A few months back, I flew to Japan for an incentive trip from our clients at work. They paid for my round trip airfare and accommodations for two nights. Because Japan has always been one of my dream travel destinations, I asked for an extension at my own expense and luckily, our client agreed. I also got to bring my younger sister with me and paid for her expenses as well.

Day 1: Arrival + Meeting the Clients

1:00 PM - ETA at Haneda Airport
3:00 PM - Check in at hotel in Ginza
5:00 PM - Office
5:30 PM - Dinner and drinks


Day 2: Day at the Office

I woke up early and fresh for another day at the office, where I spent it observing the clients as they go about their usual tasks. I also asked for some tips and good practices in recruitment. After work, I also got a taste of the Tokyo night life at Roppongi.

Day 3: Ginza + Shibuya + Omotesando + Harajuku + Shinjuku
This was our first official day of sight-seeing in Tokyo and we made sure to make the most of it as we visited popular tourist spots in the city.

7:00 AM - Wake up call and breakfast
8:00 AM - Walking tour of Ginza
9:00 AM - Check out at hotel in Ginza, ETD for Shinagawa
Got lost and reached Yokohoma by accident - uh oh!
11:00 AM - ETA in Shinagawa, check in at hostel
11:30 AM - ETD for Shibuya
12:00 PM - ETA in Shibuya
12:30 PM - Lunch
1:30 PM - Hachiko and Shibuya Crossing, Cat Street in Omotesando, Takeshita Street in Harajuku
5:30 PM - Shinjuku and window shopping
7:00 PM - Dinner
9:00 PM - ETA back in hotel

Day 4: Asakusa + Ueno + Akihabara
This was my favorite part of our Tokyo trip. One thing that I was looking forward to in Tokyo was visiting the shitamachi or the old town locations. So I was very thrilled for this part of our trip.

7:00 AM - Wake up call and breakfast
8:00 AM - ETD for Asakusa
9:00 AM - Nakamise Street and Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa
10:30 AM - ETD for Ueno
11:00 AM - Lunch
12:00 PM - Ueno Park and Ueno Zoo
5:00 PM - Dinner
6:00 PM - Akihabara
7:30 PM - ETA back in hotel

Day 5: Tokyo Disneysea
Of course, a trip to anywhere won't be complete without visiting the local theme park. Or in this case, Tokyo Disneysea, which is the only one of its kind in the entire world. It is also my favorite out of all the theme parks that I have visited.

7:00 AM - Wake up call and breakfast
8:00 AM - ETD for Uruyasu
9:30 AM - ETA at Tokyo Disneysea
Spent the entire day at the park
8:00 PM - ETD from park
9:30 PM - ETA back in hotel

Day 6: Shopping
Originally, we were planning to go to Kamakura or Odaiba but because we were so tired from all the activites for the past three days, we decided not to have an itinerary. Also, we barely had any time to do more shopping, so there.

8:00 AM - Wake up call and breakfast
9:30 AM - ETD for Ginza
10:00 AM - Shopping in Ginza
12:00 PM - Lunch
2:00 PM - Resume shopping
5:00 PM - Dinner
6:00 PM - ETA back in hotel
8:00 PM - Drinks in hotel bar

Day 7: Shinagawa + Departure
Since we had to be at the airport by lunch time, my sister ended up sleeping in while I explored the small town of Shinagawa. There was nothing much to see except for a couple of small parks and Shinto temples, but still I feel like every corner of a foreign country is worth a photo.

7:00 AM - Wake up call and breakfast
8:00 AM - Stroll around Shinagawa area
9:30 AM - Start packing
11:00 AM - Check out and ETD for Haneda Airport

Traveling in Tokyo can get quite pricey especially when it comes to food. As I always say, how much you spend really depends on your choices, like where to eat, where to stay, and if you would go shopping or not. Overall, I can say that the amount we spend during our trip was okay. We sort of splurged on some days and then acted like cheapskates on other days. Here is a breakdown of our expenses, just to give you an idea:
  • Roundtrip Manila-Haneda airfare via Philippine Airlines - 28720 PHP (although technically mine was paid for by the client but I paid for my sister's airfare for the exact same flight and this was how much it cost)
  • 3D2N accommodations at Hotel Unizo in Ginza - FREE (again paid for by the client)
  • Upgrade from single to double room - 2000 PHP
  • 4D3N accommodations at ARTnSHELTER in Shinagawa - 12480 PHP
  • 72-hour Tokyo Subway ticket via Klook Travel - 1118 PHP for two tickets
  • Ueno Zoo entrance fee - 460 PHP for two (280 PHP each)
  • Tokyo Disneysea tickets via Traveloka - 6835 PHP for two (3417 PHP each)
  • Transportation expenses - roughly 3500 PHP for all transpo expenses for two people
  • Food - roughly 15000 PHP
  • Shopping - roughly 8000 PHP
For the transportation, food, and shopping, I just gave a rough estimate of how much I spent. The estimated cost for food and transportation were for two people. For the food, honestly I think I spent more than the amount above because I eat quite a lot whenever I'm traveling abroad just so I can try whatever local cuisine I could find. For shopping, it was just my own spending because my sister has her own shopping money (although I remember buying her some stuff). 

So there you go. I hope this helps for when you are planning to go to Tokyo. After this trip, Japan has become my favorite country to travel to and I'm planning to go back later this year or early next year, but with Osaka and Kyoto added to my itinerary. 

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask by leaving a comment below. :)