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Decrepit Japanese hotels? common?

post #1 of 17
4/26/10 at 2:43am
Thread Starter 
I need some basic info from you japanophiles about hotels in that country, as a recent visit left me quite shocked at some of the conditions I saw. A friend took me to a 'traditional' hot spring hotel with tatami floor, meal delivery, etc that I assumed must have cost a good bit of money ($200+ ?) about 2 hours outside of Tokyo. Unfortunately the place was just seemed to me really decrepit, though still functioning, and at times I thought it seemed like what would be considered a scam in the US. My friend said most hotels/resorts in Japan are like that- built in the 80's and maintained more on the inside than out. Were they right? The other places in that town (whose name I can't remember) certainly seemed that way (hell it felt more like I was in some backwater of Sichuan province China rather than Japan). I'd like to know, should I ever choose to travel around Japan in the future.
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post #2 of 17
4/26/10 at 5:58am
I think your friend just doesn't wanna spend a lot of money
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post #3 of 17
4/26/10 at 9:13am
Not really common at all. I stayed at $30-$50 per night shit holes all throughout Japan (although in Tokyo, when not using my points, I had to pony up $75), and they are all perfectly clean.

Of course the rooms are tiny. All in the category of "business hotel" which means bare basics in Japan. Tiny room with a single bed, tv, fridge, and closet. Not much room for walking around. TINY bathroom, but it has everything you need in it.

So no, it is not common for cheap hotels to be awful. Either way, you should always check out a hotel online before booking. I recommend TripAdvisor, but most of the cheaper business hotels are not on it.

Find and reserve via Rakuten. But before confirming, view the reviews or search for reviews in Japanese and google translate them to English. The business hotels are a good value. I assume the traditional tatami rooms are MUCH more hit and miss because they are often family owned.
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post #4 of 17
4/26/10 at 9:18am
yup, what he said. I mostly crashed with forumites (thanks boys) but spent three nights in various forms of hotels. One was like $60 a night, by Tokyo Station, and was just as Metro described it above. I spent $15 one night sleeping in a 'manga kisa' - Japanese manga cafe, where I slept on a yoga mat in a cubicle with a bean bag, but even then, every time someone left, the attendant came through, cleaned it, and sprayed with some disinfectant thingy. I also spent one night in a capsule, which, other than a lounge where old Jap drunk dudes were smoking, was again close to spotless. You've either come across the equivalent of a Jap bed n breakfast, or else your standards are warped.
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post #5 of 17
4/26/10 at 9:19am
^^^^ Man, my back hurt for three days after the manga cafe thing. The capsule though was quite comfortable. Except for the naked sit-down showers with Japanese men...er...
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post #6 of 17
4/26/10 at 9:25am
you did three days in a manga cafe? youre nuts. Sure, it's a cultural experience, but that can be had in about six hours edit - oh sorry - re-read that...1 night sleeping, 3 days hurting...gotcha. Mine was fine, had to be in after 12 and out before 7, but that was OK cos I went out the night before, last train in, and then fish market in the morning...was cold as fuck though, so I ended up training back to the manga cafe and crashing a few more hours the next morning before Nantucket Red took me in. ya, the naked sit down shower thing creeped me out a bit as well, but still, I loved the big ass mineral bath thing they had there. Sat in that for ages. Did your capsule have a permanent-pixel-porn channel?
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post #7 of 17
4/26/10 at 9:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Matt View Post

Did your capsule have a permanent-pixel-porn channel?

Yeah I was under the impression that it was pay-for-porn, but it turned out that Channel 2 was permanent porn. With some pretty average looking chicks, I gotta say. Still, a nice touch on their part.

My favorite part of the capsule hotel was the free overnight underwear washing.
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post #8 of 17
4/26/10 at 10:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Svenn View Post
I need some basic info from you japanophiles about hotels in that country, as a recent visit left me quite shocked at some of the conditions I saw. A friend took me to a 'traditional' hot spring hotel with tatami floor, meal delivery, etc that I assumed must have cost a good bit of money ($200+ ?) about 2 hours outside of Tokyo. Unfortunately the place was just seemed to me really decrepit, though still functioning, and at times I thought it seemed like what would be considered a scam in the US. My friend said most hotels/resorts in Japan are like that- built in the 80's and maintained more on the inside than out. Were they right? The other places in that town (whose name I can't remember) certainly seemed that way (hell it felt more like I was in some backwater of Sichuan province China rather than Japan). I'd like to know, should I ever choose to travel around Japan in the future.

Was your experience similar to this?

http://www.japaneseguesthouses.com/d.../iwamotoro.htm




which most would agree would contrast with this ryokan:

http://www.japaneseguesthouses.com/db/nikko/konishi.htm




There are plenty of English-language guides on good ryokans both online and in print.

Japan's Hidden Hot Springs by Bob Neff http://books.google.com/books?id=bvO...page&q&f=false

Classic Japanese Inns and Country Getaways by Margaret Price http://books.google.com/books?id=ZSA...page&q&f=false

http://www.secret-japan.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=44
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post #9 of 17
4/26/10 at 11:08am
I have seen those kind of places...that hotel was probably somewhat famous over 20 years ago and has enough of a reputation that they get some busloads of geriatrics during the peak season. But $200 is really not such a high price, and I am assuming that is per person.
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post #10 of 17
4/27/10 at 3:47am
A good example of an 80's city hotel in dire need of refurbishment is the Grand Prince Hotel Akasaka http://www.princehotels.com/en/akasaka/


gift shop from 1982 - inspired by former Soviet Bloc and Chinese 'Friendship' stores


lobby restaurant from Hell


Rooms designed by Holiday Inn
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post #11 of 17
4/27/10 at 4:19am
Many of the Japanese establishments in the U.S. have a decrepit look to them. Even the Japanese-run hotels (such as a Hotel Nikko) have a kind of dated '80s/'90s look to them.
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post #12 of 17
4/27/10 at 6:18am
Quote:
Originally Posted by LabelKing View Post
Many of the Japanese establishments in the U.S. have a decrepit look to them. Even the Japanese-run hotels (such as a Hotel Nikko) have a kind of dated '80s/'90s look to them.

Makes sense. They were all probably established during the Japanese real-estate purchasing frenzy of the 80s, decorated opulently, and never refurnished again.
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post #13 of 17
4/28/10 at 2:04am
To echo what others said, it sounds like you went to a Ryokan. Trust that it wasn't $200, it was probably more like $50.

I have seen various levels of cleanliness in ryokans and capsules, yours doesn't sound outside of the acceptable range.
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post #14 of 17
4/28/10 at 5:14am
Be glad, the one I went to in Kyoto was haunted.
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post #15 of 17
4/28/10 at 9:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nereis View Post
Be glad, the one I went to in Kyoto was haunted.

Explain.
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