Beauty on a Budget / JAPAN : TWO OF THE PACIFIC’S MOST BEGUILING DESTINATIONS ARE PLACES YOU CAN’T AFFORD. OR CAN YOU? HERE’S HOW TWO VACATIONERS DID IT.

At first sight, the multileveled Tokyo Station seemed a well-lit nightmare, with sarariman (Japanese “salary men”) , in navy and dark gray suits, flowing around us like schooling fish.

My wife and I had arrived here last fall on a sleek, speedy train from Narita Airport--using discount Japan Railways passes, which cost us $440 each for two weeks of unlimited travel on trains and buses, instead of hailing an airport cab for about $200. From the central station, we planned to take the subway (about $1.50 each) for the 20-minute ride to our ryokan , or inn, near Tokyo’s Ueno Park.

Our dream was to spend two weeks touring a fascinating country that many American travelers have written off as prohibitively expensive. We’d settled on three cities: Tokyo for its modernity, Kyoto for its ancient charm and Hiroshima for its poignant history. By using public transportation, emphasizing smaller, more modest lodgings and searching out back-street, mom-and-pop restaurants, we hoped to sample one of the world’s most complex cultures within realistic limits--even though we faced an anemic exchange rate of 105 yen to the dollar (slightly better than the current rate).

But only a few hours into our journey, we were wondering whether the budget approach was such a good idea.

Would we wind up frustrated trying to cope with subways and buses? Could we communicate with no knowledge of Japanese? And just what would the inexpensive lodgings we’d planned to stay in be like?

We must have looked confused, wandering about in search of the subway, because an angel appeared in the form of a young Japanese woman who asked in English whether she might be of assistance. She pointed the way--indeed, took us to the ticket booth--before departing with a smile and a bow.

Clutching our suitcases, we edged into the crowded car and stood there anxiously. A bit of our confidence came back when we noticed the stops were marked in Roman letters as well as Japanese characters and heard them announced in advance over a loudspeaker in both English and Japanese.

After swimming through more sarariman in Ueno Station, we managed to find our way outside and hail a taxi. Ten minutes later, and only $10 out of pocket, we were at our inn, the Sawanoya.

We’d booked our accommodations before leaving the United States, through the Welcome Inn Reservation Center, a privately subsidized agency that matches overseas visitors with low-cost lodgings. “Genuine hospitality at affordable rates” is its motto.

We had not expected luxury for $80 per room, per night. Indeed, the Sawanoya is housed in a poured-concrete building more reminiscent of a school or factory than an inn. The jolly owner, with a pet cockatiel perched on his shoulder, greeted us in English (many other Welcome Inns feature English-speaking personnel as well) and led us up the linoleum stairs to our small (about 10 feet by 12 feet), third-story room. The shared toilet was down the hall, and the communal bath lay one flight below.

After pointing out a coin-operated washing machine and dryer (a convenience we found at the other Welcome Inns on our trip), the innkeeper made one request: that whenever we walked on the tatami mats, we be sure to wear the slippers placed next to the room entrance. But once our two futons were unrolled, there was hardly space to walk--so we crawled about, feeling a little like children in a playpen.

At breakfast the next morning, we saw at a glance that most of our fellow guests were Westerners. No doubt they either could not afford, or were unwilling to pay for, a pricier hotel--which, in Tokyo, averages $300-$400 per night for two people. Our jet-lagged stomachs couldn’t face the $9 Japanese breakfast of rice, fish and miso soup. But we enjoyed the $3 American version: large orange juice, thick toast, scrambled eggs and coffee.

Our hotel in the old Shitamachi district, close to the subway and Ueno Park with its museums and zoo, served as a convenient base for exploring Tokyo.

In the park, where we enjoyed watching groups of schoolchildren make their excited way to the zoo, we indulged in a cup of tea and cookies. We’d brought a Thermos, tea bags and snacks from home for just such a purpose; by filling up the Thermos with hot water at the Sawanoya, we avoided paying $3-$4 for a cup of tea or coffee in a shop. At a street market near Ueno Station, we ogled torpedo-shaped white daikon radishes, fresh fish of all kinds, and plump orange kaki, or persimmons, a great autumn favorite among the Japanese. Prices, though higher than at home, were not prohibitive - except for apples, going for a shocking $10 to $15 each.

One day, we strolled the exquisitely landscaped grounds of the Imperial Palace. Another, we window-shopped in the city’s razzle-dazzle Akihabara electronics district--an expensive, but entertaining, kaleidoscope of flashing lights and day-glo colors.

To see what a Japanese department store looked like, we headed to Takashimaya, one of the city’s biggest, not far from the main shopping district known as the Ginza. We spent half an hour in the wedding department admiring the brilliantly patterned kimonos, which sell for thousands of dollars. And, inspired by a massive food hall that puts London’s Harrods to shame, we headed to the basement restaurant for a satisfying lunch of cold steamed noodles, just $6 each. Such moderately priced restaurants are common in most Japanese department stores.

We had no problem locating other inexpensive meals in Tokyo, which boasts more than 60,000 restaurants, and sidestepped the language problem by simply pointing to the ubiquitous wax replicas of house specialties. For example, dinner one evening at a restaurant near our hotel came to just $36 for two--including strips of beef and chicken we cooked ourselves over a grill and two large bottles of beer. Since the tip was always included in the check, we never had to worry about whether we’d left enough change for the help.

True to our intentions, we used the subway to get about Tokyo and encountered no difficulties in doing so. Fares varied depending on distances, but our trips to the heart of town rarely exceeded $1.50 each. We didn’t worry about getting lost; we soon learned that whenever we hesitated, confused by which tunnel or which staircase to take, there was always someone who would volunteer directions in English.

Returning to the inn late at night, we had no worry about who might be lurking in the dark, ready to mug us--certainly not after we saw unaccompanied women walking home down dimly lit alleys and streets.

Our first three days in Tokyo enabled us to get our feet firmly on the ground. Now we were ready for Kyoto via the famed Shinkansen, or bullet train--a 2 1/2-hou, approximately 300-mile journey that was included in the cost of our two-week rail pass.

Our seats were well-designed and relaxing, with plenty of leg room for my 6-foot, 3-inch frame, and despite the 170-m.p.h. speed there was none of the swaying and rattling associated with Amtrak. At regular intervals, a hostess pushed a drink-and-food cart down the aisle. Whenever she left the car, she turned toward the passengers and bowed in our direction, a courtesy my wife and I found affecting.

We had purchased two bento, or box lunches, on the platform for around $9 each, and settled back to eat them and watch the landscape zip by. We even spotted Mt. Fuji, its white peak seeming to float disembodied from its base in the industrial haze that hangs over so much of Japan.

As luck would have it, our Kyoto ryokan, the Rikiya--which we had picked blind from the Welcome Inns list--turned out to be on the eastern edge of the city, at the foot of the wooded hills where so many of the historic temples are located. It was a charming place, on a narrow street free of automobile traffic, with a small mossy garden for an entryway. Almost hidden by the foliage was a trickling fountain whose sound created a sense of instant serenity.

Perhaps the loveliest thing about such a traditional inn--a bargain at $152 for two, considering many, more luxurious ryokans cost anywhere from $100 to $600 per person, per night--is the way nature is invited inside. A large, flat river boulder served as a step in the vestibule where the owner, a plump woman in a white kimono, welcomed us with a deep bow and cheerful laughter. We took off our shoes and placed them in a bamboo-and-wood cabinet that rested on a row of water-worn cobbles, then tucked our feet into the pea-green, kid-leather slippers waiting for us.

The walls were the color of coffee and cream, mimicking the mud finish used in the old days; the unvarnished woodwork showed its silky grain, and the tatami mats had a fresh, golden glow. While a maid unfolded our futons, our hostess showed us the immaculate toilets and baths along the common hall.

Before re-entering the room, I asked for the key. Our friendly guide looked puzzled. I pointed to the lock. She shook her head, smiling. Then I remembered: In a traditional ryokan you should feel as though you are at home, and you don’t lock doors behind you at home.

We awoke early, often to the muffled sound of distant gongs being rung in the temples, accompanied by the caws and cries of Japan’s ever-present crows. Breakfast was of our own devising: We had discovered a bakery and a supermarket a few blocks from the inn, where we bought orange juice (about $3 a quart) and pastries for around $1 each. Every morning, the maid came to the room with good coffee and thick cream, and we ate on our porch, watching passersby below.

We soon realized that Kyoto provides more charms than our six-day visit could begin to cover. But we managed to see many of the temples, gardens and palaces. We were somewhat dismayed by the high entrance fees, between $4 and $5 each. But we offset their costs walking to many of the sights and taking a bus to the more distant ones on the western edge of the city. Using buses proved as easy as taking the Tokyo subway, and most had loudspeakers announcing the stops in English.

Kyoto, with its high aesthetics, is a good place to shop. Our neighborhood had many establishments offering tasteful goods, ranging from traditional painted fans and colorful paper lanterns to modern ceramics. Had we the money, we probably would have bought one of everything at the nearby Kyoto Crafts Center, a cooperative displaying the work of more than 100 local artists. Instead, we settled for two silk, bandana-like cloths (which Japanese use as a kind of gift wrap) and several graphically stunning calendars. The cost: a reasonable $6 each.

We fell in love with Kyoto, and might have stayed longer had we not had a room waiting for us in Hiroshima, a two-hour, 225-mile ride by S hinkansen . Our hotel, the 10-story Kawashima, lay close to the railway station and was an amusing contrast to our genteel accommodations in Kyoto. The double bed filled almost the entire room, yet somehow an armchair, a desk, another chair, a TV, a small refrigerator and an electric coffee and tea maker had been squeezed into it. A closet enabled us to dispose of our luggage while a Lilliputian bathroom saved us from having to use any shared facilities. For this, we paid $110 a night.

We’d come to Hiroshima to see its Peace Memorial Park and Museum, monuments to the 600,000 victims of the atomic bomb dropped on the city in 1945. I suspect the museum price is pegged low (about 50 cents each) to encourage visitation, but we were struck by how few foreigners we met among the hundreds of Japanese who thronged the area. In the park, hardly a moment passed without our hearing the reverberating gong of the peace bell being rung by visitors--a ghostly, haunting counterpoint to the images of destruction and horror we had seen in the museum.

We were deeply stirred, but glad to return to the vital atmosphere of Tokyo and to the Sawanoya. Our host was once again on hand to greet us, cockatiel still riding on his shoulder, and he gave us a much bigger room this time, which cost only $6 more than the last one.

By now, we felt very much at ease. Looking back, we had managed what we had set out to do--travel economically, even in high-priced Japan. Lunches, mostly in noodle shops, had run about $15 for two; dinners averaged $35 for two. Excluding air fare, we’d spent around $3,400 for our two weeks--including lodging, meals, transportation and even a few souvenirs.

Our last day in Tokyo, we headed back to the central station to catch the train to the airport. Once again, we were engulfed by an onrushing flood of sarariman --and found ourselves happily swimming along toward the Narita Express and the last lap of our Japan journey.

GUIDEBOOK: Getting the Most for Your Dollar on Your Japanese Vacation

Getting there: The lowest round-trip fare from LAX to Tokyo is $1,030 through May 31 (six-day minimum stay); the fare increases to $1,140 June through September. United, Northwest, All Nippon, Delta, Korea and Singapore airlines all offer one nonstop flight daily; Japan Airlines has one flight daily and a second on Saturdays and Wednesdays.

Where to stay: We used the three-year-old Welcome Inn Reservation Center, whose directory lists more than 500 lodgings (most in Tokyo and Kyoto) with rates ranging from about $40 to $80 per person, per night. Welcome Inn accommodations include ryokan , Japanese-style inns with futons instead of beds; minshuku, small, family-run inns that are often less expensive than ryokans ; kokumin shukusha , rustic lodgings in national parks; hotels; pensions; and “business hotels,” small, no-frills, Western-style lodgings often located near train stations. Overseas visitors reserving through Welcome Inn are exempt from taking breakfast and dinner at ryokans, an extra charge that is mandatory for Japanese guests.

Contact the Japan National Tourist Office (624 S. Grand Ave., Suite 1611, Los Angeles 90017; telephone 213- 623-1952) for a directory of Welcome Inn lodgings, reservation centers and reservation forms. Mail or fax the forms at least three to four weeks in advance to one of the reservation centers in Japan. The center accepts reservation requests only with a confirmed booking on a flight arriving in Japan before 3 p.m. the day of check-in. Cancellations are highly discouraged on this deposit-free, non-prepaid service.

Welcome Inn bookings may also be made through reservation centers after arriving in Japan (though availability may be more limited). For Tokyo lodgings, contact the Welcome Inn Reservation Center, c/o International Tourism Center of Japan, 9th Floor, Tokyo Kotsu Kaikan Building, 2-10-1 Yurakucho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 100; tel. 011-81-3-3211-4201 or fax 011-81-3-3211-9009. For lodgings in Kyoto, Kyoto Tower Building, Higashi-Shiokojicho, Shimogyo-Ku, Kyoto, 600; tel. 011- 81-75-371-5649 or fax 011-81-75- 343-6847.

Other budget options include lodgings in temples and shrines (about $70 per person, per night, including breakfast), and claustrophobic, males-only “capsule hotels” (about $40-$70 per person, per night) geared to Japanese businessmen who missed their last train.

Getting around: The Japan Rail Pass offers unlimited travel on Japan Railways trains and buses. The Japan National Tourist Organization can supply names of agencies that sell the passes, which may vary in price depending on the agency’s exchange rate. Approximate cost is $272 per person for a one-week pass, $433 for a two-week pass and $555 for a three-week pass. Japan Rail Passes must be purchased before departure from the United States.

For more information: Contact the Japan National Tourist Organization. I was particularly impressed with the free booklets “Japan for the Budget Traveler”; “Japan: Your Traveling Companion With Tips for Budget Travel,” which, among other things, described how to apply for and obtain reduced-rate rail passes, and “Hello Japan,” which offered information on everything from the proper way to use chopsticks to the etiquette involved in taking a Japanese bath.