How much did my trip to Japan and Taiwan Cost?

The following will be an accounting of my 2025 trip to Japan and Taiwan. If you’ve not read the blog, you can do so here. Or if you want a small wrap up, you can check it out here. It can provide some context to the costs below! All prices will be in Canadian (or converted into Canadian when it shows up on my bill). And they’ll be broken down to a per person cost as best I can. 

The Costs

All in all this whole trip cost (me individually) $3484.76 with a per day cost of $204.99 over 17 days. And it breaks down as follows:

The Transportation ($1036.35 + 190,000 Points)

In total, the transportation costs for this trip total $1036.35 with a point redemption. Transportation can be broken down into two main sections: Airfare and General Transportation which costs $515.94 + points and $520.41 respectively.

The Flights ($515.94 + 190, 000 Points)

In total my airfare cost $515.94 and 190000Aeroplan points. For the Airfare the following are all my flights taken on this trip:

• (Air Canada, Singapore Airlines, EVA Air Business Class) Vancouver – Singapore – Taipei – Fukuoka ($136.07+ 103500 Aeroplan Points)
• (JetStar Economy Class) Osaka – Narita ($98.17)
• (China Airlines Business Class) Narita-Taipei-Vancouver ($278.70 + 86500 Flying Blue Points)

Getting around on the Land and Sea ($520.41)

My general transportation cost is $520.41. A lot of this cost is movement within the different cities. Some of the cost are shared taxi’s and Ubers with friends. In Taiwan, Lebron covered some of our larger Uber costs which I’m thankful for. The other item of note is the MOL Sunflower Ferry is not just transportation but also overnight accommodation. So I will not be counting it under the accommodation section. The following are all my ground transportation costs for the trip:

• JR Kyushu Train from (Fukuoka-Beppu) ($69.86)
• IC Suica Refills for Fukuoka, Osaka and Narita Transit ($35)
• MOL Sunflower (Beppu-Osaka) ($145.57)
• Bus Ticket Beppu-Yufuin ($16.74)
• Beppu Taxi Costs ($24.91)
• Taipei Metro Costs ($2.02)
• Taiwan Uber Costs ($71.80)
• Taiwan Airport Express and Subway Pass ($27.51)
• Taiwan HSR ($127.00)

The Accommodations: ($1608.82)

My accommodations are generally pretty simple. When I joined Salmonella, we would share a room together. Beyond that, as noted above, I am not including the overnight on the MOL Sunflower ferry. All of my accommodation costs in total come out to $1608.82.  Generally the costs are reasonable. Especially when I factor in some of the discounting available via points and credit card offers.

• 3 Nights Quintessa Hotel Fukuoka Tenjin ($473.98)
  • The true cost would have been $473.98 but I have a $100 hotel credit that comes with my credit card.
• 2 Nights Yunosato Hayama ($404.53)
• 3 Nights The Lively Osaka Honmachi ($213.04)
  • The true cost would have been $1086.56 but I redeemed some points to offset the cost and Salmonella and I split the difference.
• 1 Night Meet Inn ($61.81)
• 3 Nights CityInn Hotel Taipei Station Branch 3 ($404.53)
• 1 Nights Yoshi Hotel Tainan Sinmei Branch ($50.93)

Food and Beverage ($602.19)

Tracking food spending is difficult at the best of times. But when there are multiple countries and different parties, it adds to the complexity. I have done my best in reviewing receipts and credit card statements. There were multiple times when there are no receipts and cash is used. Or often times one of my travel companions would pick up the bill and I can only estimate my costs for the meal. In addition, during our time in Beppu, our Ryokan would provide breakfast and dinner. So the cost of meals is built into the accommodation cost. I suggest taking this total with a grain of salt! In total my trackable expenses for meals and snacks throughout my trip amounted to $602.19.

Miscellaneous Expenses ($237.40)

Below will be my miscellaneous expenses not covered above. It’s primarily activity entry fees and also includes data connectivity for Asia. In total these expenses add up to $237.40.  The following are most of the trackable activity and miscellaneous expenses:

• Osaka Expo Entrance ($80.41)
• Ubigi eSIM for Asia ($35.28)
• Comic Art Museum Entrance ($16.24)
• Beppu Ropeway ($16.74)
• Hyotan Onsen ($18.60)
• Osaka Aquarium ($25.94)
• teamLab BioVortex ($39.79)
• Taipei Zoo ($4.40)

Totals

After adding everything up, we get a grand total of $3484.76. Averaging this out over 17 days, we get an average cost of $204.98 per day. If you’re still reading, I hope this post is helpful or interesting! I try to track my costs to see where I can try to bring my overall expenses down while enhancing the experiences where I can! What I’m learning when I travel with more people is its more difficult to track expenses across multiple parties. So I find myself estimating at points. Which means I need to be a bit more diligent in tracking. If there is extra information you’d like to know, or have suggestions, please feel free to drop a comment below and let me know!