• Flights: $690 one way from Bali to Osaka for 2 adults, 1 child & 1 infant
• Accommodation: $1,774 for a total of 23 nights
• Transport: $610 
• Food: $1,675
• Attractions: $360 
• Shopping: $381
• Kids’ Necessities: $60
• Total: $5,550

Clearly, food was our downfall. Not because food was ridiculously expensive, but simply because Japan’s food is something that no man or woman can resist. You will literally want to try something new every 5 steps you take.

*All values are listed in USD

Flights to Japan

The route we took to Japan probably won’t apply to you, as we were on a one-way ticket to Osaka from Bali, but there’s many ways in which you can save yourself a crap ton on flights to Japan.

Numero Uno – call me Captain Obvious, but you need to obviously plan your outgoing and return flights outside of peak holiday times. In Australia, peak travel seasons align directly with school and uni holidays.

• December to January (avoid like the plague)
• April
• Mid to late July until, pretty much, October (mid-year is pretty much peak to fly anywhere in the world that is experiencing summer)

I know. I know. This probably doesn’t leave you with many options when it comes to travelling Japan on a budget, which completely sucks when your job won’t let you travel outside of these times. But, if you can weasel your way into scoring some leave in low season – you can stumble upon some real sweet deals.

Let me tell you about a not-so-secretive-secret. Use Skyscanner’s “Cheapest Month” option, which you can select when you enter your travel dates. Instead of “Specific Date”, choose “Whole Month”, and voila – find the cheapest travel dates for every month of the year.

Accommodation in Osaka, Kyoto & Tokyo

Before I get stuck into how bloody brilliant the invention of Airbnb is – it is unfortunately not the case in Japan anymore. For the time being, at least.

As of June 2018, Airbnb dropped nearly 80% of its listings in Japan – meaning, these properties won’t get re-listed until they are in compliance with the new laws.

So, fingers crossed you can get your hands on a good Airbnb deal, because that is probably the one thing that has made travelling to Japan affordable as a family.

We’ve started using booking.com to find apartments, as they actually list a large number of apartment options now, treading into the Airbnb sphere of business (I mean – who wouldn’t?). The best thing about this platform is that with most places, you don’t have to pay until you arrive. How awesome is that? Cos ain’t nobody wanna be outta pocket before their holiday even begins.

Getting Around in Japan

Should you get the JR Pass?

To get one or not to get one, that is the question. It really all depends on how many cities you intend to visit and how frequently you plan on utilising the Shinkansen bullet train.

On our trip, we travelled between Osaka, Nara, Kyoto and Tokyo. The most expensive leg of the journey was catching the Shinkansen from Kyoto to Tokyo – $120 USD per adult. Not gonna lie – buying those tickets hurt just a bit. *Cries*

If you intend to do a lot of train travel between cities and regions, then it is 100% worth investing in a 7, 14 or 21-day Japan Rail Pass.

On the bright side, if your kids are under 6 years, they get to ride with you for free. Kids aged between 6 and 11 must purchase half price tickets, and kids over 12 years cop the full price. Youch.

Being in possession of the JR Rail Pass also allows you to travel on JR-run subway in each city for without any additional charges. An important thing to note though, is that there are a gazillion train providers in Japan. This means you’ll still need to buy a ticket when travelling on lines that aren’t run by JR.

Take a look at where to buy the Japan Rail Pass for more insight and where you can purchase it.

Using the Train Network

Getting around by train is, without a doubt, the most efficient way to exploring any city in Japan. It is also fairly cheap (I’m comparing prices to Australia here).

On average, we spent around $3-6 on train tickets in Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo per adult a day. Even tickets between Osaka, Kyoto and Nara were very affordable – look at paying between $7-12 for one way trips.

Not having the JR Rail pass allowed us the flexibility to buy tickets for any line which would get us to our destination the quickest, so you can see why it wasn’t worth it for our itinerary.

Rent a Bicycle

In exception of Tokyo (because it’s just too darn hectic), the most enjoyable way of getting around and seeing all the sights is to rent a bicycle. We did this in Osaka, Nara and Kyoto and we have zero regrets. Apart from the bits where steep inclines were involved – my unfit self almost died from what I would call ‘too much cardio’.

You can rent a bicycle in Kyoto from 800 Yen ($7) per day, and if you’re tugging little ones along, they also offer child seat attachments for an additional 400 Yen ($3.60) a day. Alternatively, you can strap them into a carrier and avoid the extra cost.

Car Transport

If you’re doing Japan on a budget, do not hail a taxi.

Unless you’re an absolute baller and don’t know how else to spend your money (send kind donations my way, please) – I’m going to dissuade you from booking an Uber or hailing a taxi. I mean, as gangster as the cabs look in Japan – all black, low riding, and fitted with passenger doors that open automatically (which is so swag by the way), you will most likely experience heart failure as soon as the metre turns on.

Let’s put it into perspective – a trip from Narita Airport to Shinjuku will cost you over $200. [Insert fainting emoji]

What will cost you far less, if you’re daring enough, is to rent a car to explore cities and the countryside for roughly $60 per day. You can pick up car rentals from most major airports and drive yourself off into the horizon as soon as you arrive.

Eating Out in Japan

You can send yourself flat broke (guilty) from tasting the finest foods that will have ever graced your tastebuds, or you can go ‘poor student’ cheap and find eats that are only slightly more expensive than meals in South East Asia.

Cheap but Tasty Franchises

The clear winners for us were Matsuya and Yoshinoya who specialised in Donburi – basically, a rice bowl dish consisting of grilled meat, and well, grilled meat. You can get a Donburi set which includes a bowl of Miso soup and coleslaw for 350 Yen ($3) – total bargain.

We legit fed our family of four for $12, and we were stuffed.

Other franchises we tried that were delicious, yet still cheap, included Tempura Tendon Tenya, CoCo Ichibanya (curry rice), and Freshness Burger (stellar burgers, might I say).

Stand-Up Eateries Around Stations

Here’s a little tip – look for food around train stations. The eateries are usually tiny (we barely just squeezed our strollers into some of them), sometimes there are seats, but most of the time you have to stand, scoff down your bowl of soba noodles, and be on your way. That’s Japanese efficiency.

We found Tempura Soba around a station in Osaka for 300 Yen ($2.70) which was the bomb diggity.

The downside is that they’re far from family friendly considering there’s, well, no place to sit. High chairs? Don’t even try to ask. You’ll just be a recipient of blank stares.

Supermarkets

Packaged set meals from supermarkets in Japan will be your saviour when it comes to saving money and your sanity if you’re travelling with kids.

You can find rice bowls and fried noodles from 200 Yen ($1.80) and mouthwatering sushi combinations for 700 Yen ($6.30). They’re made fresh every day, and I’m not even gonna lie, these packaged Bento Boxes taste way better than most Japanese restaurants in Australia.

Convenience Stores

What’s the best thing about Asia? Convenience stores. Don’t even argue with me on this one.

If there’s no supermarket within close reach, you can bet your arse there’ll be a 7 Eleven or Family Mart. For those times you’re out of cheap dining solutions, or the kids are actin’ like fools – pop into one of these godsend stores and turn your evening into a 5-course convenience store degustation consisting of pre-made Bento Boxes, Hokkaido Cheesecakes, ice cream, sashimi and beverages that will blow your tastebuds away.

Pre-packaged meals will cost you between 350 Yen ($3) to 750 ($6.70) Yen.

Hunt Down Lunch Deals

I don’t about you guys, but we despise eating out at night with kids. We avoid it like the plague. Wouldn’t touch it with a 100-foot pole. Y’all parents will know where I’m coming from.

That’s why lunch time was the go for us. That’s pretty much how we tackled our list of must-eat places in Japan – we booked all the best eateries during lunch hour, a time where kids are much more tolerable and you also aren’t subject to peak dinner prices. Win.

So, if there’s a restaurant you’re dying to visit (especially Yakiniku restaurants), before you rush over for a dinner that will do some serious damage to your wallet – jump on their website and check if they have have lunch specials. Same quality, less hurt to your finances.

How much did we Spend on Food per Day?

Doing Japan on a budget as a family meant that we had to sacrifice one of our favourite Melbournian meals – brunch. Or brekky. Whatever you want to call it. We made our own breakfast on the daily to save money, which required us to do a grocery haul in each city we visited.

We spent anywhere between 6000 Yen ($55) up to 9000 Yen ($80) on groceries each week. Okay, I’ll admit. A lot of it wasn’t necessary and only served  to fuel my love for Japanese snacks.

Our weekly grocery hauls fed the four of us each morning and consisted of: bread, avocados, milk, coffee, rice, sausages, fruits, cereals, and heaps more.

Daily food total excluding breakfast: Between 3875 Yen ($35) to 6640 Yen ($60)

Purely for the entertainment of our kids (alright, maybe for ours too) we visited attractions like Osaka Aquarium and the Kyoto Railway Museum, which cost $20 and $10 per adult, respectively.The good news in all of this is that kids under the age of 3 get into most attractions for free. *Happy dance* Junior high and elementary kids pay around half price, high school and university students also receive a small discount.

Average Daily Cost of Travelling Japan as a Family

As a family of four, I have to confess – we did a decent job in keeping to our daily budget. Well, apart from the days we lost all sense of self-control and ate double our body weight. If you have an dash more self-control than us, it’s definitely possible to do Japan on a manageable budget as a family.

Our average daily cost of travel: $60 for the whole family (food + transport only)

Japan on a Budget: Money Saving Tips

• Before you go, find information on free or cheap things to do in each city – trust me, it’s so worth it. A good one we used for Tokyo was Little Grey Box’s 49 Insanely Cheap & Free Things To Do In Tokyo.
• Save on train transport by determining whether it’s worth getting the JR Rail Pass for your Japan itinerary
• Sunday is the cheapest day for train travel – look into getting discounted daily tickets
• Take the bus – although much less efficient, if you have the time to spare, you’ll save a lot more.
• Pre-book attraction tickets online for discounts and faster entry – we booked Disneyland, Osaka Aquarium, Universal Studios, and Robot Restaurant tickets online and saved some precious dollars.
• Make your own breakfast, or book accommodation that includes breakfast.
• Shop at Daiso or Don Quijote for discount home and, basically, everything-you-can-think-of-under-the-sun-products
• Avoid eating at nice places during dinner time – find lunch time specials at popular restaurants

So, is Japan cheap for family travel?

No, it’s not cheap. But it’s also not going to cost you more than what you’re already paying on food and transport back at home, if you live in Europe, Australia, or North America.

Food was our biggest budget killer. After all, I don’t think there’s many people out there who can resist all the heavenly food Japan has to offer. If there is, then you have my respect.

Your expenditures in Japan will really come down to what kind of attractions you’re intent on doing, and how much self-control you have with food. For real.