London vs Tokyo
The short answer
Tokyo is the cheaper trip, by roughly 48% a day — $90–150 against $180–280 mid-range per person. Both are at their best in May, so one trip can take in both.
Side by side
Mid-range, per person, in US dollars. Both guides were costed the same way — see how we work these out.
| 🇬🇧 London | 🇯🇵 Tokyo | |
|---|---|---|
| Daily budgetmid-range, per person | $180–280 | $90–150cheaper |
| Cheap meallocal staple | $10–18 | $4–8cheaper |
| Mid-range hotelper night | $190–320 | $100–200cheaper |
| Transit ridesingle trip | $3.70 | $1.20–2.20cheaper |
| Avg. monthly salarylocal, for context | ≈ $3,700 | ≈ $2,200 |
When to go
Filled months are the ones each guide recommends; hollow ones it warns off.
What you'd actually do
A few of each guide's picks, one per category before seconds — the full lists are on the guides themselves.
🇬🇧 London
Two thousand years of city stacked on itself — Roman walls under glass towers, world-class museums that cost nothing, and a pub on every corner that's older than your country.
- British Museum$Museums & galleries
- Shakespeare's Globe$Theater & shows
- Borough Market$$Markets & food
- Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese$Nightlife
- Tate Modern$Museums & galleries
🇯🇵 Tokyo
The world's biggest city, and somehow its most orderly. Cheaper than you expect, cleaner than you imagined, and impossible to see in one trip.
- Golden Gai$$Nightlife
- Tsukiji Outer Market$$Restaurants
- Kabukiza Theatre$$Theater & shows
- Bar High Five$$$Nightlife
- Ichiran (Shibuya)$Restaurants
Practicalities
| London | Tokyo | |
|---|---|---|
| Language | English — though a quarter of a million Londoners speak something else at home first. | Japanese. English signage is good in stations; spoken English is limited — translation apps work fine. |
| Currency | Pound sterling (£). US$1 ≈ £0.79 | Japanese yen (¥). US$1 ≈ ¥150 |
| Time zone | GMT (UTC+0, UTC+1 in summer) | JST (UTC+9), no daylight saving |
| Power | Type G plugs, 230V — the big three-pin ones; nothing else fits | Type A/B plugs, 100V (US plugs fit) |
| Tap water | Safe everywhere — restaurants must give you free tap water if you ask | Safe to drink everywhere |
| Emergency | 999 or 112 · 111 for non-emergency medical advice | 110 police · 119 fire/ambulance |