Posted by Jess
11 June 2011
These past two weeks have been a bit crazy for me and the next one will be even crazier. June 5th passed by me and that means I missed a monthly blog post. So the 10th installment of this series is about Japanese hotels. There are a few different kinds (and we have not stayed in all of them) but thought I would share. I was out last weekend with friends and saw a sign for a capsule hotel that sparked a discussion that lead to this post.
The first kind of hotel here is a Western Style hotel. In the city, these are very common and it's just like any other hotel you've stayed at in the US or Europe. Rooms are usually pretty small compared to US hotels, but similar to European hotel rooms. We have most of the major brands here - Hyatt, Sheraton, Hilton, Intercontinental, etc. These are pretty boring as far as things go, so just know that they exist and I'll move on...
The second kind of hotel is called a ryokan. These Japanese inns are like the one we stayed in when we went to Kamogawa (see post here: Hotel Kamogawa ). The inn has rooms with tatami mats and small tables. There are no beds, just futon mattresses that are set up at bedtime. Bathrooms are communal and you wear traditional Japanese yakuta and slippers in common areas. Shoes (as in all Japanese homes) are left at the door. Almost all of these types of accommodations include an onsen, a bathing area made from hot springs, with an area for women and an area for men. Breakfast and dinner are usually included and served in your room. Ryokans are very common outside of the city of Tokyo.
The third kind of hotel is a capsule hotel. The 'rooms' are actually just rectangular shaped bunks (kind of like military bunks) with a locker area for your items. The sleeping rooms are about 6 feet long by 4 feet wide and 4 feet tall. Some include a TV and most have a door or curtain at the opening for privacy. You rent a tube for a few hours or a night just to sleep and then there's a community bathroom to use for showering. This is most often used by businessmen who stay out too late in the evening and just need to rest before going back to work, those just needing a cheap place to catch a few hours sleep, or the unemployed. It's generally about $25 to $50 a night to rent a sleeping room. The rooms are stacked 2 high and hotels can have anywhere from just a few to 500 rooms and the areas are split between rooms for men and rooms for women.
The fourth type of hotel is a love hotel or couples hotel. These are rooms that are rented by the hour and are all themed for whatever might be the couple's room of choice, which can range from the very mundane to the very strange depending on the hotel. In Japan most couples live with parents and grandparents in the same household, with rice paper for walls. You can imagine why these hotels might be popular for couples looking for a bit of privacy. From Wikipedia: It is estimated that more than 500 million visits to love hotels take place each year, which means around 1.4 million couples, or 2% of Japan's population, visit a love hotel each day. Because of their purpose, only couples are allowed to rent these rooms as they are not very expensive (about $30 an hour) and the hotels do not want to encourage the patrons of capsule hotels or just every day visitors to the city to come to theirs instead. Renting a room here usually includes selecting your room from an electronic menu and then paying for the room through a vending machine so there is little to no interaction with a staff member. Most are located near or within major train stations in the city. The hotels are sometimes hard to identify and have multiple entrances/exits - all of this is to help customers be discreet.
So next time you are looking for a place to stay in Japan, be weary of the name and make sure you know that it's the type of hotel you are looking for! We've only stayed in the Western Style and once in a ryokan. If you're traveling to Japan, I encourage you to try a ryokan - we have many friends here that love them and I think they are the true Japanese experience. But be warned, they can be a bit difficult with little kids!
Kanpai!
Jess
11 June 2011
These past two weeks have been a bit crazy for me and the next one will be even crazier. June 5th passed by me and that means I missed a monthly blog post. So the 10th installment of this series is about Japanese hotels. There are a few different kinds (and we have not stayed in all of them) but thought I would share. I was out last weekend with friends and saw a sign for a capsule hotel that sparked a discussion that lead to this post.
The first kind of hotel here is a Western Style hotel. In the city, these are very common and it's just like any other hotel you've stayed at in the US or Europe. Rooms are usually pretty small compared to US hotels, but similar to European hotel rooms. We have most of the major brands here - Hyatt, Sheraton, Hilton, Intercontinental, etc. These are pretty boring as far as things go, so just know that they exist and I'll move on...
The second kind of hotel is called a ryokan. These Japanese inns are like the one we stayed in when we went to Kamogawa (see post here: Hotel Kamogawa ). The inn has rooms with tatami mats and small tables. There are no beds, just futon mattresses that are set up at bedtime. Bathrooms are communal and you wear traditional Japanese yakuta and slippers in common areas. Shoes (as in all Japanese homes) are left at the door. Almost all of these types of accommodations include an onsen, a bathing area made from hot springs, with an area for women and an area for men. Breakfast and dinner are usually included and served in your room. Ryokans are very common outside of the city of Tokyo.
The third kind of hotel is a capsule hotel. The 'rooms' are actually just rectangular shaped bunks (kind of like military bunks) with a locker area for your items. The sleeping rooms are about 6 feet long by 4 feet wide and 4 feet tall. Some include a TV and most have a door or curtain at the opening for privacy. You rent a tube for a few hours or a night just to sleep and then there's a community bathroom to use for showering. This is most often used by businessmen who stay out too late in the evening and just need to rest before going back to work, those just needing a cheap place to catch a few hours sleep, or the unemployed. It's generally about $25 to $50 a night to rent a sleeping room. The rooms are stacked 2 high and hotels can have anywhere from just a few to 500 rooms and the areas are split between rooms for men and rooms for women.
The fourth type of hotel is a love hotel or couples hotel. These are rooms that are rented by the hour and are all themed for whatever might be the couple's room of choice, which can range from the very mundane to the very strange depending on the hotel. In Japan most couples live with parents and grandparents in the same household, with rice paper for walls. You can imagine why these hotels might be popular for couples looking for a bit of privacy. From Wikipedia: It is estimated that more than 500 million visits to love hotels take place each year, which means around 1.4 million couples, or 2% of Japan's population, visit a love hotel each day. Because of their purpose, only couples are allowed to rent these rooms as they are not very expensive (about $30 an hour) and the hotels do not want to encourage the patrons of capsule hotels or just every day visitors to the city to come to theirs instead. Renting a room here usually includes selecting your room from an electronic menu and then paying for the room through a vending machine so there is little to no interaction with a staff member. Most are located near or within major train stations in the city. The hotels are sometimes hard to identify and have multiple entrances/exits - all of this is to help customers be discreet.
So next time you are looking for a place to stay in Japan, be weary of the name and make sure you know that it's the type of hotel you are looking for! We've only stayed in the Western Style and once in a ryokan. If you're traveling to Japan, I encourage you to try a ryokan - we have many friends here that love them and I think they are the true Japanese experience. But be warned, they can be a bit difficult with little kids!
Kanpai!
Jess
3:11 AM |
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