Accommodation Advice For Backpackers
How to Find Backpackers' Hostel in Japan
Originally, Japanese people didn’t have young people’s backpacking culture. That is why people have the image that it's difficult to find accommodation in Japan, but there are youth hostels. Some are newly built and others are renovated into youth hostels recently.
Some youth hostels are attractively designed to feel Japanese atmospheres. International backpackers gather there as in youth hostels in other countries.
To search for a hostel which fits you, I recommend filtering by price and hotel type.
Click the checkboxes "\0 - \7,199" and "Hostels""Inns," and you will find backpackers' hostels in Tokyo.
Some hostels do not have as many rooms as those in other countries. To avoid disappointments, make a reservation before they get full.
Search Hostels in Tokyo
Only cheap hostels will appear automatically when you use this search box.
A List of Cheap Accommodation in Tokyo
Moved to a new page.
When you are searching for a hostel, you may find “capsule-hotels” on your screen.
Capsule-hotels are temporary shelters mainly for Japanese business people who failed to find a hotel and need a space to rest for the night.
If you stay at a capsule-hotel, you will be provided a bed in a private cell. Many capsule-hotels offer showers and Wi-Fi, so you will get the minimum needs to stay. The price is quite reasonable (2,000 - 4,000 yen). However, it is not convenient for travelers to get travel information and to meet other backpackers because capsule hotels don’t target international travelers originally.
Here is a blog article of James, an Australian traveler and influential blogger. He experienced to stay at a capsule-hotel when he visited Tokyo. It will be helpful for you to make a decision whether you choose a capsule-hotel or not.
http://www.nomadicnotes.com/travel-blog/staying-in-a-japanese-capsule-hotel/
Thank you, James!
If you can afford to pay 5,500-9,000 yen, so-called "Business Hotels” are fine. They are comfortable enough to stay, convenient for single travelers as well as families, and provide facilities necessary for business people. APA Hotels, Dormy Inns, Toyoko Inns, etc, are big business hotel chains and others at those prices are trustworthy, too.
Heads up, Round-Trip Travelers!
Do you know One Asia Pass?
Official Website: http://www.welcomeasia.jp/
Travel Tips to Make Your Stay More Exciting!
Tokyo is NOT expensive. If it is, that’s because the traveler stayed at a 5-Star suite and had famous chefs’ full course menu every other day.
In this page, I'd like to show you some travel tips to save money and make your trip in Tokyo even more interesting.
Convenience Stores
There are many convenience stores in streets and you will find one(s) easily. They are selling all kinds of stuff necessary for life, such as lunch packs, fried chickens, any drinks, stationeries, umbrellas, magazines, newspapers, snacks, printing service, and even some under wares.
With their price tags, you will know that things are reasonable at convenience stores.
For Example,
Toast: 100 yen/5 slices. The cheapest food in convenience stores.
Fried Chicken: from 100 yen/piece.
Lunch Packs (bento in Japanese): from 300 to 600 yen. You have many choices in foods and quantity. Rice & Hamburger steak, Japanese noodles, spaghetti, Japanese fried pork & rice, and so on. The boxes are microwave oven friendly and the shop crew will heat it.
To buy something, you just take it to the register. The casher will read the bar codes, then you pay. No tipping culture in Japan.
The Japanese leading convenience stores are Seven Eleven, Lawson, Family Mart etc.
cf: Cash Withdrawals in Seven Eleven
Cf. Supermarkets
Ito Yokado is a leading supermarket in Japan. (Pigeon logo is their symbol.) You will have more choices than in convenience stores.
100 Yen Shops
It's worth trying.
At 100 yen shops, most items are 100 yen (plus tax).
The range of the items they sell is surprisingly wide. You will find stationeries, cup noodles, CD-Rs, decorations, dishes, souvenirs, etc.
Are you a Manga fan?
If so, I STRONGLY RECOMMEND getting the latest copy of Weekly Shonen Jump or other manga magazines for your memory. They are available at convenience stores and Kiosks.
Weekly Shonen Jump (One Piece, etc.)
every Monday (Saturday when next Monday is a public holiday) 250 yen
Weekly Shonen Sunday and Shonen Magazine
every Wednesday
Many girls’ (shojo) manga magazines are published monthly. Go to a bookstore to get them.
Train Stations
Tokyo’s major stations have big shopping malls inside. There are so many take-out foods, lunch packs, delis and restaurants that you will never worry about foods. In those shops, foods taste more professional than convenience stores’.
The point is that those foods sold in stations are not as expensive as many travelers think. For example, lunch packs (bento) for cost 500-1000 yen, which is not very different from convenience stores’. You are reading Tokyo Direct Guide, so learn this fact and don't miss the chance to feel the real life in Tokyo!