Originally published at: This video shows you how to travel in Japan on the cheap - Boing Boing
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Certainly some solid tips to save money when visiting Japan. 
A couple quick additions:
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For lodging, capsule hotels can be inexpensive and worth trying for a night or two for the experience alone (they’re distinctly Japan if nothing else). Like the videographer, I typically find them to be more comfortable than multi-bunk hostel rooms, but not as comfortable as a proper hotel room. It is definitely not worth the trouble to deal with extremely cheap, sketchy rooms in core tourist areas. Taped on locks? Yikes!
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For a more comfortable experience than capsules, a better option are business class hotels — Tokoyo, Dormy, Fresa, etc — a few stations away from main tourist areas. If the hotel is not next to a transfer station, rooms tend to be relatively inexpensive, but much better than capsules; just small by gaijin standards (10 square meters or so).
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Convenience stores aren’t a terrible option for a cheap meal, but also look for lunch specials targeted toward office workers and don’t forget about supermarkets. Supermarkets can be expensive in the basements of department stores and train stations, but discount supermarkets like OK in Tokyo and Super Tamade in Osaka are about as cheap as food gets in Japan. Hopefully you won’t have to eat from the supermarket (or convenience store) all the time, but doing so sometimes can help to keep your costs down and hopefully free up a bit more cash for a better meal or two elsewhere.
Hope this helps; have fun in Japan! 
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