I made great use of business hotels back when I had enough time and money to travel lol also night buses helped me saving as other ppl already mentioned
There are many budget airlines in Japan too. Airlines such as Peach are good for flying in Japan. If you have a car or rent a car, it’s also cheaper to park at an ETC rest stop and sleep in the car. Not the most comfortable, but cheap.
I recommend traveling with night busses. They're comfortable and up to 6 times cheaper than a Shinkansen! The site "Bushikaku" would be a best friend to view tickets and compare prices.
It is easy to find cheap eats in Japan. Look for chain shops like Yoshinoya (gyudon), Tenya (tempura) Sakura Suisan (izakaya). Or generally, just keep an eye out for any shop that has a vending machine outside where you buy a food ticket - ramen, teishoku set meals, guydon, bento shops, and so on. These are usually under 600 yen for a full meal. You can also find cheap food at supermarkets in the evening - follow the lady who has the "price down" stickers, and grab up the dishes as she sticks them on. You can save 20-50% that way. And in my opinion, the BEST onigiri are at Origin Bento - thick, lots of filling, lots of choices. Just one is almost enough for a meal.
The "seishun 18 ticket" is the best option when travelling during school vacation periods. The ticket is good for five days (which do not need to be used on consecutive days) and allows you travel on almost the entire nationwide JR network, except the shinkansen.
I disagree, I'm afraid. Travelling between Hiroshima and Odawara cost me over 30,000 yen return. I did a similar trip (Hiroshima to Yokohama) by night bus for a third of the price. I do agree that it's convenient and it's fast, but it's not cheap.
This is more so about travelling between places but I found that taking buses (especially night buses) saved a lot of travelling between prefectures in my early days. In fact, just recently I went to Kusatsu Onsen from Tokyo for under 5000 yen. I also did Tokyo to Nagoya by bus from about 10,000 return. It took 6 hours, but it was cheaper than the Shinkansen.In the early stages of my Japan time, I would take the night bus from Hiroshima (where I used to live) to Kagoshima, to Kansai, to Yokohama and I've done it to Tokyo as well. You might sacrifice comfortable but your wallet will be so happy with you.
Recently made a trip and we stayed in a super onsen and just slept in the lounge chairs and their was even a buffet breakfast at the onsen.
I made great use of business hotels back when I had enough time and money to travel lol also night buses helped me saving as other ppl already mentioned
There are many budget airlines in Japan too. Airlines such as Peach are good for flying in Japan. If you have a car or rent a car, it’s also cheaper to park at an ETC rest stop and sleep in the car. Not the most comfortable, but cheap.
I recommend traveling with night busses. They're comfortable and up to 6 times cheaper than a Shinkansen! The site "Bushikaku" would be a best friend to view tickets and compare prices.
It is easy to find cheap eats in Japan. Look for chain shops like Yoshinoya (gyudon), Tenya (tempura) Sakura Suisan (izakaya). Or generally, just keep an eye out for any shop that has a vending machine outside where you buy a food ticket - ramen, teishoku set meals, guydon, bento shops, and so on. These are usually under 600 yen for a full meal. You can also find cheap food at supermarkets in the evening - follow the lady who has the "price down" stickers, and grab up the dishes as she sticks them on. You can save 20-50% that way. And in my opinion, the BEST onigiri are at Origin Bento - thick, lots of filling, lots of choices. Just one is almost enough for a meal.
The "seishun 18 ticket" is the best option when travelling during school vacation periods. The ticket is good for five days (which do not need to be used on consecutive days) and allows you travel on almost the entire nationwide JR network, except the shinkansen.
The Shinkansen is cheaper in Japan, so it's very convenient. I often travel by bullet trainThis is more so about travelling between places but I found that taking buses (especially night buses) saved a lot of travelling between prefectures in my early days. In fact, just recently I went to Kusatsu Onsen from Tokyo for under 5000 yen. I also did Tokyo to Nagoya by bus from about 10,000 return. It took 6 hours, but it was cheaper than the Shinkansen. In the early stages of my Japan time, I would take the night bus from Hiroshima (where I used to live) to Kagoshima, to Kansai, to Yokohama and I've done it to Tokyo as well. You might sacrifice comfortable but your wallet will be so happy with you.