Where to stay in Japan?

Now, at the moment, the Japanese Yen is quite strong, making Japan more expensive as a tourist destination. However, that does not mean you have to spend a lot of money on a vacation here. It is easy to spend a lot of money, but a little research, and you can get by on a shoe string!

For a start, DONT come to Japan during August. That is the traditional summer vacation time, and all the hotels ramp up their prices as EVERYONE is on the move! You can come, but only if you know someone living here who has a spare futon to lend. Like me.

Also, dont come during a period known as Golden Week. This is earlier in the year, and a time when several national holidays have been grouped together to get people out and spending money. You should see the pics on the news! The highways out of Tokyo are rammed during the first day, and during "The Boomerang" when everyone returns, the tailbacks get even bigger! A problem only to be exacerbated next year if the government follows through on its plan to scrap highway tolls!

Heck. It affects every form of transport! The Joetsu Shinkansen from Niigata to Tokyo operates over capacity at the start of Golden Week, and regularly touches 200% during the turnaround!

However, I could bang on about all the options available for Japan, but I aint gonna. Take too long, and I am full of something at the moment so dont feel up to it!

What I will talk about, is where to stay. First of all, the major hotel chains. The large hotels such as Hilton are pretty much always expensive. However, if you opt for one of the Japanese hotel chains, such as the Maranouchi Hotel, you can usually find some impressive discounts online from them.

There are more hotels that you can look at. A very popular hotel that offers prices that one can swallow are the business hotels.

As you can see, the rooms are rather small! I stayed in one when I first arrived, and my feet did actually touch the end of the bed! Anyone who is over my average western height will have to wear their socks as their feet will dangle over the end of the bed!

However, all is not lost! This is Japan! They have mastered the art of jamming all sorts of useful stuff into small, awkward spaces!

A toilet? Yes. But a toilet that is heated, capable of washing itself, and washing you! And these come as standard in pretty much all hotel rooms here in Japan!

If you dont fancy stuffing yourself in a shoebox-like room, how about stuffing yourself IN a shoebox! Yes, the capsule hotel! These you have to be careful of. Most of them cannot be pre-booked as many of them dont have a front desk. You walk in, look at a board, pick a room, pay a machine, and off you toddle.

However, the ones that DO have staff can be awkward. The rules in Japan state that all hotels have to photocopy the passport of all visiting foreigners. Most end up photocopying mine, too. Even though I have an address here in Japan, and the rules state I am not included.

A lot of these capsule hotels cannot be bothered to do all this just for someone to stay for 1 night, so they refuse entry to us "gaijin." Usually using the weak excuse of "no English."

However, you can find capsule hotels that will let you in, as long as you do a bit of research. So, check it out, and get yourself a shoebox! The shoebox comes fully equipped with a toothbrush (Not all hotels have a shower, but they will have somewhere to wash!), blankets, pillows, lights, air con, and a small TV! Unlike big hotels which offer a lot of foriegn language (English) TV, the business hotels have CNN and BBC usually, capsule hotels are quite light on this area.

Oh, another minor drawback with a capsule hotel. No luggage space. They are built for business men who go out for a night, and need somewhere to lay their head before going back to work!

There is always a more traditional Ryokan hotel. This is the type of hotel that littered Japan before the arrival of the western style hotel with its beds.

The Ryokan operates slightly differently to regular hotels. It is Japanese, so you have to take your shoes off at the door. Now, room prices can seem a little on the pricey side, but the good thing with the Ryokan is that the room is open, no beds, just futons. You are paying for the space. If it is really traditional, then you will pay by the tatami mat! Each tatami in Japan is pretty much a uniform size! This means that you can get a big room, then jam the room with lots of people up to its top limit.

The Ryokan room will have futons which the staff will roll out for you, usually a TV, the toilets and shower block will be away from the room, and you will have a welcome pack of a tea set laid out on your arrival. There is also the chance to have a meal in your room, and it will be full of traditional Japanese fayre.

Sushi, tempura, rice, soba, etc.

Now, dont go thinking this sounds fun. Problem is, they also get hit with a manic fear of foreigners. Ryokan are traditional. They are not in the hands of major chains usually, many are still independent affairs run by a family. This means it is unlikely they will have someone capable of speaking English on site.

Many will refuse admission, even if you CAN speak some Japanese, just as a matter of course. The Japanese government does have its "Yokoso Japan" campaign to try to encourage tourists to Japan, and are pushing people to try to study English, but Ryokan are run by a lot of traditionalists, and it will be hard to get them to study.

So, if you want to taste Japanese hotels, then do some research on the internet. They do exist, but dont leave it to chance.

OK. 2 more establishments to go before my fingers give out.

Next up, the Love Hotel. Very much a Japanese thing. Born from the fact that young couples have urges to satisfy, but dont necessarily want their parents to hear through the thin walls of their rooms! So, a love hotel will offer a room for an hour at a couple of thousand yen a time at quiet moments. Also, after 10 at night in many cities (11 in others. Please check) they will give you a nightly rate.

Love hotels ARE worth investigating because for a rate at least comparable to a business hotel, you get a much bigger room! They can be easy to spot...

Or quite non-descript with a discrete entrance. Though you have to be careful leaving. Did spot one couple near a love hotel, looking completely normal. Apart from her skirt being tucked into her underwear...

However,you have to be careful with a love hotel. Many are old. And as such, have a staff member hidden behind a pane of glass. They will want paying before you take up your room. They cannot see your face, but they can see enough to tell if you are single (probably refuse you), a couple (which is OK) or a couple of the same sex. Girls can probably get away with it, but a bunch of guys wont.

Also, there will be the ubiquitous issue with regards English...

However, many now are automated.

These are much easier for foreigners to get in. Basically there is a big wall with pictures of all the rooms on it. You can check out each room before you pick. Many rooms are quite simple. Bathroom with full bath, big bed, TV, karaoke, microwave, sexual aid vending machine... But the rooms are a good size.

Other rooms are themed. For example, this room carries a space theme.

There are many more rooms that carry more surreal themes. Such as a Hello Kitty rooms, dungeons, under the sea, wild west, and my personal favourite, a subway car!

Once you have picked your room by pressing a button on the lit panel, you hunt through the hotel to find the room with a flashing light. When you are in, its yours until about 10 in the morning.

If the hotel is automated, to pay, you have to pay to get out of the room. Usually there will be a machine by the door. The machine will be capable of accepting cash, and credit card. Also, many of them DO have an English button! This is becoming a common thing in Japan. Many ATM's have them, as well as ticket machines!

Now, this deals with love hotels in city centres. Thing is, a common place for a love hotel is outside the city, and accessible by car. So, if you have an international license, and you rent a car, you can find one of these hotels easily. Drive in to a garage, and head up your own private stairs to your room. In order to get you to pay, your garage has bollards blocking your car. On entry, the little machine will ask how long you want to stay. Once you tell it, the bollards lock your car in, and wont drop until you pay as you leave. These do offer a lot of privacy!

The final venue is not what you would imagine. It is the internet cafe.

Once you pay up for the night, and the price can be as low as about a thousand yen a night, you get access to a little cubicle. A couple of tatami mats in size, so just big enough to allow you to stretch out. You get a games machine, a TV, a computer, as well as blankets and pillows.

These cubicles are lockable, and they give you slippers to walk around in.

The internet cafe also boasts many other facilities such as arcade machines, pool tables, small cafe, washing area, etc.

These are popular with Japanese at the moment. With the recession biting, workers who live away from home are giving up their rented apartments in order to save money, and moving into internet cafes. So, should you go, it wont be a surprise to see freshly washed clothes hanging over the cubicles!

So, there you go. From the top of the range, to the internet cafe, Japan offers a wide array of venues for you to stick your head. However, I would recommend that you do check the internet. Whilst there are many deals available, many places do have a sting in the tail!

So, do some research, check out where you can go, and enjoy yourself!