The ginkgo trees on Jingu Gaien’s famous avenue are forecast to turn gold around 26 November this year, a little later than most Filipinos expect. That one date changes your whole trip. Book for the second week of November and you get green leaves at yellow-leaf prices. Book for the last week and you walk under a tunnel of gold that half of Tokyo comes out to photograph.
So here is the honest version. This guide works out the full Tokyo travel cost from Manila for a seven-day, six-night autumn trip, in yen and in pesos. It covers current fares from Manila, Cebu and Clark, the visa, Japan’s new 2026 fees, where to sleep and the leaf forecast spot by spot. Every price is dated, because Japan changed a lot of its fees this year.
All peso figures use ¥1 = PHP 0.397, the European Central Bank reference rate on 9 October 2026.
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Tokyo travel cost from Manila: the quick answer
A week in Tokyo this autumn costs about PHP 47,500 per person on a tipid plan and about PHP 65,500 on a comfortable one, flights included. Here is what sits behind those two numbers.
- Visa: required for Philippine passports, but the visa itself is free. You pay only the Japan Visa Application Centre (JVAC) service fee, PHP 520 per the VFS fee page.
- Flights: about 4 hours 20 minutes nonstop from Manila. A Cebu Pacific return for 19 to 23 November was showing at PHP 20,245 on Trip.com on 10 October 2026.
- On the ground: roughly ¥8,400 (PHP 3,350) a day on the tipid plan, or ¥13,800 (PHP 5,470) a day on the comfortable one.
- Best week for leaves: around 23 to 30 November for central Tokyo, based on the Japan Meteorological Corporation forecast’s 26 and 29 November peaks. Mount Takao peaks a little earlier, around mid to late November.
- New for 2026: a ¥3,000 departure tax built into your ticket, and a tax refund system for shopping from 1 November.
Getting to Tokyo from Manila, Cebu and Clark
You can fly nonstop to Tokyo from all three main Philippine gateways, and the fare gap between them is smaller than you’d think.
From Manila (NAIA), Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific, Japan Airlines, ANA and Jetstar Japan all fly nonstop to Narita or Haneda. Trip.com’s data for the route shows November as the cheapest month for round trips over the past 12 months, averaging PHP 15,053. Treat that as a floor, not a quote. What was actually showing on 10 October for late November was closer to PHP 20,000: a Cebu Pacific return for 19 to 23 November at PHP 20,245, and a PAL return for 9 to 11 November at PHP 20,132 with one stop. Cebu Pacific’s fare is the base fare, so add checked baggage if you’re bringing back pasalubong.
From Cebu (Mactan), Cebu Pacific flies nonstop to Narita. A return for 10 to 17 November was showing at PHP 17,379, which is cheaper than most Manila fares that week.
From Clark, Cebu Pacific runs the only nonstop to Narita, about five times a week and just under four hours. The lowest November one-way found was PHP 5,838 on 5 November, while round trips in late November sat above PHP 20,000.
Our data on when to book flights from the Philippines shows how far ahead this route usually gets cheapest.
Check current Manila to Tokyo fares on Trip.com
Narita or Haneda: what the airport ride costs
Which airport you land at changes your first-day spending. Haneda is about 14 km from central Tokyo. Narita is about 60 km out.
| From the airport | Fare | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Haneda, Keikyu Line to Shinagawa | ¥330 (PHP 131) | about 13 min |
| Haneda, Tokyo Monorail to Hamamatsucho | ¥520 (PHP 206) | about 18 min |
| Haneda, taxi to central Tokyo | about ¥5,000 to ¥8,000 | 20 to 45 min |
| Narita, Keisei Skyliner to Nippori or Ueno | ¥2,580 (PHP 1,024) | 36 to 53 min |
| Narita, Keisei Limited Express to Ueno | about ¥1,050 (PHP 418) | about 80 min |
| Narita, low-cost bus to Tokyo Station | ¥1,500 (PHP 595) | about 70 min |
Cebu Pacific’s Tokyo flights land at Narita, so the Skyliner is the one most readers will ride. It’s quick, it has luggage racks, and it drops you in Ueno, the best-value area to stay. Its online e-ticket is discounted, so check it before you queue.
Japan visa and the new 2026 fees for Philippine passport holders
Filipinos still need a visa for Japan, and that’s the step that sets your booking timeline.
The temporary visitor visa stays free for Philippine nationals for stays of up to 90 days, even after Japan raised visa fees for other nationalities on 1 July 2026. Since April 2025, applications go through the Japan Visa Application Centre run by VFS, with branches in Parañaque, Makati, Quezon City, Cebu and Davao, by appointment. Processing takes at least 6 business days in Manila and 10 in Cebu or Davao.
Here’s the timing trap for an autumn trip. A single-entry visa is valid for travel within three months of being issued, so you can’t apply too early either. For a trip in the last week of November, file in October or by the first days of November at the latest. Our full Japan visa guide for Filipinos has the document list and what gets applications refused.
Two other 2026 changes hit your wallet:
The departure tax is now ¥3,000. Japan’s international tourist tax tripled from ¥1,000 on 1 July 2026, according to the Japan Tourism Agency. It’s collected inside your plane ticket, so you won’t pay it at the airport, but it’s part of why fares look higher than last year. Tickets issued on or before 30 June 2026 keep the old ¥1,000 rate.
Tax-free shopping becomes a refund from 1 November 2026. You now pay the full price including the consumption tax (10%, or 8% on food and drinks) at the store, then get it back after customs confirms you are taking the goods out of Japan. The minimum is ¥5,000 before tax, per store, per day. The catch: you must do the customs check at the airport’s tax-free terminal before you check in your bags. Check in the luggage first and the refund is gone. Anything you eat or use in Japan doesn’t qualify, so the pasalubong snacks you open on the train are full price.
This is general information, not immigration advice. Confirm the current rules with the Embassy of Japan or JVAC before you apply.
When the autumn leaves actually peak in Tokyo in 2026
The Japan Meteorological Corporation’s 2026 forecast, first issued on 2 September and still holding in the 1 October update, puts Tokyo’s yellow ginkgo peak at 26 November and the red maples at 29 November, both around a normal year. Nationally the season is running later than usual because of the hot summer. Forecasts get updated through October, so check again a week before you fly.
That means late November is the sweet spot, and these are the places worth your limited days:
Jingu Gaien Ginkgo Avenue (free). The double row of ginkgo trees near Aoyama-itchome and Gaienmae stations is the photo everyone wants. The Ginkgo Festival is provisionally listed for 15 November to 1 December 2026, with evening lights from 23 November. The organisers haven’t confirmed these dates yet, so check the official festival page before you plan your days around them. Go before 9am on a weekday.
Shinjuku Gyoen (¥500, PHP 198). Autumn hours are 9:00am to 4:30pm, last entry 4:00pm. It normally closes on Mondays, but stays open every day from 1 to 15 November for the chrysanthemum exhibition.
Rikugien night illumination (¥1,000 advance, ¥1,200 on the day). From 25 November to 6 December 2026, this Edo-period garden in Komagome reopens from 6:00pm to 8:30pm with its maples lit up over the pond. Buy the advance ticket online. Same-day tickets are sold online too, but tickets bought at the gate are cash only.
Mount Takao (train ¥860 return, cable car ¥490 one way). An easy half-day hike about 50 minutes from Shinjuku on the Keio Line. It peaks a little earlier, around mid to late November, so it fits the same trip. Go on a weekday, arrive around 8am, and ride the cable car down rather than up.
Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building (free). Not a leaf spot, but the free observatory in Shinjuku gives you the skyline and, on a clear autumn day, Mount Fuji, without paying ¥2,700 to ¥3,400 for Shibuya Sky.
If you want Fuji up close, autumn is when the Kawaguchiko Maple Corridor turns red. A guided day trip saves you from juggling buses, and one of the most-booked on Klook adds the Maple Corridor from 1 to 30 November: book the Mt. Fuji day tour with Kawaguchiko and the Maple Corridor. It was showing at about PHP 3,095 when we checked, with pickup at Tokyo or Shinjuku Station.
Getting around Tokyo without overpaying
Tokyo’s trains are cheap per ride and expensive in total, because you’ll take a lot of them.
Start with an IC card. The Welcome Suica has no deposit, you load ¥1,000 to ¥10,000 when you buy it, and it’s valid for 28 days from the day you buy it. Buy it from the machines at Narita Terminal 1, Narita Terminal 2 and 3, or Haneda Terminal 3. Leftover balance is forfeited, so don’t overload it. iPhone users can add Suica to Apple Wallet before leaving Manila; most Android phones bought in the Philippines can’t.
The Tokyo Subway Ticket covers every Tokyo Metro and Toei line for ¥1,000 (24 hours), ¥1,500 (48 hours) or ¥2,000 (72 hours), and only tourists on a short-term stay can buy it, so bring your actual passport. You can buy the Tokyo Subway Ticket on Klook before you fly and collect it at a Tokyo Metro machine.
One thing it won’t cover: JR lines like the Yamanote loop, or private lines like the Keio Line to Takao. Those come off your Suica. We’ve budgeted ¥2,500 on top of the 72-hour pass for those rides, which is our own estimate for a week.
That’s Two Monkeys founder Kach near Shibuya Station, suitcase in hand. Shibuya is a good first-night stop even if you don’t stay there. Our guide to things to do in Shibuya covers the crossing, Center Gai and where to eat.
Where to stay in Tokyo on a peso budget
Your bed is the biggest cost on the ground. A 2025 Tokyo Shoko Research survey put the average room rate across 15 budget hotel chains in Japan at ¥16,679 (about PHP 6,620), up 12.6% in a year. Autumn adds another 15 to 25% in Tokyo, according to Self Guide Japan’s 2026 price comparison, though that’s far gentler than the spike in Kyoto.
Typical ranges this year per night:
- Capsule or hostel bed: ¥4,000 to ¥5,500 (PHP 1,590 to 2,180)
- Business hotel room: ¥9,000 to ¥14,000 (PHP 3,570 to 5,560)
- Mid-range hotel: ¥18,000 to ¥30,000 (PHP 7,150 to 11,910)
Where to base yourself:
- Ueno, for most first-timers. The Skyliner from Narita ends here, Ameyoko market is on the doorstep for cheap food, and Asakusa is three stops away on the Ginza Line. Compare places to stay around Ueno.
- Shinjuku, if you land at Haneda or want nightlife. It’s pricier, but Shinjuku Gyoen and the free observatory are walking distance. See current rates in Shinjuku.
- Asakusa, for the old-Tokyo feel and some of the city’s cheapest hostels, at the cost of a longer ride to the west side.
Tokyo also charges an accommodation tax: nothing on rooms under ¥10,000 per person per night, ¥100 on ¥10,000 to ¥14,999, and ¥200 at ¥15,000 and above. A new 3% rate starts in April 2027, so it won’t touch a 2026 trip.
Here’s the map with live prices around Ueno, so you can compare without opening ten tabs:
What a week in Tokyo costs: the full budget
Both plans are per person for 7 days and 6 nights in late November, departing Manila. Yen costs are converted at ¥1 = PHP 0.397.
| Item | Tipid plan | Comfortable plan |
|---|---|---|
| Return flight, Manila to Tokyo | PHP 20,245 | PHP 20,245 |
| Philippine travel tax (economy) | PHP 1,620 | PHP 1,620 |
| JVAC visa service fee | PHP 520 | PHP 520 |
| eSIM, 7 days unlimited | PHP 1,665 | PHP 1,665 |
| Bed, 6 nights | ¥30,000 (PHP 11,909), hostel bed at ¥5,000 | ¥42,000 (PHP 16,672), half a ¥14,000 business hotel twin |
| Tokyo accommodation tax | none | none (under ¥10,000 per person) |
| Food, 7 days | ¥19,600 (PHP 7,780) at ¥2,800 a day | ¥35,000 (PHP 13,894) at ¥5,000 a day |
| Airport train, return | ¥2,104 (PHP 835), Keisei Limited Express | ¥5,160 (PHP 2,048), Skyliner |
| City trains | ¥4,500 (PHP 1,786) | ¥4,500 (PHP 1,786) |
| Mount Takao day | ¥1,350 (PHP 536) | ¥1,840 (PHP 730) |
| Entry fees | ¥1,500 (PHP 595) | ¥8,000 (PHP 3,176), adds teamLab Planets and Shibuya Sky |
| Mt. Fuji day tour | skipped | PHP 3,095 |
| Total | about PHP 47,500 | about PHP 65,500 |
What’s not in either total: checked baggage on promo fares, pasalubong and shopping, and travel insurance. The departure tax is already inside the airfare.
For food, ¥2,800 a day is realistic if you eat like a local: a regular gyudon at Sukiya costs ¥480, convenience store onigiri run about ¥165 to ¥215, and a bowl at Ichiran is around ¥1,100 to ¥1,200. Our Osaka budget for Filipinos runs the same numbers for five days and comes out cheaper, mostly on hotels.
Practical tips for Filipinos in Tokyo in autumn
Pack for 8°C nights. Tokyo’s November averages are a high of 16.7°C and a low of 8.8°C, per the Japan Meteorological Agency’s 1991 to 2020 normals. Coming from 30°C in Manila, that feels cold. A light down jacket, a scarf and closed shoes are enough. Layers beat one heavy coat, since trains are heated.
Get data before you land. Airalo’s Japan eSIM is unlimited data, $26.50 (about PHP 1,665) for 7 days, and you can set up the Japan eSIM on Airalo before you leave Manila.
Carry some cash. Cards work almost everywhere in Tokyo now, but Rikugien’s gate tickets, small shrine stalls and some ramen ticket machines are cash only. 7-Eleven ATMs take international Visa and Mastercard cards if you run short.
Sort out insurance before the visa appointment. Japan doesn’t require travel insurance for a tourist visa, but tourists aren’t covered by Japan’s national health insurance, so any clinic or hospital bill is yours to pay in full. See what SafetyWing costs for a week in Japan.
Leave time for the tax refund at the airport. Under the new system from 1 November, go to the tax-free terminal before check-in, with your passport and the goods in hand. Late November is busy, so add 30 minutes.
Mass and the embassy. St. Ignatius Church beside JR Yotsuya Station has English Mass on Sundays at noon and Saturdays at 5:30pm, and hosted embassy-sponsored Simbang Gabi Masses in December 2025. We couldn’t confirm a weekly Tagalog Mass in central Tokyo. The Philippine Embassy in Tokyo is at 5-15-5 Roppongi, Minato-ku.
FAQ: Tokyo trip cost from the Philippines
How much is a 7-day trip to Tokyo from Manila?
About PHP 47,500 per person on a tipid plan and PHP 65,500 on a comfortable plan, including a return flight, visa fee, travel tax, hostel or hotel, food and trains, as of October 2026.
Do Filipinos need a visa for Japan?
Yes. The visa itself is free for Philippine passport holders, but you apply through JVAC and pay its service fee, PHP 520 per the VFS fee page.
When is the best time to see autumn leaves in Tokyo in 2026?
Around 23 to 30 November for central Tokyo. The 2026 forecast puts the ginkgo peak at 26 November and red maples at 29 November. Mount Takao peaks a little earlier, around mid to late November.
Is Narita or Haneda better for Filipinos?
Haneda is closer and cheaper to get into the city from (¥330 by Keikyu to Shinagawa). Narita is where most budget flights land, and the Skyliner to Ueno costs ¥2,580.
Can I still shop tax-free in Japan?
Yes, but from 1 November 2026 you pay the tax at the store and get it refunded at the airport after a customs check, before you check in your bags.
Final thoughts
Tokyo in late November costs less than people assume. The visa is free and the best autumn spots cost ¥500 or nothing. The real decisions are the dates and the bed. Aim for the last week of November, file your visa in October, base yourself in Ueno, and the tipid version of the week lands under PHP 50,000.
If you only remember one thing, make it this: do the tax-free customs check before you check in your bags. Your pasalubong budget will thank you.
About the Author
Bianca Rei is a Filipino traveler, entrepreneur, and problem-solver who has called Serbia home for many years. She has been following Two Monkeys Travel Group since 2014, back when she was simply a reader dreaming, traveling, and collecting stories of her own, so being able to contribute to the blog now feels a little like coming full circle.
Bianca runs Rodi Solutions, where she helps people and businesses navigate life and business in Serbia, alongside website design, development, and management. When she is not working, she is usually traveling, boxing, chasing another adventure, or spending time with her family.
Find her work at rodi.consulting, or get to know her beyond work at biancarei.net.
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