Tag: Japan Hotel Reviews View All Tags
Ryokans
Kagaya Inn Wins Top Ranking in Japan 28 Years in a Row
November 19, 2008 at 4:45 PM | 0 Comments
Japan might be famous for kinky love hotels or claustrophobic capsule hotels, but the real Japan is something you’ll find in a ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn. When the Sydney Morning Herald tried out the Kagaya Inn in Ishikawa prefecture recently they discovered it has been voted the best ryokan in the whole of Japan for the last 28 years running. There must be something good about it.
And there is. Kagaya has a hot spring attached, with baths and pools running over three floors--gender-segregated floors, because the Japanese do all this bathing naked. They also have rooms which, by Japanese standards, are enormous, and they’ll serve your ultra-attractive dinner there too. Ultra-attractive, but perhaps a little scary, because it’s likely to contain pickled sea snails and sea urchins.
As you might expect in a traditional Japan, the service is beyond perfect; sometimes thirty staff line up to bow and greet the incoming guests. For this privilege you’ll pay around 29,400 yen ($300) per person, which includes breakfast and dinner and all the naked bathing you can handle. Absolutely worth it, we think, and you might never want to come home.
[Photo: tokyofoodcast]
Island Hotels
Island Meets Urban at Okinawa Harborview
June 11, 2007 at 9:42 AM | 0 Comments
We know those who live on the island of Okinawa live longer than the rest of us, and we have a suspicion that a big part of this is that they're really great at relaxing. Why wouldn't you be, with all that sunshine and all those palm trees surrounding you all day? That's why we're considering checking into the Okinawa Harborview Hotel. To start with, the motto of the Harborview sounds somehow enticing:
Fusion of the traditional and modern - a new harmonious style. And from this, an even more fascinating city resort.
Situated in the "city" of Naha on the largest island of the Okinawa group, the Harborview belongs to the ANA (All Nippon Airways) hotel group and when you dig deeper into the website, they tell you great things like "you'll realize the promise of a rich urban day and the harmony of spirit and body"; we're not sure why they're so heavy on the urban idea when Naha's just a tiny spot of a city on an otherwise palm tree covered island. Its 350 rooms are split between standard, superior and suite rooms, with the 123 square meter royal suite at the top of the list.
Outside the room, there's a garden swimming pool, and a sauna which (apparently) is only for men. They also have a few shops selling traditional Okinawan wares like folk crafts, pottery and longevity. Sorry, just kidding about the longevity, though if anyone would work out how to sell it, it'd be the Japanese.
[Photo: Mr.mt]
Japanese Love Hotels
The Definitive LovehoMap, In Japanese
March 23, 2007 at 12:13 PM | 0 Comments
Gotta love the "lovehomap", which is the best map to some of the finest Love Hotels in Japan we have seen thus far.
Sure it is all in Japanese, however, it combines pretty love hotel photos with number based street map locations. Very nice to see all our favorite love hotels on one birght, technicolor map. Most web addresses are included on the map.
Related Stories:
· Love Hotels Coverage [HotelChatter]
Japan Hotel Reviews
Holiday Inn Nagasaki Becomes Famous For Strange Pizza
November 14, 2006 at 5:34 PM | 0 Comments
Atomic Bomb Museum
When you've been in Japan long enough to have done all the ryokan, love hotel and capsule hotel stays and all you want is a normal place to sleep, with a bed above the ground and no garish colors, then something like Nagasaki's Holiday Inn fits the bill. It's situated near the harbor and close to the Atomic Bomb Museum and a bunch of interesting churches from the times when Nagasaki was really the only inch of the border where foreigners could creep in.
It's Japan, so of course the staff are super-polite and friendly, and will do much more than you ask of them. In the right season, fresh mandarins are available at the door to all--we like these small touches. You might want to be careful with the room service, though. The fact that it's only available from 5-10pm could be a blessing to start with, or you might be tempted to indulge in some of the strangest pizzas known to humankind.
Ever thought you'd eat a pizza topped with chilli sauce, shrimp, peas, omelette and brocolli? And that was one of the more edible concoctions. Sure, it's a Western-style hotel, but the staff are still Japanese, so this Holiday Inn could be improved by substituting strange pizzas with ordinary sushi and soba.
[Photo: abuckingham]
Related Stories:
· Holiday Inn Nagasaki Reviews [TripAdvisor]
·
What It's Really Like Inside Japanese Love Hotels [Hotel Chatter]
· Capsule Hotels Japan [Hotel Chatter]
