Things got off to a good start on our crazy-cheap trip to the land of the gods, but with funds running low, will we have a roof over our heads on a snowy night?
Our Japanese-language reporter Go Hatori has spent years traveling overseas without spending very much money, visiting a number of Asian nations in our Extreme Budget Travel series while spending 50,000 yen (US$320) or less for flights, hotel, food, and fun. After several successful trips under those parameters, he’s now looking inward with the goal of taking cool domestic Japanese trips with an even smaller budget of just 30,000 yen (US$195).
We’re not talking about quick next-prefecture-over jaunts, either. For his first in-Japan Extreme Budget Travel adventure, Go picked Shimane, a prefecture that’s way over on the opposite side of Japan’s main island of Honshu from Tokyo, and not on any of its major high-speed rail networks. In Part 1, we covered how Go made it to Shimane, his visit to an amazing noodle restaurant that he was led to by a native-son’s recommendation, and his visit to Izumo Taisha, one of the most beautiful and culturally significant Shinto shrines in the entire country. What we haven’t covered is how Go is going to enjoy his afternoon, eat dinner, and get a place to spend the night when his budget is now down to just 6,500 yen.
▼ Izumo Taisha
The town of Izumo is along the north side of Honshu, facing the Sea of Japan. This coast doesn’t have much in the way of sandy beaches, but it does have some very ruggedly picturesque rocky shorelines.
It’s just a very short drive from Izumo Taisha to the coast, and with the late afternoon sun starting to dip, Go figured this might be good timing to catch some nice sunset views…
…and he was absolutely right!
Izumo is often referred to as being the land of the gods, since all of Japan’s Shinto spirits are said to gather at Izumo Taisha once a year. That’s supposed to happen in October, but on this February day, watching the sunlight come streaming through the clouds and shine on the surface of the sea, Go felt a deep reverence for the beauty and majesty of Izumo.
▼ The views were especially dazzling from Hinomisaki Point, about 15 minutes by car from the shrine.
▼ The drive from Izumo Taisha to Hinomisaki Point
Go had rented his car for a 12-hour stint, and it was now time to return it. As we explained in Part 1, rather than using a traditional rental agency office, he’d gotten his car at a branch of Japanese gas station Eneos, which has a partnership with Nikoniko Rentacar. This turned out to be especially handy when it came time to return it, since instead of having to drive around looking for a place to fill up the tank, Go could just do it right there.
Go’s gas expenses ended up being 1,305 yen, so after that, his round-trip airfare between Tokyo and Shimane, the bus into town from Izumo Airport, the fee for the car itself, and lunch, he now had 5,195 yen left to spend.
With no car anymore, Go had a 10-minute walk to his hotel, which itself is five minutes on foot from Izumoshi Station. Right in front of the gas station is a supermarket called Rapita (ラピタ) where he could have picked up something to eat for dinner…
…but since Izumo is famous for its soba noodles, Go decided instead to duck into Hoshien, a restaurant near the station that makes its soba noodles from scratch.
▼ From Hinomisaki Point to Hoshien
Their top recommendation is the Sanshoku Warigo Soba, which loosely translates to “Three-color Split Soba,” and they call it that because you get a stack of three dishes of noodles, one with egg, one with grated yam, and one with grated daikon radish, onto which you then pour the broth.
All three of them tasted great, but after paying his bill of 1,230 yen, Go’s budget had dwindled to 3,965 yen, and he still needed to pay for his hotel.
Budget hotels are getting harder and harder to find in Japan these days, so rather than full-service lodgings, Go had made a reservation at Izumo Guest House Itoan, which was charging him 3,500 yen for a night’s stay.
▼ From Hoshien to Izumo Guest House Itoan (which also calls itself Izumo Hostel Itoan)
Note that we didn’t say that they were charging Go 3,500 yen for a room, because, as shown on their Booking.com page, the dormitory-style room Go was going to be staying in had futons for three people.
When Go made his reservation, the booking system showed that there were two vacancies left in the room, so he knew ahead of time that he’d be sharing it with at least one other person…or so he thought. As you’ve probably noticed, there was a lot of snow on the ground while Go was in Izumo, the result of a heavy snowstorm that had hit the town the day before he arrived. The conditions were so severe that flights into Izumo had been cancelled and trains had been stopped too, and the other traveler who was supposed to be in the room with Go hadn’t been able to make it to Izumo after all.
Which meant…
…Go had the entire guesthouse to himself!
▼ Go’s private room!
▼ Go’s private kitchen and dining area!
▼ Go’s private bathroom and bathtub!
It may not have been particularly fancy, but in effect renting a house for 3,500 yen was an amazing stroke of luck, and with the kitchen stocked with complementary coffee and tea, Go felt like a local resident as he brewed a cup of coffee to sip.
Thoroughly relaxed after his bath, it was now time to hit the sack.
The next morning, after getting up, Go made the quick walk to the Twin Leaves Hotel Izumo, right by the station, where he could buy a bus ticket to the airport for his flight back to Tokyo.
▼ From Izumo Guest House Itoan to Twin Leaves Hotel Izumo
▼ Airport buses leave from the rotary outside the station’s north exit at the stop marked 空港連絡バスのりば
▼ Though the onboard directions say to “fasten a seat belt,” we strongly recommend fastening the specific one for the seat you’re sitting in.
With his hotel check-out time having been 10 a.m. and a 30-minute bus ride to the airport, Go arrived with plenty of time before his noon flight back to Tokyo, which would land at Haneda at 1:15 in the afternoon.
Oh, and with Go’s bus ticket to the airport costing 850 yen, we can now tally his expenses and see if he stayed within his 30,000-yen budget.
● Round-trip Japan Airlines tickets from Haneda to Izumo Enmusubi Airport and back: 18,500 yen
● Bus from airport into Izumo town: 850 yen
● 12-hour car rental: 2,750 yen
● Lunch at Yakumoan restaurant: 1,400 yen
● Gasoline: 1,305 yen
● Dinner at Hoshien restaurant: 1,230 yen
● One-night stay at Itoan guest house: 3,500 yen
● Bus from Izumo to airport: 850 yen
Add it all up, and it comes to…30,385 yen.
OK, so in the end, Go wasn’t quite able to pull off this entire trip for 30,000 yen. Still, he was less than 1.5 percent over budget, so we feel like the guy deserves at least partial credit, and we’re expecting him to further hone his domestic bargain travel skills from here on out.
Photos ©SoraNews24
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