Japan for 3 months, how much money do i need?
 

I'm planning to go to Japan for 3 months and i was thinking of taking $15,000. That would be $5,000 per month.

I would like to know from people that been to Japan, or have any knowledge regarding the issue.

I'm wondering if that's enough or if i need more or less. Don't want to live like a king but also don't want to be penny pinching every given second.

My expenses will include food, Travel expenses in Japan ( not from and to ), Gaijing House rent in Chiba, A phone from Softbank (Using Housetek's Advice),etc...

Try the search function - there are many threads around here asking the same question :)

$15k is more than enough.

I've done that. That's why i had to post this thread.

THANKS!:vsign:

That really depends on the type of activities you are looking at doing and where you will be staying.

But 5000 a month sound reasonable if you are not going crazy on shopping and souvenir

I got my Softbank bill last week and it came out to $400 for 3 weeks! I didn't realize that I called so many people. Note to self : Never call... always text message...

Five thousand a month is definitely more than enough as long as you don't go overboard. ie. No Soapland for you!

Are they expensive?

Or another alternative is to have all three meals off convenience store food to cut down on cost :)

$5000 a month is more than enough to live pretty high on the hog. No need for convenience store meals with that kind of money.

Check your PM. :D

Not really gonna travel that much, but I definitely want to go to Mount Fuji and Disneyland.

I will use the phone primarily to get phone calls from family and friends in the U.S. And for emergencies in Japan.

I didn't know what was "Soapland" so i Googled it... Now I'm gonna have to try it at least once

Gaijin are often not allowed in "soapland", "massage parlors" and other (barely) legal prostitution places.

Really? Wasn't aware of that. Though, i do know that strip joints allow Gaijin... I brought my friend to a place in Osaka, and he is as foreign as anyone can get :)

too much for spending $15000 for 3 months. Travelling around Japan and stay in delux hotel :).

Fuzoku establishments are pretty strict on who they allow in. Even westerners who speak perfect Japanese are turned down. Maybe it's their perception of foreigners or maybe it's something passed down from the elders. Not sure...

Many places will have a sign at the entrance which clearly states "Japanese clients only".

If in doubt, you can always visit the local annaijyo (information booth) at a red light district. I even asked a police officer at a koban for directions once. :D

Ha ha, thats amazing.. you know, being oriental, I find it extremely amazing that they can tell I am not Japanese from miles away... I even speak enough to pretend to be one, but they can tell.. its either my accent or my clothing that gave it away i guess

The reason is that other clients don't want a gaijin's AIDS, so they keep it Japanese only.

$15000 is whole lot of money, I guess!!! Why are you visiting Japan btw..

They're pretty good at weeding out clients. I look Japanese (which is not surprising since my parents are Japanese) and although I speak Japanese fluently, those bouncers/doormen can usually clue in that I'm not a native citizen. In one instance, it was my clear pronunciation of the word "Web Site" which gave it away. The other time, it might have been my clothing because all I said was sumimasen before he asked me if I was Japanese.

Either way, I tell them that I'm Japanese but currently living abroad in Canada. That always works. ;)

I didn't think it was that much.
I figured $100.00 for meals and bus, cab, train fare. That's $3,000 a month.

Rent in a Gaijin House can run from $500.00 to $900.00. Some places you still have to pay Utilities. That's $3,500 to $3,900 plus Utilities.Lets Just say $4,000 even

I wanna Buy a Phone to use along with Skype to have friends and family from the U.S. to call me.

A also want to go to Mount Fuji and Disneyland Tokyo.

The remaining money from the 5K P/M Budget, i want to use for emergencies or what ever. After all i don't want to use the entire amount. That's just what i want to take to fell comfortable.


The reason i want to go to Japan is that i love the culture, and i want to see Japan for my self.

100 a day for food and stuff is realistic, a bit on the high side, but we are talking about budgeting here, so its always good to over estimate than under.

Leaving 5K to "spend" for 3 months maybe a bit tight depending on the kind of activities you get into. Disneyland isn't that much of a deal, but its a personal preference

Are you staying ONLY in Tokyo? Maybe get a JR pass and wrap up some of the "out of tokyo" stuff first?

Depends on where you want to stay
 

Avoid Tokyo as much as possible everything there seems to cost 2-3 times more than other parts of Japan.

Stay at guest houses, around 3,000 to 5,000yen per night.

Eat supermarket take-a-ways, their much nicer and cheaper than the convenience store ones. If you go around 7pm to the supermarket there's always good discounts. Best food is in Coop Supermarkets, followed by Heiwado (well at least in Kansai area).

Plan your rail travel and buy a JR Pass before you leave.

Make friends with Japanese people and stay at their place, but remember to bring souvenirs, give some money for food, help out with the house work.

On the topic of JR pass. IF a traveler wish to stay in Japan for say, 6 weeks, are they allow to buy 2 JR pass to satisfy the 3wks + 3wks scenario?

AFAIK you can buy multiple exchange orders (the coupons which you buy overseas and exchange in Japan for the rail pass) and then exchange them as you need to. I've never used more than one per trip myself though.