If you're a fan of anything Japanese then a trip to Japan will be the most amazing experience you can do. Unfortunately it will also be one of the most expensive but here are some of my favourite tips for making your budget go as far as possible. Where links are specific to a certain country, I have indicated which country after the link.

The most important piece of advice

Plan your trip as much as possible in advance if you are visiting a Japan on a budget. Working out where you want to go, what you want to do and when you will do it in advance will help you make the important decisions on how best to travel and where best to stay in order to save money.

Keep current with your currency

As with most things these days, the best currency rates can be found easily online. Keep an eye on how the yen (Japan's national currency) is doing against your local currency using an exchange rate website such as x-rates.com. When you do decide to buy, TravelMoneyMax [UK] is a great tool for helping to find the best deal for your money and most companies will send your money Special Delivery for peace of mind.

Leaving on a jet plane, know when you'll be back again!

The most expensive part of your trip by far will be the cost of your flights. Even using comparison sites there is simply no getting round the rising cost of air travel. Keep an eye out for deals by following organisations such as Experience Japan [UK] and Visit Japan [US] on Twitter who report on the best rates going. Also avoid flying at popular times. When looking at flight prices, play around with the dates you fly and see what difference it makes to the final price. Even flying out a day earlier could save you enough for the extra night at a hotel. And remember, avoid popular times for the Japanese as well as for your own country!

Search and book accommodation yourself for the best rates.

It isn't hard to find reasonable hotels for reasonable prices in Japan and cleanliness can almost be taken for granted as Japan is obsessed with it. Thanks to hotel comparison websites such as Agoda the Internet makes it a lot easier to find and book hotels in Japan yourself.

Get value for money from your accommodation, not rock-bottom prices.

Don't be fooled by looking at hotel prices alone. Get value for money rather than the cheapest rate going, which sometimes means spending a little bit more to get a hotel that's a lot better. For example, is breakfast included? If it is, that's less you need to budget for food! Also take consider location and transport - is it easy to get to? Is it near the places you want to visit? Can you travel around easily from it? Picking the right location can save you time and money on your transport.

Make the most of the cheapest form of transport.

This is, as you will have guessed, walking. Maps of cities can make places look further apart than they actually are, so pay attention to the scale of the map and take a walking route if possible. It's a great way to take in the sights and atmosphere of Japan that you may otherwise miss.

Let the train take the strain, not your wallet.

Travelling by bullet train, or Shinkansen as the Japanese call it, is extremely convenient for longer distances but is also expensive. If you're planning on making even a single return journey you're likely to be better off with a JR Pass instead. You can use it to catch all but the fastest Shinkansen services AND travel on JR lines across the whole country which can add up to be a great saving on what you may have otherwise paid. Find out more at the Japan Rail Pass site.

Getting to and from the airport.

Visitors to Japan can get amazing deals on travel from Narita airport. The first is the N'EX (Narita Express) and Suica package, which for only ¥5500 includes both a return train journey from the airport to either Tokyo, Shinjuku or Yokohama stations and a Suica card (for Tokyo trains and underground) loaded with ¥1500. This deal saves you at least ¥2380, up to a possible ¥5340! It's also extremely convenient and you can find more details here. For those on tighter budgets the competing Keisei Skyliner service also offers some good deals as well that include travel from the airport to Ueno station in Tokyo and Tokyo Metro open tickets - you don't save quite as much but it is cheaper! Depending on where you are going on Tokyo will also help determine which of the deals are better for you.

Eat big at lunch for less.

Lunch menus at restaurants are often significantly cheaper at lunch time than in the evenings, so consider having your main meal at lunch to save money. Many of the large department stores have a restaurant floor with a variety of places to eat at, which makes for great choice for lunch. Alternatively, find a nice looking local restaurant for good prices.

Fast food, cheap food.

If you need a break from the expensive stuff, fast-food is just as common in Japan as in any other country. McDonalds and Mos Burger are the biggest international and domestic chains in Japan respectively. Alternatively, pick up food from a convenience store such as Lawson or 7-Eleven to eat whilst you're out and about. Walking and eating isn't polite so find somewhere quiet to stop and eat to show you care.

Sightsee for nothing or next to nothing.

There are things to do and see that either don't cost much, or don't cost anything at all. Other people have already done the hard work on this, so search on the web for 'free sightseeing in tokyo' or 'cheap sightseeing in tokyo'. Alternatively, I can highly recommend this article on Hostelworld.com which is titled '15 Things To Do For Free In Tokyo' but actually covers a lot more than that! 

Bag cheap souvenirs for your family and friends.

Visit a 100 Yen store such as the large Daiso in Harajuku and you'll be amazed at what you can get for just a small outlay of money. Just don't forget to take the price off what you buy!

I hope this advice comes in useful and please feel free to comment if you come across any more great advice!