Courier Travel

Getting by on the cheap in Japan

Despite popular belief, Japan’s not actually an especially expensive destination to travel to—especially when compared with some places in Europe. While your money will definitely go further if you happen to choose a time when the exchange rate is good, if you’re careful with your money, you most likely won’t need to break into your savings account to finance your holiday.

Still, here are a few quick tips to save you some money if you do plan to travel to Japan. First, plan your travel during an off-peak time. Not only will you be able to score cheaper flights, but you’ll probably be able to get cheaper rates on hotels and other accommodation, too. If you are worried about accommodation prices—don’t be. The backpacker hostels I visited in Japan were not only cheap, but they were actually quite clean and pleasant, too. I would certainly recommend staying in one if you want to save a bit of cash.

Purchase a JR ticket before traveling to Japan. JR tickets let foreigners travel cheaply on the Japan Rail network—including the Shinkansen (bullet trains). If you plan to travel between cities, this can work out to save you quite a bit of money.

Food prices vary, but are generally quite affordable. If you’re on a strict budget, try picking up some onigiri at your local convenience store, and shopping late at night at the supermarkets beneath the train stations. You’ll find that all of the bento boxes are marked down late at night, meaning that you’ll get a cheap meal that’s not bad to boot. You can also silence that rumbly tummy by heading down to a market or any of the tourist shops—there are heaps of cheap snacks and freebies to fill yourself up on.

How does ski chalets online contest sound to everyone? You guys should really put your names forward, this would be such a cool way way to spend a bit of the winter!

Watch what you eat

Here in a western country, the mantra “watch what you eat” tends to refer to watching your weight and ensuring that you don’t scarf down too many BigMacs or packets of M&Ms. This is fair enough, I suppose, since unless you venture into a particularly dodgy restaurant or buy from a street vendor who may or may not be licensed, our food preparation rules and hygiene laws are pretty strict. Bear in mind, though, that this isn’t necessarily the case in developing countries. This isn’t to cast aspersions on them at all—many people in developing countries simply don’t have the resources to be able to prepare food in a hygienic manner. In addition, while there may be ample evidence that they’re washing their dishes and their salads, they may well be doing so in contaminated water. The thought and the intention is there, but the results perhaps aren’t quite what was intended. If you do visit a developing country, never drink the water—don’t even rinse your toothbrush using the water that comes out of the tap. Bottled water is usually inexpensive, so stock up on it, and use that for your drinking and toothbrushing needs. In addition, be very careful buying from street vendors. If you do buy any food off the side of the road, ensure that it’s hot. I can speak from experience here, having contracted serious food poisoning after eating a plan bun bought from a food vendor! Consider sanitizing your hands after handling money, too—money’s not known for being the most hygienic of things! Also, when in a restaurant, even a reasonably nice one, avoid ordering uncooked or cold foods such as salads. While these may have been rinsed, commonly the water used for doing so is polluted or unhygienic.

As for the news on the next trip that I will be writing about! The Chalet val thorens booking is sorted out, I am looking forward to our annual ski trip! I need part of the payment by this Friday.