The Long & Short of Hotels in Japan
Over the past several weeks I’ve been searching dilligently for accommodations for our upcoming stay in Japan. While the list of options is quite long — hotels, hostels, spas, resorts, and ryokan — I find that space is still somewhat limited in the Land of the Rising Sun. This is something that came as a bit of a surprise to me last year so I thought I’d share some of my findings with you. Depending on situation, Japanese accommodations can be a tad bit small by “Western” standards. You are hereby advised.
After culling through what seems like a million websites advertising Japanese accommodations, I found myself reading with interest, the ratings and comments left by myriad vacationers and visitors. By far, the biggest issue with potential for complaint or that caused people to leave lower scores for certain accommodations was a lack of space. Most of these lower ratings were left by visitors traveling to Japan for the first time while seasoned vacationers to Japan typically advised about the smallish rooms but still left more positive feedback.
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Hotel Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku (JP) |
Hilton Tokyo Narita (JP) |
Hilton Tokyo Hotel (JP) |
Hilton Times Square (US) |
Hilton Tokyo Bay (JP) |
Hilton Sandestin Resort and Spa (US) |
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|
Sq. Ft. |
Sq. m |
Sq. Ft. |
Sq. m |
Sq. Ft. |
Sq. m |
Sq. Ft. |
Sq. m |
Sq. Ft. |
Sq. m |
Sq. Ft. |
Sq. m |
|
|
Guest Room |
172 |
16 |
269 |
25 |
323 |
30 |
330 |
31 |
377 |
35 |
550 |
51 |
|
Deluxe Room |
205 |
19 |
377 |
35 |
323 |
30 |
360 |
33 |
430 |
40 |
550 |
51 |
|
Suite |
248 |
23 |
538 |
50 |
474 |
44 |
625 |
58 |
861 |
80 |
650 |
60 |
Taking my research a little further than I’d originally intended, I took a look at the square footage of rooms offered by a major player in the American Hotel industry — The Hilton. As you can somewhat see by the chart above, Hilton Hotel suites in Japan generally contain 32-50% less space than comparable Hilton Hotel suites in North America. At the same time, Japanese hotels that do not necessarily have an American counterpart, may contain even less space because they operate solely by a Japanese (space) standard [reference Hotel Sunroute Shinjuku] rather than a modified standard as do most American hotels in Japan.
Does this mean Japanese accommodations should be viewed as lesser than “Western” accommodations? Absolutely not!!! I had the opportunity to stay at a Japanese hostel last year in the Asakusa area and was completely bowled over by the sense of camaraderie I and my bunk-mates experienced. Such a small, enclosed space made it easier for us to make connections, to bond quickly and to end up exploring a city foreign to us, together. Staying at a ryokan last year also made a lasting impression on me as I was able to experience more fully a more traditional look at Japanese culture during my stay.
Because I will be taking my son with me this time around, we’ll mostly be staying at hotels with just a quick 2-day stop over at a hostel in Beppu. Since he is a whopping 5′10″ (and still growing at just 15 years old) to my 5′5″ (okay, okay … 5′ 4.5″) I was a little concerned about leg room for him. After much discussion and of regaling him with stories of my stay last year, he assures me I have no reason for concern. His excitement at the prospect of just being in Japan overrides all issues of space. We’ll just try to invoke some space saving techniques such as …
- Packing lightly — taking only the necessities and instead of bring a boatload of clothes, we’ll make sure to bring (or purchase) laundry detergent (available in travel sizes at most stores like Wal-Greens, CVS, Wal-Mart and Target) in order to make sure we have fresh, clean clothes each day.
- Use the “Garanimals Method of Packing” — back in the day an innovative children’s clothing company came up with the ingenious idea of making a line of clothes that were easily interchangeable with other pieces in the line. Parents simply matched up an animal tag from a shirt or blouse to the same animal tagged bottom and ta-da, a matched outfit for the day. Last year I took about 2 blouses per pair of pants and kept everything pretty much in the same color scheme. This way, I could mix and match clothes quickly and easily and still save space in my suitcase by not having to pack so much.
- Use easy to handle bags — instead of the usual upright, rolling suitcase, we will each take a rolling duffel bag. With its collapsibe sides and flexibility, the duffle’s design makes it more easiy to fit in odd or tight spaces than a rigid suitcase.
And that’s that. While Japanese rooms may be a bit smaller than what we’re used to, Japan hosts a veritable feast of rooming options that you won’t find anywhere else. From modern to traditional and back again, curling into a tighter ball to sleep at night is well worth the trade-off — adventure, culture, history, and loads of fun!!
Just a few notes …
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Hilton Guest rooms typically include a double bed or two twin beds and a private bath.
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Hilton Deluxe rooms typically include a queen bed or two double beds and a private bath.
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Hilton Suites typically include two king beds or two queen deluxe beds, or might encompass more than one sleeping area/room and at least one private bath, sometimes two.
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The Hotel Sunroute guest room is called a “single” and contains one twin or semi-double bed and a private bath.
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*The Hotel Sunroute deluxe room is called a “double” and contains a double or queen bed and a private bath.
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*The Hotel Sunroute Suite is called a “twin” room and contains two single beds and a private bath.
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*NOT all researched rooms are shown in the above illustration/chart.
