Originally Posted by
ksandness
Since you're coming from outside the country, just read a guidebook (supplemented by the PDFs from the Japan National Tourist Organization website), figure out where you want to go, buy a JR Pass, and have fun.
If you need economical accommodations, there are clean, safe, and reasonable (if someone lacking in amenities) business hotels in every city. In some locations, there's a tourist information office in the local train or bus station that will find accommodations for you if you don't have a reservation. For food, just wander around until you find something that looks appealing.
Don't worry about traveling solo. I and other visitors to Japan have had the delightful experience of being "adopted" by groups or families. It's easier if you speak the language, but I know people who speak no Japanese who have met up with a Japanese family at some famous site or other and have ended up with an invitation to join the family's next excursion.
Right on the money. Obviously it depends on your independence and travel style, but much of my second trip to Japan was planned with a visit to the JNTO office in New York, where I grabbed the papers that you can print on your own from the JNTO web site. They are free and as good, if not better, then the info you would find from many travel guides. I used a combination of those sheets, some internet research, and a strategic stop at the JTB booth in Narita on my way out of the airport to book all my hotels through the Welcome Inn system. Combine that with buying your Rail Pass purchase order before you leave, and you are basically set.
As an example: I planned a 5-day trip through Kyushu by collecting JNTO papers for all the cities I could find, and narrowing my choices to five cities. After figuring out the order of the cities, I picked hotels mentioned on each sheet for convenience to public transport and/or proximity to the train station. For fun, I picked mostly (lower-end) ryokans, but business hotels were the same price. From that point on, I only needed to figure out what I would see each day.
I have a basic conversational knowledge of Japanese, which helped me find a few places and make a few friends, but I would have been okay knowing none.
If you've only been to Tokyo, you have yet to witness the incredible friendliness and kindness of Japanese strangers around the country. Over my two trips, I've hitched a ride on a truck to a suburban museum in Kumamoto, escorted to my hostel by a bunch of curious teenagers in Hiroshima, guided on a subway across town in Kyushu by a gorgeous lady... mostly just by asking basic directions in limited Japanese.