Cheap accommodation in Japan

The accommodation in Japan is very expensive, especially for a long travel. Business hotels are normally cheaper than other types of hotels but the lowest rates are around 9000 Japanese Yen in Tokyo areas. To many young travelers, Japan seems to be an unrealizable dream.

However, there are numbers of ways that young travelers or travelers with limited budgets can use to make their dream come true. I will talk about these ways based on my two-year experience in Japan

Home stay

Home stay is now very popular in Japan because Japanese people are very open-minded and they love to exchange cultures with foreigners. Japanese host families provide beds and sometimes Japanese foods. They are ready to show hosted guests around their cities and explain in details Japanese culture and traditions. Most host families can speak spoken English or perfect English. But it will be wonderful if travelers can speak some Japanese or are interested to learn Japanese.

There is a national club that groups all host families to receive foreigners: HIPPO club. Hippo club organize home stay programs, train host families to receive foreigners and cooperate foreign exchange programs. To ask for a home stay program, travelers should go to Hippo website, choose cities where they want to visit and write to host families in these cities. It is essential to provide the host families a detailed stay schedule so the host families can answer whether they are able to host or not.

Search by website

Rakuten is a website of almost all cheap hostels, youth hotels, holiday cottages, inns or individuals that have beds for rent. This website is written in English and easy to search. However, the information and photos provided by the website are not always real. Here is the link to this website:

Become a member of Japan Youth Hostels

This is a network of all youth hostels in Japan that gives discounts (up to ¥2000) to its members. To use its hostel network, foreign travelers have to buy a member cart by Internet or at offices their home countries. The benefits are that travelers can enjoy cheap accommodation with comfortable and cozy rooms in almost all regions in Japan. However, its youth hostels normally locate far city centers and room booking must be done well in advance.

Cheap hostels in Tokyo

There are numbers of cheap hostels in Tokyo. Here, “cheap” means that travelers stay in rooms shared by 6 or 8 persons in a dormitory. Each person has the room key and a small locker to keep luggage. There are normally a kitchen where travelers can cook their meals or make coffee or tea, a TV room and an internet room in such hostels. Travelers can use free internet or pay at a very cheap rates (¥500 per 10 minutes). Toilets and bathrooms are separated from rooms and shared by all users. Coin washing machines, coin copy machines and coin telephone-boxes are available. Travelers have to make their beds themselves.

If travelers go by group of more than 6 persons, it is a good solution to stay in Tokyo. For a short stay, it is also a good solution. Khaosan hostel near Sumida river (Asakusa) offers the cheapest rates in Japan: ¥1500 per person per night. Sakura hostel (in Asakura, near Asakusa shrine) offers the second cheapest rate at ¥2940 per person per night.

Remarks

- In Japan, hostel and hotel rates are counted per persons, not per rooms. It is prohibited to let other persons stay in a single room.

- There are always two styles of hostels and hotels: Japanese style and western style. Japanese style means that travelers sleep on “tatami mats” on floor. Western style means that travelers sleep in beds. Travelers should choose one style before booking rooms.

Japanese tea ceremony

The Japanese tea ceremony (chadō or sadō) is a traditional ritual influenced by Zen Buddhism . In this event, the powdered green tea, or matcha (抹茶), is prepared by a skilled tea practitioner and served to a small group of guests in a tranquil setting.

The tea practitioner wears kimono while serving tea. The tea room is decorated by calligraphy, flower arranging, incense and a wide range of other disciplines and traditional arts. The tea pot is installed in the center of the tea room. Guests are installed in U shape around the tea pot. There is no music.

A tea ceremony normally lasts within 4 hours. Guests are served a kind of Japanese sweets before drinking tea. In the tea room, the tea practitioner serves guests from the right to the left. The guest receives the tea cup by two hands, bows 45 degree and says thanks to the practitioner. Then, the guest turns the cup three times by two hands from the left to the right until he or she sees decoration patterns on the cup. Bowing the head, the guest says “Itadakimasu” (いただきます) and drinks tea. He or she returns the cup to the practitioner to serve others.

During the tea ceremony, guests should not discuss among them to respect a solemn atmosphere and to taste the tea. Instead, guests should not forget to say Itadakimasu before drinking tea. Before the ceremony ends, the practitioner explains in detailed the tradition and answers questions that guests may have.

After every one tasted the tea, the tea practitioner serves a light dinner with Japanese traditional meals. Now, guests are encouraged to exchange information and discuss freely.

The tea ceremony is organized to invite friends, colleagues and family members to stay a wonderful time together. I was invited two times by my Japanese host families. All I can say is that tea ceremony was wonderful and useful to learn Japanese and understand Japanese culture.

Cherry blossom season in Japan

The cherry-blossom, the national flower of Japan (hereafter referred to Sakura) generally starts flowering in spring. However, the flower season depends much on the temperature. At first, Sakura flowers in Okinawa island at the end of December until next February because the Okinawa island is the warmest region in Japan and spring commences in December. Then, Sakura flowers in the South of Japan. The last Sakura flowers in the North and Hokkaido Island.

Sakura at Kofukuji Temple, Nara

A lasting tradition

In Japan, almost all Japanese and foreigners living in Japan go watching Sakura. When Sakura flowers, local governments prepare “watching space”, which is places under or near to Sakura trees where visitors and stay to watch Sakura in flowers without touching or destroying them, to help visitors have the best look and wonderful experience. Japanese women and men wear Kimono when watching Sakura. They eat traditional foods, drink Sake (traditional Japanese alcohol made from rice) and discuss with friends or families under Sakura trees and watch flower petals falling. The term “Sakura watching” is called Ohanami (お花見) in Japanese. In Tokyo and big cities such as Osaka and Kyoto, some traditional fast foods are served at small mobile restaurants near the watching space. In small cities, traditional foods are served freely by local governments. Ohanami is a national festival and is a good business opportunity for tourism.

Where to watch Sakura in flowers?

There are some famous places in Japan where you can watch Sakura. Here are my comments:

Tokyo: Ueno park, Shinjuku garden, Sumida river in Asakusa

Kyoto: Kiyozumi Temple

Osaka: Osaka Castle

Nara: Kofukuji Temple

Kobe: Himeji Castle

Sakura at Himeji Castle, Kobe

How to organize a trip to see Sakura?

You should come to Japan after 15^th March. The best time to come is between 15^th March and 20^th March. Check weather forecasts and tourist news from Japan on internet.

You should arrive at Osaka first. Think about stay in Osaka 1 week to visit the city as well as world heritages around Osaka. You should visit: at least Kiyozumi Temple (Kyoto), Osaka Castle (Osaka), Kofukuji Temple (Nara) and Himeji Castle (Kobe). Then you take Shinkansen (super rapid train) to Tokyo. Here, you can start to visit Ueno park, Sumida river and Shinjuku garden. You can continue the direction to the North and end up with visiting Hokkaido island.

Accommodation and local travel

I will talk about how to search a cheap room in Japan in other article.