Money Matters

How much does it cost to walk the MCT?

 

Here’s a budget breakdown for the 52 days I spent thruhiking the trail from April to June 2022.

Budget for 52 Days of Thruhiking

  • Accommodation / Campsites - 181,491 yen

  • Groceries - 86,589 yen

  • Cafes, Restaurants & Bars - 66,873 yen

  • Transportation (Bullet train, bus) to/from trailheads, etc. - 33,021 yen

  • Fun / Leisure - 10,580 yen

  • Onsen / Public Baths - 4,950 yen

  • Laundry - 2,150 yen

  • Miscellaneous - 4,760 yen

  • TOTAL - 390,414 yen

  • Per Day Average - 7,508 yen


Everyone’s travel styles and needs are different – so this is just a reference. You can certainly do it for a lot cheaper or splash out a lot more depending on your personal preferences. A few factors that influenced my budget were:

- Accommodation: I think I may be the first person to have thruhiked the trail while remote working (!), which meant I had to stay in hotels/ryokan quite often to access Wifi, electricity, and be able to take calls. My hotel-to-campsite ratio was 2 to 1 (I.e. 2 nights indoors, 1 night outdoors). There are people who go the whole way sleeping outside, in which case the cost would go down dramatically. Also, although I had people joining on different stretches, most nights were solo. You can of course share accommodation costs with others to make things cheaper too.

- Supporting Local Businesses: I tried to support local businesses and meet locals as much as possible, so would often pop into small shops to buy a coffee, a snack, or a meal – even if I wasn’t particularly desperate. I also tried to choose accommodation options that were local/family-owned – even if they were slightly more expensive.

Accommodation Stats

  • The trail has quite a range of accommodation, from fancy hotels to family-run Ryokan and Minshuku, as well as Guesthouses

  • Number of nights spent in accommodation = 35 out of 51 nights (69%)

  • Range for 1 person/night = 3,000 ~ 7,700 yen (some included breakfast and/or dinner)

  • Average price for 1 person/night = 4,970 yen

Camping Stats

  • Number of nights spent in campsites/wild camping/with trail angels = 16 out of 51 nights (31%)

  • Range for 1 person/night = 0 ~ 2,100 yen

  • I wild camped on beaches, open spaces and quiet parks for 7 nights, which was free

  • I also stayed with some legendary ‘trail angels’ and MCT Supporters (e.g. Shiome in Sanrikucho, Iwate)

Tips for Budget Travelers

  • Consider taking long-haul buses instead of bullet trains to/from trailheads; they are usually less than half the price and surprisingly comfortable (e.g. Willer Express has an English-language page)

  • While the rules around Wild Camping (i.e. camping outside of official campsites) are a little vague, I personally have wild camped a lot and have met many people who have also done so along the trail. The general consensus, as far as I can tell, is that wild camping is acceptable IF you use common sense - i.e. pick somewhere isolated which won’t bother anyone, only pitch your tent once it starts getting dark, leave at first light before people wake up, leave no trace, obey any rules displayed on signs, greet people with a friendly smile if you do see them, etc.

  • Make sure you check out the MCT supporters list for local businesses that offer special deals to hikers!