Japan - not so expensive after all?

Found this place, which charges only 50 Euro/night:
http://www.andon.co.jp/index.html

I thought travel in Japan was very expensive, that the only affordable
rooms were plastic tube rooms. Are there hotels like this one in other
Japanese cities? What is a "ryokan"?

How much does it cost to travel in Japan?
--

Alfred Molon
http://www.molon.de - Photos of Asia, Africa and Europe

"Alfred Molon" wrote in message
...
Found this place, which charges only 50 Euro/night:
http://www.andon.co.jp/index.html

I thought travel in Japan was very expensive, that the only affordable
rooms were plastic tube rooms. Are there hotels like this one in other
Japanese cities? What is a "ryokan"?

How much does it cost to travel in Japan?

Alfred,
A ryokan is a Japanese inn. You have a small room and sleep on a tatami mat
on the floor. Japan is very expensive if you want to travel like a
westerner. It is not that expensive if you live like a Japanese, eat
Japanese food, etc. One of my favorite restaurants generally has a full, big
dinner for the equivalent of about $US 25. A bowl of udon for lunch runs
around US$6 depending on where and how big. Breakfast is included at most
hotels. However, if you want to rent a car, you'd better mortgage your
house. For an American steak dinner you need that and mortgage your
neighbor's house too.

--
Donald R. Newcomb
DRNewcomb (at) attglobal (dot) net

In article 46bdaa41@kcnews01, Donald Newcomb says...

A ryokan is a Japanese inn. You have a small room and sleep on a tatami mat
on the floor. Japan is very expensive if you want to travel like a
westerner. It is not that expensive if you live like a Japanese, eat
Japanese food, etc. One of my favorite restaurants generally has a full, big
dinner for the equivalent of about $US 25. A bowl of udon for lunch runs
around US$6 depending on where and how big. Breakfast is included at most
hotels. However, if you want to rent a car, you'd better mortgage your
house. For an American steak dinner you need that and mortgage your
neighbor's house too.

Since I couldn't care less about western food, will then food be
reasonably priced?

And why is renting a car so expensive, given that Japan makes so many of
them?
--

Alfred Molon
http://www.molon.de - Photos of Asia, Africa and Europe

"Alfred Molon" wrote in message
...
Since I couldn't care less about western food, will then food be
reasonably priced?

I find Japanese food quite reasonably priced and better than American.
That's reasonable, not cheap. Also, remember that tipping is taboo so you
don't have to tack that onto every bill.

And why is renting a car so expensive, given that Japan makes so many of
them?

They make them but make sure that they are quite expensive at home. Where I
live the taxes on a car go down every year. After 20 years you can get an
"antique" tag for your car and never pay any more road taxes as long as you
own that car. In Japan it's just opposite. The taxes start out high and
become astronomical after a few years. The government wants to force you to
either not have a car or have a new one. Used cars have lower resale value
in Japan, so I guess rental agencies have to make up the all the costs in
one year.

Taxis are also pretty expensive and should only be used when you have
several people or luggage (IMHO). In most towns a 2-3 km cab ride will be
over 10,000 Yen.


--
Donald R. Newcomb
DRNewcomb (at) attglobal (dot) net

On Sat, 11 Aug 2007 07:21:45 -0500, the renowned "Donald Newcomb"
wrote:

"Alfred Molon" wrote in message
m...
Found this place, which charges only 50 Euro/night:
http://www.andon.co.jp/index.html

I thought travel in Japan was very expensive, that the only affordable
rooms were plastic tube rooms. Are there hotels like this one in other
Japanese cities? What is a "ryokan"?

How much does it cost to travel in Japan?

Alfred,
A ryokan is a Japanese inn. You have a small room and sleep on a tatami mat
on the floor. Japan is very expensive if you want to travel like a
westerner. It is not that expensive if you live like a Japanese, eat
Japanese food, etc. One of my favorite restaurants generally has a full, big
dinner for the equivalent of about $US 25. A bowl of udon for lunch runs
around US$6 depending on where and how big. Breakfast is included at most
hotels. However, if you want to rent a car, you'd better mortgage your
house. For an American steak dinner you need that and mortgage your
neighbor's house too.


Keep in mind that ryokans are priced by the person, so they are
relatively quite cheap if you're travelling alone. Hotels in Japan, as
elsewhere, are priced by the room.

Udon, sushi etc. are quite reasonable, particularly if you don't mind
eating at a counter. Aside from 'western' food, stuff like sukiyaki or
a fine Japanese restaurant is *not* cheap.. easy to drop hundreds of
dollars for a meal for two. McDonalds is cheap, if you must, but
there's better stuff to be had in convenience stores.


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
--
"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward"
Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com

On Aug 11, 4:25 am, Alfred Molon wrote:
Found this place, which charges only 50 Euro/night:http://www.andon.co.jp/index.html

I thought travel in Japan was very expensive, that the only affordable
rooms were plastic tube rooms.


Look at "business hotels" - many of them are around $100 US for a
clean, small room, and are centrally located. I stayed in the Toshi
Center Hotel in Tokyo, which was about that rate, and it was fine.

Are there hotels like this one in other Japanese cities? What is a "ryokan"?


A ryokan is a traditional Japanese inn. You sleep on a mat on the
floor, and a Japanese kaiseki (traditional Japanese cuisine) dinner is
usually included in the price. It's worth doing once as an
experience, but they can be uncomfortable and often have lots of rules
(when you can come and go, etc.), so you probably don't want to stay
in them every night.

How much does it cost to travel in Japan?


Accomodation is the one thing that is much more expensive for similar
quality in Japan than elsewhere, so if you can find decent cheap
hotels it will not necessarily be more expensive than traveling in
Europe.

The Japan Rail Pass is a great value if you plan on taking more than
1-2 train trips. The larger cities have excellent public
transportation so that you don't need a car or need taxis.

Many of the most interesting places and things are free (people
watching, architecture, temples and shrines) or cheap (gardens,
museums, some parts of temples which charge admissions).

There is a lot of excellent, inexpensive food - yakitori (grilled
chicken), sushi (there are very good inexpensive sushi places
throughout Japan), udon and soba (noodle shops), shabu-shabu (hot
pot), unagi (eel restaurants), Indian, Thai, and Korean food, and many
expensive Japanese restaurants have lunch specials for only 20-30
euros where they serve essentially the same thing that they serve for
dinner for 5 times the price.

Minshuku are a less-expensive grade of ryokan. Possibly no English spoken,
probably a common bath. Charming if you want a very Japanese experience.
A few are even the old wooden structures. Many can be booked on line and
you will receive a map showing how to find the place. Department stores
[basements, top floors] provide cheap eats everywhere, as do neighborhood
stalls and shops.


--
Remove -NOSPAM- to contact me.

Thanks for all replies. Currently I have the option of joining a group
of Malaysian tourist who will be on this package:
http://www.asiaexplorers.com/tours/20071014_japan.htm

14-21 October, fly KL-Japan-KL, visit Osaka, Nara, Kyoto etc.,
everything included, total price including single room surcharge RM 7000
which corresponds to 1475 Euro (= $2017). I would probably then attach
2-3 days to visit Tokio.

The other option is to do everything on my own, arriving in Osaka and
leaving Japan from Tokio. I wonder what would make more sense.

I'm basically interested in temples, historical buildings, sceneries,
but also the "real" Japan with its everyday life, modern buildings and
infrastructure, culture and local lifestyle.

Is it very easy and affordable to get quickly from sight A to sight B in
Japan, or is it advantageous to be in a group with a fixed itinerary?
Language BTW would not be a problem.
--

Alfred Molon
http://www.molon.de - Photos of Asia, Africa and Europe

On Aug 11, 4:21 pm, Alfred Molon wrote:
Thanks for all replies. Currently I have the option of joining a group
of Malaysian tourist who will be on this package:http://www.asiaexplorers.com/tours/20071014_japan.htm

14-21 October, fly KL-Japan-KL, visit Osaka, Nara, Kyoto etc.,
everything included, total price including single room surcharge RM 7000
which corresponds to 1475 Euro (= $2017). I would probably then attach
2-3 days to visit Tokio.

The other option is to do everything on my own, arriving in Osaka and
leaving Japan from Tokio. I wonder what would make more sense.

I'm basically interested in temples, historical buildings, sceneries,
but also the "real" Japan with its everyday life, modern buildings and
infrastructure, culture and local lifestyle.

Is it very easy and affordable to get quickly from sight A to sight B in
Japan, or is it advantageous to be in a group with a fixed itinerary?
Language BTW would not be a problem.


It's very easy and inexpensive to get around on your own, using trains
to get between cities, and public transport within cities. And you
will see a lot more of the everyday life and modern Japan on your own
than you would on this tour that focuses on "sights", and you would
have a much better chance to meet Japanese people while traveling on
your own.

A 7-day Japan Rail Pass is 28300 yen (176 euros), and a 14-day pass is
45100 yen (281 euros).

In article . com,
says...

A 7-day Japan Rail Pass is 28300 yen (176 euros), and a 14-day pass is
45100 yen (281 euros).

Can you take the Shinkansen with that pass? If not, how much does a
train ride between Osaka and Tokyo cost (with/without Shinkansen)?
--

Alfred Molon
http://www.molon.de - Photos of Asia, Africa and Europe