Quote Originally Posted by Silverpoint
Firstly, he made it pretty clear that he was aiming to try and get around as much of Japan as possible in seven days - this was one of the purposes of his article - perhaps the title "A fast-track travel plan" should have given you a clue!? For this, the rail pass is fantastic value. This piece wasn't written to appeal to the traveller who just wants a 2 stop holiday in Tokyo and Kyoto.
But there is no point to go all around a country 3000km long in 7 days when all the most interesting sights and things to do are concentrated around Tokyo and Kyoto (apart from nature, but then why choose Japan in particular and not the US, Canada, Australia, Brazil, China or even Indonesia ?). That's a lot of wasted time, even using the shinkansen, and plenty of great places in Kanto and Kansai will be missed.

As for long distance buses, why if you want to get around quickly and have an intense experience in as many places as possible, would you want to take the slowest possible form of transport. Again I think you missed the point.
Night buses have the advantadge that one doesn't need to waste day-time hours in the train (and can save on hotels). I suppose that someone who would like to visit Japan is just 7 days is either tight on budget (so the bus is cheaper and save on accommodation), or is willing to have a hectic schedule, in which case using a lot of night buses is a gain of time on the shinkansen. What's more, the shinkansen doesn't go to many places, including most of Kyushu, the Sea of Japan coast and Hokkaido.

You say that any travel writer should know that Japanese hotels are generally cheaper than those in western Europe. This may be so, but have you stopped to consider that perhaps a lot of people in the UK don't know this.
That is not my point. He seems to be saying that only capsule hotels are cheap, while it is not the case. He gives a wrong impression by starting to say that he himself thought of Japan as an expensive country. This was true 10 or 15 years ago, but not anymore - especially compared to Britain. He should mention this, which he doesn't.

Furthermore your comments on English Bed & Breakfasts are wide of the mark. You can easily find a B&B in the south-east of England for less than 60 quid a night.
I was comparing double rooms with breakfast. I slept in Brighton, Portsmouth, Bournemouth and Oxford this year, and couldn't find anything under 60 pounds in this category. In any case, it was always less well-equipped and less comfortable than the business hotels in which I stayed around Japan that were all 50% cheaper.

I'd also take issue with your comments about Hokkaido. Of course you can comfortably spend a week in Hokkaido. Your dismissal of the island as a place where there is little to do other than visit onsens is (sorry) just plain ignorant. There is more to sightseeing than just looking at old buildings and Hokkaido has a great variety of places to visit and things to see.
I am well travelled. I have visited over 35 countries, including most of Europe and S-E Asia. I have been in most regions of Japan now (in fact I just come back from a 2-week trip to Kyushu, Chugoku and Shikoku). I have written a travel guide to Japan, England and Belgium. I can tell you that most Japanese cities outside Tokyo and Kyoto have very few "sights" in comparison to European cities. Hokkaido only has 3 notable sightseeing "cities" with virtually no history and no exceptional museum. The rest is nature, which is not "traditional sightseeing" as I said. Nature travelling is a different category of travelling, and indeed there are special, separate guides for hiking, camping, etc. I wouldn't call it "sightseeing" anyway.