Hey there fellow travellers. I'll be heading to Japan for 3 weeks in October, landing in Narita, and probably travelling West then flying out from Fukuoka. Any recommendations on places to stay and must see visits along that route would be greatly appreciated. This will be a budget backpacking trip. Thanks in advance. If Japan has been discussed before, please point me to the link.

$50/each a day is pretty tough. A hostel is easily $35-40 per person.

If we go over $100, it won't be the end of the world, we'll just need to cut back on our travel costs later, after we leave Japan.

That might be more realistic.
if you want to see a couple of cities, look into getting a JR rail pass before you leave Canada. For me visiting 4-5 cities in 2 weeks it paid off.

If only there was a search feature on the group page....

I couldn't imagine $100 a day…and thats just me alone, not 2. I'd make sure you had 2-3 days in Tokyo, and several days in Kyoto is a must in my opinion. Rent a bike to get around…that will save you some money! I'd say tour through the alps to check out some amazing onsens, ryokans, and amazing views, but your budget is much too low. And like Tessa mentioned, a JR pass is a must!

You will be sleeping outdoors on that budget....have fun

Or on JR train as someone did. There was a tale some just jumped on the train from Tokyo at 11pm, go for 3-4 hrs, got off and caught the opposite direction and ended up back to Tokyo, for a hotel free night

Jillian Jones read the comments lol

You should join the fb group japan friendly travel discussion. There's a bunch of tips on there and they have lots of advice on what to do.

Thanks so much for all of your useful advice.

Shibuya square is pretty cool

Check out a hotel franchise called Toyoko Inn. They have several hotels around train stations in major cities in Japan. If you are taller than 5' 8" and have a bad back, their beds maybe challenging, but I paid around $90-100 CAD (for two persons) including breakfast (as long as you don't mind really Japanesey breakfast..) last October. I understand that you are backpacking, so this is an additional information in case you got stuck looking for a place to stay. Happy trails in Japan to you!!!