About temporary accommodations

Hello forum,

I'm planning to visit Japan in the near future for the first time and not just to eat a cup noodle and take a few pictures but
to stay a few months (max. 3) and take my time to get more familiar with the culture and a hopefully get a wider picture, maybe some perspective (the good and the bad). Before beginning the madventure, I aim to get fluent enough in Japanese to survive on my own in most situations.

The biggest question on my mind was the living expenses which obviously vary from city to ward. I heard about these 'guest-houses' which appear to be more traditional type of an accommodation than a hotel and considerably cheaper. Sometimes even cheaper than an apartment from what I've read.
The only things I'd need are a place to sleep, cook and clean (myself and clothes).

So, what I'm currently wondering is whether to have a single 'base of operations' somewhere in a geographically central location from which I could travel to all around the islands and then return at the end of the day or the next, or alternatively go full gypsy and just stay at each location for a few days before moving on to the next.

Does anyone here have experience with guest-housing? How do they compare to other accommodations?
Is it even possible to rent an apartment as a 'tourist'?
Would anyone trust a foreigner without a recommendation from a Japanese employer for example?

Would appreciate any thoughts on this!

Thanks!
-j

are you referring to guesthouse that hostel type accommodation. depend on the place, some offer dormitory type, 6-8 per room, semi-private or private room.

depend where you in japan, various guesthouse available cater to backpackers

one of widely known guesthouse

http://sakura-guesthouse.com/english/facilities/facilities.html

http://khaosan-tokyo.com/en/

As a tourist, your options would be: hotels, hostels, guesthouses, or "weekly/monthly apartments," though the latter sometimes require you to be an employee or a student in Japan/requires a guarantor.
You would want it furnished and with a kitchen/kitchenette, so you'd want to look around for guesthouses/shared houses with those conditions.

I don't know exactly where you want to go, but if you want go "all around the islands," then I do not recommend having just one base. Even to cover the "usual"sightseeing spots, at least you would want one around Tokyo to explore around Tokyo/Kanto area, and another base around Kyoto to explore around Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Hiroshima, etc. Please look at the map and see how long traveling takes, for example, from Tokyo to Hiroshima, and that is not even the southern island.

Wow. That sounds like a wonderful trip. If I had the time and money to do such a trip. I would go full gypsy style. Only planning 3-4 days ahead. Probably just do a huge lap of the outside of Japan, and head inland as required.

Using wifi on your laptop at your accommodation to book you next step/s as required. Cos you'll never know if you find a place you wanna spend more time at. Or get caught in someone that slows your plans up. Or need to more quicker for whatever reason.

If you Japanese get very good. It will open doors to other accommodations that aren't available to tourists. People spare rooms. Working on a farm doing odd jobs for boarding etc.

Is it even possible to rent an apartment as a 'tourist'?

Yes it is possible. I've stayed in an apartment in Tokyo multiple times, pretty much every time I go to Japan. The company I use is http://www.liveinasia.com/ and they specifically rent apartments to tourists / foreigners staying a short time in Tokyo.

what I'm currently wondering is whether to have a single 'base of operations' somewhere in a geographically central location from which I could travel to all around the islands and then return at the end of the day or the next

I wouldn't recommend that. You would be spending a lot of time just traveling rather than getting to see and know Japan. Plus on multi-day trips you'd be paying twice for accommodation...once at your "home base" and again in the area you are staying overnight.

There are hostels throughout Japan, but I've never stayed in them so I cannot recommend any. But, what I can recommend is a chain of business hotels that may meet your needs and budget.

Toyoko Inn (http://www.toyoko-inn.com/eng/index.html) has hotels all across Japan, as well as a few in Korea and one in Cambodia now. They are like the McDonald's of hotels...they're all the same...once you've stayed in one you've pretty much stayed in the them all. The rooms all come with wifi and wired internet, a tv, a fridge, a safe, and a kettle. And all Toyoko Inns offer laundry facilities and complimentary breakfast each morning.

And I find them fairly inexpensive, compared to other hotels. You can register as a member which gets you 20% discount on Sundays and Holidays, 5% discount Monday-Saturday, and a free stay after every 10. Once you've earned a free stay you can use it right away or you can hold onto it and use it at a later date. Membership also allows you to book a room 6 months in advance, non-members can only book 3 months in advance. Membership is a one-time only fee of 1500Yen and is definitely worth it, especially for the free nights you earn.

Also, one tid-bit of information. If you use the Toyoko Inn reservation system in English they require a credit card number to reserve the room...but when you check-in you can pay in cash if you'd like. However, if you use the reservation system in Japanese, they don't require a credit card number. I'm not sure why that is but if you have both the English page open and the Japanese page open it is simple to fill out the Japanese reservation page using the English page as a guide.

I've stayed in Toyoko Inns all across Japan (from Hokkaido to Okinawa), and one in Seoul, and never had any issues or problems.

Thanks everyone for the great replies and resources!
Gypsy-style it is then. Those prices look very tempting even for a hotel.

"Working on a farm doing odd jobs for boarding etc."

Now there's an idea. As long as there's no taxable benefits, it probably can't be considered 'working' per say.

My experience with social renting has mostly been negative, but given Japanese honesty and hospitality it might be worth exploring.

-j

Perhaps you might be interested in WWOOF-ing (www.wwoofjapan.com) - staying on farms in rural areas in exchange for help with farmwork, they offer locations all over Japan and you can agree on a stay from several weeks to months...