Japan 2 tier pricing

[Quickstatus]

Have recent travellers to Japan noticed a different price for foreigners?

I understand that hotels have massively increased their prices.

Apparently some major tourist sites have/will have dual pricing soon -cheaper for residents

 

[sudoer]

Not for F&B, although I avoid Shibuya & Shinjuku like the plague, where I believe this is mostly taking place.

 

[elanshin]

Not for F&B, although I avoid Shibuya & Shinjuku like the plague, where I believe this is mostly taking place.

There's an "English" menu price and JP menu price for some smaller places. There's even signs that say something in english/Chinese but the opposite for Japanese.

It's relatively uncommon but has been an increase post tourism rebound.

 

[anat0l]

Apparently some major tourist sites have/will have dual pricing soon -cheaper for residents

I thought this had already started, or at least it wouldn't surprise me if it had started.

2 tier pricing in restaurants wouldn't surprise me too much, though I understand some Japanese so I just usually go with the Japanese menu anyway, so I don't see the differences. In fact most of the places I'd probably go to don't have an English menu. Alternatively, some places I've been to last time have a digital ordering system (QR, tablet) that has English and Japanese (and in some, other languages too). I've switched between the two languages when reading the menu (mainly as I'm curious to see what the translation of a Japanese word is in English), and I haven't noticed that the prices are different.

7-Eleven and the like, which foreigners regard as a godsend in Japan (rightly or wrongly), don't have time or space to engage in 2 tier pricing.

I don't know about 2 tier pricing for accommodation (except maybe for small and boutique places). Accommodation prices have definitely gone up (especially in Tokyo and Osaka), but that's a supply and demand thing.

 

[Forg]

A Japanese workmate goes back for hols about once per year … she was shocked by prices the most recent time, Japan just isn’t used to prices increasing much (or wages) … she was also somewhat surprised watching just how much sheer time overseas customers are causing which she’d never seen on previous trips, stuff like ordering something when they didn’t know what it was then sending it back ‘cos they didn’t like it. She saw English vs Japanese menus (which also didn’t exist in the places she’d been to a few years ago) but not different pricing (the English menus were apparently simplified) (I can’t recall where she went but it was only for a week or so, so the “not different pricing” thing is a little bit “sample of one”) … the conversation came around to that, which is why we were talking about just how much time & money these “new tourists” would be costing those little businesses. Not just Western though, lots of Chinese tourists as well.

 

[Himeno]

I've seen Japanese and English menus in a number of places. Haven't seen any price differences between them. There has been some limited discussion of bringing in tourist prices in limited places as a way to combat over-tourism. That's all it's been thus far, discussion. I don't see them doing something like that before they've seen how other things they started or have been talking about change things. Such as banning tourists from certain areas in Kyoto or thinking of increasing the tourism hotel taxes in Osaka.


I have seen general price increases over the years. for example, some items in combini where were 100 yen in 2006 are now 240 yen 3 months ago.

 

[trendwhore]

Haven't seen anything different in the last few trips, I'm usually there 2-3 times a year

 

[anat0l]

I have a funny feeling a lot of this discussion has been covered in another thread.

There has been some limited discussion of bringing in tourist prices in limited places as a way to combat over-tourism.

I don't see discriminatory pricing combatting overtourism (whether this is cheap for Japanese vs "expensive" for foreigners, or free for Japanese and costs for foreigners)... at least right off the bat.

The simple reason is because consumers will simply shift their minds to accepting the cost of entry as part of their budgets. While other costs like accommodation aren't exactly cheap as such, for the majority of the tourists coming in, most things are still cheap. A few increased prices in entry to places won't make a dent.

Increasing prices dramatically or introducing a quota (even a quota limited to foreigners) will be a better attempt at curbing overtourism. For example, a place may only allow 50 foreign tourists per hour - once all booked out, no more entries, but no limit on Japanese entries.

That said, any increase in prices (even for foreigners only) can mean more revenue (curbed overtourism as a result would be a bonus), so it's not outwardly a ridiculous idea.


I believe in some way, the Japanese were not prepared for the issues that would arise from overtourism (if that is indeed what is happening now). Some may say it was naive of the Japanese to not accept the bad with the good. Some may believe it is a good problem to have (i.e. think of the opposite), but when insular Japanese have to put up with insolent and inconsiderate foreigners, it cuts close to home.


I wonder if it's out of place to advise: for the savvy and maybe adventurous traveller, a better idea to visit Japan is to consider the much less trodden places. I went to Kanazawa and Takayama one year; another I visited Sapporo (OK, that's well touristed), Hakodate and Yamagata. To be fair, some of the traditionally "off the beaten track" places are likely not any more, e.g. Himeji, Kobe (to some degree), Okayama, Fukuoka (Hakata), Sendai and Aomori.

 

[kpc]

Avoid Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Kawaguchiko, Takayama and to a lesser extent Kanazawa and you will get a great Japanese experience without the hordes of Western tourists...on our last trip in October last year, we chasesd the Autumn colours and went to Morioka, Akita, Lake Tazawa, Hirosaki, Lake Towada and Aomori...
we barely saw a Western tourist or an English menu, relying on google translate to read Japanese menus and order food via the tablet which was only in Japanese.

 

[Cynicor]

Not necessarily differential pricing but one izakaya in yuzawa has a small English menu and the prices are generally higher (for different food) than their Japanese menus. However, the food is more typically foreigner (Katsu curry etc) and the pricing still $15 or less so it’s not exactly gouging. I suspect they just decided to meet the market and provide some “typical” foods for the tourists (mostly Asian, rather than Western).

 

[anat0l]

Not necessarily differential pricing but one izakaya in yuzawa has a small English menu and the prices are generally higher (for different food) than their Japanese menus. However, the food is more typically foreigner (Katsu curry etc) and the pricing still $15 or less so it’s not exactly gouging. I suspect they just decided to meet the market and provide some “typical” foods for the tourists (mostly Asian, rather than Western).

I can kind of get that. Some of the older places in parts of Tokyo (assuming you can actually get into them) are propped up by Japanese regulars who know the menu inside out (and probably don't care too much what the prices are). Some items may have been bespoke or quite obscure that can't be interpreted very well out of Japanese.

I like to wonder down Omoide Yokocho in Tokyo, which has (had) some lovely yakitori bars. I always try and look for one with as little English as possible, and sometimes I just take a chance on the menu items (though honestly there's nothing overly obscure on any menu there). I think all the places within that complex have been "touristed" now, however.

 

[drron]

Although things are more expensive post Covid we still had found them cheaper than ou 1984 trip even though we were getting 300 yen to our dollar. They went through a major devaluation. The nikkei index peaked in December 1989 at over 38000. It only regained that level in Feb 2024. It has fallen back below the 1989 high this year.
It reached a low just over 7000 points in October 2009.
In those first trips we couldn't afford to eat in any upmarket restaurant.