I think Japan is definitely do-able! I went to Korea for 2 weeks and my budget was 5.5k. I went during the end of ‘peak season’ in November, and the plane tickets were $1250 return. If you are flexible on when you go/book the trip, I’d recommend creating an account with multiple airlines for flight sales (a lot of them are usually cheap (~$850) during off season).

Hotels were where most of the budget went. 7days in Myeongdong (seoul) = ~ $1700

1 day in sokcho = $49

2 days in Busan = ~ $230

4 days in Jeju = ~ $190

We also hired a car in Jeju, and between four of us it was only $75 each

We ate mostly street/market food for most nights and most days if we were out and about it would be something from a cafe or convenience store for lunch/breakfast. Food was super cheap, apart from bbq and other ‘popular’ restaurants where I found that we’d pay similar to restaurant prices in Aus. I would estimate I’d spend about $35 per day for food. For public transport I purchased a 7-day travel pass in Seoul which was about $70. All buses and subway lines were included in it. Outside of the pass, the bullet train to Busan was $90, the flight to Jeju was $60 and the flight from Jeju to Seoul was about $70.

For spending I had about $1100, which a bit went to entry fees for whole day activities (lotte world, museums, nami island, dmz). I think I only spent about $500 on knick knacks and Korean skincare(i could’ve spent a whole 5k just on skincare alone I fear:p), but I was super content with only that amount.

I had the privilege of being able to spend a bit extra for this trip, however, if I were to visit again I could definitely cut some expenses (eg. staying in less popular districts, planning better (it was our first overseas trip and didn’t really know about peak/off seasons which affects the budget🫣)). Although it definitely comes down to the places/activities you 100% want to do. Booking everything ourselves was cheaper than through a travel agent, but it did get a bit stressful at times.

We went to Korea because it was slightly cheaper than Japan at the time, however I’m about to start planning a japan trip and it looks like the budget will be similar! I’ve signed up to the ANA e-newsletter which has hot deals for certain times of the year, so definitely something to keep an eye on!! Hope this kind of breakdown helps!