Money guide · Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo vacation costs: stay, eat, get around (2026)
Tokyo stays cheap when the hotel sits above a station and breakfast is a convenience-store onigiri. It gets expensive when the buffet is in the room rate and someone buys a JR Pass for a week that never leaves the Yamanote line.
Start here APA, Toyoko Inn, or Mitsui Garden over a JR or Metro stop, and buy breakfast at the convenience store in the lobby. Stay in one ward. A sushi counter only counts if it was booked before the flight.
Who this is for
For
- People who will sleep above a JR or Metro line and tap Suica
- Anyone who will pick a ward and walk it
Not for
- Anyone treating Kyoto as a day trip from a Tokyo hotel
- People buying a JR Pass for a 5-night city trip
Getting around
Suica or PASMO from the station under the hotel covers JR, Metro, and most buses. A taxi is for luggage at Haneda or Narita, not for Shibuya to Shinjuku.
You usually don’t need a car.
Transit-first
- IC card (Suica / PASMO / Welcome Suica) for trains and most buses
- Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ueno, or Tokyo Station — pick a ward and walk it
- NRT vs HND: Haneda is the closer airport. Narita adds a Skyliner or N’EX fare you should price
Where to stay
APA, Super Hotel, or Toyoko Inn in Shinjuku or Ueno. Mitsui Garden or Hotel Gracery for Mid-range. Park Hyatt or Aman if the room is the treat — you still take the Metro to dinner.
Budget
- APA Hotel Shinjuku above a station, often about ¥12,000–20,000 a night. A convenience store is in the lobby.
- Toyoko Inn Shinjuku or Ueno a business hotel, often about ¥10,000–18,000.
- Super Hotel Lohas Ikebukuro or Ueno often about ¥9,000–16,000. Metro on the block.
- Nine Hours Shinjuku a capsule, often about ¥4,000–7,000, only if you packed a cube.
Mid-range
- Mitsui Garden Shibuya or Ginza often about ¥25,000–40,000 a night. Trains, not a national rail pass.
- Trunk Hotel Shibuya or Sequence Miyashita Park often about ¥30,000–50,000. The mid that is not a business-hotel clone.
- Hilton Tokyo Shinjuku, often about ¥30,000–45,000. Metro in the basement.
- The Westin Tokyo Ebisu, often about ¥28,000–42,000. One train zone.
Splurge
- Park Hyatt Tokyo Shinjuku, often ¥80,000 and up. You still take the Metro to dinner.
- Hoshinoya Tokyo a ryokan product in the city, often ¥100,000 and up. Dinner can still be a train ride.
- Aman Tokyo Otemachi, often ¥150,000 and up. The station is downstairs.
- Conrad Tokyo Shiodome, often ¥70,000 and up.
Same names on Trip Plan — examples, not live inventory and not a ranking.
Where to eat
Rice balls and coffee from a convenience store. Conveyor sushi or ramen at lunch. Golden Gai or Omoide Yokocho for the izakaya. Sushi Saito or a Ginza counter only if it was booked before the flight.
Budget
- A convenience-store onigiri and coffee often about ¥400–700. That is breakfast.
- Ichiran or a neighborhood ramen shop often about ¥1,000–1,500.
- A standing sushi counter often about ¥1,500–3,000.
- A gyudon chain often about ¥500–900, in the ward you booked.
Mid-range
- Afuri a named ramen, often about ¥1,200–1,600.
- A department-store depachika lunch often about ¥1,200–2,000.
- An izakaya often about ¥3,000–5,000 a person, one reservation.
- Conveyor sushi often about ¥2,000–3,500, the honest backup if the counter was not booked.
Splurge
- A Toyosu sushi counter booked from home often about ¥10,000–30,000 a person.
- Sushi Yoshitake or a similar counter often ¥20,000 and up. If it was not booked, it is conveyor sushi.
- A hotel breakfast buffet often about ¥2,500–4,000, which is several days of onigiri.
- A second counter the next night doubles a ¥20,000 meal. The konbini breakfast is still about ¥500.
Things to do
Walk the ward you booked. Sensō-ji at opening is free. teamLab Planets is the timed ticket. Kamakura is a half-day. Kyoto is a different trip.
Budget
- Sensō-ji at opening ¥0 to enter.
- Meiji Shrine ¥0 to enter.
- Suica or PASMO short hops often about ¥180–220. That is the Tokyo card.
- A neighborhood walk in the ward you slept in ¥0 beyond food.
Mid-range
- teamLab Planets in Toyosu about ¥3,800 adult, timed.
- Ghibli Museum, Mitaka about ¥1,000 if you win the official lottery. It is not a same-day booth.
- A Yanaka morning if you do not hold a Ghibli ticket the streets are ¥0, and the train is often about ¥200.
- teamLab Borderless at Azabudai Hills a different ticket, often about ¥3,200–4,000. Do not buy a voucher that only says teamLab.
Splurge
- A 7-day ordinary JR Pass about ¥50,000. On a Yamanote week it does not pay.
- The Skyliner from Narita about ¥2,600 one way. The Narita Express is about ¥3,100. Haneda is usually under ¥700.
- A taxi from Shibuya to Shinjuku often ¥2,000 or more — for a ride the train does in minutes.
- Both teamLabs (about ¥3,800 each) plus Kamakura plus a counter three paid days. Pick one indoor ticket.
Mid-range money walkthrough
Two adults, four nights at a Mitsui Garden or Hilton over a station, convenience-store breakfast, one izakaya, Suica, and teamLab Planets. No JR Pass.
- Lodging
- About ¥38,000 a night × 4 = ¥152,000. Inside ¥30,000–45,000. At about ¥150 to $1, that is about $1,010, before the small accommodation tax.
- Food
- About ¥4,000 a person × 2 × 4 days = ¥32,000. Inside ¥2,500–6,000.
- Transit
- Suica taps for two over four city days, about ¥4,000. A JR Pass at about ¥50,000 each is the wrong product.
- Tickets
- teamLab Planets at about ¥3,800 × 2 = ¥7,600.
Day: The teamLab day is the room (¥38,000) plus food for two (¥8,000) plus Suica (about ¥800) plus two tickets (¥7,600): about ¥54,400.
4-night trip: About ¥196,000 before flights (¥152,000 lodging + ¥32,000 food + ¥4,000 Suica + ¥7,600 tickets). If the room is ¥15,000 or more, Tokyo’s accommodation tax is often ¥200 a person per night, about ¥1,600 here. Lodging plus food is ¥184,000, inside the Quick facts sample of ¥140,000–230,000.
Worked example inside the Quick facts bands. Public rates and official pages, not a live quote.
3-day skeleton
Day 1
The ward you booked
- Convenience-store breakfast
- Shinjuku or Shibuya on foot
- Golden Gai or Omoide Yokocho — one izakaya
Day 2
Asakusa, or teamLab
- Sensō-ji at opening, free
- teamLab Planets only if that timed ticket is the indoor
- Not both plus a Kamakura afternoon
Day 3
A quieter ward
- Yanaka or Shimokitazawa in the morning
- Sushi Saito or a Toyosu outer-market counter only if the booking exists
- No JR Pass math on a city day
Book before you go
- One sushi counter if that is the treat — often ¥10,000 and up — before you land
- A Suica or PASMO. Short rides are often about ¥180–220
- teamLab Planets timed entry, about ¥3,800, if that is the indoor ticket
- Haneda if you can. Price the Skyliner (about ¥2,600) or N'EX (about ¥3,100) if you cannot
Skip this
- A JR Pass for a city week — Suica or PASMO already covers the rides you will take.
- The hotel buffet — A convenience store is in the station under the hotel, and it is cheaper.
- Kyoto as a Tokyo day — Kamakura is the half-day. Kyoto is a different trip.
A Suica card covers a Tokyo week. A JR Pass does not
Top money-saving tips
- Hidden gem: Suica or PASMO is the Tokyo card. A JR Pass is a national product. On a week that stays on the Yamanote, Metro, and a Kamakura side trip, the pass is a ticket you will not ride.
- Hidden gem: Haneda is the closer airport. A cheaper Narita fare still owes a Skyliner or Narita Express ticket before it wins.
- Hidden gem: teamLab Planets is in Toyosu. teamLab Borderless is at Azabudai Hills. They are different tickets in different wards. A voucher that only says teamLab is how people buy the wrong one.
- The Ghibli Museum in Mitaka is an official advance draw, not a ticket window on the day. If you do not hold one, Yanaka is the free morning.
- Book the sushi counter before you land. Conveyor sushi is the honest backup, and it keeps the room.
Next step
The Tokyo Trip Plan is a station hotel and a Suica. A nationwide rail pass does not belong on a city week.
Compiled Sep 2026 from public rates, official calendars, and transit maps — orientation, not a field visit.
Vacation Math money guide · estimates, not live quotes · Tokyo · vacationmath.co/guides/tokyo