^But that kinda limits you to one area in Japan ---------------- Since people are talking about the cheapest way to stay in Japan, I thought about giving my 10 cents as well. (or what people say ) There's no doubt that staying in a hotel is the most expensive and having friends or relatives to stay with is probably the cheapest. Then there's things in between - such as hostels and etc. My advice is something else though... Anybody ever thought about Homestay? That is a affordable alternative I can highly recommend. I go to Japan about twice a year and I'm not a rich person, I just spend my money on the right things. Homestays cost around 15,000 to 25,000 yen a week. Where you get your own private room in either an apartment or a house. What else it includes depends on the host you choose. When I was in Osaka last month I paid 35,000 yen for two weeks - that included: - Breakfast & dinner (they even washed my dishes) - Wireless internet. - Laundry once a week. - TV in my room. - Other utilities of course. - Pick-up at a main station. The host often gives presents as well. My host in Tokyo bought me a Yukata (including shoes and Obi) and my host in Osaka gave me a lot of her old J-pop cds and then they bought me a book. You of course have to share the rest of the house with the family (which size of course also depends on what you choose). But that just gives you a chance to experience the everyday life in a Japanese family. Instead of just being surrounded by other tourists. Most host families knows conversationable English, but if you're trying to learn Japanese. They're very interested in trying to make you talk Japanese and also help you with words and etc. I love praticing my Japanese in the families. So I prefer they try to say the things they want to say in Japanese first. Also if you have questions about getting around in Japan - they'll be there to explain. I've travelled alone since I was 16. (I'm 19 now) My first travel alone was to Russia, where I for the first time tried out a homestay. Then I've tried homestay in China once and Japan twice - so far (already planning two more trips to Japan this year). And those 4 times, has given me a great experience. Some of my friends who earlier called me crazy for "living with strangers" has now started to ask me for advice about homestay - just in other countries. The advice I can give: - Try homestay! - Always find the family yourself, never let an agency do it since then you will be charged A LOT more. - Plan in advance. The families mostly only have one room - so looking for a host family in the last minute is not rewarding. At least 3 months prior is good. (not that less is impossible) - Don't pay families in advance. (I haven't tried being asked for money in advance myself - but wouldn't be surprised if it happend to some people) Pay the family upon arrival. I'm going to Tokyo again this summer, but this time with my mother and she wants to stay at a hotel. I was truly shocked to see the prices (since I'm the one who has to do the planning), but at least she's paying. And even though I've travelled a lot, I've only tried to stay at a hotel once or twice so that's kinda a new experience.
^ Either you can do a search on the internet. (ex: Homestay Japan/Tokyo/Osaka) Or... then I recommend this page: http://www.homestayweb.com/ It's free to sign up. But with a free account you can only send messages to a family who has a paid account. (Some families tries to cheat the system with listing their mail in the message though) And if you write an add (requesting a homestay with your conditions) only members with an paid account can contact you. One month premium account cost 10 USD (You don't need more than a month). But yeah... you can always try to contact the families with a paid account first (those are the families first listed and with an orange star). Some agencies charge you with more 100 USD sign up fee. So homestayweb is still the cheapest way.
^ Wow...you sure traveled a lot for the past 3 years, milaya!! I'm also considering to visit Japan this summer, but I didn't know where to stay until you wrote about homestay....maybe I should do homestay also... Thanks for the great information!!
I think Mr Waffle and others that have shared their knowledge on info in Japan, homestays, etc, is some excellent advice, that i know nothing about. I have stayed at business type hotels, and 4-star hotels. I think lodging is probably the most expensive part of my trip, along with the air-fare, but if you do it carefully and research, plan well, you can get to Japan and enjoy your trip on a budget. I spent quite a bit, but i was prepared for it, and this is my fifth time. I do think the best investment one can make if they are willing to invest, is purchasing a JR-Pass, to really explore Japan and see many areas within a short period of time. But keep in mind, you can only purchase a JR-pass in your home country, where it is available.(voucher is exchanged for the actually pass once you arrive in Japan). Within that period whether you purchase 7, 14, or 21 day pass, the prices vary depending on which days pass you get. I got the 14 day pass for about 50,000 Yen, or about $500, and i got my money's worth in less than a week, and i still got a week left to see. I have been to Kobe, Kyoto, Osaka, Nagoya, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Kurume, and many areas in Tokyo. I am still thinking of visiting either Nikko, or Sendai area. The JR pass has got me around the JR trains within Tokyo as well. The Shinkansen trains which consists of the fastest, and less stops, Nozomi , then Hikari, and the slowest of the three which stops at every station, is Kodama. The JR pass is only good for Hikari train. Also, from/to Hakata station(Fukuoka) to/from Tokyo, if you using the JR pass, you can only use Hikari train(Shinkansen), and i had to transfer once i reached Shin-Osaka station, it doesn't go direct as with the Nozomi trains. But the transfer was simple and i once i reached Shin-Osaka station from Hakata, on my route to Tokyo(Shinagawa station), i only waited 30 minutes before getting on another Hikari train bound for Shinagawa, and the whole train ride in total, from Hakata to Shinagawa via Shinkansen was about just under 6 hours, and that is almost end to went, western Japan to eastern Japan area. The weather was sunny, and i got a wonderful view of the snow peaked mountain top of Mt. Fuji, so fantastic!! too bad i didn't charge up my digicam, but it is now. I am off to see the cherry blossoms of Ueno park next.
But isn't homestay a little indecent, i mean stay at som1 else's home where ur not sure how he will trat u. and just to get this straight. u go on this website where japanese families sign up an pay, u make an account and anounce that ur looking for a homestay then a family answers?? OMg If im ever going to japan, decent or not im so going with this homestay idea.
Well it's in Shinjuku, close to the place that I love haha. That's good enough for me But if I wanted to travel around, I'd do it how qilver does it. Pay like $500 bucks and go crazy with it to wherever you want xD
@all: Thank you for your experiences, I'll keep them in note One more question if you don't mind : How was the Japanese food? My sister's friends who work at Japanese restaurant said it kind of ....
Japanese food is awesome. Of course, as in everything, there must be something you won't like, but overall. It's great.
Well if that's what you like Hehe... well Tokyo is a nice place indeed. Shibuya is one of my favourite places in Japan. I just like to see as many areas as possible. Of course on my first trip I went to Tokyo, then this winter I went to Osaka/Kansai. This summer I'll go to Tokyo again, since my mother is going with me - so thought Tokyo was the best place. Then I'm planning on going to Tokyo again in August to study for 3-4 weeks. Then early next year I hope to tour Japan (since I'll graduate high school this summer) and see other areas like; Hiroshima, Fukuoka etc. Hmm, true you can never know for sure how the family is. I can only rely on my experience, which is limited to 4 families. But I've been treated equally well, by all 4 families. The amount of money the family requests is relatively low - compared to living costs in Japan. Meaning they won't really earn much from having you staying in their house. The families are offering their homes because they're really interested in meeting people with different cultures and then they're also very interested in showing their own. They often have a lot of questions prepared. Such as: "What kind of food do you eat in your country?" "What is your city like?" "Are things very different from Japan?" "What do you like most in Japan?" and so many more. There's always a lot to talk about. On the website you have 4 options. 1) Sign up (free) and try to message a family with a paid account. (thoese with the orange star) 2) Sign up (free) and make an add requesting a stay. - Indicate; Name, where you're going, how much you're willing to pay, if you want the homestay to include meals, if you need internet, if you're a smoker or a non-smoker. Etc. But only families with a paid/premium account can write to you. 3) Sign up and buy a premium account, then you can message all families on the website. 4) Sign up and buy a premium account then you can make an add and then all families can contact you. Of course, doing one option doesn't limit another option. But you you have pleanty of time. Then try the first 2 options and see if you can get in contact with a family without you having to pay. If you're more in a hurry to find the homestay, maybe option 3 or 4 is needed. I love Japanese food! I have yet to taste Japanese food I don't like. It's of course out there (something I don't like). Like Ange said... but awesome!
i kind of mixed it in, and if you find time to to, i recommend for a good Japanese-Indian Curry place, go to Repa in Shinjuku, which is directly accross the street, from Kinokuniya bookstore, not too far from the station. 500$, i do think you would spend more on AKB photos, and other merchandise that food, but for 2 weeks, i think 2000Y to 2500Y per day is suffice, and i of course balance it out, some days i spent much less, other days i spent more than that on dinner and lunch combined, and snacks and breakfast i added more. i would go as far to say 35,000Y, or about 350$ for 14 days. Shinjuku, Shibuya, Harajuku are the places to visit, most definitely. The cherry blossoms are now out, and just beginning to bloom, some other trees not yet, but i got some good photos up and will get it up on here later after i get back. I also went to Sensoji temple area in Asakusa, which is defintely worth visiting while in Tokyo. For those who want to see other areas of Japan, i suggest Fukuoka, Japan in the Kyushu region. I went to see Tenjin, which is adjacent to Fukuoka area, and has plenty of shopping areas to visit. The Hakata ramen, has a white soup broth soup base, with thin noodles and pork, and of course from Hakata-Fukuoka, it was quite good.
When people ask me about my trips to Japan, this conversation ALWAYS happens- Them: "Do you like Japanese food?" Me: "Yeah" Them: "I don't really like sushi" As if sushi is the only food Japanese people eat. :roll: I've eaten it twice, out of a couple of months worth of holidays there. They have a massive variety in food, something for everyone (well, you might have a bit of trouble if you're a vegetarian- a lot of Japan's idea of that is "doesn't eat beef" ).
Thanks for the homestay advice! I may need to try that. I am about to leave for my third trip in 6 weeks, and so far I have always stayed at the Prince hotel chain. It is affordable as far as hotels go, and I love the Shinagawa Prince...so convenient! It is about $140 a night. The first time I stayed at the Shin-Yokohama Prince for about $105 per night, but it is a bit of a trk to Tokyo. As far as a JR Pass, if you plan on doing a lot of long train rides on the Shinkansen, it is totally worth it. Hut if you a going to stay in the general Tokyo area, you are btter off paying the normal fares, which are usually about $2 each way. And the trains are pretty easy to figure out. And there are plenty of cheap eats all over Japan. The rice balls on the ground floor of the Don Quijote are awesome, and about $2 apiece! Man, I can't wait to get back...40 days to go!
i usually go for the Okaka Onigiri at the place that sells the rice balls on ground level outside Don Q bldg, it costs 220Y for one. I totally utilized the JR Rail 14 day pass, i went all over Japan. Today i went to see Odaiba, and took the monorail to Pallette town, but it wasn't yet open since most stores in Japan seem to not open until 11am. I then headed over to Ebisu's, Yebisu beer museum. They have beer tasting, but no it is not for free, but it sure is good.
@all: Ths guys again People sure have different taste like Tomochin always says oishi @qilver: You seem to taste most japanese food, which one is the cheapest?
if you are looking for a cheap type food, a quick snack, or light meal, i suggest visiting the combini(convenience store) and there are many of them around here in Japan. The onigiri(rice balls) come in many different varieties, and range in price from 130Y to 300Y(in combo sets). American-type food like McDonalds is quite a bit more than usual and the food size portions are smaller. For a teri-yaki burger with egg, which is one of my favorites, the combo, fries-drink-burger goes for 640Y. Japanese train stations commonly have bentou box meals, ranging with rice, fish, and some vegetables for 780Y to 1100Y, or noodle stalls, that you buy a meal ticket after selecting what you want, hand over your ticket and then they give you your food. The prices range from 380Y to 780Y. as my trip comes to an end, i did enjoy my visit here in Japan, and went from Tokyo to Hakata(Fukuoka), and back. I will try to post up some photos soon.
I live in Tokyo, now. Because I study abroad for Japanese. I want to go Japanese Univ.. When March 15th I went to AKB48's handshake event. I did handshake with Yuko Oshima, Erena Ono, Natsumi Hirajima. Their are so beautiful and cute. Surely I talked with they. They talk so kindly. I was impressed. If I can take a chance, I must go to AKB48's handshake event again!!
I will go this August to Japan by one month. I found a company here in Barcelona that offered me this - 3 hours a day Japanese classes at academy + guest house = 2500€ - The prize includes a medical ensurance, train ticket, cell phone - Cell phone company is international and offers: * 0 yen from spain to japan * 0 yen calls between students with same system * 70yen/minute for normal calls - Plain ticket reservation = about 900€ I think that more countries offers than kind of offer to study in japan without getting any university or school grant. You have to pay for your food and other kind or life you have in japan. So i will try obviously to go to see akb48 and buy lots of goods (and go to karaoke) I was in japan for tourism in summer 2006, but i went alone so was difficult to do many things, like go to karaoke or make any jap friend. I hope this time will be better!!! i will take many pics too, i will share with you ^^
