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Business Hotels in Japan! - MeNoSavvy - 2010-05-12
I'm heading off soon for a visit to Japan. There are a range of relatively cheap business hotels in convenient locations. Such as "Super Hotel" and "Toyoko Inn" as well as a few others? Is there anything to differentiate them? They all seem pretty similar so does it matter where I stay? Some people say the breakfast is better at the "Super Hotel", although that may just be because they don't like the Japanese style food at Toyoko Inn. Thanks.
Business Hotels in Japan! - rich_f - 2010-05-13
There are also Comfort Inns in Japan as well in the regional cities like Kyoto, Sendai, and Fukuoka, etc. There may be one in Tokyo as well... or maybe it's in Yokohama. I mention it because you can get a 10% discount if you have a AAA membership in the US. (I used mine and it worked.)
Not sure about the Super Hotel and Toyoko Inn chains, but the three Comfort Inns I used all had similar basic free breakfasts just like you'd get at any cheap business hotel chain anywhere else in the world. Pretty good stuff, which tastes better because it's free. They also had a drink service later in the day. The food should be decent no matter where you go. If it isn't, just go to a conbini (morning) or a depachika (evening) and grab something quick there.
I stayed in some smaller independent business hotels as well-- results vary from hotel to hotel, but they're all generally the same. The rooms are ridiculously tiny, and if you're remotely tall, showering can be challenging. The only major thing to look out for is the Smoking/Non-smoking room difference. If cigarette smoke bothers you in the least, make sure to specify non-smoking.
If you must have internet, make sure they have it, too. Smaller hotels may not have wifi yet, but they may have ethernet connections, or just one crappy computer in the lobby. Ask.
Not all hotels will have coin laundry machines, either, or they may not run at certain hours. Ask at the desk if you need to find one nearby.
All that said, business hotels are pretty good for the most part. You get a clean, comfortable (albeit laughably tiny) room, which usually has a great big ol' HDTV. And no matter what technology the hotel may lack, it will always have the cutting edge of PPV TV. (lol) It's not like you're going to do more than sleep there anyway, so it doesn't need to be perfect. Just cheap and comfortable.
Business Hotels in Japan! - thurd - 2010-05-13
rich_f Wrote:It's not like you're going to do more than sleep there anyway, so it doesn't need to be perfect. Just cheap and comfortable.Thats exactly what I've been thinking about my trip to Japan. Cheap, small and not too cozy room just for sleeping and to keep my stuff. This way I won't be tempted to "take a break" or "rest". Did a similar thing in Paris and NYC and it worked great.
Once you settle down there's time to search for something like an apartment but I'd wait with this till your first job there.