Japan's reputation for being expensive mostly comes from travellers who never had a plan. With realistic budgeting the trip is costly but genuinely predictable — and the honest number is usually lower than London or New York.
The five-day baseline
A comfortable stay in Tokyo with a mid-range hotel, daily meals and one major attraction lands in the range the destination budget card shows. Add flights and airport transfers on top of that number.
Where the money goes
Hotels and Shinkansen tickets are the heavy lines; food is cheaper than most visitors expect. Between Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto a rail pass can reshape the whole budget.
The cheap days
Parks, temples and neighbourhood wandering are free — Senso-ji, Ueno Park, shrine lanes, department-store basements. Japan's best memories rarely carry a ticket price.
Turn the number into a plan
Budgets only make sense as itineraries. Open the planner with Tokyo and the day-by-day budget builds itself from the same figures behind the destination pages.