Japan in July

I know a couple of the people on this board live/have lives in Japan and I was wondering if they had any advice/ideas about what to do, my friend and I are going in July to Tokyo for  2 weeks and are hoping to travel around a bit
We're on a tight but not shoe string and are looking for somewhere safe and central to stay in tokyo but I'm getting lost on all the travel sites looking at places. Does anyone know anywhere nice and cheapish?

Thanks!

I only spent a few days in Tokyo several years ago. I remember distinctively there was nothing.. I mean nothing cheap!

I was a year in Tokyo in 1959???
I don't think I can be of help.
I lived on an Air Force base.
I like Tokyo. People are nice. It is clean. It is exciting. It is safe.
I could fill the tank on my car for 60 cents. :\\\'(

I believe Madeira could help - I think she lived in Japan with her husband and may be moving back.

I'm in Japan now.  Part of your plan should be staying at my house for a few days, we're close to Kamakura and decent beaches/mountains.  (About 20 minutes to Yokohama, 45 to Shinegawa.)  That bit is free, of course.  And hey, we should have furniture by then!

Hotels are pretty cheap here, compared to London.. take a look at Novotel and Tokyu Hotels.  In Yokohama, I like the Camelot, not sure if they have other locations.  Don't be put off by the love hotels, either.  They're usually cheaper than regular hotels, usually very clean, often have fabulous baths and karaoke machines, etc..  Much better than business hotels, which are close to stations, but often a bit depressing and basic, for the same price.  I don't believe you can book love hotels, but they're all over the place.
 Anyways, if you tell me what stations you'd like to be close to, I can look up more info.

If you know Tokyo, you know that there is no 'central'.  Tokyo is a huge area, like a state, with lots of towns inside it, and it's a train station with nothing much around it.  You might like to be near.. Roppongi? Shibuya?  Asakusa?  Ueno?  Tell us what you'd like to see/do.

Some possibly useful stuff:

http://www.hyperdia.com/cgi-english/hyperWeb.cgi

Train/bus/etc. info

http://www.gaijinpot.com/

Japan forum.  Hard to get a serious reply there some days..

I read something in the Guardian a few weeks back about these traditional "hotels" that only exist in Kyoto.  I can't recall the exact name but they looked like really interesting places to stay.  I'd love to make a trip to Japan but when I last checked fares it was ultra-expensive to fly there from London, something like £1800 for 2 of us in coach.  I also understand it is a  pretty expensive place generally.  I guess there must be some cheap options to stay, eat, etc if you know where to go.
We'll have to see if we can put up with a toddler on a 12 hour flight!

I don't know of anything 'Kyoto-only', but there are a lot of different types of places to stay.. I imagine you're thinking of a ryokan?  Those are gorgeous, but not only in Kyoto.  We've booked one for a weekend next month, there are off-season deals available.  Still about 100 pounds/night per person.. but you're paying for the onsen and the deluxe meals and location.  Here's a list with more options.  There are also gaijin houses, and government-run places usually out in the country.  (Can't think of the name right now.) 

http://www.japanhotel.net/data/accommodation_types.asp

Yes, airfare to Japan is pretty high.  I find most stuff inside the country much cheaper than London, though.  Eating out can be very cheap here, booze is generally cheaper, smokes are about 1 pound 20/pack.　Sure, lunching around Ginza is expensive, and you can still find gift melons going for 25 pounds and up.. so don't buy one.  Fruit markets have regular ones for regular people.  Clubbing isn't any more than NY or London, just don't go anyplace recommended by the nice African men.  The police will laugh at you the next day.. well, not laugh, but you'll probably never get your credit card charges reversed.  Kabuki and Noh are expensive to watch, but well worth it.  Taxis aren't too bad, but there's no discount if the driver gets lost.. and they often do.  (And I don't know how many times people have told me they wanted to take a taxi from Narita to Tokyo.. don't do it!  Narita is nowhere near Tokyo. Coaches or trains are the way to go.)

Tourists get amazing deals on JR train fares, just buy your pass before you come.  Otherwise the shinkansen will cost about the same as airfare.  Shin Yokohama-Hiroshima alone can be 150 pounds, so get those passes!

http://www.japantravel.co.uk/site/jrpass.html

Hope this isn't old info to everyone..

£1 for a 20 pack of cigarettes?!?!  Finally I might be able to convince my husband that the JET program is a great idea.

Most cigarettes: 300 JPY or 1.476 GBP.  1.20 was my guess.. that's the official conversion today.

I read something in the Guardian a few weeks back about these traditional "hotels" that only exist in Kyoto.  I can't recall the exact name but they looked like really interesting places to stay.  I'd love to make a trip to Japan but when I last checked fares it was ultra-expensive to fly there from London, something like £1800 for 2 of us in coach.  I also understand it is a  pretty expensive place generally.  I guess there must be some cheap options to stay, eat, etc if you know where to go.
We'll have to see if we can put up with a toddler on a 12 hour flight!

Are you talking about a ryokan?

I stayed in a Ryokan near Asakusa when I went to Tokyo a few years back, it was fantastic. It was right on the Iriya Line, near to Kappabashi Dorii (where they sell the fake food) I love Japan and I can't wait until my kid(s) are old enough to go on a trip there with me. Love it. Don't miss Sanrio Puroland, Hello Kitty's Themepark (if you will)

I live in Osaka and these are the websites we used when we went to Tokyo

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

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/bluelist/index.cfm?fa=main.viewList&list_id=36

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/japan/tokyo/sights?a=browse

We also stayed near Ueno Park.  I really enjoyed being near the park..I am not normally a huge fan of big cities but Tokyo is just quirky enough that I enjoyed my weekend there! 

http://japaneseguesthouses.com/index.htm

oh!  and if you go anywhere else in Japan, this is a great website to use to stay in a traditional ryokan...I suggest Koya-San ryokans...very nice   and I definitely seconded the JR Pass...you will save a load of money by getting one of those!  good luck and let me know if you are near Kyoto, Osaka or Nara!!

Oh my god I love this forum, everyone is so nice and helpful

At the moment I'm absolutely not sure what I want to do, hang out mostly, we do want to travel a bit, I'd like to go to Hiroshima and kyoto and maybe osaka it depends on the money, as it's a budget trip (not shoestring, but budget ) , i think, from a bit of research I want to be around Roppongi but I'm not absolutely sold on that, it just seems like an easier sort of tourist area to use as a base that we can explore from.

It's my best friend and I who are going, we're both 25 and kind of quiet people, we want to explore and see a real mix of things (new/old, cultural as well as fun etc) , we're bar/restaurant people rather than insane club dancing until 2am people (we've been on loads of holidays before and this is how it tends to go - which I really like actually, I so badly need a rest )

I'm getting quite serious about my photography, so that's important to me as well - see some sights especially natural areas as well as typical tourist neon

I'm going to do some more research, seems like I have a long way to go

I am not too convinced about Roppongi, I have always heard its where the military kids hang out from the nearby American Navy base...yes, I am American, and no, I am not being mean.  Those kids can be crazy   haha

This is a youth hostel near my apartment in Osaka

http://osaka.j-hoppers.com/e_accessmap.html

It just opened and it seems pretty nice.  I pass it when I go to teach   I can always help you when you get to Osaka or Kyoto if you'd like!  Osaka is a good base if you want to travel to Kyoto or Kobe or Nara...then you head on to Hiroshima.  Do you have to make it back up to Tokyo for your flight home?  Feel free to PM me if you want   I have loads of info and can mail you maps and things if you'd like from the tourist place here!

Maderia, where in Japan are you?

I'm in Yokosuka, just over the Yokohama border.  Oppama, to be exact, on the Keikyu line.  Very handy for Kamakura, with its loads of old shrines and temples.  Always willing to take people around there!

With the JR pass, doing the whole of Honshu is possible in the time they have.  Certainly Kyoto, Hiroshima and Miyajima are must-sees.  I'm kicking myself for not buying a pass before we left London.. (visa situation a bit screwed up, so am a tourist now..)

Roppongi is most known as a party zone, for sure.  For cool stuff to walk around, Asakusa or Ueno would be my choices.  Roppongi is pretty close to Harajuku, Shibuya and Ginza, though.  Hmm.. maybe not so bad!