japan

[trakcab]

My daughter's going to Japan, I have no idea of the amount of money she'd need to take . Is the cost of living
high or fair compared to the UK. She's going for three weeks ,any suggestions more than welcome.TIA

[JonnoGenie]

It's horrendously expensive (I lived there in the 90's).

The hotel you can predict as presumably you have that booked in advance.

Transport probably equal to London.

Food, you can eat very well and cheaply if you know where to go (ramen, yakitori etc), but the skies the limit, in fact I'd say there is no limit to what you could spend.

If you're trying to do it on a budget, then you need to do some quite serious homework, as you'll need an inside track (unless you're happy eating McDonalds). If it is on expenses... well enjoy!

Amazing country, it's the kind of place that changes you for ever. Absolutely charming people too. I hope your daughter enjoys her trip!

[Lil O'lady]

I just came back from japan last week, and I'd have to slightly disagree with Jonno re. prices compared to the UK at present. Most things seemed about the same or cheaper, with the big exception being public transport which is incredibly affordable and fantastic to use. I think we in the UK have absorbed a spiralling cost of living quietly and do not realise that we are now an extremely expensive place to live.
If your daughter intends to travel round between cities, get her a JR railcard (details from www.seat61.c0m, follow links). If just staying in one area, bigger places have daily / weekly saver cards for tube and overground.
Eating locally and using the 'family marts' for shopping will keep body and soul together nicely - bento boxes are very filling and much better for you than MacD's.
As far as cash is concerned, I took about �600 of yen for 10 days and came back with unspent notes but I'm not much of a souvenir shopper. However, there are ATMs at most 'family marts' eg 'Lawsons' which seem to be everywhere, so maybe you could ensure your daughter has an account and a card so she can access cash if needed. Most transactions are cash which is odd for such a techno country, but it is also extremely safe to walk round with large sums of cash on your person.
I hope she enjoys the experience as much as I did!