silverwolf probably got the "bakagaijin" travel package which is available in almost any country including Italy
As Ewok, Syaoran, and the Lonely Planet travel guides point out -- you can experience a lot in Japan for far less than wandering aimlessly in New York. You just have to do as the locals do...
I prefer the family-run inns and ryoko ... more expensive than the hostels... but lots more human than the "I can get this room in any city on the planet" HoJo-Hiltonesque crapola.