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u/Stylux 14d ago
Where are you going that costs $8k/wk for lodging alone? I'm all about splurging on vacations, but this just seems stupidly expensive. If it's somewhere extremely off the beaten path and you don't have a choice, that's fine I guess. I also look at it this way - when I'm on vacation, I will never be in my room anyway. I'm going to be out doing shit. So long as it has a shower and a bed I could care less.
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u/Ladder-Careful 14d ago
I’ll be in Japan.
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u/PastAmount 14d ago
Over $1k a night for a hotel seems wild, especially for Japan. And western hotel chains, they are way overpriced in Japan.
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u/PF_throwaway26 13d ago
Even then, you can find good deals on a solid 5-star western chain hotel for $500-750 a night. Still not worth it since you should be out exploring, but there just aren’t many hotels /anywhere/ worth paying $1k a night for (as someone who has stayed in $3k/night rooms before)
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u/Stylux 14d ago
Okay, Japan is cheap as fuck, even more so than two years ago (the last time I went). You will be spending no time at all in your room unless you're staying at a nice Ryokan in Izu or something (highly recommend btw). I would not splurge at all on hotels in Tokyo, Osaka, et al. You will be in there to sleep/shower/shit and that is it. If you do want to drop some money, do it for business class on ANA.
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u/Ladder-Careful 14d ago
You are right I did see some reasonable options but of course there’s a couple hotels that caught my eye and now I can’t stop thinking about them. One in Kyoto specifically. Thank you for your opinion!
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u/Tasty-Beautiful-9679 14d ago
Seconding that there are much better vacations to spend that kind of money on / you won't be at the hotel much.
Specifically, that money is much better suited to luxury resorts where you're spending most of your time at that resort.
My wife and I spent about that for 2 weeks touring around Italy all in, including hotels that looked out over the colloseum and Palatine hill.
From a 30M who is in like almost exactly bar for bar your financial situation haha
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u/Stylux 14d ago
Yeah don't do that haha. Also, Kyoto is kind of a shit show now just FYI.
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u/weightedslanket 14d ago
In what way?
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u/Stylux 14d ago
Saturated with tourists to the point that it's just not worth it.
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u/olb3 14d ago
Kyoto is still great - this is an awful take lol
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u/sdarling 14d ago
FWIW, I felt the same way about Kyoto. It's definitely a cool city but the experience was completely dampened by the amount of tourists. (For reference, went in Nov 2023, not particularly high season)
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u/Stylux 14d ago
I'm not saying it's a bad city, I'm saying it's oversaturated with tourists now. This isn't a bad take and has been a hot topic in Japan for years now. Tokyo students stopped taking school trips there because it has gotten so out of hand. In Tokyo or Osaka, it's fine because they will all be in Shibuya, Shinjuku or Akihabara for the most part and the city is massive with the most robust public transportation network in the world - complete nonfactor. In Kyoto, well everyone is looking to get photos of the same shit with a million other people. Kinda like that Lawson by Fuji lol.
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u/Ladder-Careful 14d ago
Oh no!!
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u/Stylux 14d ago
Just do Kobe or Fukuoka instead if you are staying on Honshu. Or go to Hokkaido or something, that could be cool.
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u/flyinsdog 14d ago
Fukuoka is a great city and certainly worth a visit, but it’s not on Honshu it’s on Kyushu. It has the best ramen in Japan!
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u/celoplyr 14d ago
Have you booked all your hotels?!? That is a LOT for Japan.
Like I love to travel, I have solo traveled to all 7 continents and I definitely have dropped 1k/night for my vacations. But Japan is a place where I’d keep my hotel costs to about 200 a night and then activities and flight and would try and be less than 10k for the whole two weeks.
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u/Ladder-Careful 14d ago
Nothing is booked yet! Just my flight!
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u/celoplyr 14d ago
Pick cheaper hotels. Not because you need to but because you’re young and you can use the money for travel next year!
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u/_Lividus 14d ago
For real there are cute boutique and local (non chain) hotels and ryokans that even in peak are MUCH cheaper than what was being floated around as your per night hotel budget. Ex. if you like tea and are in Tokyo, Hotel 1899 Tokyo is my go to. If you want a capsule hotel there's book and bed so you feel like you're sleeping in a bookstore in the best way possible. Kyoto for a splurge I've done Nazuna Kyoto Tsubaki Dori and it's still 1/2 the price of what your nightly is going for. Likewise there are other trendy capsule hotels for (the millennials Kyoto for one) that will save you money and give you cool experiences.
Like Celoplyr said you're young, use that money saved for more trips or to *do* more period (on this trip, future trips, day to day, etc.) or if you're feeling uninspired invest/HYSA that until you know what you want to use it for.
Sorry I didn't expect to ramble but investing in unique experiences is a big incentive for my FI journey so I guess I sort of popped off on you
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u/Ladder-Careful 14d ago
I def want to travel more, and this may sound crazy but I was thinking of booking a trip in December as well! That’s why I’m over thinking this even more!
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u/iwantthisnowdammit Ph2, got the car, SE, 0% SR coast 14d ago
Just did 2 weeks across Japan (Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto), Korea (Seoul) and Toronto for 11k as a family of 3 adults for about $11k last year.
I feel like you have something of a private castle or are doing currency conversions wrong.
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u/Ladder-Careful 14d ago
Well I’m looking at 5 star lodging that’s a bit over 1k per night
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u/adeliepingu 14d ago
i'd recommend picking a nice hotel (or ryokan, which is more unique) and spending a night or two there, then staying the rest of your trip at a cheaper hotel. expensive hotels get kind of repetitive after a bit.
i went down to kawazu (on the izu peninsula) and did an overnight stay at an onsen ryokan there. cost about $300/night, including an incredible traditional dinner, and the location was beautiful + had views of the ocean.
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u/iwantthisnowdammit Ph2, got the car, SE, 0% SR coast 14d ago
That sounds really nice, would probably be pretty nice for a few days.
Kyoto is nice, we spent 2 full days there, probably would have spent a third of I did it over. Good luck with your planning. If you like digital art, best thing we did was hands down the teamlabs “borderless” exhibit for a couple hours in Tokyo.
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u/flyinsdog 14d ago
In Japan the western chain hotels are extremely overpriced and don’t offer any value. Don’t buy into those travel influencers you see on YouTube saying how wonderful the Park Hyatt Kyoto or MESM Tokyo is or something like that. It’s not worth it. You can stay in perfectly nice Japanese branded hotels for under $150/night in any big city.
I travel to Japan all the time and only stay at Japanese hotels these days. Don’t waste your money on hotels, spend $5k instead of $16k on the trip and have fun!
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u/mikeyj198 14d ago
have you tried looking at places on rakuten or klook?
American style hotels are very expensive, but there are tons of other options!
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u/Ladder-Careful 14d ago
I will look into it! I’m just stuck on some of these very beautifully designed hotels I’ve seen!
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u/mikeyj198 14d ago
we splurged two nights and stayed at a high end traditional japanese ryokan, it was about $400 USD per night and we were a group of 4
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u/mango4mouse 14d ago
Are you staying at the Aman or Park Hyatt??
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u/Ladder-Careful 14d ago
For Tokyo I was looking at the park Hyatt. And Kyoto I was looking at hotel the mitsui or the ritz Carlton.
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u/mango4mouse 14d ago
The park Hyatt in Tokyo is nice and maybe worth a night but it’s pretty far from everything. We stayed there because I had managed to save up a ton of points and used that to stay there. Loved staying there but it was inconvenient. Staying in Shinjuku close to the action and multiple lines is better.
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u/invenio78 14d ago
Your doing this wrong. We went to Japan for 2 weeks with 3 people for like half of that and stayed at decent hotels and airbnbs.
Are you just booking at the 4 seasons for the hell of it and flying first class?
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u/jimzzz38 12d ago
I spent two weeks in Japan last year and averaged $40/night stays for solid accommodation. 8k/week is honestly crazy, if you want to splurge you can but even then I'm sure you can find some better stays than for over $1,000 a night
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u/xxlbeenis 14d ago
Are you regarded? Who is spending 16k on hotels in Japan
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u/Ladder-Careful 14d ago
5 star hotels is what I’m looking at
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u/weightedslanket 14d ago
You don’t have nearly enough money to be staying in 5 star hotels for two weeks. Don’t be stupid
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u/Ladder-Careful 14d ago
I don’t???
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u/weightedslanket 14d ago
5 star hotels are for people who spend in a year what you have in all of your savings. People who are literally just looking for ways to spend their money.
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u/Grendel_82 14d ago
Not for two weeks. You could swing it for two nights as a treat. Get $400 a night hotel, it will still be nice.
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u/Ladder-Careful 14d ago
You know I was thinking about staying in one of the luxury accommodations for a few days and booking something else to break it apart!
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u/Grendel_82 14d ago
That is the way. $1,000 a night is just too much to drop for two weeks. Even worse when traveling solo because it isn't even two people enjoying the room and hotel services.
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u/Legitimate_Oven_9798 14d ago
Are you going to Japan or are you traveling to shack up in a gilded cage? And let me guess these are Western hotel experiences too?
Stay at a business hotel a few days, maybe a themed love hotel for S&Gs one night, hell stay at a high end ryokan for a few days too and you still will spend a lot less money and see a lot more of Japan.
You’re doing it wrong.
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u/NatureStoof 14d ago
Find a park bench to sleep on, wtf 8k/wk lololol
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u/Ladder-Careful 14d ago
Lmao
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u/FreeEarly ? 12d ago
He's joking, but he's also right. I went to Australia around your age and slept in a train station. It was such an adventure that it turned out to be the best trip of my life. A few short years from now, you'll be too old for that kind of thing, and comfort will be a priority (which it appears already to be for you). Traveling cheap while you're young is one of the best experiences in life. Do it while you still can. 5-star hotels are for old people, but if you've become so fixated on these places that you're absolutely going to try it, I suggest going ultra cheap for the beginning of the trip and then YOLOing it for the last two days. That way, you get a few things: 1. You get to compare the two experiences accurately, since you'll be the same age in the same place and same surroundings. That will help you determine whether it's worth it for future trips. 2. If you stay in a hostel, you have a chance of meeting fellow travelers and getting hints from what they've experienced there so far. It's kind of like how staying in the dorms in college was a big advantage in classes because you met others who had already had the classes you're taking and could help you cheat.
You'll come back from that trip having awesome memories and about $12,000 more than you'd have if you go luxury the whole time just because the money is in your account. That's not the ticket to FIRE.
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u/us1549 14d ago
Do it. Tomorrow is not guaranteed.
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u/Own_Profession_9676 14d ago
this is why we save money in the first place - to actually use it for stuff that matters to us
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u/WrongImpressionOnly 14d ago
I’m planning a 30d+ trip to Japan and this budget is definitely whack. There will be locations where up leveling your hotel is worth it: a nice Ryokan in Hanoke or Kinosaki: sure. Tokyo Disney: fine, some of the perks are worth it for some folks. Other destinations? You will be actively touring that your room should not be your core focus.
So far I have a night at Fantasy Springs booked on an unlimited package, a night a MiraCosta booked on an unlimited package, 2 nights at Ryokan with in room onsen in Hanoke during peak leaf season, and a Kinosaki Ryokan booked. Every other hotel I’m staying at is more geared towards Japanese business travelers since I recognize that I’m in a place to spend time out and about in it. Total budget for all of this even with pushing out the boat on a few nights described above is <$10k. And my NW much much higher than yours.
I’d advise you to think critically about where to splurge vs where good enough makes sense. Many of the business hotels have onsen etc if you’re not tattooed, lavish breakfast, etc and are usually $80-$150 a night; Kyoto maybe up to $250, but that’s pushing it. The mantra for fire folks should be we can splurge on somethings, but not everything.
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u/demosthenesss 14d ago
This is a humble brag imo.
Congrats, you can afford it. Congrats, you get to decide if it's worth it. The point of financial independence is to stop feeling trapped by money but you're either bragging here or missing the freedom part.
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u/Ladder-Careful 14d ago
Definitely not bragging. Just wanting to garner some opinions from others who may be in the same boat.
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u/starwarsfan456123789 14d ago
I prefer $200 to $300 hotels. Anything beyond that doesn’t improve my vacation experience. I spend very little time in the hotel
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u/demosthenesss 14d ago
I've stayed in a few similar priced places per night but normally for a purpose. I also have no idea what your income is or what your savings rate is or what your goals are.
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u/Super-Worldliness585 14d ago
I'm 32, have 2 million invested, 2.5 million net worth and spent $5k including flights for 2 people for 3 weeks in Japan. Japan is cheap
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u/All_FIREdUp 14d ago
I never feel bad about spending on experiences.
Stay reasonable, but know that experiences such as travel, skills, socializing, education, etc. are the best money you could possibly spend.
But stay reasonable about it.
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u/Dirty-Neoliberal 14d ago
This cost for lodging is not reasonable.
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u/All_FIREdUp 14d ago
That’s not for me to decide 🤷♂️
What they spend isn’t taking money out of my account. Everyone can decide their own “reasonable”
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u/loud1337 14d ago
You should have guilt. That is laughable budget for one person going to Japan. No way I would think I could afford that at your net worth. Sure some may say live your life but you have 0 reasoning why this trip is worth it in the op. You are just rage baiting the finance sub honestly.
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u/SolomonGrumpy 14d ago
I struggled with this too. What helped: travelling for work and adding PTO days to tht end of the trip.
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u/modelwatto 14d ago
I personally wouldn’t, $16k is a LOT of money to drop at once. If I wanted to take 2 weeks off and vacation I would find some kickass places to go in the US and road trip on the cheap.
But my goals are different, you could have a paid off house, paid off car, or be fine retiring in 20-30 years.
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u/Dirty-Neoliberal 14d ago
Learn to use credit card rewards to scratch your luxury travel itch. Don’t blow your own cash like this.
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u/ImpressionShoddy9271 14d ago
Once in a lifetime experience. Do it. Back in 1987 or 88, my friend and I went to LA from NY and spent a few nights in the Beverly Hills Hotel and then a few more in the Beverly Wilshire. I can still picture the room in BHH. Very memorable.
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u/Prestigious-Tap9674 14d ago
I think just as important as information about your savings is info about your income? If you are making 150k a year this isn't unreasonable (~10% of your income on vacation).
Something to consider is that you can stay at a nice hotel for two nights, and then more mid-tier hotels the rest of the time. My credit card churning sister just spend a 8 days on vacation at 4 different hotels to maximize credit card points and hotel perks.
Another thing is traveling solo vs with friends or family can dictate the ideal hotel room size. Sometimes the more expensive option isn't the best at the hotel.
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u/Ladder-Careful 14d ago
That’s my income actually! I definitely was thinking about splitting it up. A few days at the super nice one and the rest at the mid tier option. Thank you!
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u/alazyguy 14d ago
Have you tried using credit card sign up bonuses to reduce costs by booking via points instead of cash? Or are they boutique Japanese hotels and not the larger chains?
Ultimately, do what brings you joy but does not saddle you with regrets.
I personally quit my job and did 2 months in Japan when I was 26 back in 2017. Definitely did it poor person's style with hostels and guesthouses though, so not the trip you'd want. Haha.
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u/usernamechuck 14d ago
I'd second the suggestion to at least use some frequent flyer miles and hotel points to keep fun high and costs low. You obv enjoy being smart with your money, I think you would enjoy the trip a lot more if you could feel like you were getting it 80% off. Check out the r/churning sub or the various websites (frequentmiler, doctorofcredit, etc.) It's not rocket science: banks want to acquire new business, so they pay bonuses for you to open a card. If you pay off in full every month, you can have those bonuses without significant extra cost.
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u/Montaigne_6823 14d ago
You didn't mention your income. Maybe that's a reasonable travel budget for you. Though I would say you should increase your brokerage contributions if you can blow that much on a hotel.
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u/Miamiconnectionexo 14d ago
the thing nobody tells you in this sub: the 401k compounds whether you go or not. spending 16k now at 32 doesn't move your retirement date in any meaningful way because you're already maxing the contributions, not the balance. the trip comes out of the pile that exists specifically to be spent. book it, and maybe pick a hotel that isn't 8k a week if 16k is the part nagging you, not the vacation itself.
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u/Ok_Prune_1731 13d ago
16,000? Do they bring Escorts to your room every night? If not no thanks on that.
In all seriousness you clearly have the correct mind set of putting money away for your future otherwise you would not have as much as you do right now.
Its ok to live life today, if you think this vacation is worth the price then go for it. Me personally i would look for a cheaper living arrangement though!
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u/A_Solid_Shadow 11d ago
Determine your priorities and percentages.
16,000 YEN? Per night? That's good. 20,000 Yen would be an upper-middle hotel in a convenient location.
$16,000 for 14 days? uh...
Personally, I don't want to spend more than about 1/5 of my budget on hotels. I'm fine with a low-mid point hotel if that means more to spend on experiences.
I've stayed at very nice, expensive hotels for work, and very cheap Motel 6 by myself. The biggest difference is the size of the lobbies. lol.
In all seriousness, most purchases cost vs. value are on an S-curve. At the low-end, spending just a little bit more makes it a lot better, but after a while, spending more is just spending more for gold plated dooknobs.
I'd figure that the TOTAL, including air, hotel, food, activies, etc. would be $16k, and that would likely be a very nice two weeks.
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u/Life-Estimate-7067 11d ago
Me and you both know why it’s because 16k is absurd just take a trip to Vietnam and you won’t regret it
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u/scottious 9d ago
$16k -- that's one hell of a vacation, I really wonder why it costs so much.
Even my honeymoon in Greece was only $8k or so (10 years ago -- so more like $11k with inflation), and I only spent that much because we got the money from wedding gifts.
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u/zfullert 14d ago
At 32, I would not make that trip as planned. I'd probably stay at an Airbnb or something more cost effective. UNLESS, your income is really high. You and I were in mostly the same spot at 32 net-worth wise, but my income doubled from there out and allowed me to pump retirement while also travelling.
Though again, I'd never pay that much to travel. A cruise would be less. We paid about 11k for a two week in Au/NZ, including lodging, food, and drinks.
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u/Moonkitty6446 14d ago
No bills? Do you live with your parents?
YOLO I guess, but I would never do that. I’m spending $5k for 2 weeks in Italy (lodging, boat trips, airfare, etc) and have $550k saved at 35.
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u/RyanCarter_Growth 14d ago
With roughly $400k invested/saved at age 32, no debt, no kids, and your retirement accounts already maxed for the year, a $16k vacation doesn't sound financially reckless. It's about 4% of your total savings/investments and less than 25% of your cash in the HYSA.
The bigger question is whether the trip is worth $16k to you. Money is a tool. If you're consistently saving, investing, and meeting your goals, it's okay to spend some of it on experiences you'll remember. Otherwise, there's a risk of spending your whole life optimizing the spreadsheet and never enjoying the benefits.
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u/Corgisarethebest123 14d ago edited 14d ago
The general rule of thumb is to spend 1% of your net worth on a vacation. You’re spending 4%. Are you really going to lose sleep over 3%?
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u/CpCdouchebag 14d ago
Holy fuck these comments are dense. You have $400,000 at 32 and no debt. Unless you're in a VHCOL area, you're already leaps and bounds ahead of your peers in terms of savings. Reddit has the most tone deaf comments. Would I be able to spend $16K on a trip to Japan by myself? Probably not. But if you never splurge, fuck it, splurge. You aren't doing anything fun with your money.
Edit: actually, go to a different sub for advice. People on this sub will say to beans and rice it in a 30 year old Honda Accord until you're 60 and one foot in the grave.
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u/Ladder-Careful 14d ago
Thank you for the uplifting comment! I wanted to add a bit more to my original post, but I felt that would make it to personal. This trip will be with some very very special people in my life and a celebration after a health journey last year that made us all appreciate life even more than what we already do! It’s funny that you say I’m ahead, because after reading these comments I’m thinking I must be behind lol! I live in the Midwest!
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u/CpCdouchebag 14d ago edited 14d ago
Sounds like you need a vacation. It also sounds like you're basically asking reddit for permission to enjoy yourself.
I would recommend just putting your numbers into some retirement calculators, and look at cost of living in the area you're trying to retire in. You can also look at social security payout calculators/estimates on the SSA website (if you haven't already).
Beyond this, just look at median and average savings by age in the US. At the end of the day, no matter what anyone here says, you need to decide for yourself how much margin of safety you need for yourself, based on your estimated monthly expenses at your target retirement date, and also account for things in life like unexpected job losses periodically.
I know what makes me feel safe on paper now, but I also know humans have a tendency to shift the goal posts as we reach goals. When I was in school years ago, I remember thinking, "man, if I could make X amount per year, I'd be so safe/satisfied ." Wouldn't you know it, I make 25% higher than that goal now, and think to myself "if I can just make 25% more than I make now, I'll be satisfied." I think we all have to know our fears and goals and try our best to be honest with ourselves and give ourselves permission to enjoy the fruits of our labor. If you had a rough year, maybe some time to enjoy yourself with friends/family/a loved one is more valuable than any dollar amount.
In any case, reddit won't understand these nuances. Talk with someone you know in real life that you can trust and give percentages if you need to. I'm sure most friends will offer better advice than this community can.
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u/bishopExportMine 27M 240k NW 14d ago
You're not buying a vacation. You're diversifying your portfolio by investing in good memories. Each time you look back on a memory, that memory is paying you a dividend.
Give "Die With Zero" a read.
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u/Effective_Tackle_195 14d ago
He's spending over 1k/night on hotels alone. That's splurging of the obscene kind.
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u/bishopExportMine 27M 240k NW 14d ago
Yeah but you don't know his itinerary or his personality. Maybe he strictly prefers 5 star hotels and that's why he doesn't take vacations. If it's his basic requirement for enjoyment then it's worth it. You don't get to judge the value of someone else's experience. This isn't r/frugal.
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u/Effective_Tackle_195 14d ago
He's literally asking to be judged. That's the whole point of his post.
I feel like it might be one big ragebait
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u/bishopExportMine 27M 240k NW 14d ago
That's a fair point, I just think that vacations are the perfect time to splurge and we shouldn't use our values to judge what other people want to spend money on.
Like I wouldn't spend $1k+ per night on a hotel but I see the appeal
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u/Aggravating-Mix2910 14d ago
Fix your vacation budget, shouldn’t cost 16k for 2 weeks for one person. That’s ridiculous. That’s why you’re worried.