Advice about visiting Japan on a low budget?

I live in the UK and I want to go to Japan this time next year.


I'm hoping to stay for a whole two months but I'm not sure what it would cost. Has anyone else visited Japan on a shoestring budget? Are there any good hostels or cheap (I mean REALLY cheap) flights?





Also, can anyone tell me how long it takes to learn Japanese well enough to get by on? I've got one year to save some money and I'm determined to go; if I don't do it now then I never will.Advice about visiting Japan on a low budget?
i'm in japan at the moment from the UK and the idea from Brits that its expensive is a bit of a myth (although some things are expensive and I do normally live in London which is very expensive...).


Japan will never be a budget option - as other people have said its not thailand or vietnam for example


However I hope the following tips help:


food compared to the UK is MUCH better and normally about half price (sushi is about 1/4 of the UK price!)


Anywhere outside the Tokyo bay area will be cheaper


There are hostels that are reasonable and will probably be full of gaijins (foreigners) to talk to if you get tired of trying to communicate with the japanese but..


camping is easily the cheapest option (about 3 pounds a night) but you need to get away from the big urban areas - the japanese seem to really like camping and a foreigner at a site is a good way to meet people.


you could try teaching a little english on the side but there are visa complications - look at the forums on gaijinpot for more info


as for the language the Japanese really love it if you just try to speak a little japanese and there are lots of websites with information and phrases to use.


My favourite phrase is:


';excuse me my Japanese is not very skillful'; (polite version) if you try this it will really impress any japanese friends and they will be convinced your japanese IS skillful


';Sumemasen, watashi no Nihongo wa jozu janai des';


Also try to learn a few kanji (japanese characters) which will make getting around easier and more fun


http://www.saiga-jp.com/kanji_dictionary.html


as with any language the best way is to go to the country and try it out!


good luck


hope you make itAdvice about visiting Japan on a low budget?
i have a friend who taught ESL in Japan for a couple years and I was going to go. Unfortunately, Japan really isn't all that low budget, but (and I'll get more information from my friend), you can get discounted flights if you reserve online or if you agree to fly ';standby';
If you want cheap, you might want to try Thailand. A two month visit ? You're talking MAJOR money ! You might want to adjust that to 2 or 3 weeks, max...
This should get you off to a good start.


http://www.japan-guide.com/





Also, don't forget to buy a Japan Rail Pass from JR (big discount if you are going to do much traveling) before you leave. You can't buy them in Japan.
Unfortunately Japan is not a low budget place...
the best way to get cheap flights is either go to the airport on the day and wait for someone to drop out and take their seat...or this site is really good cos it finds the cheapest on the net and puts em all together to choose from:





http://www.trip-extras.com/flight-bookin鈥?/a>
If you're looking to spend very little money, Japan is not your best bet. It's very expensive there.





It's a beautiful country though, and if you are interested in culture and history, you will love it. And I personally think it is best if you try to learn some of the language before you go, and get a handle on the currency. There are some books on tape that will help you learn the language better than just trying to learn from a book or Japanese language guide.
I'm not to sure about the rates coming from the UK, but as for learning Japanese. You'd probably start to pick it up from the locals after a while.
My advice is if you have a low budget Japan is definately not the place to visit. Go to the Philippines or Thailand for a low budget vacation.





Japanese is a difficult language to understand, nevermind speak at a conversational level. If you want to speak it at a conversational level it would take at least one semester. Better off buying a phrase book to help you get around.
You can't use the words ';cheap'; and ';Japan'; in the same sentence..Except for ';Japan is not a cheap place to visit.
I lived on a shoestring budget when I got here but I was looking for work not traveling. Still when I travel, I generally travel cheap.





Travel: (in Japan - check with the bucketshops in London for cheap flights as I can't help you there)





1. Get the JR Pass. You can ride just about anywhere on the shinkansen - bullet train.





2. If that's too expensive try overnight buses. JR has highway buses that run from Tokyo to Aomori in the north to Hiroshima and beyond. You can catch other buses in other cities and take local trains.





3. While in a city, get the day passes if you plan to travel around a bit.





Hostels:





There are cheapish hostels in Tokyo and other major cities. The Uno House in Kyoto is a good backpacker option.





The cheapest option is Manga Kissa - Internet cafes. From 1000yen to 2000Yen you can stay from 5 to 12 hours. Some even have showers!





Eating:





99 Yen stores have fresh fruits and vegetables and simple dishes.





Yoshinoya is a cheap diner-like restaurant for noodles and beef with rice dishes.





As for the language - focus on transportation, accomodation, and restaurant sections of language books as these will the essential for survival Japanese.
Good time to go would be now if you're British and using 拢. Hotels: travelled round for 10 days using minshuku (cheapish Japanese rooms, in one case a one-room joint on a volcano island), hostels and ';pensions'; from JNTO's book which they will send you for free(adress below).





Cheapish and you get to just walk in off the street and still be in Japan...not like ';Lost in Translation';. Get in touch with JTNO for their list of accomodations [sic] and they may still offer to make the bookings themselves.





JTNO can also send factsheets which give an alternative source of information - good for expanding on a place you identified elsewhere.





Good luck with cheap flights. Try Gaijinpot's discussion list near the time for any weird deals going on, sometimes they hear things on the grapevine...





Internal trains and planes cost so it is easily worth getting the Railcard (buy before travel and redeem in Japan)and taking overhnight buses if you can't.





Japanese: takes too long for most of us - I took a basic course and learn simple phrases quickly. Phrase book Japanese is fine. Young people and people outside Tokyo are more confident, and you can get somewhere; some people are a bit too shy and others feel they cannot speak to you without using English, which is a pain; but then that's not a problem,the next one will take you there or something... Take a notepad to write things down in English. People often understand more when it is written down - accents and spoken forms which don't fit into the simple grammatical sentences they have learnt in school.





Use a guidebook or get written down by a friend or host with Japanese characters for all the places you want to go to so that you can get help when travelling/making connections.