I'm currently in the rough stages of planning a trip to Japan (probably Tokyo) next year in April-May for a week or so as a pseudo graduation trip. is anyone familiar with how to get the best deal, or how much money I'll need to save up, etc. I would like to get started early so I can make my goal into a reality! Thank you

Awesome place. Take 8/9 days And see kyoto, hiroshima, osaka too. Take the bullet train from tokyo to osaka. U going by yourself or with someone?

Probably with someone! I definitely need to see Kyoto. I also love Japan's cuisine in general and will need to develop my plan so I can make the most of my time there. I know the train is a pretty convenient way to get around and airbnb will be my best option for affordable living. Just need to figure out the cheapest way to get there!

Ok. Well hotels range from 70 - 500+...in Tokyo. Checkout expedia as they have deals if u book hotels and flights together. But expedia is not necessarily cheap on flights. So. Set up an alert on kayak phone app. I'd say 80 -100 a day should b enough. Thats without hotel. Of course u can probably do it with lesss.

If budget is an issue, there are a few decent hostels around Japan. Get a rail pass, even if just for Tokyo. Eat yoshinoya everyday and drink happoshu from the conbini.

Yeah I guess the biggest thing is probably the flight itself?

Yeah, the flight is the big cost. But don't underestimate how expensive Japan can get quickly. What time of year are you looking at?

End of April/EarlyMay

Oh. Bad time. Super bad time. That's golden week. Like five days straight of public holidays. Expect hotel prices to double, and the bullet trains to be packed. Flights will be more too

So I can just go and leave before April 29 or after May 5th. Thanks for the tip!

Leave after May 5th; you don't want to be anywhere near tourist attractions on a Japanese public holiday. Plan about 2 full weeks if you don't want to rush thru it all; Kyoto alone I would recommend at least 4 full days. Toyoko-Inn chain of business hotels is pretty affordable; capsule hotels are always an option as well. Spring sumo tournament starts in Tokyo after Golden Week. Get yourself a Suica card so you don't fumble through Japanese coins while taking the subway.

For airfare, I usually consider anything under $800 per person a deal from Toronto to Asia. I've stayed in a bunch of airbnbs around Japan and most were under $100 per night.

I just went in August & stayed at Sakura Inn Ryokan & it was fantastic! Before leaving Canada, get a JR pass (only available to foreigners). It's your best/cheapest bet for longer trips (to Kyoto). I lived there for a year previous to this so feel free to PM me if you need more detailed info.

Melissa when do you usually experience such awesome air fares?

Deals seem to happen fairly often for Asia, you just have to watch for them. (They're often posted in this group!) I've been to Bangkok, Tokyo, and Shanghai this year and the flights were around $800 from Toronto. And there was a recent deal from Toronto to Hong Kong for $450.

jeffrey as i said ... download the kayak app on ur phone and set up price alerts for tokyo... i'm thinking of heading there again...and prices stand at around 1050 right now for april. the flight is with china eastern... im not sure how it works with TRANSIT visa for china.

You can transit China without a visa if you're flying to a third country. So you could fly Toronto - Beijing - Tokyo, but not Toronto - Beijing - Toronto.