Japan Budget & Itinerary: 8 Days in Nagoya, Osaka, Nara, Kyoto & Kobe
For many, Japan is a dream destination. Now I understand the feeling.
When I started traveling 10 years ago, I did not set my eyes on East Asian countries like Japan, Taiwan, and Korea. My eyes were set on Southeast and South Asia. But the pandemic and recent world events changed my perspective, and I started planning trips around East Asia.
Japan was the first country on my mind. But as it turned out, we were able to visit Taiwan first—because why not? Japan is such an incredible country, and I knew that we would eventually make our way there.
In this blog, I will share our experience, our 8-day Japan itinerary, and our actual travel expenses from our trip. We visited Nagoya, Gifu, Osaka, Nara, Kyoto, and Kobe, and I will also share how much we spent on airfare, transportation, food, attractions, accommodation, and shopping.
At the end of the post, you can also download the itinerary that I used when planning our trip.
My wife Lana and I traveled to Japan from March 12 to 19, 2023.
We flew from Manila to Nagoya via Cebu Pacific on a sunny and beautiful Sunday morning. When we arrived, Nagoya greeted us with cold weather—and it was fantastic!
We were also lucky to have friends living in Gifu Prefecture, who hosted us during the first part of our trip. Because of this, we were able to explore Nagoya, Shirakawa-go, and Takayama with them, making our transportation during the first two days easy and seamless.
Before we proceed with our Japan itinerary, let me first talk about one of the most important parts of planning a trip to Japan from the Philippines: the visa.
If you are a Philippine passport holder traveling to Japan for tourism, you will need to secure a visa before your trip.
We applied for our Japan visa through an accredited travel agency. If you're also planning a trip to Japan, I have a separate post where I shared the Japan visa requirements and application process that we followed.
Read our Japan Visa Requirements Guide here.
Japan 8-Day Itinerary at a Glance
Day 1 - Nagoya (Nagoya Castle)
Day 2 - Gifu (Shirakawa-go, Takayama)
Day 3 - Osaka (Namba, Shinsaibashi)
Day 4 - Osaka (Osaka Castle, Umeda, Shinsekai)
Day 5 - Nara (Nara Park, Todai-ji)
Day 6 - Kyoto (Arashiyama, Kinkaku-ji, Fushimi Inari)
Day 7 - Kobe (Ikuta Jinja, Harborland)
Day 8 - Osaka → Nagoya → Manila (Shinkansen, flight home)
Our 8-Day Japan Itinerary
Here's our actual itinerary for our 8-day Japan trip.
Day 1 – Nagoya
Our Japan adventure officially started in Nagoya.
Since we had friends hosting us during this part of the trip, we didn't have to worry much about transportation and accommodation.
Day 2 – Gifu Prefecture
Our second day was dedicated to exploring Gifu Prefecture with our friends.
- Shirakawa-go
- Takayama
- Yunohana Onsen Spa Resort
- Yakiniku restaurant
This was one of the highlights of our trip. Having a local host made exploring Shirakawa-go and Takayama much easier, especially since we didn't have to figure out all the transportation ourselves.
Day 3 – Osaka
We traveled from Nagoya to Osaka via Shinkansen and started exploring one of Japan's most energetic cities.
- Explore Namba
- Eat around Namba
- Shinsaibashi
Namba was basically our introduction to Osaka, and of course, eating was part of the itinerary!
Day 4 – Osaka
We spent another full day exploring Osaka.
- Osaka Castle
- Umeda Sky Building
- Shinsekai and Tsutenkaku
- Tombori River Cruise
- Spa Suminoe
We also used the Osaka Amazing Pass, which helped us save on some of the attractions and transportation we visited that day.
Day 5 – Nara
For Day 5, we explored Nara before returning to Osaka.
- Sumiyoshi Taisha
- Kasuga-taisha
- Nara Park
- Todai-ji Temple
- Higashimuki Shopping Street
- Shopping in Dotonbori
Nara was one of the places I was particularly excited to visit because of its temples, historic sites, and of course, the famous deer in Nara Park.
Day 6 – Kyoto
Kyoto was probably one of the busiest days of our trip. We tried to see as much as possible in one day.
- Arashiyama Bamboo Forest
- Togetsu-kyo Bridge
- Kinkaku-ji
- Fushimi Inari Taisha
- Higashiyama/Gion District
- Yasaka Shrine
- Maruyama Park
- Don Quijote Kyoto
- Kyoto Station
It was a long day, but Kyoto gave us some of the most memorable sights of our Japan trip.
Day 7 – Kobe
Our next destination was Kobe.
- Ikuta Jinja
- Kobe Chinatown (Nankin-machi)
- Harborland
- Kobe Nunobiki Herb Gardens
- Yazawa Steakhouse
We spent the day walking around Kobe, visiting some of its popular attractions, and, of course, ending the day with a good meal.
Day 8 – Osaka – Nagoya – Manila
Unfortunately, all good trips have to end.
For our final day, we traveled from Osaka back to Nagoya before flying home to Manila.
- Shin-Osaka to Nagoya via Shinkansen
- Nagoya to Chubu Centrair International Airport
- Nagoya to Manila
And just like that, our 8-day Japan adventure was over.
How Much Did We Spend in Japan?
Now for the part that I know many travelers are interested in: our actual Japan travel budget.
Based on the expense sheet I used during our trip, our total expenses came to:
₱52,102.54 per person
This was our actual recorded spending for the trip, including airfare, accommodation, transportation, food, attractions, shopping, and other expenses.
Here's the breakdown:
| Category | Actual Cost Per Person |
|---|---|
| Airfare | ₱10,270.00 |
| Food | ₱11,439.00 |
| Transportation | ₱10,658.00 |
| Accommodation | ₱5,353.64 |
| Attractions | ₱2,875.00 |
| Shopping | ₱7,249.00 |
| Other Expenses | ₱4,257.90 |
| Total | ₱52,102.54 |
Our accommodation cost was relatively low because we were hosted by friends during the first part of our trip, and we shared our Osaka accommodation.
Of course, keep in mind that these are our actual expenses from March 2023. Prices, transportation fares, attraction fees, airfare, and exchange rates may have changed since then.
I also kept the actual Excel sheet that I used when planning and tracking our expenses. If you want to see the detailed breakdown, you can download it together with our itinerary.
Was ₱52,102 Enough for 8 Days in Japan?
For us, yes.
Our total came to a little over ₱52,000 per person, including airfare and our major expenses during the trip.
However, our situation was a little different from a typical first-time Japan trip because we had friends who hosted us during the Nagoya and Gifu portion of our trip. This helped significantly reduce our accommodation and transportation expenses.
A tip for you, Agoda offers discounts especially to frequent users.
If you're planning your own trip, I would recommend using our budget as a reference rather than a fixed amount. Your actual budget will depend on your airfare, accommodation, food preferences, shopping, attractions, and the cities you plan to visit.
Download Our Japan Itinerary & Budget
I used an Excel spreadsheet to plan our itinerary, track our expenses, and organize the different places we wanted to visit.
If you're planning your own Japan trip, you can use our itinerary as a starting point and adjust it according to your travel dates, budget, and interests.
Download our Japan itinerary and budget here.
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Japan was one of those destinations that I had always wanted to visit, and finally being able to experience it with Lana made the trip even more memorable.
And after spending eight days exploring Nagoya, Gifu, Osaka, Nara, Kyoto, and Kobe, I can finally say it:
Japan really is an incredible country.
