How to travel on the cheap during spring in Japan

I was inspired to write this blog post based on a recent article I saw right here on City-Cost, which noted that the average trip in Japan sets people back 44,000 yen. As someone who tries to be frugal but still have fun when it comes to travel adventures, it got me thinking. Spring is one of my favorite times of the year to explore Japan thanks to the pleasant temperatures and bounty of spring blooms, but I don't like paying a small fortune to do so.

If you want to travel Japan in a budget-friendly manner this spring, these are some of my tips.

It's one of the busiest times of the year to travel, but it doesn't have to be expensive. Pic Credit: Yu Kato/Unsplash

Use rail passes for foreign residents

If you plan on exploring by train, I would definitely suggest looking into some of the rail passes that are able to be used by foreign residents. One of those is the JR East Nagano/Niigata Pass, which is priced at 27,000 yen for five consecutive days of rail travel. It opens you up to a bunch of cool destinations like Nagano, Matsumoto, and Echigo Yuzawa to name just a few, and at an average of 5400 yen per day for unlimited travel it's a pretty sweet deal – you can cover quite a lot of ground!

Don't forget driving

For some of our longer road trips, we've actually opted to drive, instead. This comes with a few pluses, including the flexibility to stop along the way if you have young children in tow. Mapping out where you plan on going with the tolls and petrol costs might actually see it being more economical than the train network.

Stick to free or cheap attractions

In my home country I feel like it's a lot harder to do this, but here in Japan there are loads of free or cheap ways to spend a day out. There are plenty of quality parks and gardens that have either no admission fees or very minimal ones, lots of unique shrines and temples to check out, and so forth. Also, don't sleep on museums – so many are 500 yen or less to get into.

Either BYOB (bring your own bento) or eat from supermarkets/convenience stores

A huge way that you can cut down on travel costs (whether it's a day trip or an overnight stay) is via food. If we're just going for a day trip, we tend to pack some food items beforehand – while we LOVE trying new restaurants, it's a lot more wallet friendly to bring stuff from home. Grabbing something from a supermarket or convenience store is also often cheaper than restaurants, and with supermarkets especially, I like visiting later in the evening if we're somewhere for a multi-day visit, since bentos are often marked down at that time of day. This is definitely more practical if you stay somewhere with a fridge + microwave.

Any other tips for budget-friendly travel during one of the busiest times of year?