Pacific, always.
SUPER GRAND TOTAL (EST): PHP 50,195 / 2 = PHP 25,097 per person for 7D6N
Exclusions:
- Cebu Pacific Airfare: booked October 2015, traveled June 2016 PhP 13,228.62 including baggage allowances only for both trips (no meals, seat selection, insurance)
- Willerexpress Tokyo-Osaka – JPY 13,400 for 2
- Willerexpress Osaka-Tokyo – JPY 9,600 for 2
- AirBNB 1 night Osaka – USD 50 (got this for free due to AirBNB credits)
- AirBNB 3 nights Tokyo – USD 169 (PhP 8,422) for 2
- Visa Processing at Reli Megamall – PhP 950 per pax
- Other requirements for Visa processing
Please visit my other Japan blogs to see more tips, photos, and adventures you may want to do on your own.
Any other tips you want to add? Please leave comments below.
Dōmo arigatōgozaimashita!
hi, i want to ask about the night bus from tokyo to osaka. isit all the bus seated separately for men and women? and how long in advance i have to buy the bus ticket?
Hi Weiyen, thank you for reading the blog.
Yes they ask you your gender because if you’re a solo traveler they make sure you’re seated with other women too. If you’re a couple, you can choose to sit together. It’s more like ensuring solo women travelers feel safe. I bought our tickets less than a month before the trip and the price really varies. For instance, our fare from Tokyo to Osaka was more expensive than the return ticket.
Good luck and enjoy Japan!
thanks for your reply! oh but how can I choose to be seated together wif my partner then? because I saw the booking details only get to choose how many male n female right?
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