This week we are looking for the cheapest night’s stay in Tokyo. Several hotels boast they provide it, so I’m going to round ‘em up and check them out!
The New Koyo, Tokyo Japan
“Hotel New Koyo is the cheapest hotel in Tokyo for travelers touring the country on a limited budget,” says the website – and indeed, the rooms are cheap, at 2500 yen per night per person for a small single Japanese-style room. According to the Andon staff (they are apparently sister hotels, though the Andon is more upmarket), these rooms are precisely “2-jo”, or two tatami mats large. That’s about enough space for a 5-foot person to lie down in. Really, the rooms are for sleeping only! A medium single is 2,700 yen. The hotel has common bathrooms, showers, and a kitchen/lounge, as well as laundry facilities available. One cute extra is the yellow shopping bikes available for rental.
Tokyo International Youth Hostel
In many cities, the youth hostel is almost always the cheapest option, but not in Tokyo! However, Tokyo International Youth Hostel has location, location, location. Located literally atop Iidabashi station in the 18th and 19th floors of Central Plaza Building, TYIH offers shared-dormitory style accommodations for 3,500 yen for adults, and 2,000 yen for children. Shared baths and showers are a given, as well as the standard youth hostel curfew (10:30). You also cannot stay in the hotel between the hours of 10:00AM-3:00 PM. If you’re young, robust, and on a budget, and like meeting new people and then sleeping in the same room with them, this might be an option. Families are asked to inquire about family rooms.
Hotel Villa Fontaine
This chain of hotel is definitely NOT the cheapest for single travelers, but it does provide a very nice room at a reasonable price for couples travelling together. With locations in Osaka’s Shinsaibashi, Nihonbashi, Hakozaki, Ueno, Otemachi, Hamamatsu-cho, Jinbo-cho, Roppongi, Tamaike, and Kayaba-cho, you’re bound to find a convenient spot. Villa Fontaine’s hotels are all fairly new, clean, traditional hotel rooms with private baths and toilets, double beds, and a free breakfast service. Some hotels have Internet access. While single prices range from 8,925 yen to 9,450 yen on weekdays, and 10,550-11,500 yen for double-use (still cheap, but not amazingly cheap), the real deal is the special “Otoku na Shumatsu Plan” (Weekend Deal Plan) for all double-room type rooms for 8,925 yen PER ROOM (with two people using it) on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, Mondays, holidays, and the day before holidays. At around 4,400 yen, that’s only 1,000 yen more than the youth hostel above. You get your own room, bathroom, and shower, plus a free breakfast. Check the website for locations, or call 03-5339-1200 for reservations at the entire chain. While they do not advertise English ability, I saw plenty of foreigners there the last time I stayed.
© 2004 Wendy J. Imura.