When traveling in Japan, you may want to stay in a clean and comfortable room, but your budget is tight... In such cases, we recommend Japanese chain hotels. You can use them with confidence without worrying about reviews if they are famous major chain hotels. In recent years, new hotels that have been renovated or newly opened are appearing one after another in the vicinity of tourist spots! This time, we will pick up and introduce 5 popular chain hotels that are reasonably priced and have good cost performance and are expanding all over Japan.
About Chain Hotels in Japan
In Japan, there are various types of hotels, but they can be broadly categorized into three genres: 'Resort Hotels', 'City Hotels', and 'Business Hotels'. Resort hotels are well-equipped with facilities such as hot springs, pools, gyms, and spas. City hotels target not only business travelers but also a wide range of users including tourists. The business hotel we are introducing this time is a hotel designed with the assumption that it will be used for business trips. Services and amenities are kept to a minimum, and the rooms are often compact, allowing for affordable accommodation.
There are several chain hotels in Japan that operate such business hotels. If you are looking for accommodation with a focus on cost performance, we recommend looking for a chain business hotel! The hotel is well-equipped with restaurants, bars, and other dining options, as well as venues.
From now on, the FUN! JAPAN editorial department will introduce you to the average price range of five recommended business hotel chains that we have carefully selected: Tokyo INN, APA Hotel, Dormy Inn, Route Inn, and Super Hotel.
① "Tokyo INN": The charm is the location near the station & free energetic breakfast
In 1986, the first hotel was opened in Kamata, Tokyo. "Toyoko INN", which has 337 hotels (as of April 3, 2024) in all prefectures except Kochi, from Hokkaido to Okinawa, based on the concept of "base hotel of national network". Toyoko INN has hotels at key transportation points, including airports and Shinkansen stations, mainly in Tokyo, Kanagawa, and Osaka areas. Each hotel is characterized by its location near the station, and Toyoko INN operates on the principle of "one-price system" with no significant price fluctuations throughout the year. For multilingual support, it has staff who can speak English, and depending on the hotel, Chinese and Korean.
Rooms at Toyoko INN
The main types of rooms are "Single Room (12㎡)", "Double Room (15㎡)", and "Twin Room (15㎡)". In addition, although availability varies by location, there are "Pet-Friendly Rooms", and "Sleep PJ" rooms where you can analyze your sleep patterns (※Not available in foreign languages).
■Average price range: Varies by location.
Toyoko INN Breakfast: Free breakfast to start your day off right
Tokyo INN offers a free choice of breakfast between "Buffet style", a set of rice balls and miso soup called "Onigiri style", or "Various Sandwich style" which includes a sandwich, daily soup, and vegetable smoothie.
You can enjoy three types of soup daily from a menu of over 17 items, including Cocoichi-supervised Toyoko INN original curry soup, Maru-chan wonton, and corn cream potage with grains. In addition, Tokyo INN also offers local menus unique to each location, such as takoyaki ("Toyoko INN Shin-Osaka Higashi Mikuni Station"), plate udon ("Toyoko INN Sasebo Station"), and rice tasting ("Toyoko INN Joetsu Myoko Station West Exit") (the menu may change).
Attention to detail in amenities and services
The "Premium Plus Room" is popular at Toyoko INN. It is a limited number of rooms equipped with five items such as the "Mattress Pad" by Airweave, the "Beautech Dryer Pro" by Refa, and the "Humidifying Air Purifier" by Sharp (introduced in all hotels in Japan).
Also, some hotels have bathrooms with rain showers that fall from above and hotels with self-lockers.
② "APA Hotel": Innovative services such as the "One Second Check-in" system
APA Hotel, named after the initials of Always Pleasant Amenity, is characterized by its constant evolution. With each new hotel opening, they create one innovation point. They have the largest number of hotels in the country, with 728 locations. Particularly in the 23 wards of Tokyo, they have about 100 hotels. In addition, more than 60 hotels have large public baths, seven of which are natural hot springs. Depending on the location, there are staff members who can speak languages other than English, such as Korean and Chinese. For other languages, there is no need to worry as there are translation machines at the front desk.
Also, the curry from the APA Hotel's directly managed restaurant is very popular. Based on Kanazawa curry from Ishikawa Prefecture, the flavor of original spices is added, and the natural sweetness drawn out by slowly simmering beef and vegetables is the secret to its popularity. Retort curry is also available, and can be purchased at the front desk of APA Hotels nationwide.
Rooms at APA Hotel
The rooms include "Single Rooms (11㎡)", "Double Rooms (11㎡)", "Deluxe Twin Rooms (22㎡)", and "S-S Connect Twin Rooms", which are two adjacent single rooms that can be connected as needed. There are also unique rooms called "DEMBA Space Rooms", where a special mat from DEMBA Health is installed on the bed. This mat creates a 360° ultra-low frequency DENBA space, and the weak electric field is said to balance the autonomic nervous system and improve the quality of sleep.
■Average price range: Approximately 10,000 yen (including tax) per person per room for a stay without meals.
Breakfast at APA Hotel
The breakfast is a buffet style that includes local menu items. For example, at the restaurant "La Veranda" of "APA Hotel & Resort
Unique services such as handmade origami cranes and membership systems in the rooms
APA Hotel is implementing unique initiatives that are not found in other hotels.
The first is the "One-Second Check-In" system. To ensure that guests can smoothly complete their check-in and check-out without feeling stressed, all they need to do after arriving at the hotel is to hold their QR membership card over the "One-Second Check-In Machine" and the process is complete. Also, at check-out, all you need to do is put your card key in the post. There is no need to line up at the front desk.
The second feature is the introduction of a cashback membership system. The more you stay, the more points you accumulate, making it a great deal.
The third feature is the origami cranes that the staff have carefully folded in every room. This gesture of hospitality is popular among foreign tourists.
③ "Dormy Inn": The concept is "a hotel to live in, comfortably and simply"! Is there a large public bath too?!
The business hotel "Dormy Inn" has 95 locations nationwide, mainly in the metropolitan area. In addition to the standard "Dormy Inn", there are three other concepts: "Dormy Inn PREMIUM", which offers amenities and a space that can be enjoyed for sightseeing, "Dormy Inn EXPRESS", which is always challenging new attempts and has various features for each building, and "Onyado Nono", whose concept is the relaxation of a Japanese-style inn.
"Dormy Inn" is a city hotel that, despite being a business hotel, has many locations equipped with large public baths, stemming from the desire to let guests experience the atmosphere of a hot spring resort. As for multilingual support, there may be staff who can handle English, Korean, and Chinese.
Rooms at Dormy Inn
"Dormy Inn" is a hotel with the concept of "comfortable, simple, livable". Aiming for "comfortable rooms", they carefully listen to the needs of guests, such as "I don't want to bother changing clothes when I leave the room" and "I want to charge at my bedside", and respond accordingly. The base rooms are "Double (from 15㎡)" and "Twin (from 21㎡)".
■Average price range: Approximately 14,000 yen per room (including tax※calculated from financial results materials on February 20, excluding hotels that opened after April 2022)
Dormy Inn Breakfast: Enjoy Local Menu
The specialty here is the "Local Specialty Cuisine", which incorporates local breakfast menus. For example, at "Dormy Inn PREMIUM Sapporo", they serve a hearty seafood bowl, and at "Dormy Inn PREMIUM Osaka Kitahama", they serve beef hot pot, all of which are elaborate specialties.
In addition, there is a "Taste Tour Small Bowl Alley" where various dishes are lined up little by little, and warm things are served warm, and cold things are served cold.
Welcome coffee, sweets, and all night meals are free
One of the charms of Dormy Inn is its numerous free services. Coffee is available in the lobby and restaurant. In the guest rooms, welcome sweets are provided, and after bathing, you can enjoy a post-bath ice cream. If you get a little hungry at night, Dormy Inn's special soy sauce ramen "Yonakisoba" is available. In addition, a "lactic acid drink" is prepared for a refreshing wake-up the next morning. Washing machines are available for free. Some facilities also have a "foreign currency exchange machine".
④ "Hotel Route Inn": Providing guest-first services! Some locations even have natural hot springs!
Route Inn Japan Co., Ltd., founded in 1977, operates 340 hotels from Hokkaido to Okinawa. Not only the business type "Hotel Route Inn", but also the resort type "Grandvrio Hotel", the city type "Ark Hotel", and the spa and sightseeing type "Route Inn Grantia", they cater to guests' needs with various brands.
Moreover, some hotels are equipped with separate large public baths for men and women, some of which use natural hot springs. In addition to English, Hotel Route Inn provides multilingual support, including Korean and Traditional Chinese, in its in-house guides and surrounding maps.
Rooms at Route Inn
The main rooms are 'Single', 'Twin', and 'Double' (the size varies depending on the hotel). Some of the newly opened hotels have spacious rooms called 'Deluxe Rooms', which are recommended for foreign tourists with a lot of luggage and families. There are also hotels with 'Barrier-Free Rooms' for guests using wheelchairs to ensure a comfortable stay. *The type of rooms varies depending on the hotel.
■Average price range: Single room with free breakfast from 9,000 yen (tax included) per night
Route Inn's Viking Breakfast: Over 30 items every day!
Breakfast is a buffet. With over 30 items on the menu at all times, Route Inn caters to every guest's style, whether they prefer rice, bread, a light meal, or a hearty one. It offers a wide range of dishes, from salads to simmered dishes, fried foods, egg dishes, steamed dishes, and desserts. Some of its locations also offer local specialty dishes, and some provide bread baked in-house in its restaurant's bakery and kitchen.
Guest-First Service and Point App
The characteristic of Route-Inn is that it has many guest-first services. For example, a free self-cafe is set up in the lobby. You can drink as much coffee as you like. Also, if you book from the official website, one drink per person is served for free.
Not only for adults, Route Inn provides child-friendly services such as slippers, toothbrushes, mini towel sets for children, picture book rentals, and WOWOW's kids channels where they can watch animations. To ensure a comfortable stay for infants, all rooms are equipped with air purifiers with humidifying functions.
Also, visitors from Taiwan, Vietnam, and Korea can now "display their Ponta membership card" from their common point app in their home country, allowing them to "accumulate and use Ponta points". This is supported by Taiwan's common point service "OPEN POINT", Vietnam's common point service "Utop", and Korea's common point service "OK Cashback".
⑤"Super Hotel": Pursuing high-quality sleep with pillows, lighting, bedding, etc. & proud of its body-friendly breakfast
Super Hotel, with "cleanliness, safety, and value for money" as its axis, has 170 hotels from Kitami City and Kushiro City in Hokkaido to Ishigaki City in Okinawa. The areas with the most hotels are the 23 wards of Tokyo, Osaka, Shikoku, and the Fuji area. In addition, natural hot springs have been introduced in about 115 of the 170 hotels nationwide. At the "Premier Ginza Branch", fresh natural hot springs are transported daily from Yugawara. They can support English, and there are also hotels that can support Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Myanmar languages.
Guest rooms of Super Hotel
The main type of room is the 'Single Room (about 12㎡)', which features a semi-double bed. Depending on the location, there may also be 'Super Rooms' with loft beds, 'Twin Rooms', 'Triple Rooms', women-only 'Ladies Rooms' equipped with bedding and beauty items tailored to women, and 'Theater Rooms' where you can watch TV shows and streaming videos on a large screen using a projector instead of a TV.
■Average price range: Single room with breakfast approximately 8,500 yen (including tax) ~
Super Hotel's free breakfast (some paid branches available)
Breakfast is a buffet featuring a variety of items such as organic vegetable salads, freshly baked bread from the oven every morning, its original bread "BIO Roll" made only with organic ingredients, miso soup made with organic miso, organic natto, and additive-free seasoned seaweed. The charm is the wide range of menus that are particular about organic and additive-free.
Super Hotel offers various services to ensure "safety, cleanliness, and a good night's sleep"
The main selling point of the Super Hotel is its relentless pursuit of 'sleep'. They offer eight types of pillows with different hardness and heights such as low rebound, fluffy, cypress, and pipe, allowing guests to freely choose according to their preferences. The carpet in the guest rooms reads "Please take off your shoes and have a good sleep", and guest room slippers are placed nearby. It conveys the desire for guests to relax as if they were at home. Also, as you move from the front desk to the corridor and towards the guest rooms, the lighting gradually dims, and the guest rooms are set to be less than about 30 lux, which is considered easy to sleep in.
Also, in the lobby, there is a drink bar with local sake, cocktails, shaved ice, soft drinks, etc., and a welcome bar where you can make original cocktails in the evening lounge. For women, Super Hotel offers nice services such as a gift of 5 points per night of its original organic amenities such as all-in-one gel and beauty serum with high vitamin C content! (The lineup and method of provision vary depending on the hotel)
One of the advantages of Japanese chain hotels is that you can enjoy various services while keeping your accommodation budget down! Next time you travel to Japan, why not stay at one of the above-mentioned chain hotels that catch your interest?
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