Travel To Japan for Cheap (Really!)

January 5, 2012 by Hashi 72 Comments

Last year, I wrote about a plan by the Japanese government to give away 10,000 free airplane tickets to Japan to boost its slumping tourism industry.

Unfortunately last week, the Japan Tourism Agency announced that the “Fly To Japan” project had failed to get funding in the Japanese government’s budget

While I’m really disappointed that I won’t be able to get to Japan on the government’s dime, I can definitely understand why the plan didn’t go through.

It might come across as a little insensitive for the government to spend so much money on free airplane tickets when there’s still so much that needs to be cleaned up and rebuilt in the Tohoku area. Not to mention that tourist money wouldn’t likely directly help earthquake and tsunami victims.

Alternatives Ways To Japan

If you had your little heart set on those free tickets to Japan, fear not! There are still plenty of ways to get to Japan if not for free, then very cheaply. If you’re really serious and determined about going to Japan, then there are tons of great opportunities out there for you. Here are some alternate routes of getting to Japan.

School

If you’re going to college or university, there are often very inexpensive ways of traveling abroad through your school, either through partnerships with other schools or through grants and scholarships. Even some high schools offer programs to Japan. If you can show that you’re eager and serious about learning, then your school will usually try its best to accommodate you.

Koichi and intern-turned-writer-extrodinaire John both went to Japan through school study abroad programs, and Koichi wrote a great guide a few years back on how to get a scholarship, which you should definitely read here.

JET

The JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching) Programme is a well-known and long-running program created by the Japanese government that takes native English speakers from other countries (mainly the US) and places them into teaching positions all across Japan.

The program requires you to have a university degree, but other than that there’s basically no teaching or language experience required.

Not to mention that JET is an actual job, meaning you’ll be paid for going to Japan. Pretty good deal, right?

WWOOF

Last year, I wrote about WWOOF, AKA World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. WWOOF is more of a working vacation than a leisurely visit, but you’ll nevertheless have a place to stay and food to eat in Japan. If you’re at all interested, there’s tons more information in the post (and comments!) here.

Make Your Own Way

Of course, if none of the above methods sound appealing to you, you can always try to make it to Japan with your own, hard-earned cash. This can be tough because it means that you’ll not only be planning everything from start to finish, but you’ll be be paying for everything too.

Fortunately visiting Japan on the cheap can be a lot easier (and more rewarding) than you might think.

Places To Stay

Going to Japan might seem impossible if you approach it thinking that you need to stay at a Hilton, but in reality there are tons of cheap ways to stay in Japan.

Hostels are always an inexpensive option, and should be a familiar concept to anybody who’s traveled on the cheap before.

There are also tons of online resources to help you connect with people who want to give you a a place to stay. Sites like Airbnb and CouchSurfing will let you find people who will let you stay at their homes.

And if you’re comfortable enough, you can look at what the homeless do in Japan. Last year Koichi covered how the homeless in Japan live cheaply, including staying in capsule hotels and internet cafés. Might not be the most appealing option, but it certainly does the job.

Where To Go (Avoid The Big Cities)

Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto are all great, world-class cities. I have nothing against them, but if you want to visit Japan cheaply, you should avoid them at all costs.

Because these cities are so great and popular, they’re usually pretty expensive. For that reason, you should gravitate away from the well-known tourist destinations and check out the many other cool and interesting parts of Japan.

Former Tofugu writer Nick did a whole series called “Off The Beaten Track” about visiting less well-known areas in Japan. You can check out all of the posts in “Off The Beaten Track” here.

[hr]

But really, the bottom line is that if you really want to go to Japan, there are tons of ways for you to get there. And believe it or not, there are even lots of people who want to help you out! You just have to know where to look.

I’m sure that there are many, many more groups and organizations that can help you get to Japan that I didn’t mention in this post. If you know of any more, please let us know in the comments so we can spread the word!

P.S. Follow us on Twitter for more info about traveling to Japan.
P.P.S. Need more than 140 characters? Catch us on Facebook or Google+.

EDIT: For those of you asking about getting cheaper airline tickets to Japan, check out Koichi’s post “How To Get Cheap Airplane Tickets To Japan” here.

About Hashi

Futurist, Portlander, Tofugu employee #1.

http://thejrt.com/ JRT

One of my biggest regrets was not participating in a study abroad program at university. Those with that option, jump on it at once!
Dy~

I’m hoping that when I transfer to a larger Uni in a few years that they’ll have a study abroad to Japan, (in case you wanted to know I’m referring to Ohio State and UCF)
http://www.tofugu.com/ Hashi

Definitely! I don’t think that you realize until you’re out of university what a great opportunity study abroad programs are…
Madeleine Cossell

While it would have been fantastic if the program had been approved, it really is for the best that the budget focuses on internal rebuilding rather than luring tourists in, who won’t even likely go to the affected areas that could profit from their tourist bucks.

An additional option, though it is probably more difficult or even tedious, is getting a job with military stationed overseas- like a University or College that caters to the US military community, for instance. There are plenty of jobs on bases that aren’t directly military or government- there are retail and food industry jobs, as well as various contracted jobs.
http://www.tofugu.com/ Hashi

Good luck with your transfer and getting into a study abroad program!
Madeleine Cossell

In retrospect, this is mostly just applicable to US citizens. I should mention that I am friends with numerous people who do just this in Germany, England, Spain, Japan, and Korea.
http://www.twitter.com/christaran Chris Taran

Cool, now can you tell me how to get around the $1,800 plane ticket?
School and JET are unfortunately not possible for me.
Anonymous

I was just thinking about this earlier. Unless I want to do the immersion learning programs in Japan, I can’t do school, and unfortunatly JET requires a bachelors (I think) which I don’t have…wwoof sounds intersting…but I don’t think its for me…I’m shooting to make enough money to go next year hopefully…and stay…idk for how long…forever if I could…lol
http://www.tofugu.com/ Hashi

Unfortunately, I do not :( I’m sure there are ways, but none that I know about.
http://www.tofugu.com/ Hashi

Interesting, I didn’t know that such military jobs were available. I assume that they would all be in Okinawa too, right?
http://www.tofugu.com/ Hashi

Yeah, JET does require a bachelor’s degree. Good luck with going it on your own!
BPS

If you go to Japan during the right times of the year (usually AFTER major Japanese Holidays), you can get roundtrip tickets for as low as $550-$750. I now work at a travel agency, and before this had done it many times. Spring Break time (Shunbun no Hi) and Obon/Golden Week are prime traveling times for Japanese. After these spikes, airline fares are often much lower.
Madeleine Cossell

Okinawa definitely has a ton of those jobs, but there are roughly 6 bases on the main island that would have these kinds of jobs. Two of which are near Tokyo, I believe. Okinawa being 20% American military bases means there are tons of jobs, but it comes with the misfortune of being associated with GIs who get up to shenanigans that are REALLY no good.
http://aloneinkudamatsu.blogspot.com/ JJ

I wouldnt say avoid big cities *at all costs* (cue scary horror music). It can be incredibly cheap to visit large cities. I’ve stayed at Comfort Hotel in Tokyo for $30/night with a weekday deal and the restaurants often have cheap nomihodai/tabehodai courses cuz theyre competing with other places. Plus, there’s always cheap gyudon or noodles and konbini food. If you live like a Japanese they can be cheap. If you go to gaijin bars and Mexican restaurants you may go broke.
Kiriain

Wow. I actually want to go to Japan and stay there. For a long time too. And that will certainly be expensive, but these tips on getting there cheaply will certainly help quite a bit. Thanks for this article!
http://twitter.com/BlueKutsu Paul

True that JET pays your way there and back, but my study abroad wasn’t cheap, and making your own way there isn’t necessarily cheap…don’t know about the other ways. Was hoping for a post about how to make a trip over there for relatively little money. Airfare is the big killer. =P
Mrsjdragon

Thank you sooo much for sharing all this. I WILL go there even if I don´t have clu right now how to solve it but this post really helped me out to maybe find a way! / Jennie
http://www.tofugu.com/ Hashi

Wow, I had no idea. That’s very, very useful to know about.
http://www.tofugu.com/ Hashi

No problem, glad that you enjoyed it!
http://www.tofugu.com/ Hashi

True, true. I only meant as sort of a general rule that it’s cheaper in
smaller towns/cities, but you’re absolutely right that you can go to
and stay in the bigger cities for fairly cheap.
http://www.tofugu.com/ Hashi

Glad it was helpful to you!
http://www.tofugu.com/ Hashi

Yeah, airfare is a big pain. It does looks like you can get a cheaper ticket if you buy at the right time, though: http://www.tofugu.com/2012/01/05/fly-to-japan-cancelled/#comment-401437868
Anonymous

This is much better than swimming lessons!
http://www.vietamins.com Viet

Whats all this talk about airfare? Obviously the cheapest form of travel would be to (…illegally) hop onto a trade vessel. Just make sure to bring lots of ramen, a few books, and have a decent set of ninja hiding skills!
http://www.tofugu.com koichi

badoom http://www.tofugu.com/2010/11/16/how-to-get-cheap-airplane-tickets-to-japan/
http://www.twitter.com/christaran Chris Taran

Thank you for the info!
http://www.twitter.com/christaran Chris Taran

I’ll just assume you just wrote that for me personally and just back dated the post :p

But thanks Koichi!
John

OSU has plenty! :D

Go to Kobe!
Dimitris Moraitidis

A guide for urban camping in japan!
http://wikitravel.org/en/Urban_camping_in_Japan

Great news for me in Greece!
Aeroflot is offering really cheap airtickets from Athens to Tokyo.
Just 480 euros during the spring!
hoshiro-

do*
hoshiro-

Hashi…. can high schoolers fo that WWOF thing?
Vika

Great article. Thank you for all of the information. :)
Gigatron

A long time ago, I had never planned to attend university. I honestly just didn’t feel it was the path for me. Later on that changed. I was actually trying to get into college, specifically to obtain the necessary qualifications to go for JET.
Sophia Z

I´m an au-pair in japan, kyoto right now! Most japanese people don´t know this au-pair system, so I´m kind of a volunteer for japanese people. But at au-pair world are a few japanese families. And I was so lucky, I´m in a family that speaks german, my motherlanguage. ;D and I even get paid for it!
http://tanimytani.wordpress.com/ Tani

JET is certainly the best option for English as a Second Language employment but don’t forget other jobs are out there if you have the language or other needed skills! I have friends working in computer technology, recruiting, biochemistry, and event planning. For people who want to snowboard / ski all day there are positions to work at ski resorts during the winter months (Hakuba is a big one here in Nagano prefecture) and some of them may pitch in a little for the ticket.

Also, checking out smaller companies for ESL is great too… though I’ve not really heard great things from Interac employees. I’m currently with a small company in Nagano called A to Z and they treat me really well though I do miss the JET paycheck.
Dana Atnb

Hashi, very useful post, thanks. I just would like to add that if someone from Central Asian countries and Turkey there is The Nippon Foundation JATCAFA (Japan Turkey Central Asia Friendship Association ) gives a plenty of opportunities to travel and study in Japan. And Japanese Government (MEXT) sholarship programs are also good to get a chance study there, its better to apply to not high rate universities you will have a chance more (:
Sakura Yume

and luckily, I don’t need any of those ways right now ’cause I’m spending a year abroad in Japan as a foreign exchange student starting this summer! *-* so I will be going to japanese high school and living with a japanese family…
Just wanted to say how much I LOVE tofugu (first thing I go on when I start up my laptop or just feel bored :D ) and, well…. just thank you so much for having such an awesome site! ♥
http://www.tofugu.com/ Hashi

Ooh, congratulations on your study abroad program! And thank you so much for reading :)
http://www.tofugu.com/ Hashi

From what I’ve read, you have to be at least 16 for WWOOF.
http://www.tofugu.com/ Hashi

Thanks! And thank you for reading!
http://www.tofugu.com/ Hashi

Ah right, I forgot about au pairs! That sounds like a really great way to get to Japan. Did you go through a specific organization to get into your au pair position?
http://www.tofugu.com/ Hashi

Very good point, smaller ESL companies are a great option!
http://www.tofugu.com/ Hashi

Interesting, I’d never herad of JATCAFA before. That definitely sounds like a very good option for getting a scholarship.
http://www.tofugu.com koichi

timmmeee trravvellllll ~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~~ *~~**~**~~~ Poof!
http://twitter.com/Musouka Musouka

Yakushima was the most expensive stop in my trip. WWOOF sounds quite interesting… might give it a try someday.
http://www.project-kathryn.com/ Kathryn

My tip for travelling Japan on the cheap is to learn Japanese! When I lived there and wanted to travel I found a lot of the hotels had English sites but all the special deals were only on Rakuten and other sites like that in Japanese.

For example, I stayed in a hotel in Aomori that was 5000 yen on the English site but special time-limited deal on Rakuten was 2500 yen including a buffet breakfast.

I’d recommend business hotels over hostels. They aren’t much more expensive and they are full of Japanese ppl not other tourists plus most of them are located very handy to trains etc. Oh yeah and you get the traditional Japanese breakfast -ok, I had admit, I just love them for the breakfast buffet — but that can also save you big bucks!
Knickygill

I thought that I should just make a small comment. I see a lot of people on here talking about the JET program and its requirements. Yes, you have to have at least a Bachelors degree…any subject is ok. And you don’t have to know any Japanese….in fact I was told that I had LESS chance of being selected because I know Japanese! A JET representative told me that the less Japanese you know the better your chances of being selected since the main point of JET is to teach English through total immersion while in class and (if possible) outside of class as well. So, if you can speak Japanese…lie and say you cant!
Tara

i’m hoping to go to japan with YFU for a summer or semester 2012, i get excited when i see post like this
Alexander Campagna

oh no! i was looking forward to the ‘fly to japan’ program that you discussed last fall! ever since wathing a ‘no reservations’ episode last year where anthony bourdain visits japan, a trip there has been in the back of my mind…. ah well, thanks for these helpful tips….
Sandra03

yes i’ve heard this a bunch of times, that if you go there expecting to take taxis everywhere and eat hamburgers and pizza every day, you’ll go broke in no time. you have to adjust to the local diet and learn how to use the public transit systems to stretch your money, and don’t go crazy buying stuff you don’t need. set aside the amount of money you want to spend on things like souvenirs and don’t go over budget, it’s easy to get carried away buying tons of things you can’t get back home . but remember that you only have so much room in your suitcases to get it all home, and that if you really really wanted something but it was out of your budget, you can probably order it off the internet later on from somewhere like http://www.jlist.com