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Do I need cash in Japan?

In Japan, you'll use a Suica (or Icoca) card for local transport and most small purchases, and a credit card for big purchases (hotels etc). But you still need Japanese cash for places that don't take cards.



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For our tours, we usually recommend $60 USD per person per day for spending money in Japan, and that'll cover meals, entertainment, and light souvenir shopping. If you're not on our tour, we recommend a little bit more per day to cover things like entrance fees.

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Overall, a budget traveler can expect to spend around $50 to $100 per day in Japan, while a mid-range traveler can expect to spend around $150 to $250 per day. It's important to plan ahead and research activities and costs to create a budget that works for you.

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In short, I think you will be absolutely fine since your flight and hotels are paid for already. $1000 should be sufficient, but you must be strict with yourself. $50 a day just about creeps overbudget. I think you should set yourself about $30 a day and maybe sometimes jump up to $50/60 if you wanna try something.

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Japanese businesses often leave a small tray near the cash register for the customer to place their money. This ensures that the cashier does not need to directly come into contact with the customer. Disregarding the money tray and holding money out for the cashier to take is considered highly impolite.

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Tipping in Japan is not expected, and attempts to leave a tip will almost certainly be turned down (a potentially awkward moment).

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The estimated total cost for 2 weeks in Japan is $5450 (£4530, ¥715,000) for 2 people. How much money should I bring to Japan for 2 weeks? A good rule of thumb is to have about 10,000 to 20,000 yen with you in cash at all times. For 2 weeks, 100,000 yen (£650, $780) was plenty cash for us.

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That's certainly a comfortable budget as long as you aren't expecting to eat many fancy meals or do a lot of drinking or clubbing. You can probably save some money with strategic use of transit passes (see summaries on Japan Guide or elsewhere). You should look into the Grutto Pass.

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Food costs in Japan can vary, with budget restaurants offering meals for $5 to $10, while mid-range restaurants cost around $15 to $30 per person. Overall, a budget traveler can expect to spend around $50 to $100 per day in Japan, while a mid-range traveler can expect to spend around $150 to $250 per day.

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You could maybe do it, but it would be a stretch. Look at it this way. $500 for 2 weeks, you're giving yourself $35 a day. If you spend the whole two weeks in Tokyo and never leave the city, you could probably do it.

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