1st time going to Japan

Hi there,

It is always great to hear new people are visiting Japan, Tokyo can indeed be rather expansive.
There are however budget options available, what I always recommend is taking a hostel, it is a great way to meet new people and usually the staff can tell you where to find the great spots in the city. I would recommend taking a look at [hostel world](www.hostelworld.com] and see if you can find anything you like. I'd be more than happy to comment on an accommodation if you are unsure.

If you prefer a hotel, chains like dormy inn and Super Hotel offer very reasonable rates and western rooms.

If you are looking for a great place to visit, I would recommend a visit to Takayama. The train ride offers really beautiful mountain views and the place is a must to see. You would also make good use of your JR-Pass!

In Kyoto be sure to visit at least Kiyomizu-dera and walk the streets of Gion and Kawara-machi.

About your food preferences, it can be hard to find vegetarian menu's and halal meat. Fish is more abundant (not only in Sushi) and bread can be found commonly too. Most local shops may not have vegetarian options available. The Japanese kitchen loves to utilize meat and meat products and the word vegetarian is not used a lot. I would recommend visiting an Izakaya as they serve small portions of everything and you can order what you like. If you are okay with eating egg products Ramen are very delicious as well, be careful though as many are served with meat, however fish, miso and soy based ramen are common too Other vegetarian products that can be easily be found are: tofu products, pickles and of course rice. It may sound hard but it is certainly possibly to live like a vegetarian in Japan. I would recommend doing some Google searches and read some blogs (like this one) of how other people have done it.

Hope this helps you!
-Daniel

Hope this help

Thank you for your help Daniel! I'm looking for a place where I can get to places in ease like Akihabara and other nice places in Japan within the JR line. I don't mind staying at hostels because I will be only sleeping there. Do hostels share the shower? If so, are there any cheap hotels to stay at for 10 nights? Dormy Inn looks like I can only book in 6 nights.

I was also thinking to get the 7 day pass. The 7 day pass could be used the 7 days and the rest of the 3 days I could wonder around Tokyo and see the sights. Are the trains easy to use around Tokyo and how much are the reasonably?

Thanks in advance!

Hello again,

I would recommand staying around Ueno if you can, from there you can walk to Akihabara and Asakusa is close too!
Hostels usually have a shared bathroom and shower. I am not sure why you can't book more than 6 days. For more hotels options I would recommand taking a look at tripadvisor.com there you can search by your own budget and preferences and read other peoples reviews.

Yes getting a 7-day pass is a good idea, prices for local travel in Tokyo are not so high about 150-220 Yen for a single ride depending on the distance. Traversing Tokyo is easy but there are so many lines that it is smart to fimiliarize yourself with the map first before you embark on your exploration of the city. Here you can find the Tokyo Metro Map

Hope you have a great time in Japan!
-Daniel

Sorry I linked the Japanese map, here is the English map