How much did it all cost?

I spent a surprising amount of this trip doing 'admin'. That meant prepping for upcoming adventures, writing the blog, and updating my finances. I like to know exactly where my money goes, so I tracked every single expense in a giant spreadsheet. 289 rows deep by the time I got home.

Total: €16.034,61

That number alone doesn't say much, so instead of just throwing it at you, here's an interactive breakdown of where it actually went — by location, category, and down to the individual subcategory. Click around!

Some things to note:

I only tracked my card expenses, not my cash spending. Most of that cash went to public transport, food, and souvenirs.
I took 6 weeks of unpaid leave from my job. I didn't spend that money, I just never earned it — but it's technically a cost of the trip, so it's in the data. I've toggled it off in the chart by default, since it skews the numbers pretty hard.

What was cheaper than I thought?

Definitely the food. It's so abundant, delicious, and cheap out there. When I got back I nearly fell to my knees in the Albert Heijn when I realized I had to cook for myself again.

I was also quite surprised by how little I spent on museums, considering how many I visited. A lot of the museums I went to were either free (most of the ones in Korea) or dirt cheap.

What was more expensive than I thought?

Looking back, I massively overpaid for the MAMA tickets. I'd already booked my flight and hotel for Hong Kong, so I guilted myself into going. I ended up paying scalpers a premium just to get in, and given how lukewarm I felt about the whole affair, I wouldn't say it was worth it.

The trip to Tokyo also blew past what I'd hoped to spend. That mostly came down to an expensive flight (peak tourist season, of course) and having to book a second hotel after bailing on my capsule hotel (more on that here: What it's like to stay in a Capsule Hotel in Tokyo), which torpedoed my budget.

Convenience Store

I spent a lot of money at convenience stores. Because of all this tracking, I can show you exactly how much I spent there, and how many times I stopped by.

So, was it worth it?

Like an old man once said:

You spend a lot of money on vacations, but you always come back richer

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Comparing the Locations

How it's made