[miho2]

Hi,

we are going to japan late next week for three weeks. We have an idea of an itinerary but haven't booked any accomodation, yet. I am wondering how difficult it will be on the spot. Arriving in a city and asking the tourist information for help? We would like to stay in a mix of not-so-expensive hotels, ryokan and hostels. Do we need to call ahead, or pre-book via the internet? I noticed that quite a few hostels in Tokyo are fully booked in May, already. It seems few Ryokan have online booking. Friends who just went told us it was difficult calling them without speaking good japanese which we unfortunately do not...

Any advise appreciated.
Michael