[kamome]

Now THAT'S a fucked soccer fanatic. But I would be interested in knowing where soccer fans found cheap places to stay in different parts of Japan (capsule hotels excluded). It sounds like some of the English fans where were pretty ingenious in locating cheap but good eateries and motels.

Hey, ultra, maybe we should get some links on the site for that purpose? Maybe poll people for their ideas? It doesn't have to be just Tokyo. Kyoto, Osaka, Sapporo, Fukuoka are all popular destinations, and even us fuckees don't know all the good/cheap places to stay.

[Mr. BIG]

I'm interning at Japan National Tourist Organization's Chicago office, and before the games we had a lot of tourists coming in and asking for hotel information. I think (other than the capsule hotels, where I probably would've stayed) a lot of people stayed wherever the hell they could find a room. Most hotels/motels/ryokan were booked several months in advance, and from what I've gathered from some visitors, a lot of fans had to stay up to 45 minutes away from where they'd originally planned to.....

Hope this helped a little....

[kamome]

But they all sound so happy and upbeat about staying at their flophouses!

[Mr. BIG]

Many took out loans to finance the trip. One English supporter remortgaged his house to come here. Another Irish fan took out a 5,000 euro loan for a new kitchen, then decided to spend it on a trip to the World Cup.

But few face the kind of ugly repercussions that await Dave Tipton on his return. He didn't tell his wife he was coming to the World Cup-he just got up and left one morning.

England's run to the quarter finals forced him to postpone his day of marital reckoning. ``Yeah, she's going to kill me when I get back,'' he says. ``But I wouldn't have missed it for the world. I've loved every minute.''

It sounds like this guy would've slept in the gutter for a chance to be at the games....actually, he probably did. Makes a flop-house seem kinda cozy.....