Tokyo · Backpacking
ON A BUDGET
Expensive to live in, cheap to visit — Tokyo's transport, food and free sights do the work.
Asakusa and Taito
The old east side holds the densest cluster of hostels, with dorms above cafés on the lanes behind Senso-ji and two subway lines at the door.
What a day costs
Around ¥8,000–13,000, roughly $55–90: dorm ¥3,000–5,000, konbini breakfast and ramen ¥2,500–3,500, trains ¥800–1,500, one paid sight.
Suica, day tickets, coaches
Tap in with a Suica or Pasmo; a Tokyo Metro 24-hour ticket pays off after four rides. Overnight coaches head to Kyoto and Osaka for a fraction of rail fares.
Free by day
Meiji Jingu's forest, the Imperial Palace East Gardens and the twin observatories at the Metropolitan Government Building in Shinjuku all cost nothing.
Golden Gai, Shinjuku
Six alleys of six-seat bars where conversation is unavoidable. Many charge a seat fee of several hundred yen — check the door sign before sitting.