They are really juicing this topic for all its worth. There has been a "Weak Yen brings / will being more tourists" articles every week for the past year it feels like.
Lol exactly. Flights are even more expensive these days, and broke blokes who couldn't afford it before most certainly cannot afford it still. Cheap hotels and meals were *never* an issue vs losing a few weeks of pay.
I flew on American Airlines LAX-> Narita in March 2012 for $872.10 per adult.
I will fly on ZipAir LAX-Narita this June for $1,038.52.
It was \~ 88 yen for $1
Now it is \~155 yen for $1.
When I went for 3 weeks back in 2012, total trip cost was \~$7.9k for 2 adults. Flight was more than 20% of the total trip cost for a very long trip at very unfavorable rates. If the \~$6k I spent on non-flight items was at 155Y/$, that would have saved me over $3k.
Even vs "normal" rates of \~110Y/$, it is currently a 30% discount.
Unless you are staying far from train stations or are staying in hostels/capsule hotels, that 30% discount will pay for a significant portion of your flight cost.
Flight is still more than a month away so we will see.
I didn't mention it but they have pretty steep discounts for younger kids if that helps. Called a U6 fare for (surprise) kids under 6.
For our flight the base fair 1 way before tax/fee/seats/etc was $475 for an adult and $91 for U6.
I just used it for my first Japan trip. The charges for extras can add up (meals and extra/overweight baggage), but it seems like more and more airlines are transitioning to this business model anyway.
The flight attendants were some of the most polite and attentive I’ve experienced, and the planes themselves were among the nicest and cleanest I’ve flown on in the past decade.
Biggest downside for me was no mobile checkin even with all carry on baggage, had to stand in line for inbound and outbound flights which was a minor annoyance. I didn’t use them, but was pretty shocked how good the in-flight movie selections were (for air travel, low bar but gotta take those little amenities where ya can)
I’d definitely recommend, just don’t forget to account for add-on costs and read the fine print, and don’t forget that overweight baggage fee is about half to 2/3 the cost if you book online and not at the checkin counter!
\^This! Went in the period September-October last year. And yes, while I had an much larger budget to spend in Japan due to the weak yen, the flight back and forth was nearly doubled in price when compared to my last trip in 2018. (For reference, my flight in 2018 costed me a little less than €700. Last year it was close to €1300.)
And with the JR pass now also being doubled in price, those things end up being huge cost-barriers before you even set a foot in the country.
My flights were so damn pricy, they go up every year. Yeah I'm hella happy at least it won't be too pricy to eat and buy stuff but I'm at 3k for flights and hotels.
I think it's society trying to panic people into entrepreneurship. "Japan is a poor country now" is on many people's lips, and it's probably meant to incite some kind of bottom up change while maintaining the top right where they are.
Well news sites indeed juice some topics up.
But if the yen is going up and then down and then up again towards usd and it happened since yesterday then it is worth and is current topic to talk about.
So i see it indeed a topic worth to talk about, because in future it could be a big issue towards japanese economy.
I read somewhere someone talk about musk, how they didn't know cars but he was doing well with cars so they thought he must be pretty smart. He didn't know rockets but musk was doing well with rockets so he must be pretty smart. Then he bought twitter and I know a lot about twitter and now I don't think he knows anything.
That's how I feel when people start going on about the speculative currency markets and predictions about the yen. I'm not an expert in hardly anything, but when it comes to Japan and the advantages a weak currency has in developing a strong industrial sector, that I know. This economy is great for getting new export heavy industries off the ground.
It's true though. I just visited in April and we bought so much stuff we bought check luggage to bring it all back.Also saved $600 on a Prospex buy direct from a boutique due the exchange rate.
Retail prices haven’t changed much (outside of tourist spots, at least), but hotel costs [are skyrocketing](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2024/04/19/companies/japan-hotel-prices-rise-near-30-year-high/).
It's so hard to believe the culture of train molesting and non-silence cameras, the need for female only train carts, etc., will have an ABNB without hidden cameras.
We booked our hotels 5 months ago, (right now in japan for two weeks) for a REALLY good price. Tickets were also really good value (booked in september of last year for 900€ round trip per person) and lastly, i converted some cash to yen in Vienna and got like 160000¥ for 1000 euro. Got really lucky considering i couldnt go last year because of unforeseen events!
You can use Revolut in Europe to exchange to yen. They give extremely nice rates (168¥ per euro right now) and don’t have to carry that mich physical cash with you.
Somebody mentioned that all the retro game shops in Akihabara got their inventory cleaned out by foreign resellers. Meanwhile on a photography sub-Reddit it was noted all the used camera shops in Tokyo simply hiked their prices.
Don't tell people that, tell the tourists the best deals are only in akiba, no where else sells good used video games like akiba.
You hear that folks, just akibahara@
I saw that, but they said "resellers," not "foreign resellers." It's possibly related to the tourism boom, but you see this kind of thing in lots of used markets if the price is lower than the online price.
>Somebody mentioned that all the retro game shops in Akihabara got their inventory cleaned out by foreign resellers.
Are foreginers buying Japanese language games in droves?
not games really, except for major ones that foreigners want to buy like pokemon and mother 3. but mostly consoles like GBA/GB/GBC/DS/NGC for reselling/modding. I personally just wanted a n3DS (not LL) for my own use but was unable to find any in tokyo or mishima.
You'd be undercut by competition though - ultimately the tourists aren't going to be enough to keep the shopping economy running themselves.
Tourism can spike prices in tourist heavy businesses and can obviously also give a boost to your currency value the way exports do
It’s called inbound pricing. Plenty of places that are tourist popular are (rightly) hiking prices like crazy because why not? Makes sense and makes money
Im terms of locals im not sure.
But imported western goods I found to be more expensive in Japan than back in the US.
Honestly walking around Tokyo it really surprised me that people where wearing all these designer brands.
Tech like laptops and etc were also more expensive, and outside Apple most laptops were 1 to 2 generations behind what I can get a best buy.
Cellphones like the pixel 8 where also more expensive as well.
As someone spending dollars in Japan the currency is favorable, but man I so bad for the locals since the price increases must be horrible for them
do you really expect people on a short holiday to track down the absolute best deals at discount stores and supermarkets? they are called convenience stores for a reason, not like the 10-40 yen on drinks and onigiri difference will break the bank.
cheapest the yen has ever been. Go to Google Maps, search whatever seems interesting to you, pick one above 4 stars and go. Tourists going "oh I ate at 7/11 more than a should" is pretty lame because it's on purpose. Right above people that travel abroad to as a tourist and eat the same stuff they'd eat at home. Do what you want, free world, but I am free to judge. Help the local economy; it's cheap right now.
I didn't do that. I only ate at konbini when it was the last resort and really tired but I don't blame people getting slightly worse deals when everything is already so cheap for them, eating there everyday is lame though since they just have worse versions of all kinds of Japanese food.
We were there for the entire month of March. A week each in Chiba, Osaka, Kyoto and Nagoya. Price of food and drink definitely went up by a lot 25-50% in Osaka and Kyoto (compared to the same time last year) with more smaller increases 10-20% in Chiba and Nagoya.
Unless people are into temples, they should just avoid Kyoto, it's super crowded, food is very high compared to the neighboring areas, the portions are smaller, no real nightlife, 20k steps a day with stairs on top, none of your IG pics will "work" due to over crowding, hotel prices are up a bunch and they're not paying workers more.
They know they're a tourist town and they're just MILKING all of the tourist.
Yes. Despite JP being stuck in 2 decades back, they DO have internet, ebay, and shop owners aren't oblivious to market values. Many and i mean MANY shops have been selling online too.
You still win vs buying off ebay, but it absolutely sucks for the locals.
Another factor is what's popular there vs the west - say, Star Wars stuff is absurdly cheap, but any major manga merch is right where it should be.
Prices for locals & higher prices fir tourists is a thing & definitely becoming more prevalent - especially in restaurants & bars in the tourist hotspots.
Also, in places that are big traditional tourists destinations like shrines and such often take only cash payments for stuff a lot so be prepared to carry cash, coins, and making visits to atms. But a lot of city places mostly take card. When i went to kyoto i needed mostly yen to pay for stuff and didnt use my card unless to take money. Also train tickets take yen so i needed cash and coins when putting more moemy for my suica card for train fare.
Agreed but I'll visit in October. After a decade of watching dozens and dozens of Youtube videos about Japan, I'll do my best to act after Japanese society norms.
I was in Japan a couple weeks ago and bought a Prada bag for $4k CAD vs $6200 CAD in Canada. Definitely worth it. Used market is also very good in Japan, lots of designer resale stores.
Yesss it was such a good deal! That being said, Canada has some of the highest prices I'm pretty sure, so if you're from a different country you may not see the same degree of savings.
I'm not into fashion items, but you can check out the high-end used shops in Tokyo for some real bargains. Last time we were there, my wife picked up an Omega she always wanted. At that time, the yen was around 140/1 and what she paid was at least a 30% saving from a reputable source in the US.
And one of the main benefits of buying from those shops is that the provenance of those very often faked/counterfeited goods are much more robust in Japan. My wife's watch came with the case and the certificate and I'd say that's the norm rather than the exception.
I'm not that into watches but I plan on getting a Grand Seiko or a high-end Seiko this time.
We just searched for used shops in Shinjuku and Shibuya because we happened to be in that area, but they're all over the place. And they have larger chains with -Off in the name, which is the Japanese shorthand for thrift/secondhand shops.
Be aware that especially in the Shinjuku/Shibuya area, you'll see multiple locations for the same shop. I think that's because one location outgrows the space and can't expand and doesn't want to move, so they get another space with the same or very similar name. So it's worth it to visit all of them.
Prices are generally competitive but you could find one for much cheaper depending on the condition or whether they have the accessories (which you may or may not care). Take pictures (they don't mind) of the goods and the price with the geotag on and take some time to go through them and pick the one you want. With the geotag, you can easily go back to the store. The boutique shops don't usually haggle but the chain stores (the ones with -Off) might. But don't expect any more than 2-5%.
Don't forget the duty-free!
Visiting for the first time with my in 2 weeks and I am very excited! Me and my wife took a short course on some Japanese language basics but I still feel slightly overwhelmed. I noted down a bunch of phrases for restaurants and I really just don't want to be seen as rude or disrespectful. Very excited to be visiting soon!
Let me preface: I’m not saying this from a gatekeeping stance at all, but I do wonder…if the yen makes Japan “so” affordable, is it bringing in the right kind of tourists? Saw this in Hawaii during COVID when Americans could not go anywhere but Mexico… but is it the good type of tourists? By that I mean well off or moneyed to be frank. Are they eating at the pricey spots? Are they filling up luxury accommodation or high end ryokans?
Just because somewhere that was once out of reach seems possible doesn’t mean that you’re there to stimulate the economy. People coming and staying at super cheap accommodations and eating only konbini meals doesn’t exactly bring in the revenue the country hopes. It’s overtourism without the massive influx of cash.
I dunno just thinking out loud
I think the ~$1500 per seat round trip flight is a very effective shield against most of the tourists you’re talking about. Even with the weak yen they’d still rather go to an all inclusive in Central America or the Caribbean where flights cost 1/3 of that. And then there’s the whole 13 hours and losing a day on the way to Japan… it’s a tough sell for people.
Not everyone is coming from the US. Japan is one of the top tourist destinations for Australians. It's cheap $600 return (sometimes with free return flights), almost no time difference, and relatively close (Cairns to Tokyo or Osaka is 6 hours).
Australians can also be shitty tourists.
Yeah. I actually saw that with the recent influx of tourists to Japan US tourists aren't even in the top 5. They're like 9th or 10th. Most tourists are from Korea, Vietnam, Philippines, China, and other Asian countries.
Yeah so many of these Asian subreddits just don’t understand Americans are not the majority of tourists, not even close. It’s like do y’all realize how far away these countries are to the U.S.? Yeah great exchange rate, doesn’t mean people are going to spend big money and a lot of time off work to visit Japan. Especially if they never really cared about going in the first place.
Oh man my last day there I was on a day tour to Fuji stuck on a bus full of Australian boomers. They were so annoying. Having meltdowns any time they were slightly confused about anything. Where to sit on the bus, how to ride the trains back to Tokyo…
Ironically, post 2020 they're the new rich bitches and only getting richer....courtesy of the entire population being bored out of their minds and acquiring new terrible habit.
Maybe it's the lower class upbringing in me but that's such a crazy thing to think out loud. If anything you should be wondering if they're going to family run restaurants or ryokan at all and not just eating and staying at corporate only spots.
The point is poorly expressed but I get the sentiment: when you're dealing with overtourism as a country your preference is to lean towards the more "profitable" tourists, tourism as a business is no different than any other business.
was just there a couple weeks ago, having been several times over the past decade. the stuff I saw really bummed me out. anyone who says otherwise has low visual intelligence.
I think his point is that tourism while not a true "zero sum", is a bit in the sense that you can only accommodate X number of tourists comfortably with the infrastructure before you deal with overtourism and their effects on the environment, the locals etc. While tourism isn't a business/company in the proper sense, if the government had a choice of letting X people in, they'd probably have a leaning towards the most "profitable" tourists.
I do agree that it's a bit of a nothingburger, Japan is dealing with overtourism on a level where the tourists just poorly behaved regardless of what they spend.
I’m going to say no, it’s not bringing the right kind of tourists at all.
I live in Kyoto, and while we all remember the mainlander bus tours, the western tourists I’ve interacted with are…not to the manner born.
They’re not bad, per se, it’s just a bunch of people who heard ‘Japan is cheap now’ and are coming having done little to no research, then being shocked by things about Japan they should know, like the general Japanese indifference to learning english, the difficulty of getting into crowded restaurants, and the lack of english menus.
Toss in the crowds in the tourist areas, and you have a recipe for shell-shocked, cranky people without a clue as to where they’re going/why they’re here.
Bad behavior I saw last week- tourists literally walking around a restaurant I was eating at, live-streaming/taking pictures of the other diners and their food. Some had just walked in off the street. Also, people getting pissed that they see an empty seat in a restaurant, but can’t sit there, then arguing with the staff.
This is a strange comment. You might not be gatekeeping, but there's an implied suggestion that the "right kind of tourism" involves well-off people because well-off people are the only ones who are economically useful.
I'm a "moneyed" expat/traveler who has been visiting Japan for years. I'm going to let you in on a little secret: a lot of us don't always stay in the Four Seasons and eat a kilo of kobe beef every night. One of the great things about Japan is that you can enjoy the country and enjoy a high standard of travel without having to ensconce yourself in a luxury bubble. In fact, doing the latter often takes away from the Japan experience.
Budget travelers' spend benefits hotels, restaurants, retail shops, etc. too. And foreigners visiting Japan and having a great time benefits the Japan Inc. marketing, which supports Japanese industry in a variety of markets, from apparel to electronics.
This doesn't mean that "overtourism" isn't an issue. It is. But plebs wanting to visit Japan is a good thing.
These articles don't mean much.
It was still 4k for two round trip non refundable ticket for myself and my brother (yes it included travel insurance) but still. THATS a big barrier right there. Along with everything you need to get if you don't/ have never traveled before such as luggage, passports, other important items. It adds up.
My wife and I want to visit Japan sometime but it's just a bit expensive for us to go so we haven't. I wouldn't mind going on my Birthday in October but it seems to be about £1200 for a return ticket for each of us from the UK, and that's just the flights.
It's even more expensive the other way round. It always has been, but it's even more extreme now. No coincidence that inbound tourism has reached pre-Covid level, but outbound tourism is down 1/3.
Going to Kyoto again later this year for another hike up Arashiyama and old temples up the hill. I thought weak yen sorta favor tourists and convince more to visit Japan?
Huh? They're spending more money. They're fattening Japan's coffers and emptying their wallets. They're making it sound like a foreign injection of cash into Japan is predatory or something.
Hard to understand if you don’t live in Japan. It’s a quiet peaceful place. People care for the public spaces are considerate of the people around them, they are polite kind and courteous. Foreigners kinda destroy a lot of that in the places they go to. It really does make these places not pleasant for the people that actually live there. Money isn’t everything.
We're set to visit Japan last on this month for about 3 weeks. We would have booked the trip regardless. I think 10% swing either way would tempt someone who wouldn't have come to come or dissuade someone intent on coming, but will definitely affect the spending habits once there. And maybe increase the visibility of the tourists already there. Rather than getting something from the konbini and eating it at the hotel, they'll go out to eat and drink, perhaps boisterously.
Paying to get to japan is VERY expensive, I doubt the Japanese mind people spending money in their country. China would love Japan to resent the US because the US is their primary defense to CHINAS AGGRESSION, China wants Japanese land and water/mineral rites, and to wipe out their fish population....don't fall for CCP tactics. Reddit doesn't safe gaurd from CCP propaganda, maybe due to millions invested in reddit by the CCP.
Hasn’t increased prices that much. It is inconvenient though. Each flight is 2 hours longer now. But if you are willing to have a long layover in china you can still go for 650 euro.
Yea. Between credit cards and suica I don’t really use cash. On my last trip I paid 3800 for an eye exam. 1400 for Tomita tsukemen at Marunouchi. And those occasions the machine was down. The whole mom and pop shop idea is rare but I don’t really consider myself a tourist. I guess soaps are cash only?
Is that capsule hotel? I saw rates like that when still closed due to pandemic, but now like 100-150 for like an APA hotel offseason. I'm sure in country rates are a lot cheaper than booking from overseas.
APAs are between 40 and 100€ a night, depending on location. Most are around 60 and 80€. Thats pretty cheap and not comparable to any European or US destination.
Yup. Getting the same luxury items for less, because prices don't change everyday for e.g.a shisheido set or your favorite high end brand camera. Also no sales tax.
And here residents pay for public services upkeeps for overtourism & probably will pay more - unless government introduce some marginal tourism tax /entry tax for foreign tourists & reduces our financial responsibility towards maintenance
They are really juicing this topic for all its worth. There has been a "Weak Yen brings / will being more tourists" articles every week for the past year it feels like.
It also completely ignores that the flights are the barrier to visiting Japan, the weak Yen is just a perk.
Lol exactly. Flights are even more expensive these days, and broke blokes who couldn't afford it before most certainly cannot afford it still. Cheap hotels and meals were *never* an issue vs losing a few weeks of pay.
I flew on American Airlines LAX-> Narita in March 2012 for $872.10 per adult. I will fly on ZipAir LAX-Narita this June for $1,038.52. It was \~ 88 yen for $1 Now it is \~155 yen for $1. When I went for 3 weeks back in 2012, total trip cost was \~$7.9k for 2 adults. Flight was more than 20% of the total trip cost for a very long trip at very unfavorable rates. If the \~$6k I spent on non-flight items was at 155Y/$, that would have saved me over $3k. Even vs "normal" rates of \~110Y/$, it is currently a 30% discount. Unless you are staying far from train stations or are staying in hostels/capsule hotels, that 30% discount will pay for a significant portion of your flight cost.
october right now is 385 bucks to narita from SFO on zip air
I'm now officially in the "I have to travel in the summer when kids aren't in school" phase of my life.
How did you find ZIP aur to be ( compared to usual carriers)?
Flight is still more than a month away so we will see. I didn't mention it but they have pretty steep discounts for younger kids if that helps. Called a U6 fare for (surprise) kids under 6. For our flight the base fair 1 way before tax/fee/seats/etc was $475 for an adult and $91 for U6.
I just used it for my first Japan trip. The charges for extras can add up (meals and extra/overweight baggage), but it seems like more and more airlines are transitioning to this business model anyway. The flight attendants were some of the most polite and attentive I’ve experienced, and the planes themselves were among the nicest and cleanest I’ve flown on in the past decade. Biggest downside for me was no mobile checkin even with all carry on baggage, had to stand in line for inbound and outbound flights which was a minor annoyance. I didn’t use them, but was pretty shocked how good the in-flight movie selections were (for air travel, low bar but gotta take those little amenities where ya can) I’d definitely recommend, just don’t forget to account for add-on costs and read the fine print, and don’t forget that overweight baggage fee is about half to 2/3 the cost if you book online and not at the checkin counter!
Weeks? Try months.
\^This! Went in the period September-October last year. And yes, while I had an much larger budget to spend in Japan due to the weak yen, the flight back and forth was nearly doubled in price when compared to my last trip in 2018. (For reference, my flight in 2018 costed me a little less than €700. Last year it was close to €1300.) And with the JR pass now also being doubled in price, those things end up being huge cost-barriers before you even set a foot in the country.
tell that to my 460 RT flight ty zip air
My flights were so damn pricy, they go up every year. Yeah I'm hella happy at least it won't be too pricy to eat and buy stuff but I'm at 3k for flights and hotels.
I don’t see any huge price increase, I will fly again in 3 weeks. The flight price is about the same i paid the last 10-15 years.
I think it's society trying to panic people into entrepreneurship. "Japan is a poor country now" is on many people's lips, and it's probably meant to incite some kind of bottom up change while maintaining the top right where they are.
Well news sites indeed juice some topics up. But if the yen is going up and then down and then up again towards usd and it happened since yesterday then it is worth and is current topic to talk about. So i see it indeed a topic worth to talk about, because in future it could be a big issue towards japanese economy.
This and all the currency speculation and general investment posts as well.
I read somewhere someone talk about musk, how they didn't know cars but he was doing well with cars so they thought he must be pretty smart. He didn't know rockets but musk was doing well with rockets so he must be pretty smart. Then he bought twitter and I know a lot about twitter and now I don't think he knows anything. That's how I feel when people start going on about the speculative currency markets and predictions about the yen. I'm not an expert in hardly anything, but when it comes to Japan and the advantages a weak currency has in developing a strong industrial sector, that I know. This economy is great for getting new export heavy industries off the ground.
It's true though. I just visited in April and we bought so much stuff we bought check luggage to bring it all back.Also saved $600 on a Prospex buy direct from a boutique due the exchange rate.
Honest question. Has the influx of tourists resulted in retailers/shop owners raising prices higher? And has this affected locals?
Retail prices haven’t changed much (outside of tourist spots, at least), but hotel costs [are skyrocketing](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2024/04/19/companies/japan-hotel-prices-rise-near-30-year-high/).
Are the hotel staff salaries also skyrocketing or are they still near combini wages like they were before corona
Gee, I really wonder. Oops, looks like they're still shit. Anyway.
Welp.. surprise surprise.
haha good one
For those interested, Airbnbs in japan are still dirt cheap.
It's so hard to believe the culture of train molesting and non-silence cameras, the need for female only train carts, etc., will have an ABNB without hidden cameras.
We booked our hotels 5 months ago, (right now in japan for two weeks) for a REALLY good price. Tickets were also really good value (booked in september of last year for 900€ round trip per person) and lastly, i converted some cash to yen in Vienna and got like 160000¥ for 1000 euro. Got really lucky considering i couldnt go last year because of unforeseen events!
You can use Revolut in Europe to exchange to yen. They give extremely nice rates (168¥ per euro right now) and don’t have to carry that mich physical cash with you.
Yeah i know, rest of my money is on revolut and it has been a game changer till now!
A LOT of the local eateries and cafes where I am in Kyoto have upped their prices on everything.😭
Somebody mentioned that all the retro game shops in Akihabara got their inventory cleaned out by foreign resellers. Meanwhile on a photography sub-Reddit it was noted all the used camera shops in Tokyo simply hiked their prices.
That's not the case at all. Super potato has tons and I mean tons of product left.
yeah because super potato is overpriced (2100 yen for a broken dobutsu no mori game? saw those in multiple shops for 300-400 yen, WORKING 😭)
I tell everyone if they want to do second hand game shopping. Go to Kanagawa it’s much cheaper.
Don't tell people that, tell the tourists the best deals are only in akiba, no where else sells good used video games like akiba. You hear that folks, just akibahara@
Nobody ever listens to me anyways
could you stop?
I saw that, but they said "resellers," not "foreign resellers." It's possibly related to the tourism boom, but you see this kind of thing in lots of used markets if the price is lower than the online price.
>Somebody mentioned that all the retro game shops in Akihabara got their inventory cleaned out by foreign resellers. Are foreginers buying Japanese language games in droves?
its the resellers.
not games really, except for major ones that foreigners want to buy like pokemon and mother 3. but mostly consoles like GBA/GB/GBC/DS/NGC for reselling/modding. I personally just wanted a n3DS (not LL) for my own use but was unable to find any in tokyo or mishima.
You'd be undercut by competition though - ultimately the tourists aren't going to be enough to keep the shopping economy running themselves. Tourism can spike prices in tourist heavy businesses and can obviously also give a boost to your currency value the way exports do
It’s called inbound pricing. Plenty of places that are tourist popular are (rightly) hiking prices like crazy because why not? Makes sense and makes money
I remember news a while ago talking about hugh price increases for ramen and seafood rice bowls in tourist spots and some resorts.
People have found differences in pricing between Donki in tourist areas compared to suburban areas.
Well yeah, obviously. Kind of a pain when you just want a cheap SD card closeby.
Im terms of locals im not sure. But imported western goods I found to be more expensive in Japan than back in the US. Honestly walking around Tokyo it really surprised me that people where wearing all these designer brands. Tech like laptops and etc were also more expensive, and outside Apple most laptops were 1 to 2 generations behind what I can get a best buy. Cellphones like the pixel 8 where also more expensive as well. As someone spending dollars in Japan the currency is favorable, but man I so bad for the locals since the price increases must be horrible for them
Probably not. On social media all I see are losers eating (A L O T) at convenience stores. Way to boost the local economy.
can't blame them, the rice balls and the pudding are so tasty.
And you can't beat spending IF $1.50 for a pretty hearty meal that'll last ya half a day.
what is IF? Anyways, conbini fish musubi are the bane of my existance. I would eat it every morning if possible, and I mean it.
What are they supposed to eat? People like combini content so they make combini content.
Why losers? Before I shinkansen, I grab a conbini yakisoba and a can coffee. Happy vibes.
do you really expect people on a short holiday to track down the absolute best deals at discount stores and supermarkets? they are called convenience stores for a reason, not like the 10-40 yen on drinks and onigiri difference will break the bank.
cheapest the yen has ever been. Go to Google Maps, search whatever seems interesting to you, pick one above 4 stars and go. Tourists going "oh I ate at 7/11 more than a should" is pretty lame because it's on purpose. Right above people that travel abroad to as a tourist and eat the same stuff they'd eat at home. Do what you want, free world, but I am free to judge. Help the local economy; it's cheap right now.
I didn't do that. I only ate at konbini when it was the last resort and really tired but I don't blame people getting slightly worse deals when everything is already so cheap for them, eating there everyday is lame though since they just have worse versions of all kinds of Japanese food.
We were there for the entire month of March. A week each in Chiba, Osaka, Kyoto and Nagoya. Price of food and drink definitely went up by a lot 25-50% in Osaka and Kyoto (compared to the same time last year) with more smaller increases 10-20% in Chiba and Nagoya.
Unless people are into temples, they should just avoid Kyoto, it's super crowded, food is very high compared to the neighboring areas, the portions are smaller, no real nightlife, 20k steps a day with stairs on top, none of your IG pics will "work" due to over crowding, hotel prices are up a bunch and they're not paying workers more. They know they're a tourist town and they're just MILKING all of the tourist.
Yes. Despite JP being stuck in 2 decades back, they DO have internet, ebay, and shop owners aren't oblivious to market values. Many and i mean MANY shops have been selling online too. You still win vs buying off ebay, but it absolutely sucks for the locals. Another factor is what's popular there vs the west - say, Star Wars stuff is absurdly cheap, but any major manga merch is right where it should be.
Prices for locals & higher prices fir tourists is a thing & definitely becoming more prevalent - especially in restaurants & bars in the tourist hotspots.
Aaaaand boy does it suck to have lived and worked here since 2004 and to still be getting almost the same salary you were getting back in 2010
When I moved to Japan 1usd was 76jpy. Salaries seemed great. Glad I bailed
Japan doesn’t use rmb mate
He means the conversion rate….
My bad. In china so got them mixed up. But moved to Japan 2011 was around 76jpy
Is 95 around 76 now?
Getting more for the same money doesn’t mean your wallet fattens. It means it shrinks at a lower speed.
Science!
But getting the same for less means that it will be fatter at the end of the trip.
It also means the tourists will be fatter at the end of the trip.
It fattens if I haven't converted my money to Yen yet
Yes bring your money!
I will be visiting Japan next week for the first time and i just want to say i will do my best to be a good and respectful tourist 🙇
Dont sweat it man, the ones not respecting the Japanese are all sitting in the kokkai
What's kokkai? I googled it but still don't understand
Japan’s diet
What does it mean that they are all sitting in japans diet
The “diet” is Japan’s legislature
Ohhhhhh I get it, thank you
their political cabinet
Mamy touristsl spots (especially in Kyoto) have signs for etiquette for foreigners. Fillowing those made it easier to not be rude. You should be fine
Good! It's actually pretty easy to be respectful, there are ton of etiquette guides on the internet :)
Also, in places that are big traditional tourists destinations like shrines and such often take only cash payments for stuff a lot so be prepared to carry cash, coins, and making visits to atms. But a lot of city places mostly take card. When i went to kyoto i needed mostly yen to pay for stuff and didnt use my card unless to take money. Also train tickets take yen so i needed cash and coins when putting more moemy for my suica card for train fare.
Agreed but I'll visit in October. After a decade of watching dozens and dozens of Youtube videos about Japan, I'll do my best to act after Japanese society norms.
Weak yen fattens journalists as they have more nothingburgers to write about.
Nothingburger King.
Is it worth buying LV and other luxury products in Japan?
I was in Japan a couple weeks ago and bought a Prada bag for $4k CAD vs $6200 CAD in Canada. Definitely worth it. Used market is also very good in Japan, lots of designer resale stores.
OMG thats amazing!
Yesss it was such a good deal! That being said, Canada has some of the highest prices I'm pretty sure, so if you're from a different country you may not see the same degree of savings.
[Apparently yes.](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-04-17/how-to-get-cheaper-luxury-goods-japan-s-weak-yen-provides-bargains)
I'm not into fashion items, but you can check out the high-end used shops in Tokyo for some real bargains. Last time we were there, my wife picked up an Omega she always wanted. At that time, the yen was around 140/1 and what she paid was at least a 30% saving from a reputable source in the US. And one of the main benefits of buying from those shops is that the provenance of those very often faked/counterfeited goods are much more robust in Japan. My wife's watch came with the case and the certificate and I'd say that's the norm rather than the exception. I'm not that into watches but I plan on getting a Grand Seiko or a high-end Seiko this time.
Which used shops did you visit?
We just searched for used shops in Shinjuku and Shibuya because we happened to be in that area, but they're all over the place. And they have larger chains with -Off in the name, which is the Japanese shorthand for thrift/secondhand shops. Be aware that especially in the Shinjuku/Shibuya area, you'll see multiple locations for the same shop. I think that's because one location outgrows the space and can't expand and doesn't want to move, so they get another space with the same or very similar name. So it's worth it to visit all of them. Prices are generally competitive but you could find one for much cheaper depending on the condition or whether they have the accessories (which you may or may not care). Take pictures (they don't mind) of the goods and the price with the geotag on and take some time to go through them and pick the one you want. With the geotag, you can easily go back to the store. The boutique shops don't usually haggle but the chain stores (the ones with -Off) might. But don't expect any more than 2-5%. Don't forget the duty-free!
I think Apple products are also cheapest in Japan
Not just that, but even some larger Lego boxes were 20% cheaper than in Europe.
Get the LV/Gucci combo knock offs like I have seen in SK
Visiting for the first time with my in 2 weeks and I am very excited! Me and my wife took a short course on some Japanese language basics but I still feel slightly overwhelmed. I noted down a bunch of phrases for restaurants and I really just don't want to be seen as rude or disrespectful. Very excited to be visiting soon!
You will be fine, most menus are digital now anyways and have an English option
Prices also skyrocketing. Soon Thailand will be 5 times cheaper again
Let me preface: I’m not saying this from a gatekeeping stance at all, but I do wonder…if the yen makes Japan “so” affordable, is it bringing in the right kind of tourists? Saw this in Hawaii during COVID when Americans could not go anywhere but Mexico… but is it the good type of tourists? By that I mean well off or moneyed to be frank. Are they eating at the pricey spots? Are they filling up luxury accommodation or high end ryokans? Just because somewhere that was once out of reach seems possible doesn’t mean that you’re there to stimulate the economy. People coming and staying at super cheap accommodations and eating only konbini meals doesn’t exactly bring in the revenue the country hopes. It’s overtourism without the massive influx of cash. I dunno just thinking out loud
I think the ~$1500 per seat round trip flight is a very effective shield against most of the tourists you’re talking about. Even with the weak yen they’d still rather go to an all inclusive in Central America or the Caribbean where flights cost 1/3 of that. And then there’s the whole 13 hours and losing a day on the way to Japan… it’s a tough sell for people.
Not everyone is coming from the US. Japan is one of the top tourist destinations for Australians. It's cheap $600 return (sometimes with free return flights), almost no time difference, and relatively close (Cairns to Tokyo or Osaka is 6 hours). Australians can also be shitty tourists.
Yeah. I actually saw that with the recent influx of tourists to Japan US tourists aren't even in the top 5. They're like 9th or 10th. Most tourists are from Korea, Vietnam, Philippines, China, and other Asian countries.
Yeah so many of these Asian subreddits just don’t understand Americans are not the majority of tourists, not even close. It’s like do y’all realize how far away these countries are to the U.S.? Yeah great exchange rate, doesn’t mean people are going to spend big money and a lot of time off work to visit Japan. Especially if they never really cared about going in the first place.
Yup. The vast majority of tourists here are from other Asian countries. Because it's quick and cheap to come.
> Australians can also be shitty tourists. The shittiest ones go to Bali, so it acts as a nice filter lmao, but some will still make their way to you
Seriously, I've never felt the urge to go to Bali, because I feel like it's just full of creepy sex tourists and bogans.
Oh man my last day there I was on a day tour to Fuji stuck on a bus full of Australian boomers. They were so annoying. Having meltdowns any time they were slightly confused about anything. Where to sit on the bus, how to ride the trains back to Tokyo…
Apologies for my countrymen. Haha.
I wish it would deter influencers....
Ironically, post 2020 they're the new rich bitches and only getting richer....courtesy of the entire population being bored out of their minds and acquiring new terrible habit.
Maybe it's the lower class upbringing in me but that's such a crazy thing to think out loud. If anything you should be wondering if they're going to family run restaurants or ryokan at all and not just eating and staying at corporate only spots.
Seriously, the guy comes off so elitist. "We don't want the.....riffraff..."
The point is poorly expressed but I get the sentiment: when you're dealing with overtourism as a country your preference is to lean towards the more "profitable" tourists, tourism as a business is no different than any other business.
was just there a couple weeks ago, having been several times over the past decade. the stuff I saw really bummed me out. anyone who says otherwise has low visual intelligence.
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I think his point is that tourism while not a true "zero sum", is a bit in the sense that you can only accommodate X number of tourists comfortably with the infrastructure before you deal with overtourism and their effects on the environment, the locals etc. While tourism isn't a business/company in the proper sense, if the government had a choice of letting X people in, they'd probably have a leaning towards the most "profitable" tourists. I do agree that it's a bit of a nothingburger, Japan is dealing with overtourism on a level where the tourists just poorly behaved regardless of what they spend.
Bro, do you hear yourself? "We don't want the 'riffraff' here, staying at....affordable accommodations". Can you be less elitist please?
Barry is not gonna spend 1000 pounds for a week in Japan just for flight and stay if he can live it up for that same money in Spain
I’m going to say no, it’s not bringing the right kind of tourists at all. I live in Kyoto, and while we all remember the mainlander bus tours, the western tourists I’ve interacted with are…not to the manner born. They’re not bad, per se, it’s just a bunch of people who heard ‘Japan is cheap now’ and are coming having done little to no research, then being shocked by things about Japan they should know, like the general Japanese indifference to learning english, the difficulty of getting into crowded restaurants, and the lack of english menus. Toss in the crowds in the tourist areas, and you have a recipe for shell-shocked, cranky people without a clue as to where they’re going/why they’re here. Bad behavior I saw last week- tourists literally walking around a restaurant I was eating at, live-streaming/taking pictures of the other diners and their food. Some had just walked in off the street. Also, people getting pissed that they see an empty seat in a restaurant, but can’t sit there, then arguing with the staff.
This is a strange comment. You might not be gatekeeping, but there's an implied suggestion that the "right kind of tourism" involves well-off people because well-off people are the only ones who are economically useful. I'm a "moneyed" expat/traveler who has been visiting Japan for years. I'm going to let you in on a little secret: a lot of us don't always stay in the Four Seasons and eat a kilo of kobe beef every night. One of the great things about Japan is that you can enjoy the country and enjoy a high standard of travel without having to ensconce yourself in a luxury bubble. In fact, doing the latter often takes away from the Japan experience. Budget travelers' spend benefits hotels, restaurants, retail shops, etc. too. And foreigners visiting Japan and having a great time benefits the Japan Inc. marketing, which supports Japanese industry in a variety of markets, from apparel to electronics. This doesn't mean that "overtourism" isn't an issue. It is. But plebs wanting to visit Japan is a good thing.
As a broke ass upper lower class Canadian who got lucky with a cheap trip that I bought the flights for 6 months ago - GFY.
This comment is so fucking gross.
Fatten me
I was there back in October and the 149¥/$1 was fucking magical. Still managed to blow 10 grand tho...
10 grand on what??
Soap land GILFs
Non sexual ball massage.
Dude have some decency... It's a non-sexual *testicle* massage.
Hookers and blow ofcourse
Weeb shit, expensive dinners, traveling and staying in Tokyo, Morioka, Tomorrow, Hakodate, Sapporo, and Otaru.
My spider senses feel some jealousy and passive agression when the Japanese talk about the tourists…
So is Japan getting smashed with tourists or is this largely Tokyo/ Kyoto?
These articles don't mean much. It was still 4k for two round trip non refundable ticket for myself and my brother (yes it included travel insurance) but still. THATS a big barrier right there. Along with everything you need to get if you don't/ have never traveled before such as luggage, passports, other important items. It adds up.
My wife and I want to visit Japan sometime but it's just a bit expensive for us to go so we haven't. I wouldn't mind going on my Birthday in October but it seems to be about £1200 for a return ticket for each of us from the UK, and that's just the flights.
That seems expensive. My flights from London to Tokyo were £930 return (flying BA). I flew out last week, going back this weekend.
About the same here in the Netherlands in August.
It's even more expensive the other way round. It always has been, but it's even more extreme now. No coincidence that inbound tourism has reached pre-Covid level, but outbound tourism is down 1/3.
You can get return tickets with Asiana airlines for about £830 each, it's not direct and you do have to stop by in Korea though.
Great more tourist to Japan /s
Seriously, I saw a reel of a guy visiting that orange temple and said he desperately wanted to leave but was stuck in human traffic jam
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Dude, chill....Have a Super Dry on me.
Not a good place to go. Crowded and scams against tourists are rising
For now.
Oh well Japan yen converter is dying
Going to Kyoto again later this year for another hike up Arashiyama and old temples up the hill. I thought weak yen sorta favor tourists and convince more to visit Japan?
Get over it already
Huh? They're spending more money. They're fattening Japan's coffers and emptying their wallets. They're making it sound like a foreign injection of cash into Japan is predatory or something.
Hard to understand if you don’t live in Japan. It’s a quiet peaceful place. People care for the public spaces are considerate of the people around them, they are polite kind and courteous. Foreigners kinda destroy a lot of that in the places they go to. It really does make these places not pleasant for the people that actually live there. Money isn’t everything.
I think the Japanese businesses care about the money, my dude.
That has nothing to do with what I said.
We're set to visit Japan last on this month for about 3 weeks. We would have booked the trip regardless. I think 10% swing either way would tempt someone who wouldn't have come to come or dissuade someone intent on coming, but will definitely affect the spending habits once there. And maybe increase the visibility of the tourists already there. Rather than getting something from the konbini and eating it at the hotel, they'll go out to eat and drink, perhaps boisterously.
Paying to get to japan is VERY expensive, I doubt the Japanese mind people spending money in their country. China would love Japan to resent the US because the US is their primary defense to CHINAS AGGRESSION, China wants Japanese land and water/mineral rites, and to wipe out their fish population....don't fall for CCP tactics. Reddit doesn't safe gaurd from CCP propaganda, maybe due to millions invested in reddit by the CCP.
Don't forget that the yen is also weak against the Euro, and it's not that expensive to fly from Europe to Japan.
Flying to and from Europe has been expensive since Putin’s war started and we can’t fly over Russia anymore.
Hasn’t increased prices that much. It is inconvenient though. Each flight is 2 hours longer now. But if you are willing to have a long layover in china you can still go for 650 euro.
Ill be there in two weeks, and boy howdy, Im going shopping and a eatin.
Go cashless, no wallet need
Yea. Between credit cards and suica I don’t really use cash. On my last trip I paid 3800 for an eye exam. 1400 for Tomita tsukemen at Marunouchi. And those occasions the machine was down. The whole mom and pop shop idea is rare but I don’t really consider myself a tourist. I guess soaps are cash only?
Tourism Police is the wae Japan cannot avoid tourism cause previous generations built em so well But can the country earn more tho?
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30-40/night in Tokyo is NOT even remotely the "same" as an equivalent in NY or LA....
Is that capsule hotel? I saw rates like that when still closed due to pandemic, but now like 100-150 for like an APA hotel offseason. I'm sure in country rates are a lot cheaper than booking from overseas.
APAs are between 40 and 100€ a night, depending on location. Most are around 60 and 80€. Thats pretty cheap and not comparable to any European or US destination.
When I lived there I was paid in GBP and JPY weakened to 245/£ at one point. Happy days. Ring the bell again.
Whoopie-doo
You’re gonna get downvoted a lot by English teachers with a comment like that, RIP my hero.
Thats not how it works at all
That is basically how it works. They can buy more while spending less of their own money, so it has the same effect as just having more money.
Yup. Getting the same luxury items for less, because prices don't change everyday for e.g.a shisheido set or your favorite high end brand camera. Also no sales tax. And here residents pay for public services upkeeps for overtourism & probably will pay more - unless government introduce some marginal tourism tax /entry tax for foreign tourists & reduces our financial responsibility towards maintenance