Sleeping in Tokyo

We stayed at the Shibuya Excel Hotel Tokyu, which is obviously in Shibuya. We stayed in Shibuya the last time we went to Tokyo, so we wanted to branch out a little more. We spent more time in Shinjuku this time, but the last thing we wanted to do was go all over the city. There is more than enough to experience for a week in Shibuya and Shinjuku.

The hotel is just outside the JR station. Since it sits on top of a shopping mall, you can walk from the station to the hotel without ever setting foot outdoors; a convenience on rainy days. This is a standard business hotel that looks and feels like what you expect from business hotels in Japan, but our room was larger than we expected. We did not book the cheapest room, because there were two of us, but we did not book the most expensive suite either.

They were supposed to give us two single or double beds, or whatever they want to call it. In East Asia, bed sizes never seem to match what we call them in the United States. I have slept on queen size beds that would be just right for a child. The hotel put us in a room with one king size bed. I don't think it was really king size, but it was big enough. Fortunately, Lily and I are good friends. It would have been awkward if this was a business trip.

Despite the lack of beds, which they were never able to fix, the service at the hotel was everything we expected from a business hotel in Japan. The housekeeping ninjas kept the room immaculate. We never saw them, but they were obviously there.

In parts of China, housekeeping will knock on your door day or night. Whenever they happen to be making the rounds, they will come to your room. No one really cares about do not disturb signs on doors. If they are cleaning your floor right now, they are coming to your room. I have dealt with a few people who were confused by the lock on the door and did not seem to understand why they could not get in. I have had housekeeping knock on my door at six o'clock in the morning. I'm usually awake, but I doubt most everyone else is. Even if the timing works out that no one tries to get into your room while you are sleeping, you will definitely see those housekeeping carts in the hallway. More often than not, they block the hall and you need to move them just to walk to the elevator.

In Tokyo, we never even saw the carts. They were obviously there when we were out, but we did not keep anything close to a regular schedule. We came and went at random and were prone to going back to the room in the middle of the day. It never mattered what time it was. No one was ever seen or heard. But the room was always cleaned.

Breakfast was included with our room, but we only ate it once. It was not bad for a hotel breakfast, but we were surrounded by food. Why eat something average when you have some of the best food in the world just outside your door? Sure, the hotel breakfast is free, or at least included in the price, but if you are prone to pinch pennies, Tokyo might not be for you.

The bathroom was not as modern as we expected, but it had the standard electronic toilet that gives every trip to Japan that little something extra. I was actually glad they had not renovated the bathroom recently. Whenever they do, they will probably put in one of those window walls that every hotel in China seems to have now. I like windows, but I want to use them to see what is outside the hotel, not to see what my roommate is doing in the bathroom. Not everyone who stays in a hotel is a couple, and not every couple wants to watch each other on the toilet. I know enough Chinese people who agree with me on that one. I'm hoping the Japanese feel the same way.

One of my favorite things about this hotel was the view. Cleanliness and comfort are far more important, but in Japan, your room is going to be clean. That's a given. This hotel is up to 25 floors above a shopping mall, which itself is 3 or 4 floors, so most rooms have good views of the neighborhood. Since our room faced north, we had a great view of the Shibuya crossing, Yoyogi Park and downtown Shinjuku. The last time we were in Tokyo, we stayed in an apartment. We had views of the neighboring buildings. This time, we had a postcard view from a large window. There are a million hotels in Tokyo, but I would not mind staying at this one next time.