Japan: Accommodation

Ok finally I'm going to start on the series of posts I'd promised about Japan. First up accommodation.

There are a number of different types of accommodation styles in Japan. Depending on your price range I’d suggest a mix of all. First a little disclaimer for anyone who hasn’t been to Japan before. Space is at a premium in Japan so typically everything is very small and packed together. This is particularly evident with hotel rooms. Don’t expect the room to be much bigger than your double bed. You’ll have enough space to shove your suitcase in a corner and that’s about it. Often I’ve participated in a new sport I call 'creative furniture stacking' just to recover one square metre of floor space.

Hostel/Businessman hotel: There are a bunch of generic western style hostels in Japan. They are super clean so don’t be worried about walking into a flea infested, blood stained septic tank like you would expect in other countries. I've previously used Khaosan in Tokyo & Kyoto. There is also a style of accommodation best described as a Businessman Hotel. Japanese people work very hard, often long hours, 6 days a week. To avoid wasting lots of time travelling, some Businessmen stay in the city during the week only returning home on weekends. These Businessman hotels are somewhere between a hostel and cheap hotel. Rooms are private but often you’ll have shared bathroom facilities. Most of these hotels will have a western shower facilities but some may only have a shared Japanese bath. These hotels are fairly cheap and are my choice for the majority of my time in Japan. I particularly love hanging out in the lounges and meeting random people from all over the world. Depending on the hotel you can choose between a western bed or traditional Japanese style (futon bed on tatami mats). I'll write another post soon on my favourite hotel 'Hotel Raizan South'. Rough Cost: Single $20-30 per night, Double $40-50 

Cheap Hotel Chain: There are about a billion normal hotels in Japan. The familiar western brands will be rather expensive though. I’d suggest looking at the cheaper Japanese chains like Super Hotel and Toyoko Inn. These chains have locations everywhere. The rooms tend to be identical in each location, sometimes leaving you to wonder just exactly which town you’ve woken up in. They are very clean with private bathrooms but are very small. The price is pretty good as well. I’ve used these before when travelling around. The drawbacks are the 4pm check in time and they also like you to be out of your room between 10am and 4pm for ‘cleaning’. These hotels are good choices but you no doubt will miss out on meeting some awesome people that you’d typically meet in a hostel or businessman hotel. TIP: If you plan on staying more than a few nights at Toyoko Inn's book via their website and join their club. Rough Cost: Double $75 per night

Guesthouse/Ryokan: The other style I’d recommend trying for at least a few nights is a traditional Japanese guesthouse or Ryokan. These will be beautiful old traditional style buildings with typically Japanese style rooms (futons on tatami mats). The better ones may even have an outdoor onsen or beautiful indoor Japanese bath. Often the price will include a massive cooked Japanese breakfast or dinner. In places like Koyasan you can even stay in a Buddhist monastery Ryokan (definitely an experience I’d recommend). If you go to Japan you have to stay in a Ryokan for a few nights. Rough Cost: $50 – 150 each per night