15

If you sleep on the streets,hitch everywhere and eat from garbage bins,you can travel for free.....

16

I really can't believe people thinking that sleeping in McDonalds or on park benches or public toilets (!) are acceptable ways to spend an enjoyable vacation, especially when such people will be toting tents and luggage. Yeah, perhaps one will not be disturbed by people too afraid to rouse a potentially dangerous foreigner (aren't we all?), but come on! Is that kind of sleeping arrangement really what you want on a vacation?

17

Hello

Wild Camping in remote areas is my thing but defenetly not (http://wikitravel.org/en/Urban_camping_in_Japan)
;-)
Back in 1992 there where a lot of homeless people in Tokyo. Probably hasn't changed.
So to better blend in, instead of usuing a fancy tent better just take a cardboard box.

As I said before , If I have some nights for free I can pay a bit more to get a cheap backpacker if I go to a town.
Average 2000 yen a night in the budget, means 1 night free then I have the next for 4000 yen.

I haven't found a lot of info about regulare campgrounds.
But there shall be around 3000 sites according to this paper (http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/rtg/pdf/pg-804.pdf)
The prices vary quite a bit and don't no how old it is.
Well the campgrounds found in europe that have a website usally are way to expensive.
But, it cheers me up.

Hello Glenski

N.P. means national park.

"Now you are starting to confuse me with available money."

I really appreciate your help , but don't worry.
In this thread it's only about food and accomodation, nothing else (exept for the gas price).
Now I'm almost 2 years on the road and drove nearly 80'000km through Northamerica,Southamerica,Australia and South East Asia.
I every country a could live on $ 10 a day for food, which means in Australia cooking pasta on my stove while in South East Asia Iiving like a King.
Accomodation varies the most, in both the amount ( $ 0-35) and what I got for it.
Regular campgrounds for $ 5-25 and Backpacker from for $ 10-35 , while in South East Asia I get a privat room for $ 10.
An other big factor is gas, but less the actual price per liter, more the combination of km and gas price.
Australia was the worst with long distances in the Outback and prices of $ 2 per liter.
While Ecuador and Malaysia the gas price was only $ 0.5-0.6 but I drove only few km.
So Japan will be one of these places I can survive on an average of $ 30 a day.

"What exactly do you hope to see and do? "
More or less the same I did in the rest of the world.
Travelling by bike is far different from travelling by bus.
Riding the bus is hardly a pleasure and you get only to the cities.
So when your'e there you have to spend lots of money for activities, bungyjumping, museums, temples, partying, day tour to a waterfall, and so on.
While riding the bike over a winding mountain road (where in the bus you already throw up) is pure pleasure and gives me a smile for the rest of the day; if I then can pitch my tent for free on a remote beach, eat my cupnoodles, watch the sunset with a cup of fresh tea, what do you want more.
Sure I pay also money for tourist attractions, but only the top ones like Machu Picchu, Angkor Vat, boat ride in Kakadoo N.P. to see the crokodiles and so on , but not as many little temples as the average backpacker has to visit , just to not get bored.

There are so many thing to do and see for free along the way.

sushi

18

Sounds like a great trip..

Apart from the food...I love eating ;-) I wouldn't want to travel to Japan and eat the cheapest stuff possible.Going to all the different types of restaurants,sushi bars,noodle shops is one of the great pleasures of travelling for me.

Are you doing this alone sushi?

Do you meet many other people travelling like this,or is it pretty solitary?

19

What more would I want?
Better food than salty cup noodles or pasta with bland sauce all the time.
Some idea of what exactly you plan to see and do. Mountains and roads are similar all over the world. Sounds like you freewheel it, which is ok, but it doen't sound like you even know WHAT you expect to see. Do you? Basically, it comes down to this, why Japan?

20

Www.outdoorjapan.com has some helpful info. Type camping into the search.

Date at the bottom of the JNTO site says 2010.

Go here. http://www.hatinosu.net/camp/
Go to the Google translate option at the top of the page to change the kanji to English, including comments by others.
Each camping site has a description including fees and map.
You can also click on the upper blue button that begins with "Google", and you will get a country map with all camping sites.

21

Alea iacta est!

I've put my bike in the container to Osaka.
Around the 20th March I will start to discover Japan on two wheels.

Hello lucapal

"Apart from the food...I love eating ;-) I wouldn't want to travel to Japan and eat the cheapest stuff possible.
Going to all the different types of restaurants,sushi bars,noodle shops is one of the great pleasures of travelling for me."

As you can guess from my name, a have a interest in local food.
Depending on the cost for accomodation I'll see how much fish and seaweed I'll get.
Well, local food is interesting but at the moment I'm recovering from a souvenir from Cambodia, 1.5 weeks diarrhea.
Instant noodle soup sound quite good to me at the moment.

"Are you doing this alone sushi?
Do you meet many other people travelling like this,or is it pretty solitary?"

Yes I'm riding alone.
Unlike backpacking, we don't meet very often one of our kind.
Depending on the part of the world and tthe time of the year. Even for bikers there is somthing like "the backpacker trail", there you might meet more.
But on average I meet other bikers once a month.

Hello Glenski

Tanks for the info about camping.

"Basically, it comes down to this, why Japan?"

Why Japan?
As I said in my first posting I have no choice.
None shipper can ship my bike direct to vladivostok but to Japan is no problem.
And from there I can take a carferry to Russia. As simple as that.
But since Japan was my first trip I did, I'm looking forward to visit again.

"Mountains and roads are similar all over the world."

Well, you got a point there, but so are citys.
Why travelling at all?

"Some idea of what exactly you plan to see and do.
Sounds like you freewheel it, which is ok, but it doen't sound like you even know WHAT you expect to see. Do you?"

I like to ride the winding small roads, enjoying the cherry flowers and castels along the road.
If I want to look at something I just stop.
I'm more interested in nature than citys and museums.
Usually I leave it to the road to surprise me.

Once I've done it I'll report about the cost.

sushi

22

Curiously, many of the japanese campers or "city wild campers" I met were bikers!
This was summer, so things may be different earlier...

23

When is camping not "wild"? When you put up a tent in a house?

24

"Wild" anywhere opposite to "in official campsites", can be in the mountains, by the roaside, or in a city park ;-)

25

Hello
Yes I can!
Well at least here in Osaka its easy to survive on 3000 Yen a day.
Got a privat room, 3 tatami/shared bath/fridge/TV,wi-fi, at a hotel near Dobutsuen-mae Subway station for 1800 Yen!
Leaves a lot of money for food, no need to take out my stove so far.
Will start next week with camping.
Urban wild camping in Osakas' parks seams a bit difficult.
Until late night they are crowded with people playing music instruments and from sunrise you have the old folks running around and whiping the ground with brooms.
keep you updated once I got more info...
sushi

26

Thanks for the update, sushi2831. Good luck, and continued success with your 3000-yen-a-day adventure!

27

Hello
After almost 7 week I left Japan for Vladivostok,Russia.
.
Accomodation:
2/5 of the Nights:Hostels from 1800-2900 Yen
1/5 of the Nights:Official campground from 400-1500 Yen
2/5 of the Nights:Wildcamping 0 Yen
That gave me an average of 980 Yen a Night.
For my experiance with camping see here:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?messageID=20843728�
.
Food:
I was happily looking forward to eat only instant noodle soop, as I did 21 years ago on my last visit to japan.
But, I hardly used my own gas stove, mostly eat lunch at a japanese fast food restaurant where you can get a big bowl of Udon for 400 Yen. Once in a while I enjoyed McDonnalds, lunch menue for 500 Yen, for recharging my laptop and of course the wonderful experience of a heated toilet seat.
I also enjoed take away sushi from the supermarket, which is of better quality than in many restaurants in Europe.
I spent an average of 1200 Yen per Day.
.
In all I found Japan to be cheaper a lot cheaper than 21 years ago.
In both the amount of Yen that I had to pay for things and also the exchange rate.
I heard about the deflation of the Yen over the past years, but never understood wat that means until now.

Here in Vladivostok it's a bit more expensive than in Japan and the supermarkets aren't as good,no sushi.
I miss Japan already.

sushi

28

Thanks for the update..sound good!

It is true that Japan is relatively a lot cheaper than 20 years ago...it used to be (at least for a while) incredibly expensive..now it is less so than many parts of Europe,Australia,the US..even countries like Brazil.

29

Nice report sushi.