Eating | Sleeping | Getting around | Top things to do
Accommodation in Japan is presumed to be tremendously expensive. While it certainly isn't hard to spend hundreds of dollars a night, it's not impossible to find decent budget options with great service, comfortable diggs, and lots of charachter. Still–in Japan–budget options aren't necessarily cheap.
Ryokan
Forgo the usual Western-style hotel for a Japanese inn called a ryokan. They range in price from $100-$200.00 US for a double-sized room in pared-down budget options to a more extravgant price bracket that starts at $150.00 US, priced per person. Budget options are a little more casual and don't include the elaborate kaiseki meals high-end ryokans offer in the evening.
Ryokan usually come with a few rules (a curfew, for example), and give you an intimate glimpse into Japanese customs: communal baths, peaceful gardens, the ability to wear a robe (yukata) in public any time of the day. They offer the unique experience of dwelling in a traditional-style environment with simple rooms, sliding rice-paper doors, tatami-matted floors, and futons that are rolled out in the evening and put away during the day–in ryokan, you sleep on the floor.
Places where we stayed
Yougendo Guesthouse | Oji (near Nara and Osaka)
Approx $100 US / double
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standard traditional-style room with shared bath
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breakfast is included
Ryokan Rikiya | Kyoto
Approx $200 US / double
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standard traditional-style room with private bath
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no breakfast
Ryokan Kangetsu | Ota-ku, Tokyo
Approx $100 US / double
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standard traditional-style room with private bath
- sento (communal baths) on premisis
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traditional-style breakfast is approx $12.00 US
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