Japan is rich in history and culture, incurably avant-garde, and truly a unique country to visit. A great alternative to Japan hotels is a Japanese hostel or a budget ryokan (Japanese-style inn). They provide the perfect way to have an authentic, memorable Japanese adventure and to experience life like the locals do.
Most travellers to Japan will arrive in Osaka or Tokyo - either city is a great place to begin your journey.
Tokyo, though a bustling, modern metropolis, still proudly displays living examples of traditional Japan scattered across the city. No other city on earth so strikingly juxtaposes the modern and the ancient quite like Tokyo.
Hostels in Tokyo are on a par with top international hostels found around the world. The biggest concentration of hostels in Tokyo is in downtown Asakusa and the ultra-vibrant Shinjuku, but with Tokyo's great subway system, you are never too far away from the action.
Kyoto attracts many tourists because of its beauty and preservation of Japan's past. There are 17 heritage-listed sites in Kyoto. It's easy to find a hostel in Kyoto and this traditional city also has the most accommodating selection of ryokan to stay in.
So you've finally got your head around whatever big Japanese city you've made your temporary home. Suddenly, you're struck with that all-to-familiar, irresistible impulse to trade your brooding cityscape for the picturesque landscapes of the countryside.
You'll find Japan is especially conducive to this curiously backpacker 'affliction'. Discover stunning mountain ranges, dense forests, rugged beaches and end-to-end fields.
Backpacker accommodation in Japan's countryside is a little more difficult to find, but it is out there. A popular option might be to stay in a minshuku, a Japanese-style B&B, where you can enjoy a traditional breakfast and keep the chiropractor happy after a good night's sleep on a futon.
For snow-lovers wanting to hit one of the many great Japan ski slopes, head to Niigata, Nagano or Hokkaido. There is no skiing on Mt Fuji, but it's definitely worth a visit and, if you're there in the summer time, why not join the pilgrimage to the top of this iconic symbol of Japan.
There are over 350 hostels in Japan and while most are ostensibly equal in appearance to most international hostels, it is not uncommon for traditional Japan accommodation styles to prevail on the inside. Don't be surprised if you find yourself sleeping in a futon on tatami mats and wandering the halls in slippers!