Guide - Plan the trip
How much does a trip to Japan cost?
A 2025 Japan Tourism Agency survey averages about $1,480 (¥229,000) per visitor per trip. Build your own total from hotel tax, pass, card and meal prices.
The average visitor spent about $1,480 (¥229,000) per trip in 2025, over 9.5 nights, per the Japan Tourism Agency’s Inbound Consumption Trend Survey. That is a survey average, not a budget, so this guide sets it beside the confirmed prices for rail, cards, data, meals and hotel tax and leaves the total to you.
Dollar figures use about ¥155 to US$1 and are rounded; you pay in yen, so check the rate.
What does the average visitor spend per trip?
About $1,480 (¥229,000) per visitor in calendar 2025, per the Japan Tourism Agency. Leisure visitors stayed 7.1 nights and spent about $1,450 (¥224,600).
| Group | Nights | Spend per trip |
|---|---|---|
| All visitors | 9.5 | $1,480 (¥229,000) |
| Leisure visitors | 7.1 | $1,450 (¥224,600) |
Treat the figures as a benchmark: dividing them by nights would not make a daily budget.
How much of that is food?
Food and drink are about 21.9% of visitor spending, roughly $325 (¥50,000) per visitor per trip, per the agency’s 2025 figures. A second table in the agency’s annual report shows $290 (¥44,989) for the same item, so the figure depends on the definition used.
What can you price today?
Most lines below have a confirmed price; the airport train and mobile data do not, so keep them out of sums.
| Line | Price | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| JR Pass | 7 days: $325 (¥50,000) online, $340 (¥53,000) at agents | Official price page and JR Group notice, from 1 Oct 2026 |
| IC card | No deposit on TOURIST PASMO or Welcome Suica Mobile. You load value: $13 (¥2,000) at Narita, $6 to $65 (¥1,000 to ¥10,000) at Haneda machines | Unused value is not refunded |
| Subway ticket | 24 hours $6 (¥1,000), 48 hours $10 (¥1,500), 72 hours $13 (¥2,000) | Tokyo Metro and Toei, since 14 Mar 2026; read through snippets |
| Mobile data | $2 (¥300) for 1 GB over 3 days to $17 (¥2,700) for 20 GB over 30 days | Last known (2025). The 2026-27 price is unclear right now, so keep it out of sums |
| Airport train | Narita Express $20 to $21 (¥3,070 to ¥3,250); Skyliner about $17 (¥2,580) | Fares unresolved: sources differ, so keep them out of sums |
| Departure tax | $19 (¥3,000) per departure | Added to the airline ticket |
| Meals | Conveyor sushi from $1 (¥100) a plate; Yoshinoya bowl $4 (¥649) eat-in; Hakata ramen $5 to $6 (¥760 to ¥980) | JNTO; company release; secondary menu listing |
| Shopping | The 10% consumption tax is refundable on eligible goods bought for at least $32 (¥5,000) at one store in one day | Pay-then-refund from 1 Nov 2026; refund timing not stated |
| Visa | About $97 (¥15,000) single entry | Only if you need a visa; visa-exempt tourists pay no fee |
| Hotel tax | $1 to $65 (¥200 to ¥10,000) per person per night | See the next section |
| Insurance | Medical bills quoted as examples: $48,390 (¥7.5 million) and $64,520 (¥10 million) | JNTO medical guide, old figures |
These figures are not a daily budget. Add your nights, a room rate from your own booking page and the meals you expect. The Shinkansen and JR Pass guide shows how to test a pass against single fares, and Cash, IC cards and eSIM covers cards and data. For the shopping line, tax-free shopping refunds the 10% consumption tax on eligible goods.
How much is the hotel tax per night?
Kyoto’s top band is the highest at $65 (¥10,000) per person per night, Osaka’s is $3 (¥500) and Tokyo moves to 3% on 1 Apr 2027. The tax is charged on the room-only price, meals excluded.
| City | Tax per person per night | From |
|---|---|---|
| Kyoto | $1 to $65 (¥200 to ¥10,000), by room rate | 1 Mar 2026 |
| Osaka | $1 to $3 (¥200 to ¥500), by room rate | 1 Sep 2025 |
| Tokyo now | $1 (¥100 to ¥200) on rooms from $65 (¥10,000) | In force |
| Tokyo 2027 | 3% of the room-only charge, exempt below $84 (¥13,000) | 1 Apr 2027 |
| Okinawa | 2% of the room charge, capped at $13 (¥2,000) | 1 Feb 2027 |
| Nagano | $1 (¥200) until 31 May 2029, then $2 (¥300); none under $39 (¥6,000) | 1 Jun 2026 |
| Hokkaido | $1 to $3 (¥100 to ¥500), by room rate | 1 Apr 2026 |
The bands behind the two city rows:
- Kyoto: $1 (¥200) under $39 (¥6,000); $3 (¥400) up to $130 (¥19,999); $6 (¥1,000) up to $325 (¥49,999); $26 (¥4,000) up to $645 (¥99,999); $65 (¥10,000) from $645 (¥100,000). Kyoto also lists an onsen tax of $1 (¥150) per person per night where a bath is part of the stay.
- Osaka: $1 (¥200) from $32 (¥5,000); $3 (¥400) from $97 (¥15,000); $3 (¥500) from $130 (¥20,000). No band is listed below $32 (¥5,000).
Tokyo today charges $1 (¥100) on rooms from $65 to $97 (¥10,000 to ¥14,999) and $1 (¥200) from $97 (¥15,000), at hotels and ryokan only. The 2027 rule adds simple lodging and private rentals.
The Hokkaido start date is confirmed, but the amounts come from press and hotel notices because the official rate table is an image. Sapporo adds a city tax, so its totals are $2 (¥300), $3 (¥400) and $6 (¥1,000).
On a room at $130 (¥20,000) per person per night, these bands give $6 (¥1,000) in Kyoto, $3 (¥500) in Osaka, $1 (¥200) in Tokyo today, $4 (¥600) in Tokyo from 1 Apr 2027 and $3 (¥400) in Okinawa from 1 Feb 2027.
Before you book Add the hotel tax per person per night for every stay on your route. It is worked out on the room-only price, so meals do not change it.
How do you build your own total?
Work line by line, and keep unclear prices out of the sum. Seven steps cover it:
- Fix the nights and the cities.
- Take a room rate for each stay from your own booking page.
- Add the hotel tax per person per night from the table above.
- Price the rail legs as single tickets, then test a pass against the total.
- Add an IC card balance, a subway ticket and mobile data.
- Add meals for the days you eat out.
- Get an insurance quote and check the day’s exchange rate.
Label any line that uses a last known price, such as the 2025 data plans, as last year’s figure.
What is missing from the official cost data?
The agency pages give no average room rate, no accommodation share of visitor spending, no per-day spending and no travel insurance premium. Take a room rate from your own booking page and add the tax above. Flight prices are outside this guide.
To verify The $1,480 (¥229,000) and food figures come from agency survey documents whose definitions differ between tables. Tokyo’s 3% and Okinawa’s 2% are not yet in force, so use today’s Tokyo rates for trips before 1 Apr 2027.
Where next?
Every planning page is in the Plan hub. The 2026 rule changes behind several prices above are in What changed in 2026. Cover for the bills quoted in the table is in Travel insurance for Japan, and booking and payment at restaurants are in How to order food in Japan.
Quick answers
How much does a trip to Japan cost?
The Japan Tourism Agency's 2025 survey averages about $1,480 (¥229,000) per visitor per trip, over 9.5 nights. It is an average, not a budget.
How much money do I need per day in Japan?
There is no official per-day figure. The agency publishes a per-trip average of about $1,480 (¥229,000) over 9.5 nights, and dividing it by nights would not make a daily budget. Build the total from room rate, tax, rail, food and data.
How much do visitors spend on food in Japan?
About 21.9% of visitor spending, roughly $325 (¥50,000) per trip, per the agency's 2025 figures. A second table in its annual report shows $290 (¥44,989), because the definitions differ.
How much is the hotel tax in Japan?
Kyoto charges $1 to $65 (¥200 to ¥10,000) per person per night since 1 Mar 2026, and Osaka $1 to $3 (¥200 to ¥500) since 1 Sep 2025. Tokyo adds 3% from 1 Apr 2027 and Okinawa 2%, capped at $13 (¥2,000), from 1 Feb 2027.