How to be thrifty in Japan?

[tsubaki nakajima]

As much as we all want to travel in Japan, I'm curious if you guys can give smart tips and important advice on how to save money while still enjoying your trip there.
Here are some of the tips that I am already aware of:

1. Travel off peak season- most of the flights there are much cheaper, some of the services too.
2. Depends on where you're going, flights are cheaper than shinkansen and vice versa. In short, check both before using any of it.
3.Use hostels, capsules, dorm beds at guest houses, my latest discovery: internet cafes or any other cafe for accomodation.
4.Don't take taxi, unless its really needed. They are really expensive.
5.Free tourist spots is the answer if you don't want to spend too much. From temples and shrines,parks and hiking trails.
6. Konbini or convenient store is your life saver. Not only they have variety of kitkats, but food too. They're not expensive, but they are really really good.
7. WEEKDAY LUNCHTIME. Splurge during lunch because they usually have lunch promos.
8.Check out discount stores.100-yen shops or Don Quijote.

[Sakurahime]

These are all really good tips, although I'm not sure about the convenience store one. Supermarkets can be much cheaper, but it depends on what you want to buy. And naturally, convenience stores are far more convenient! But Daiso for sure, although I've found that the drinks can be more expensive than they seem.
9. As well as free tourist spots, there are places where you can get a reduction on the entrance price. For example, in Sendai if you buy a ticket for the Loople bus (and there's a 24-hour option which means you can visit most of the main tourist spots in the city), you can get into some places for less.
10. If you're planning to travel all over Japan, look into getting a Japan Rail Pass.
11. If you want to double up on travel and accommodation, and you're happy to sleep on the move, you can look into night buses, which travel between many of the major cities across Japan. The comfort of the journeys varies quite a lot between buses and the time of year (I have a memory of sitting above a hot engine in summer - not fun), but it's definitely cheaper. You can alternate this with Internet/manga cafes, which often have a shower for freshening up.

[Sakurahime]

And 12. (I forgot one!) This kind of connects to number 7. It's cheap to eat lunch out, but for dinner you can go to a supermarket, then eat in! The reason is that later on in the evening, they start to price down the ready-prepared meals, like the bento trays. You can really pick up a bargain, but beware of the competition! Everyone knows that the meals are reduced and you could be up against some thrifty housewives or broke students!

[Louie]

13. I'm not sure if this is true or not but I've heard that there are cheap bus rides for 100 yen and even "Free Bus Rides" in Japan. Perhaps if you can get their schedule, you will be able to enjoy (and save) your journey a bit more without worrying about travel expenses. Some of these free rides are common in touristy spots like Odaiba, Asakusa and Ueno according to some sources on the web. This post is really helpful and I'm learning more things everyday!

[tsubaki nakajima]

Sakurahime About the discounted prices of food during night time- this really reminds me of the anime series "Bento" and the way you described it is also the same. I didn't know that its real! I'm so amused!