Shopping, elaborate cocktails, tickets to a Yomiuri Giants baseball game and a respectable hotel can add up, but after the tsunami, tourism dropped sharply in Tokyo — and 2012 prices may follow suit, according to TIME’s City Guide.
Budget travel: If you don’t mind close quarters, check out Japan’s hostel options, About.com suggests. Otherwise, capsule hotels, where you share a bathroom but have your own pod to sleep in, are a bare-bones but more affordable option.