Originally Posted by
ksandness
When I go to Japan, I stay in business hotels (paying prices that would buy me a nothing more than a dirty and dangerous fleabag hotel in New York or London), eat in mom and pop restaurants, and ride public transit. I stayed in a luxury ryokan in Kyoto ONCE many years ago, just to see what it was like, but otherwise, I have no interest in fancy hotels.
All in all, I can travel in Japan for about the same price as a I do in the U.S., maybe less.
I hear that ksandness, though I reckon NYC (well, with an accent on Manhattan) is even worse than London in terms of budget + quality.
I've been staying at Weekly Mansions (small rooms available by the day/week/month for different rates) in the Tokyo area for years. You might have to travel a bit longer on the train/metro, but there will nearly always be a 24-hour convenience store nearby, and if it's a relatively busy train station (whatever that means in Tokyo), expect to have a supermarket or small assortment of fast food chains (ie, Matsuya or a Chinese gyouza place) in the vicinity too. Before the Kameido Weekly Mansion became a hotel, I paid around US$55 per night, and it's not a podunk neighborhood either.