Last updated: October 23, 2026 (I add to this page every time I book or pay for something)
A lot of people studying English probably think, “I’d love to go to the UK someday.”
But how much does it actually cost? How far ahead do you need to start preparing? That’s something only people who’ve done it really know.
Suitman was the same. How much did other people planning a similar trip spend? How far ahead did they start, and how did they put their itinerary together? I really wanted to know.
So I decided to share all of mine, lol.
On this page, I’ll sum up Suitman’s solo trip to the UK in two parts:
- When I booked what (my preparation timeline)
- How much it cost (my expenses)
I haven’t left yet, so I’ll keep adding to this page every time I book or pay for something. Once I’m back, I’ll add everything I spent there, too. ＼＼٩( ‘ω’ )و //／／
The trip at a glance
| When | Early August 2027 (around Obon, Japan’s summer holiday) |
| Who | Just me (solo trip) |
| Route | London → Edinburgh → near a national park → York → London |
| Hotels | 6 nights (Edinburgh 2, near a national park 1, York 2, London 1) |
| Flights | A JAL-mileage award ticket (on Finnair, via Helsinki) |
I’ve been studying English for eight years, and this will be my first time in an English-speaking country. I wrote about why the UK, and why now, in the first post of this series: UK Trip #1: Why I decided to travel solo (in Japanese)
Preparation timeline: what I did and when
I got started almost a year before departure. Here’s the order I went in.
🗓️ Preparation timeline (when I booked)
Late August 2026Getting started
I knew international flight prices show up about a year ahead, so I started looking around, thinking, “Maybe there’s a good ticket out there.” At this point, I hadn’t really decided to go yet → More in “UK Trip #1 (why I decided to travel solo, in Japanese)”
Mid-September 2026Research
I looked into how to get to the UK with JAL miles. During Obon, a JAL flight cost 148,000 miles, but a partner airline was just 55,000 → More in “UK Trip #2 (JAL miles to London)”
September 20, 2026Flights
I booked a JAL-mileage award ticket. I wanted to plan my itinerary slowly, but I grabbed the seats before they were gone → More in “UK Trip #3 (booking the award ticket first)”
September 21, 20264 hotels
I booked four places on Agoda. Edinburgh was in festival season, so prices were double, and non-refundable too → More in “UK Trip #4 (booking hotels a year ahead)”
September 23, 2026Seats
I chose my seats on Finnair’s website → More in “UK Trip #3 (booking the award ticket first)”
September 24, 2026Itinerary
My trip became official. I emailed the hotels in English to confirm, made an itinerary, and sent a question to a railway company in English, too
September 29, 2026Emails in English
My request to cancel the Edinburgh booking was denied. But the hotel replied in English: “Your booking is confirmed.” → More in “UK Trip #4 (booking hotels a year ahead)”
October 3, 2026Leaning toward the train
London → Edinburgh: plane or train? Including the waiting time, they take about the same, so the train, where I can just stay in my seat, became the favorite → More in “London to Edinburgh: train or plane?” (coming soon)
October 3, 2026Hotel #5
I booked a place for my second night in York (Booking.com, breakfast included, pay at the hotel)
In about a month and a half, my flights and hotels were pretty much set. Momentum is amazing, lol.
Costs: what I know so far
| Item | Amount | Status |
|---|---|---|
| ✈️ Flights (round trip, JAL-mileage award ticket) | 55,000 miles + ¥153,180 in taxes and fuel surcharges | Paid |
| 🏨 Edinburgh, 2 nights | ¥52,620 | Paid (non-refundable) |
| 🏨 Near a national park, 1 night | £41.28 (about ¥8,700) | Booked (pay at the hotel) |
| 🏨 York, night 1 | ¥11,999 | Paid (non-refundable) |
| 🏨 York, night 2 | £72.80 (about ¥15,100) | Booked (pay at the hotel) |
| 🏨 London (near the airport), 1 night | ¥10,816 | Paid (free cancellation until shortly before) |
| 💺 Seat selection | ¥0 | Free with an award ticket |
| Total so far | About ¥252,000 + 55,000 miles |
* Pounds converted at about ¥208 to £1 (as of October 2026)
Since I used JAL miles for the flights, all I paid in cash was taxes and fuel surcharges. Without the miles, this would have been the biggest expense.
Hotels came to about ¥99,000 for 6 nights. More than half of that is the two nights in Edinburgh… (；´Д｀A
By the way, I also replaced my phone around the same time. My iPhone 12 Pro was about five years old, the battery no longer lasted a full day, and it was getting pretty outdated, so I’d been meaning to replace it anyway. The trip was just one of the reasons, so I haven’t counted it as a travel cost. I wrote about comparing six phones with overseas use in mind here (in Japanese).
Costs still to come
| Item | Estimate | When |
|---|---|---|
| 🚆 Train from London to Edinburgh | When I tried a Friday in December, it was about £70–74 (August tickets aren’t on sale yet) | Once tickets go on sale |
| 🛂 ETA (the UK’s Electronic Travel Authorisation) | £20 | About 3 months before departure |
| 🚄 Shinkansen from Nagoya to Tokyo | Planning on ¥9,900 (2026 price) | Goes on sale 1 month before departure |
| 📶 eSIM and 🛡️ travel insurance | Not decided yet | |
| 🍺 Local transport, food, pubs and souvenirs | I’ll keep track during the trip and add it here when I’m back |
What’s next
There’s still a lot to do before I leave. Once things are decided, I’ll add them to the timeline and the cost tables above.
- A few months before departure: Once train tickets go on sale, buy them on the railway company’s official website
- About 3 months before departure: Apply for an ETA
- About 2 months before departure: Email the hotels to ask, “Is my booking still in place?”
- 1 month before departure: Buy Shinkansen tickets / Check the carry-on rules for things like power banks
- The day before departure: Check in online
- Not decided yet: eSIM and travel insurance
Posts in this series
I’ll make sure you can find every post about my UK trip from here.
- UK Trip #1: 8 Years of English and I’ve Never Been to an English-Speaking Country. Why I Decided to Travel Solo (in Japanese)
- UK Trip #2: JAL Miles to London — 148,000 Miles on JAL vs. 55,000 on a Partner Airline
- UK Trip #3: I Wanted to Plan Slowly, but I Grabbed the Award Ticket Before the Seats Were Gone
- UK Trip #4: I Booked My UK Hotels a Year Ahead. Edinburgh Cost Double, and I Booked It Non-Refundable
🔗 Coming soon: “London to Edinburgh: train or plane?” (I’ll add it here once it’s up)
English expressions from this post (B2–C1)
Suitman is working toward Eiken Grade 1 (the top level of Japan’s best-known English test), so here are a few useful phrases from this post, picked out by AI.
① ballpark figure (= a rough number; an approximate cost)
I wanted to give people a ballpark figure for a trip to the UK.
Not exact, but roughly right. If you want one phrase for “a rough idea of the cost,” this is it.
② running total (= a total so far that keeps changing as you add to it)
I’ll keep a running total of everything I spend on this trip.
A total that changes every time you add something. The “total so far” on this page is exactly that.
③ lead time (= the time needed to prepare or arrange something)
Booking about a year ahead gave me plenty of lead time.
Like the time between ordering something and getting it: the time you need in advance. Suitman, who got started a year ahead, had plenty of it, lol.
Dictionaries I used to check the meanings:
References
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I'm a Japanese blogger who spent 8 years relearning English from scratch.
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