If you’re planning a trip to Japan or if you’re a long-term resident living in Japan, you can now get a range of coupons that will help you to save plenty of money on your shopping, transportation, eating out and lodging, even if you don’t understand the Japanese language.
In a recent episode of Tokyo Eye on NHK Television, the host Chris Peppler provided information on a variety of different coupons that are really easy to obtain, especially in Tokyo. After viewing this programme, I immediately decided to share this information with my Cherry Blossom Stories Blog readers.
You may already be aware of the fact that in April 2014, the Japanese sales tax increased from 5% to 8%, making daily life in Japan automatically more expensive. Knowing that you can now get coupons to save you money is one way of stretching your precious yen even further.
Below are four different ways of obtaining coupons that can save you thousands of yen.
1. Get coupons inside magazines at the Shibuya Tourist Information Center (located in Shibuya Mark City fourth floor): Information magazines in Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean languages with coupons inside for restaurants etc can be found here on the racks next to the information desk.
2. Metro & Grutto Pass: For ¥2,800, you can get two Metro (train) one day passes and a Grutto Pass which is a coupon booklet giving you access to 78 attractions in Tokyo. The savings with this Grutto pass are enormous and it’s valid for two months. The Grutto Pass is available from over 77 locations in Tokyo, including the Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Center, etc.
3. Get online coupons from the Gurunavi website: This website is a great source of information for restaurants in Japan with coupons arranged categorically meaning you can break down your choices depending on where you want to eat, the features at the restaurant, how you wish to pay and whether the restaurant has menus in English. There’s even a Gurunavi Smartphone App so you can print off the coupon or simply show your chosen restaurant the coupon on your phone when you arrive for your discounted meal.
4. Coupons from Japan-related websites such as Tokyo Cheapo and Sunnypages.jp: Visit these websites to obtain coupons and save.
I hope this blog post has helped to save you loads of money while you’re in Japan. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have more information on coupons in Japan so we can help others.
• Please note: The above information provided in this particular blog post was sourced from the TV programme Tokyo Eye on NHK Television.
