Guesthouses in Tokyo: Cheap Long-Term Accommodations
by Tim Chard, an American living in Tokyo, Japan
(Personal Blog: lovetravelbass.com)
Part 3 of a 3-Part Series
[NOTE: Tim, who is currently living in Tokyo and has personally explored the cheapest budget accommodations in Tokyo, will present three different options: free, short term, and long term. All three are based on having the strictest of budgets. Today he will present the LONG-TERM (one month and above) option.]
For those staying in Tokyo for more than a few weeks, your best option is a guesthouse. Guesthouses don’t require you to have resident status (a tourist visa is fine) and they let you have your own room. Some guesthouses even have dorms (2 people to 8 people), and these dorms can be as low as 30,000 yen ($370) a month. All of the guesthouses have a “common room” with a couch, TV, and a kitchen. This gives you the sociability of a hostel and the privacy of an apartment.
Guesthouses usually have some sort of “management” fee (money you don’t get back) and a deposit (money that you do get back). I have created a list of the most popular ones. Prices are the fixed rates and costs, not the rent.
Short-Term Cheap Hotels and Hostels in Tokyo
by Tim Chard, an American living in Tokyo, Japan
(Personal Blog: lovetravelbass.com)
Part 2 of a 3-Part Series
[NOTE: Tim, who is currently living in Tokyo and has personally explored the cheapest budget accommodations in Tokyo, will present three different options: free, short term, and long term. All three are based on having the strictest of budgets. Today he will present the SHORT-TERM option.]
Japan is expensive. Tokyo is extremely expensive. The cheapest hostels here are luxury suites in other parts of Asia. But don’t fret too much because there are short-term cheap hotels and hostels in Tokyo if you know how to find them.
Budget hostels/capsule hotels in Tokyo will run you between 1500-3000 yen ($18-$36) for a night. There are certainly more ridiculously-luxurious options, but until someone pays me to review those, I will steer clear.
Using HostelWorld, I found that the cheapest accommodation in Tokyo was 1300 yen ($16) at JGH Hostel. However, this was a far ride from central Tokyo in a prefecture called Saitama (not in that red circle I posted in Part 1 of this series), so I chose the slightly pricier, but substantially closer, Kawase Hotel.
Couchsurfing: Free Accommodations in Tokyo
by Tim Chard, an American living in Tokyo, Japan
(Personal Blog: lovetravelbass.com)
Part 1 of a 3-Part Series
[NOTE: Tim, who is currently living in Tokyo and has personally explored the cheapest budget accommodations in Tokyo, will present three different options: free, short term, and long term. All three are based on having the strictest of budgets. Today he will present a FREE option.]
When I started my Tokyo adventure, I aimed for free accommodations. A covered bridge may work for the most extreme budget traveler, but I prefer a roof and a mattress.
To obtain this, I used couchsurfing.org.
Couchsurfing is a site I’ve used extensively for the last three years; and while it’s free to use and gets you free accommodations, it’s not without its challenges, especially in Tokyo. Remember, there are thousands of Couchsurfing hosts in any popular city.

