Hotel Room deals

A colleague was looking out for places to stay in Japan, and I was telling her of how cheap and affordable the rooms there generally are. That impression has been reinforced after I started looking for hotel accommodation for visitors to Singapore – hotel rooms here are so so expensive and aren’t very well reviewed either!

That, compounded by the wonderful steal of a room I got in Dublin, makes me sad, because it’s impossible to get anything beyond a tiny room in a Singapore hotel that’s not very well located for the prices that I’ve paid elsewhere.

Anyway, I thought to just document some good, cheap places I’ve stayed at while in Japan in case they should come in useful. I always book hotels via Jalan.net as it offers really great deals and has a good search function.

Hokkaido, Sapporo

First up, accommodation in Hokkaido. If you’re in Sapporo, Hotel Tokeidai, or Hotel Clocktower, (ホテル時計台）is my top choice because it’s so cheap. It offers basic rooms* with plenty of luggage space and an ensuite bathroom just 5-7 minutes from JR Sapporo station at about $66 per room for two.

(Note that it’s cheaper than Hotel 81 in Singapore, which has received lots of complaints regarding quality of the beds, sheets and room size – which is interesting, since I’d expect a hotel in the red light district to have better beds and sheets!)

Another good hotel in Sapporo is Weekly Hotel Sapporo, and its annex (ウィークリーさっぽろ２０００＆アネックス). It’s located about 6min from Susukino station, which is the entertainment and food district of Sapporo. The small intersection before the hotel has some cool structures:

The rooms cost about $79 per room (2 persons) a night, and the rooms also seem to have increased in size since I was last there (prices remain the same though), because according to the panoramic flash video on their website, the rooms now contain a sofa. Apart from the usual facilities and ensuite bathroom, each room also contains a microwave, sink and stove, cooking and eating utensils – including a rice cooker, as seen below!

Hokkaido, Lake Toya

I feel that no visit to Hokkaido is complete without going to Lake Toya – for that, I highly recommend Toya Sansui Hotel Kafuu (洞爺山水ホテル和風). It’s a traditional Japanese ryokan – complete with tatami mats, onsen baths and dinner and breakfast provided. And how much did it cost?

A mere $183 a night for two – such Japanese ryokans with meals provided usually charge an average of $126 each, and can go much higher depending on the quality of the food served. That doesn’t mean that we didn’t get good food here though – far from it, it came with a spread which included pork shabu shabu with sesame sauce, fish and prawn sashimi, black cod, a crab claw wrapped in egg, various tasty small dishes and a slice of the famed yubari melon.

Breakfast was a simpler affair as it always is, but was still filling – with fish, tofu, japanese omelette, grated yam and a serving of melon (in the covered bowl on the left).

Nikko

A useful comparison to the Toya Sansui Hotel above would be where we stayed in Nikko. Perhaps best known for being the place where the Tokugawa mausoleums are located, Nikko doesn’t seem to have many overnight travellers. Like most of the other hotels there, our accommodation – Seiyou Hotel Ichibankan (西洋ホテル壱番館）was a short 5 min taxi ride from the station.

From its name, it’s clear that it’s a western-style hotel – it’s literally a western-style house which has been converted into a hotel, and everything on the inside (apart from the presence of onsen-style baths) is western in style, which was a nice change. It was $123 each per night, inclusive of dinner and breakfast.

     

I unfortunately have no visual record of what exactly we had there, because it was so appetising aesthetically that it all went down pretty fast. The hotel owner was formerly a western cuisine chef, which explained why the food was so good. There was a delicacy of taste to the meals, which I realise is difficult to achieve and nearly non-existent in what you’d usually get here. As it was low-season and a weekday when we went, we were the only two people in the entire hotel, which made it even better.

Yokohama

The last recommendation is Porto Hostel Yokohama, located about 10-15min walk from Yokohama’s famous Chinatown. It actually has an English website and is quite a large hostel. The place seems slightly foreboding on the outside as it appeared to be rows and rows of rooms, but the rooms are actually rather cheery and nice, with space nearer the door for more luggage:

 a posed picture from one of the travel websites, provided by Porto Hostel Yokohama itself

Private rooms are $47 (or $70 for a twin or double room). Being a hostel, it doesn’t provide the usual amenities and the bathrooms are shared coin-operated showers, but breakfast – consisting of eggs, toast, salad, juice and coffee – is provided. It’s a comfortable stay though, and due to Yokohama’s proximity to Tokyo and consequent prices, is rather reasonable. A general tip, however, is that hotels are more value for money in Japan than hostels are!

*  *  *

*: Basic rooms in Japan all contain the following amenities, which are not necessarily available in Singapore hotels – free internet in rooms (often wireless), hairdryer, shampoo, conditioner, shower foam, hairbrush, toothbrush and toothpaste, towels, tea and coffee, slippers, shower and japanese-style bathtub, yukata/bathrobe, TV.

Lake Toya, Hokkaido

Lake Toya is a volcanic lake, and is one of my favourite places in Hokkaido because it’s peaceful and beautiful. i love it in summer as the sky and the lake are a brilliant blue, and there’s a short 20min display of fireworks every night over the lake.

due to its depth, Lake Toya never freezes over; the 3 small islands in its centre are a popular (but slightly pricey) ferry ride away from the shore where the many hotels and japanese ryokans are:

Lake Toya is a great place to chill out and relax, although there are only a few attractions in the vicinity. One of them is the Volcano Science Museum, which details the volcanic activity of Mt. Usu, with a free exhibition of the wildlife around in the area. Outside the museum are many solar panels:

The museum is right next to the Konpira Crater Hazard Area – it features the preserved  remains of buildings that were destroyed when Mt Usu erupted in 2000.

I love Toya too :) 

 This is a little small, but if you look closely, you can see the shattered windows and crumbling walls of the building

We wanted to visit the Nishiyama Crater Promenade, a walking trail that’s meant to bring visitors close to the crater created when Mt Usu erupted most recently. I thought it was near the Konpira Crater Hazard Area – there was a walking trail nearby too – but that only led us on a long walk up till a dead end in the hot sun. At least we got some nice views though:

A view of Lake Toya and the Toyako Onsen town. That’s me in the picture below – the road we’re on is the former highway linking Toyako Onsen and Sapporo that was cut off and put out of use by the 2000 eruption.

The sad state of the road we were on – we had doubts as to where we were going once we got on this road, and those doubts were confirmed soon after:

The Nishiyama Crater Promenade was actually a bus ride away from Toyako Onsen to the foot of the hiking trail. I was really tired by then as we’d been walking for much of the morning, and it was a steep climb uphill. The view was good, but pity about the branches though:

The Konpira Crater Hazard Area below:

And here is the elusive Konpira Crater Lake – i love the colour of the crater lake. I was a little disappointed that it wasn’t steaming like it was on the tourism website though:

 

 

we stayed at Toya Sansui Hotel Kafu [洞爺山水ホテル　和風（かふう)], a smallish hotel slightly off the edge of the lake. That makes it cheaper too. In fact, our hotel was really cheap, at only 5800yen per night, inclusive of dinner and breakfast – most places charge at least 7000-8000yen. Our room had a view of the lake – and hence the fireworks – and was a typical tatami room with shower, tv, fridge, kettle and tea.

Breakfast was so-so only, but dinner was really good. We calculated how much such a dinner would cost at a restaurant outside, and concluded that we were paying perhaps less than 2000yen for the room itself. Here’s breakfast – there was tofu, fish, egg, toro, a boiled vegetable dish and rice:

 

and here’s dinner – it was amazingly delicious with pork shabu with delicious goma (sesame) sauce, sashimi, fish, a small crab claw, 3 small dishes of savoury food (one was mushrooms, another had fatty pork!) and super sweet yubari melon:

I’d recommend this hotel to everyone wanting to visit Lake Toya! Prices do not increase on weekends too – we were there on a Saturday – which makes it extra extra worth it :)

Sapporo, Hokkaido

Jalan.net is a great website for booking accommodation in Japan.

It has a really good search system where you can look for accommodation in specific parts of Japan (e.g. Asakusa area in Tokyo) which is something most websites don’t offer, as well as narrow down your choices according to room type, budget, with meals etc. You also earn points for all the bookings made through the site, which can be redeemed on your next booking in most cases. The only drawback is that the site is in Japanese only, but it’s so easy to use if you know enough Japanese to navigate around.

it was through Jalan that i booked my accommodation for Hokkaido. Our first hotel in Sapporo was the Weekly Sapporo 2000 in Susukino, the entertainment district of Sapporo. It was a business hotel and cheap at 2500yen, with all the amenities of a business hotel (shower and ofuro, towels, bathrobe, etc) and even a microwave, sink and stove, cooking utensils and cutlery.

Our second hotel was Hotel Tokeidai (clock tower) and was even cheaper at about 2100yen per night. It’s within 5min walk from Sapporo station, has really friendly receptionists and all the amenities of a business hotel too, plus an electric kettle and green tea. It’s so cheap and good that i’d recommend it to everyone who’s thinking of visiting Sapporo.

nearby our first hotel is this really cool building:

check out the crazy detail on the facade of the human’s face – i think there was a claw somewhere too. i like the spanish-style building opposite too.

we didnt do much in sapporo, except go for breakfast at Nijo market. All the food seemed really expensive, and we finally went into this store that promised crab soup with every set meal ordered – an empty promise by the way. this stall has been patronised by many famous people, but i didnt really like the food there. seafood dons are usually served with sushi rice – cold and seasoned with sweet vinegar. but this was just regular rice, warm and bland. needless to say i was a little disappointed.

 

there was also this funny sign in the ladies’ toilet at Nijo market. i’m just wondering how anyone could use a sitting toilet incorrectly. I understand that lots of places in Japan – Hokkaido especially – have a problem with tourists from China throwing the used toilet paper into the wastepaper basket as they do in their own country, but i’ve never seen a how-to poster for a sitting toilet – the signs are in English too, and as far as i know most English-speaking people have a problem with squat toilets but not sitting ones:

we also went to the Sapporo Beer Festival. it was cool because each major beer company in Japan occupied one spot of Odori Park; you can ‘bar hop’ from Asahi to Kirin to Sapporo and so on by just walking down the length of the park. Unlike beer gardens in Osaka, the food and drink aren’t free flow, so if you want to drink and eat lots it’ll come up to quite a lot.

it’s nice though, for a mid-day drink and relax, which is what most people there were doing. being in Sapporo, we had to try the local beer, but i ended up having the Yebisu premium dark instead – Yebisu, by the way, is the best beer in Japan. The larger mug below is 1.5 litres if i remember correctly, but surprisingly it wasn’t very popular with the crowd that was there.

the Ishiya factory is one must-see in Sapporo, as it’s the manufacturer of the famous Shiroi Koibito cookies and is housed in a beautiful Tudor-style building:

its interior is gorgeous:

 

it was very random, but i liked this exhibit – part of a feature section on japanese toys over the years:

and proof that calpis is quite an old drink and no recent invention – this section was featuring things from the 1950s i think:

the production of shiroi koibito requires more manpower than i thought it would, and check out the many discarded biscuits that didnt meet production standards because they’re either too charred or under-baked:

 

at the start of every hour, the clock tower and the area surrounding the rose garden outside the factory building will have a musical performance. my favourite part is where bubbles are released into the air. again, it’s best to visit Hokkaido in mid-july – the Ishiya factory has a rose-festival that was from 11th to 19th july this year where its garden’s huge, gorgeous roses are in full bloom.

 

 

on this visit, i even managed to take a ride on the train – it was quite a lame ride (most were children :P) but it’s fun to do this kind of silly stuff on holiday:

when in hokkaido, you have to eat seafood. nearing the end of our trip, we splurged on crabs at the restaurant with the famous moving crab signboard – it’s a photo-op on the dotonburi in osaka, but we had to go all the way to Hokkaido to eat at their restaurant. there was a lot of food involved, like tofu with crab meat, and this really really delicious porridge with egg and crabmeat. the porridge was the last dish, and i was really stuffed by then, but it was so tasty and i ended up finishing almost all of it:

and the rest of our crab feast. the hairy crab was boiled – it’s apparently in season now – while the snow crab came in sashimi form. i dont think the snow crab was very fresh though, but the hairy crab was delicious!:

i want more of that crab porridge…  

this is just wrong

this advertisement was on the Chitose Airport – Sapporo – Otaru train line, and i can’t imagine why anyone would want to eat it. I love tomatoes, but i think they’re best raw.

Furano, Hokkaido

Hokkaido is such a popular destination for Singaporeans, although i encountered far more tourists from Hong Kong and Taiwan when I was there. interestingly, Hokkaido’s trains that service tourist destinations and the airport have announcements in mandarin and korean, as compared to just english and japanese in any other part of the country.

Visitors should definitely get the Furano/Biei Free Pass as it saves you loads of money than if you were to travel without (savings of more than 5000yen), and from Sapporo, look out for this sign that tells you where the train will stop:

I visited Hokkaido this year from 23rd to 28th July, and a warning to anyone reading this – late july is TOO LATE to visit Hokkaido.

One big reason is because it rained most of the time i was there. We only had 2 sunny days when we were there; according to weather forecasts, around that time is when the warm and cold fronts coincide over northern japan, resulting in rains (it flooded in Sendai and some other places) in that area but scorching hot temperatures in the central and southern region.

Another reason is because the end july is the END of the flowering season. Take for example the famed lavender fields of Furano that tourists flock to see:

 

they were bare of lavender! when i visited in mid-july 3 or 4 years ago, this entire slope was in bloom and was so gorgeous. the lavender that was still remaining at Farm Tomita also seemed a bit dull. its colour was this:

when it should have been something more like those in the picture below – the first flower field that visitors encounter once they enter the farm. now, just imagine the first lavender field above covered with bright lavender like those below!:

 

what was also a bit disappointing was the Irodori Field. This is what it’s meant to look like – and this was indeed what it’ll look like in early to mid july:

instead, they’d harvested the flowers and it looked like this instead:

 

of course there were still some poppies and fuzzy purple flowers in the fields, but the Hong Kong couple who came here for their wedding photos didnt seem too happy:

 

farm tomita is a great place to visit, and even more so when all the flowers are in the height of bloom. there’s a sunflower patch on the way to the farm:

there are cute lavender coloured vehicles in the farm:

   

but best of all, there’s lavender-flavoured ice cream! it’s an amazing flavour that i’ve never seen elsewhere in Hokkaido – lavender ice cream is very light and refreshing, and does not smell of lavender at all. in fact, the whole of Farm Tomita doesnt have a strong lavender smell at all, and those who dislike the smell of lavender – like myself – need not worry, and should definitely try the lavender ice cream. it was so delicious that i had two, and was the first thing i zoomed in on, upon arriving at Farm Tomita.

The Furano/Biei Free Pass allows you to take the Norokko Express. ‘Express’ is a little bit of a misnomer as it doesn’t travel very fast at all – instead, it moves along at a steady pace through the fields of Furano and Biei, allowing passengers to admire the view. Just perhaps try not to take it in the late afternoon, else you’ll get sun shining in your eyes!

Some of the fields near Farm Tomita are pretty – shadows of people waiting at the temporary station nearest to the farm:

 

It is a must to plan your trip to Furano very very precisely, as buses and trains run infrequently and the schedules do not coincide at all. Most of the recommended itineraries required us to depart Sapporo on an 8-something train, which i think is quite ridiculous. but if you’re willing to wake up early in the morning (but it’s a holiday!), perhaps you can check out more sights in the area, like this tiny cheese factory that was 5min and 1350yen by taxi away from Furano station:

i wouldnt call it a must-see as it’s really small and you can’t the exhibits for the cheese-making process are rather lacking, but it has some fun stuff, like this robotic cow that you can ‘milk’ and have it moo for 100yen:

the cheesecakes, cheese-custard and other cheese items on sale (there’re limited cheese samples, like that of squid ink cheese!) are AMAZING though. they were so delicious that i’d have bought more if not for the fact that they needed to be refrigerated and i had to leave Japan and my apartment 4 days upon returning from Hokkaido.

oh – there was also an old tractor out at the front that children and shameless adults like me can climb onto:

good fun! :)