Hostels are key. Get a hosteling card. HiUsa.com has great resources for international and domestic hostels. Most hostels I stayed in were very accommodating, you may have to sleep in a 28 person room, but if you like to travel, this isn't a problem, your never there but to get some shut eye. Hostels are also flexible about dates and some are flexible with prices!

Many nights I slept in train stations and bus garages. I'm not advocating this for everyone but I traveled with a friend and Japan is a very safe country. The best way to do this is to pack light and put your backpack behind you, lock it with a zip tie or combo lock and put a strap around your wrist so no one can pull anything out while you sleep.

When traveling around the country, save money by taking buses instead of trains. A great method if your only traveling a few hundred miles is to take an overnight bus, while saving money on a hostel for that night and awaking at your destination. I went from Osaka to Tokyo on an overnight bus costing $50, and saving an extra $15 by not spending it on a hostel.

Remember when staying in a hostel to bring a small combination lock for your locker. Make sure you lock things up when your not in your room, even if you are using the showers.

While you lodge, instead of spending money on washers and dryers bring a small clothesline and hand wash your clothes in a sink and let them dry on a clothesline in a bathroom or outside, depending on hostel and time of year.

My friend only brought 2 pair of boxer briefs with him, he would take a shower with one pair on, then let them dry while wearing the other pair during the day, and repeat this every day. Might sound weird but he always had clean boxers and saved room on packing!

View the rest of this series on my $2000 trip to Japan, with tips of lodging, travel packing, and eating.

Safe Travels.

Snowboarding

Since the Olympic winter games in Nagano 1998, the Japanese have developed a fondness for winter sports. From ice-skating to skiing, every sport practiced in the snow or on ice has gained popularity. Initially there were only a lot of skiing places around Nagano, but the rising popularity of skiing has led to the birth of a lot of skiing areas with good facilities. While Nagano is still popular, a lot of Japanese choose for Hokkaido now. Being more Northern than Nagano, there are areas with guaranteed snow and the facilities are growing to an agreeable level. With all this attention to skiing, it is easy for snow-boarders to use the facilities too. Being not as popular as skiing, there should be no trouble for you to find your snowboard gear in any skiing area. Even the après-ski is bound to be as fun as it would be in one of the expensive ski-resorts in the Alpes. So Japan is good to go.

Skateboarding

While skateboarding can be done in Japan and is regarded as cool amongst the youth, there are some obstacles to overcome. Skate-parks are rare and only located in the big cities. Most of them are indoor skate-parks and since there is little choice, you can grow bored and you get no alternative to choose from. As for boarding outside, it can be hard to find places suited for boarding. Almost in every town the police won't be happy with your performance. So good luck with finding a private place that's good for skateboarding. There are some places in the big cities, where you can hang out with fellow skaters, but they are rare and not easily discovered. The same goes for finding gear. You can find some skate-shops, but they will not be cheap and only a few can get you everything you want. I think if you have some skateboarding Japanese friends, you're good to go, but just going there by yourself you'll be completely lost.

Wave Surfing

Geographically Japan is interesting for wave surfing. The reefs near Okinawa and the weird cracks under the sea near Kyushu can bring you some weird waves. In Okinawa all year through and in Kyushu in summer, surfing gains popularity. It's considered as one of the cool sports and more places where you can buy or rent equipment are starting up. Most of the equipment is imported from Australia and the quality is pretty high. Since surfing in Japan is still in growth status, you can find untouched havens and so on. I would really recommend Japan for the experienced surfer. If you are not yet very experienced, you may want to try some more touristic places in Okinawa. Or you can always try to find a Japanese friend who likes to surf and knows a certain area pretty well. Like I said Japan has some weird waves and you better be careful before throwing yourself into the water.

Wind Surfing

Japan has a lot of sea and quite enough wind. For the conditions for windsurfing you will never have to look far. But climate-wise and equipment-wise you are better off South in Kyushu or Okinawa. Wind surfing is not extremely popular in Japan. It doesn't mean that you can't find it anywhere but you will have to inquire first. Either there is a club and you'll find everything or people will stare at you like you've asked them whether the synchronized swimming team practices in this part of the sea. In some places they will even have a synchronized swimming team, but no windsurfing. So in short: you will not have to complain about circumstances, but more about material or finding a club.

Senso-ji:

Location: Asakusa, Tokyo. Use the train from anywhere in or near Tokyo.

Number of Tourists: Incredibly high. Just a little more than a crowded shopping street

Things to See: Giant lanterns. On the bottom of the lanterns are carved dragons, most people don't know of this and just pass without looking underneath. Shopping for souvenirs is also one of the interesting things you can do at Asakusa.

Suggestion: Because of the high number of tourists, there are lots of souvenir shops in the Asakusa district. People who have a flight from Tokyo back to their home country could visit Asakusa and Senso-ji to fill their baggage with Omiage (Japanese souvenirs).

Hase-dera:

Location: Hase temple is located in Kamakura, not too far by train from the city centre.

Number of Tourists: Moderate.

Things to See: the temple is a nice place to have a view all over the city Kamakura, also there are a lot of statues.

Suggestion: It is a nice temple to visit if you have not visited a lot of temples. I would call Hasedera the standard temple for tourists.

Kinkaku-ji:

Location: Kyoto, not too far from the centre by bus, car or taxi (you can walk from ryoan-ji)

Number of Tourists: High, especially in the afternoon and late morning.

Things to See: The building is covered in a layer of gold and gives you a fairy-tale view. The pond and garden are also nice to see.

Suggestion: Visit early in the morning and don't plan to stay too long. You can't go inside. Besides taking a few pictures, there is very little to do as it's a very crowded place and you can't go inside the building.

Ryoan-ji:

Location: Kyoto, not too far from the centre by bus, car or taxi (you can walk from kinkakuji, but it's uphill)

Number of Tourists: Moderate, but it's a small place and a lot of people stay long so you may get a more crowded feeling.

Things to See: The stone garden. The stone garden is unique and a lot of people sit down and meditate or contemplate there. The special thing about the stone garden is that wherever you stand, you will never be able to see all the stones in the garden. The temple also has a nice tree garden; you can take an alternative route through the garden on your way back.

Suggestion: If you like Zen Buddhism or combine the visit with the kinkaku-ji it's worth going.

Todai-ji:

Location: Nara, located in Nara Park, which is pretty central. You can take the train and walk through the park to the Temple complex.

Number of Tourists: Very high, but the place is extremely big, which makes up for it. You never really get the crowded feeling.

Things to See: The world's largest bronze Buddha. The temple is the world's biggest wooden structure. You can crawl through a hole the size of Buddha's nostril, which should grant you luck.

Suggestion: It's really worth visiting. You can also walk around the park (there are a lot of deer in the park, don't feed them. If you bow to the deer sometimes they will bow back, but not all animals are trained to do this.) Nara is worth a whole day of your time at least.

Muro-ji:

Location: Muro village, city, Nara prefecture. You can take a train from Osaka, Kyoto or Nara but it's not close.

Number of Tourists: About five to ten and maybe one or two classes of school children

Things to See: It has the worlds smallest five story pagoda and a range of interesting Buddha statues. You can also take the 400 steps up the mountain to see the view and the building highest on the mountain.

Suggestion: It's a nice temple located in Japan's nature. If you like hiking you can combine a hiking trip with the temple's visit.