Tokyo Cheapo is a guide to getting the best value from a trip or a move to Tokyo. We aim to provide the most accurate advice and clearest information to allow our readers and followers to make the best decisions. Tokyo Cheapo is about getting the best value, not just the lowest price.
Trusted by Travelers Worldwide
Tokyo Cheapo has been featured in travel publications and cited by tourism boards for our practical, money-saving advice. Our guides have helped millions of travelers discover Tokyo without breaking the bank, from backpackers on tight budgets to families seeking authentic experiences at fair prices.
For more about the people behind this site, check out the profiles of our journalists. If you want to contribute, see our careers page. To advertise or sponsor our Tokyo Cheapo channels, go to our corporate site.
Our Tokyo content is written and reviewed by locals with over a decade of firsthand experience living, working, and exploring the city. With a combined 150+ years of Tokyo residence among our team, we don’t just visit Tokyo—we call it home. From navigating the train system during rush hour to finding the best neighborhood ramen shops, our writers share real insights from daily life in the world’s largest metropolis.
What Our Readers Say
Our Story
Launched in 2012 by Greg Lane and Chris Kirkland, Tokyo Cheapo employs an expert team of Tokyo-based bilingual writers, photographers, videographers, content creators and editors. Our team provides readers and followers with the best information for planning a trip to Tokyo or making important buying decisions. You can read an interview with Chris here and an interview with Greg here.
Tokyo Cheapo is owned by Fast Train Media Limited — a UK limited liability company. Day to day management is undertaken by fully owned Japan subsidiary Fast Train Japan GK.
Our Editorial Process
Every piece of content on Tokyo Cheapo follows our rigorous three-step editorial process: research by local experts, drafting based on firsthand experience, and fact-checking by our editorial team. We don’t use generative AI to produce articles, images, or video content. However, we may use it during the research phase to accelerate initial article ideation. All recommendations come from real experiences—whether we’re testing the cheapest route to Narita Airport or reviewing the latest eSIM providers for Japan travel.
Our writers personally visit, test, and verify the businesses, services, and experiences we write about. When we recommend a restaurant, we’ve eaten there. When we review transport options, we’ve taken the journey. This commitment to firsthand verification sets us apart from generic travel sites that rely on secondhand information.
Multichannel Content
Started originally as a website, Tokyo Cheapo is now a multichannel media organization, with presence on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok among others. Across the different channels, Tokyo Cheapo has an audience of several million people each month. Tokyo Cheapo is particularly popular in the United States, Japan, Australia, Singapore, and Canada.
What We Cover
We cover all the essentials including things to do in Tokyo, how to get from Narita airport to Tokyo, where to stay in Tokyo, getting an eSIM and Tokyo’s best events.
Editorial & Advertising Policies
We may receive compensation through affiliate partnerships and sponsored content arrangements. We maintain strict editorial independence and are selective about the companies we choose to work with. View our complete editorial and advertising policies here.
Affiliate Links
Some of the articles on this site contain affiliate links. If you purchase from or sign up with some companies we link to as an affiliate, we will be compensated. We don’t endorse any of the companies we link to but we are selective in terms of the companies that we choose. You should exercise careful judgement with any online purchase. Additionally, the terms of all offers are subject to change without notice.
Inducements
Our writers do not accept inducements to cover particular topics or businesses. We do accept requests for sponsored content, For more about our sponsored content policies, see below.
Sponsored Content
Tokyo Cheapo will occasionally accept requests to publish sponsored content. Sponsored Content is an article, image, video or social media post that contains a commercial message. Sponsored Content is published at the discretion of Fast Train Media. However, publication is a commercial arrangement between publisher (Fast Train Limited) and advertiser, therefore, we do not accept responsibility for the information or offers of such sponsored content.
Sponsored articles are clearly labeled with a “Sponsored” tag. Additionally, content such as tours and tickets, events, and hotels are commercial content so they are not individually labelled as sponsored content.
Paid placement of links
Tokyo Cheapo does not accept payment for placement of links within articles or other content. We choose to place affiliate links in articles (see above) but these are at the discretion of the editorial staff at Tokyo Cheapo, not due to direct payment from advertisers.
Use of Generative AI
We do not use Generative AI to produce articles on tokyocheapo.com. However, we may use it in the research phase of creating articles in order to accelerate the initial article ideation phase. We do not use generative AI to create images or video for any of our sites.
Copyright statement
All photographs, text, images, graphs, tables and other types of content which may be featured on our web sites or media channels are copyright Fast Train Media Limited. Content may not be used, reproduced, translated, or repurposed for any purpose without the explicit permission (via email) of the management of Fast Train Media Limited. Unauthorised use of materials from tokyocheapo.com may lead to legal action either with or without prior notice.
If you’re interested in contributing to or sponsoring Tokyo Cheapo, get in touch.
