December
27, 2004 - Laura's Visit - The Plan I thought that those of you planning to visit us might find the schedule and budget helpful for thinking about your your own trip to Japan.
Laura's a Tripper:
11th: Arrive and suffer the consequences of a 10 hour flight. Eat sushi.
12th: Kick around Kobe - discover a Japanese city and recover from jet lag. Eat sushi.
13th: Museums, gardens, and hiking in Kobe. Eat sushi.
14th: Diana's 1st day off during your visit. Visit Kyoto together, walk around famous garden and temples. Drink tea, eat sushi.
15th: Visit Himeji Castle and gardens. Eat sushi.
16th: Diana's 2nd day off during your visit. Visit Kyoto together, walk around famous garden and temples. Eat Okonomiyaki in Osaka on the way home.
17th-20th: Country-side adventure. I think we should go on a trip to Okayama and stay at a these places, Fukiya and Hattoji - they are very inexpensive (relative to other places) and located in remote rural areas.
21st: Lazy morning in Kobe with D. leave for airport at around 1:00
Budget:
I spent a little time thinking about a daily budget for us. The days we are in Kobe will be relatively inexpensive, but the days we go to Kyoto and Himeji will cost a bit, transportation, entrance fees, and meals add up quickly. Also, on the days we are in Okayama, lodging will add to our expenses.
Here are 3 daily budget options that average out the costs for transportation, food, and lodging (for the three nights we are not staying at our apartment). The budgets are intended for a seasoned frugal traveler (i.e. What would "living well" mean to someone raised in a family that spent a month driving across the country wedged in a Volkswagen Bug "poaching" parks and logging roads along the way because the campgrounds were too expensive?).
$60 a day if we want to live well, eat out, and go on a park blitzkrieg in Kyoto.
$40-50 a day if we want to live comfortably, eat out occasionally, and are choosy about which, and how many parks we visit.
$25-30 a day is an absolute minimum if we are very careful, eat in, and focus on activities with no entry fees... This budget will cover transportation, groceries, 3 nights lodging, and little else.
Lonely planet recommends $78 a day for a low end budget (including lodging) and $165 for a mid range budget.
On our trip to Japan in 2002, Diana and I averaged about $65 each per day, which included lodging for a little over half of our 30 day trip, and a 24 day Japan Rail pass. We spent frugally on some days and lavishly on others.
