Youth Hostel Supplement
In keeping with my tradition of listing my accommodations...
Sakura Youth Hostel (Tokyo) - Great way to arrive in Tokyo (man that feels like it was a long time ago, way more than two months!). Clean, friendly place in the "old" part of town, Asakusa. Great atmosphere in the common area. Only downside is that it is difficult to find your first time there. 2940 yen.
Backpacker's K House at Mount Fuji (Kawaguchiko) - Possibly the best hostel I have EVER stayed in...ever! Mellow place, lots of "long term" guests, full kitchen, nice common area with large HD LCD. Seriously a wonderful place to be (it is very new) and as luck would have it, right next to a quality (and cheap!) onsen. 2700 yen.
Warakuan Guest House (Kyoto) - Very cool traditional place that will give you the Ryokan experience in this cultural center for a decent price. The rooms are 3 or 6 people on tatami mats. Centrally located (although, since we only spent one full day there, I never got a feel for Kyoto's layout) 2500 yen.
Asakusa Capsule Hotel (Tokyo) - Across from the Asakusa metro entrance, this capsule hotel may not be exactly representative of a Shibuya or Shinjuku capsule hotel but it was fun none the less. The clientele appeared to be more of an older men, smoking watching sumo wrestling demo than the young drunk salaryman who missed the last train. Not exactly great but it worked for the night (not available to book online...4000 yen)
I'll have to work up my favorite hostels all told a little later.
Next up: Probably Toronto. I am meeting a few folks for a camp out in Algonquin national forest.
--Joey
