Choosing an accommodation is always the hardest part during a vacation planning, especially in a major city like Tokyo and Osaka. Hotels in the higher tiers are expensive, ranging from $300 a night upwards. Luckily for us, we always travel in two and can choose to stay in business hotels that are more affordable. Although termed Business hotels, they offer everything you need for a comfortable stay. Clean rooms, good customer service, and well located.
Here, we share 3 of the Best Japan Hotel Chain in Japan that is ideal of couples and budget travellers. If you are travelling in bigger group or with families, do consider AirBnB for more room space at even lower prices. Check out the post here.
Dormy Inn
First on the list is our all time favourite, Dormy Inn. The best facility of this hotel is the free Onsen (hot spring) and late night Ramen supper (free too). Most branches have outdoor onsen and during winter, it is the perfect time to dip in the outdoor hot spring with snow falling above you.
As typical with other business hotels, the rooms in Dormy Inn hotels are small, ranging from 14m2 to 20m2, just enough for a double bed with little walking space. The bathroom are really small too and we will usually just shower in the onsen.
Pros:
- Clean and modern. Staffs speak basic English
- Free onsen and free ramen supper
Cons:
- Most branches are not near to train stations, expect up to 10 minutes walk
- Ever since Dormy Inn won some awards at Tripadvisor, the price had increased. However, branches at less touristy cities are still relatively cheap (less than $100 a night), such as Himeji, Tomakomai, etc.
APA Hotel
APA Hotel is a popular hotel chain in Japan and can be found everywhere, especially in the urban areas. There was an incident a couple of years ago where the owners of APA Hotel started putting publications in all APA rooms that were in bad taste with the Chinese. We heard that many Chinese tourists started to boycott this chain because of this. This is probably why APA hotels are usually the cheapest and available even for last minute bookings.
Pros:
- One of the cheapest hotel chain you can find in Japan
- High availability even for last minute bookings
- Good location, usually within walking distance from train stations
Cons:
- Very small rooms
- Room designs are not suitable if you have big luggage
Hotel MyStays
Clean modern rooms, multilingual staffs, and big lobby are some of the characteristics of Hotel MyStays. With closed to a hundred hotels around Japan, Hotel MyStays is another of our favourite choice when choosing a hotel. The rooms cost slightly more than APA Hotel but are still one of the cheapest option in Japan. Rooms are bigger too and provide a good allowance of walking space for you to place your luggages.
Image source: Google street view
Pros:
- Spacious rooms with affordable pricing
Cons:
- Most branches in Tokyo are located a distance away from the nearest train or metro station
Other notable mention of hotel chain in Japan for cheap rooms include
- Toyoko Inn
- Sunroute Hotel
- Sotetsu Fresa Inn
- Super Hotel
