From mingling with monks on mountaintop retreats to eating your heart out, here are our top tips on doing Japan on the cheap.
Who says Japan is pricey? After years off the radar for budget travellers, now thanks to an extended Japanese economic downturn and a rising Aussie dollar, Japan has emerged as one of the best-value destinations around.
Get a plan
Even for non-train nerds, Japan's rail system is a sight to behold. All this efficiency comes at a cost, but you can offset this with a little forward planning by booking from Australia.
If you're going to be tripping around the country, invest in a Japan Rail Pass before you leave home, which offers big savings on rail for tourists, including the famous bullet train.
For Tokyo trips, save on the one-day open ticket, which gives unlimited use of Tokyo Metro for a day.
And remember, try to avoid Japan's peak travel times, around August and April-May for Golden Week.
Go into the countryside
A whopping 70 percent of Japan is mountainous, so dust off your walking shoes and enjoy lush lolly-green volcanic scenery that makes New Zealand look like the practice version.
Once out in the sticks, for an uber-Japanese experience that won't use up all your yen, you can't go past a stay in a homey ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn.
Department store cheap eats
Hang around 'til closing time at big city department store food halls when Japanese vendors lose their mild-mannered mystique and flog food for knock-down prices. Even if most of the shouting gets lost in translation, it's hard not to get caught up in the buzz of frenzied food foraging. Plus many counters do free tastings!
Stay in a temple
For something different try a night in a Buddhist temple. For about ¥10,000 (around $115) you get your own room, brekkie, dinner and optional morning fire ceremony, not to mention hi-tech loos, complete with bottom warmers. Talk about serenity on tap!
We recommend Koyasan around two hours by fast train from Osaka. But vet your temple carefully as some are more relaxed than others. Eko-in temple run by groovy young monks is a good option.
Freebies
If you're smart, there's no shortage of attractions without dipping into your yen. A few of the best include:
- Tokyo: ", Ueno Park, Imperial Palace East Gardens, Sumo Museum, people watching at Jingu-bashi.
- Kyoto: Nishi Honganji World Heritage Temple, Tanzan Shuzo Sake Cellar, geisha district of Gion.
- Osaka: neon nightlife at Dotombori-gawa, Satsukiyama Zoo, Instant Ramen Museum.
- Sapporo: Hokkaido Brewery, Nijo Fishmarket, Sapporo Ice Festival.
Vending machines and ¥100 shops
For travel staples that easily add up like bottled water, sweets, soft drinks, tissues and coffee, vending machines are wonderfully miserly, and at a paltry ¥300 a beer (around $3.50), a good source of an el cheapo drink.
Avoid so-called convenience stores, instead sniff out a ¥100 shop for snacks and clothes — also a good place to snaffle inexpensive but not-too-shoddy gifts for the folks back home.
Cultural bargains
So many of Japan's quintessential must-do attractions can be had at cheapskate prices. Take
sumo wrestling. Sure it might not be the best seat in the house, but for a bonsai-sized price, ¥3600 (around $42) you can see the big fellas slug it out in the ring.
Eat smart
Train stations are chocca with
tachigui (stand-up shops) peddling cheap, comfort food to stressed-out salarymen. Fill your belly with yakitori (grilled chicken skewers),
okonomiyaki (sumo-sized filled pancakes) or Osaka's answer to the meat pie,
tako yaki, battered octopus balls sprinkled with dried tuna.
For a sit-down meal that gives the budget some salvation, try a conveyor belt sushi restaurant or family chain, like Denny's.
For a rowdier nosh-up, head to an izakaya, Japanese-style pub, where you sit frog-legged on the floor with a beer and a slap-up meal.
And best of all in Japan, there's no tipping, but be sure to take enough cash — credit card facilities are thin on the ground.
Shopping deals
To snare some funky casual clothes, make a beeline for the
Uniqlo chain. But if markets are your bag, cruise the antique fairs and flea markets, often held on temple grounds. Tokyo's hipster precinct of Roppongi has a good one. Here it's possible to pick up an eclectic gift cheaply, like an antique kimono.
But for electronics, head to Tokyo's
Akihabara Electric Town a neon haven flogging all things electronic (a word of warning — check the voltage before you buy).
Geek heaven
If you're mad for high-tech gizmos, you'll have found your heaven with corporate showrooms. Japanese giants such as
Sony showcase their latest geek-friendly creations in state-of-the-art displays — free and open to the public.
Nature rules
And if you're there in spring watch cherry blossoms — proof that the best things in life are free.
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