How much does it cost to travel in Japan? Around 44,000 yen per trip, gov’t data

Domestic travelers in Japan spent an average of around 44,000 yen per trip in 2023, according to figures released by the Japan Tourism Agency. 

Total spending on domestic travel among the Japanese reached 21.9 trillion yen in 2023, according to preliminary figures released by the tourism agency on Wednesday. This marked an increase in more than 27 percent compared to the previous year and was just 0.2 percent down from spending on domestic travel in 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Spending on overnight trips actually increased in 2023 - at 17.8 trillion yen, up 3.6 percent compared to 2019 and 29.4 percent from the previous year. 

How much are travelers in Japan spending on a single trip?

Per person, domestic travelers in Japan spent an average of 43,995 yen per trip, according to the tourism agency figures. This included spending on transportation, accommodation, food and drink, shopping and entertainment, among other services. For overnight trips, travelers spent an average of 63,212 yen per person per trip, up 7.1 percent from the previous year. Spending on day trips was 19,023 yen, up 2.6 percent. 

A summer of spending

People in Japan dug deeper into their pockets to pull out larger summer holiday budgets in 2023, the first summer season since the legal status of the novel coronavirus was downgraded to the same status as that of seasonal flu. 

According to a survey carried out in June by Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co., people in Japan planned to spend an average of 72,668 yen over the summer holiday period, up from 68,632 yen the previous year. Of the over 16 percent of survey respondents who said they planned to increase their summer holiday period budget, nearly 70 percent said it would go towards travel expenses.

The planned increase in summer spending last year came despite households having to contend with continuing price hikes on consumer goods with people perhaps willing to tap into summer bonuses, which increased significantly in 2023.   

According to the Meiji Yasuda survey, summer bonuses averaged 667,258 yen per household in 2023, an increase of over 66,600 yen compared to the previous year.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, total spending on domestic travel among the Japanese more than halved compared to 2019, dropping to around 10.0 trillion yen 2020 and 9.2 trillion yen in 2021, according to the tourism agency figures. 

Average spending at around 44,000 yen per trip, including just under 20,000 yen for a day trip. How does that kind of spending on travel in Japan sound to you? Let us know in the comments.