Love'in Japan (Hotels in Japan in general)

Member Name: vixenvic

Product:	Hotels in Japan in general
Date:	22/05/02 (499 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap, interesting, can be available on the spur of the moment

Disadvantages: Can get booked up early, sometimes there can be inconvenient curfews/opening times

What can you expect from hotels in Japan? Anything and everything, that's what!

There is one myth that I would like to dispel from the start: Japan does not have to be that expensive. Not if you do some research, plan carefully, and are willing to try something different.

BUSINESS HOTELS

If you are visiting Tokyo try the Hotel Grand City.

http://www.grand-city.gr.jp/E/index.asp

This is a 'western style' business hotel (i.e. you sleep on beds rather than futons on the floor). The staff are very friendly and their rates are very reasonable: £42.00 for a single room, £71.00 per twin room. This beats the cost of many London hotels. The location is excellent in a quiet street in the lively Ikebukuro and the facilities are top class. You definitely get a much better standard of hotel for your money in Japan than you do in Britain.

YOUTH HOSTELS

The standards of youth hostels can vary in Japan, and the rules can be quite strict, with 11pm curfews and 10am chucking-out times. But they are definitely worth the experience and the price.

For example, the Nagai Youth Hostel in Osaka is actually inside the walls of the Nagai Statium. World Cup 2002 games are being played here. Unfortunately the hostel is closed for the duration of the World Cup but it is a great place to stay at other times of the year. There is always some activity going on in the surrounding park - joggers, BMX bikers, cyclists.

http://www.oct.zaq.ne.jp/nagai-yh/e-index.html

The rates are very cheap. They do get booked up early so I would advise to reserve in advance, especially if you would like a private room rather than a dorm.

Private rooms cost £18.00 pppn, and a bed in a very spick and span dorm costs £16.00

The dorms are great for meeting people and the washing and catering facilities are excellent. This is the cream of youth hostels, I cannot recommend the place highly enough.
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br>Another Youth Hostel I have tried is Kawaguchiko, which is in the countryside near Mt. Fuji.

http://www.itcj.or.jp/facility/4/facil/419006. html

It is nowhere near the standard of the Nagai Youth Hostel, but it is totally away from the hustle and bustle of the city and is an hours bus ride away from the 5th station on Mt Fuji. It's somewhere to rest if you don't want to pay the exorbitant prices of the hotels and guesthouses at the 5th station itself. Kawaguchicko has a small tourist information centre and bus access to Gotemba which is the nearest train station connecting to the main routes across Japan.

Prices here are £21 pppn and you can get private rooms for this.

RYOKAN

These are traditional Japanese inns. very authentic and a great experience. The Kimi Ryokan in Ikebukuro, Tokyo is very firnedly and poular, so book early.

http://www.kimiwillbe.com/

The prices are £24.00 for single rooms, £35.00 for twin.

CAPSULE HOTELS

These are usually found around stations and as the name suggests, your bed is literally like a capsule. You usually eat on one floor, move to the next floor, put your clothes in a locker, bathe, and then move to the next floor where you find your capsule complete with mini TV.

They are meant for business men who haven't got time to get home, but they are worth an try for the sheer experience.

One Capsule Hotel that accepts women (because many don't) is the Namba Capsule Inn, very near Namba station in Osaka.

Rates are £16.00 for a capsule or £54.00 for a double room.

The staff are friendly although they don't speak much English - all the more reason to try out your newly learnt Japanese skills (or international sign language - whatever!).

LOVE HOTELS

Now we are getting to the really wacky stuff. These places are amazing, glass walled bathrooms, waterbeds, sex toys, bars to hang from, rooms
themed like castles, whatever you want, they have it, AND it's pretty cheap.

Love hotels are probably your best bet for spur of the moment accomodation. They don't open till 10.30 at night, and you will see young couples waiting outside to get in and get first pick of the rooms.

Don't worry, there's nothing sordid or dangerous about these places, many Japanese couples simply use these hotels to get some space and some private time. Things can get pretty tight in a poky Japanese apartment, and these rooms are usually rather spacious by Japanese standards.

The costs of Love Hotels can vary, but can be as cheap as £35.00 per room (not much at all between two!)

You will find them in all major cities: Tokyo, Osaka, Hiroshima etc. and they are usually all in very close proximity, so you can wander in and out picking the most way-out room.

The transaction is very discreet. Pictures of the rooms are displayed on a wall in the entrance, you choose the room you like, press the corresponding button and then pass your money through a hole in the wall.

You can't leave the hotel after this, otherwise you won't get back in.

These places can be very entertaining, just like most things in Japan!

If you ever visit Japan I would recommend you try as many different types of accomodation as you can to add to the enjoyment of an already fascinating country. And what's more - you can keep the price down!

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