In Tokyo, where it's difficult to find a decent room for less than 6,000 yen a night, foreign backpackers and other budget travelers go to the day-laborer district.
Taito Ward's Sanya district, where homeless people sleep on street corners, is filled with economy inns, many renovated during the economic bubble in response to the increasing incomes of the workers that once filled their rooms.
Now threatened by declining occupancy rates due to the protracted economic slump, these inns are undergoing a metamorphosis to survive. Their traditional clients, many over age 65 and unable to find work, are fast disappearing, and tourists are proving a good bet.