With the advent of the Internet, this task is made much easier for vacationers. There are many resources at one's fingertips to research hotels and motels in the areas to be visited.
Here's the two hotels I stayed at during my recent Japan trip:
The Hotel Asia Center of Japan - Tokyo
I decided to confine my recent trip to Japan to Tokyo and Niigata. Fortunately for me, my choice for accommodations in Tokyo was easy as I have stayed at The Hotel Asia Center of Japan on two prior trips (2006 and 2007).
The Hotel Asia Center of Japan is a modern hotel centrally-located in Tokyo near the Aoyama-Itchome subway station. It is also located near one of my favorite coffee and snack establishments, Tully's Coffee (below).
Their single room rate is roughly $60-80 per night (depending on the current foreign exchange rate of the dollar and yen). They have a restaurant with reasonably-priced buffet-style food. I generally have breakfast there. I confine my choice to western style breakfast, although I've sampled some Japanese breakfast items. They also have fresh baked croissants! (That's a plus in my book!)
Their rooms are roughly the size of most business hotels in Japan, which are smaller than what you'd find in the U.S. But who travels over 5,000 miles to Japan to just sit in a room anyway? The rooms are clean and well-appointed. One drawback is that their Internet access outlets don't match the plugs from the U.S. An adaptor is needed. At least they have three coin-operated Internet machines in the lobby. The rooms also have a small refrigerator.
Should you forget to pack your brush or toothbrush, they have complimentary ones in the lobby along with complimentary bottled water.
They also have laundry facilities so roomers can wash their clothing. A yukata is provided with the room.
The hotel staff is reasonably proficient with English.
The Hotel Asia Center of Japan is my hotel of choice in Tokyo.
Dormy Inn - Niigata
As I mentioned above, I also visited the city of Niigata on the Sea of Japan side of Honshu.
I did come checking via JNTO's (Japan National Tourist Organization) website. I settled on the Dormy Inn in Niigata.
The Dormy Inn is one of a chain of hotels in Japan. It is an easy ten-minute walk from the JR Niigata Station (below). Their single room rate is roughly $55-75 per night.
I found the Dormy Inn a nice business hotel with single occupancy rooms a tad larger than The Hotel Asia Center of Japan's. The rooms also have a hotplate for heating up tea water and a refrigerator. Instead of a yukata, they provide Japanese-syle pajamas, which are very comfortable.
The Dormy Inn also has their own restaurant with reasonably priced meals buffet-style.
One big plus is that the hotel has two communal baths, one on the 2nd floor and one on the 10th floor that are nicely decorated. The baths are segregated by sex and there is a schedule for both baths for use by men and women. Both sexes are able to use both the 2nd floor and 10th floor baths with this schedule.
The same problem of incompatible plugs for room Internet access as with The Hotel Asia Center of Japan is also at the Dormy Inn. Fortunately, they have two computers in the lobby for use by guests. And, they're free!
The Dormy Inn has many restaurants nearby within easy walking distance. There's also a Tully's Coffee shop at the JR Niigata Station.
I found the staff to be friendly, but not as proficient at English as the staff of The Hotel Asia Center of Japan. If the Dormy Inn in Niigata is a good representation of their other hotels in Japan, I would definitely recommend them.
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