I went to newly-affordable long-haul holiday destination with 85p meals, half-price theme parks and cheap hotels
JAPAN is surprisingly affordable for a family getaway now, with the Yen at a decades-long low against the Pound, making everything incredibly cheap.
With hot meals from just 85p, Disney and Universal tickets half the price of their US counterparts and return flights from £426, the country has become a long-haul option for more and more families.
On a wallet-friendly holiday, my wife Morgan, two-year-old daughter Lena and I explored Tokyo and Osaka, expertly guided by Inside Japan Tours.
First stop was OMO5 Otsuka, a city-break hotel in the low-key neighbourhood of Otsuka offering stylish, compact rooms.
Sword-like knives
The less-well-known Tokyo suburb is home to the Toden Arakawa Line, the city’s last remaining electric tram, which the hotel celebrates with a special kids’ room themed around the traditional trolley-cars.
OMO’s 17 affordable properties in 11 cities across Japan are about connecting guests to the community, whether that’s through the food at the cafe, the gift shop promoting local makers or tours run by the staff.
OMO Rangers are on hand to escort guests on bar crawls or foodie trips (from £4.81), helping holidaymakers see what is behind intriguing shop fronts that they might be too intimidated to visit alone.
Making the most of the inevitable jet-lag, we caught the 4am subway to the famous Tsukiji fish market.
Shouts from fishmongers pierced the salty air, mingling with the rhythmic thud of massive tuna being sectioned by sword-like knives.
Lost in translation, we stopped at one of the open-air food stalls and accidentally ordered four sticks of wagyu beef for an eye-watering £70.
Blissfully unaware she was dining on the Rolls-Royce of cows, Lena quickly devoured almost our entire holiday budget.
Next day, teamLab Planets (£18.30), an interactive art installation, offered a mind-bending digital playground that had us all channelling our inner toddler.
Shoes off, we waded into knee-deep water, squealing alongside Lena as digital koi darted between our legs and bounced through a galaxy of giant colour-changing balls.
Our favourite? A spongy, undulating floor that had us all wobbling like we were walking on the moon.
For an hour, we were all awe-struck tots in a joyful chaos where art and play merged.
Switching gears, we time-travelled from cutting-edge tech to timeless craftsmanship at the Tokyo Toy Museum (£3.85).
Housed in an old primary school, it is a tribute to traditional Japanese playthings and the art of play — and it makes for a mellow contrast to teamLab’s digital dazzle.
Best was the indoor play zone where every item is made from wood, right down to the balls in the ball pit.
From Tokyo, it took two and a half hours on the bullet train to reach Japan’s second city, Osaka, where we checked in at OMO7 Osaka.
The affordable hotel had the same winning formula as our Tokyo base but with a few extra comforts, including a full restaurant, nightly free beer and takoyaki (Osaka’s signature street food of fried batter and octopus balls).
There’s a huge outdoor green space the size of a football pitch and sleek hot baths with a hyper-modern design.
The hotel is set on the edge of the Shinsekai district, a warren of traditional cheap eateries (a hot bowl of udon at Matsuya cost just 85p) and fairground-style attractions centred around the 103-metre Tsutenkaku Tower and observation deck.
Shinsekai, or “New World”, has a charming retro atmosphere that’s come back into fashion with Japan’s Eighties nostalgia revival.
Mario, Luigi and gang
OMO7 Osaka is also popular with visitors to Universal Studios Japan, thanks to a free shuttle bus to the park and specially trained experts to help you plan your day there.
A day ticket costs £41.34, less than half the price of Universal Studios Orlando at £92.42.
Newly opened Super Nintendo World was a highlight, immersing us in an interactive universe of Mario, Luigi and their gang.
Lena fell in love with the mushroom character Toad and got a kick out of the power-up bands that let guests collect coins in an app by punching Mario’s signature blocks or completing other simple challenges around the land.
As we bid sayonara to Osaka, our hearts were full of memories and our pockets were still jingling with Yen, proving that Japan is possible on a budget.
Just mind the prices when ordering your two-year-old a steak for breakfast.
GO: Japan
GETTING THERE: Flights to Tokyo are from £426pp with China Airlines. See china-airlines.com.
STAYING THERE: One night’s room only at OMO5 Otsuka is from £22.25pp based on three sharing. One night’s room only at OMO7 Osaka is from £22.64pp based on six sharing. See hoshinoresorts.com.
MORE INFO: For award-winning tours of Japan, see insidejapantours.com. For more on Japan see japan.travel/en/uk.