Tips for Traveling on a Budget

My tips for traveling on a budget are probably not anything groundbreaking, but they have definitely helped me when I was in my early twenties and tried to explore around Japan and elsewhere.

First thing’s first, decide what is the most important aspect of your trip and allocate the most money there! Whether it be the food, the sight-seeing, the location, or the activities, if you are on a budget, it is best to decide which will be the most important for this trip. After deciding which thing you’ll put the most money towards you can take the cheaper options for everything else.

If where you stay isn’t that high up the totem pole, then I highly recommend staying at hostels. While sharing a space with random strangers can be a bit daunting, it really saves you a lot of money. They also come equipped with a kitchen, so it’s possible to cook some of your meals, such as breakfast, in order to again save some money. Another bright side about staying at hostels is it can give you a chance to make friends while there. I have met people at hostels who I am still in contact with today, all these years later!

Another good way to save on money is traveling by the night bus. While again, it may not be the most ideal, it is usually significantly cheaper than other alternatives, such as taking the bullet train. For example, going from Tokyo to Osaka by bullet train is a little under ¥15,000, whereas taking the night bus, depending on the time of year, is between ¥4,000-¥9,000!

If the cuisine is not the main goal of your trip you can save money by avoiding restaurants and either cooking for yourself or grabbing a packaged lunch at the nearby convenience store or supermarket. These quick lunches can also save you time which can be used for other things you’d like to do while on your trip.

Another good way to save is to look up if there are any free local events or holidays happening around the time of your visit! Being able to explore during such large events means you are able to see things for free, so the real money is in again usually buying food. Sometimes you can even luck out and there will be special deals happening for certain events! For example, when I went to Korea, I went around the same time as their Culture Day. During Culture Day all castles, museums, and historical sites were free of charge. Therefore, I could get to experience and learn a lot, all without spending a dime.

As a very last resort, if you are a resident and for some reason have no place to stay, I recommend staying a night at a manga or internet café, but only if push comes to shove. In my early twenties there were times where I just didn’t make it back to my original destination but was exhausted and wanted to sleep. Also, if you are a resident, you can make a member card at an internet café and use a room there. The rooms are cramped but they have cushions, and you can charge your phone. They also have showers and toiletries which you can pay some small additional fees to use, so it is possible to stay overnight. Resting there for a few hours is very cheap and comes with a drink bar set. It is most certainly not the most glamourous way to stay, but it suffices in a pinch.

Sandy

Vocabulary
groundbreaking (adjective) - making new discoveries; using new methods; very innovative

allocate (verb) - to save or distribute something to somebody/something for a particular purpose

totem pole (idiom) – a range of different levels in an organization, etc.

daunting (adjective) - making somebody feel nervous and less confident about doing something

push comes to shove (phrase) - when there is no other choice; when everything else has failed

suffice (verb) – to be enough for somebody/something