Japanese hotels are small. They are very small (atleast the ones in the bigger cities). So small that you could only have one suitcase open in the room at a time. You have to be creative to store both of them and manage getting dressed! But they are full of surprises and amenities. amenities, amenities!
Here are the 5 things that I absolutely loved about the hotels in Japan-
Smart Check-ins & Check-outs
While this is expected from hotels that are "smart inns", even hotels that were not so "smart", had self check-in and check-out facility available. All you had to do was scan your passport, do the payment and collect your room keys. During checkouts, you'd just need to drop your room keys in a key collector box/machine and you're done! No need to wait in long checkout queues!
Though sometimes, the machine was not able to scan my Indian passport but that's where the hotel staff stepped in.
Bathtubs & Toiletries
No matter how small the hotel room was, there was always a bathtub (well mostly). The hotel also provides you with bath salts as complimentary toiletries!
Another tiny detail that I observed was that if your stay included 2 people, the toiletries would be marked with separate colours so that you're able to identify which one belongs to you. Pretty amazing right? For example, the toothbrushes were of different colours and so were the glasses and towels.
And did I tell you they provide you with hair ties? That's a lifesaver!
They also have bath sponges or towels. This concept was new to me but they are a nice alternative to loofahs!
Even the shampoos and conditioners left my hair feeling so soft. And the mirrors were heated to avoid fogging up after a hot shower. Tiny things like these made my stay there so comfortable!
Toilets
I went to Japan in the winter season which means that heated toilet seats were my favourite thing ever!
Most Japanese toilets have bidets and a panel to control them. You can customise the position, temperature and the pressure as well! There are two modes of the bidet: the back and the front. Some toilets would also have a button for raising the toilet lid and seat.
Yukatas
Japanese bath robes were different than the ones you'd find at other places. Some places had a traditional bath robe called a yukata while other places had a button down robe. A yukata is a cotton summer kimono. It's a more casual version of the kimono worn in bath houses or other casual settings.
Spas
You can find free spas / bath houses in almost all Japanese hotels but you might need to hide your tattoos with a seal and oh did I tell you? You're not supposed to wear any clothing there, not even your underwear!
Another awesome thing was that you can check the vacancy of the spa from the TV in your room!
Laundry Machines
Hotel laundry is pretty expensive but in Japan they usually have a laundromat within the hotel that you can use. The charges were around 500-600yen for an hour. You can also check the status of the laundromat from the TV!
Vending Machines
Though the vending machines inside the hotels are a bit more expensive, it's still a nice option to have when you don't want to step outside in the cold.
