LizGross144

Maybe we're nerds, but a 6-hour bullet train sounds like a really great way to see the countryside and unwind after 4 nights in the city, get caught up on my travel journal, etc.

I'll consider both options, though. Have I mentioned how much I've really appreciated the help in this thread so far?

abmj-jr

This!

Absolutely. I made the trip to Hakata by train, admittedly from Osaka rather than Tokyo. I very much enjoy seeing the countryside, catching up on my journal and dining on a nice regional specialty eki-ben boxed meal. Seats on the shinkansen are far more comfortable than any domestic flight in economy, getting to and on the train is much more convenient and the ride is smoother and more comfortable. If you enjoy rail travel, don't let anyone convince you that you should be flying. I made the trip from NRT all the way up to Hokkaido and back by rail and enjoyed every mile of it.

Travel the way you like, no matter what anyone else says.

ElleBeeTee

The bullet train is fab. Just be aware that the trains are very frequent and leave very precisely - avoid getting on an earlier train (even 90 seconds earlier) unless you are sure it's the right one!

LizGross144

This week we booked the single night where we will be paying with cash, not points. We're spending New Year's Even in Mayajima, at the Watanabe inn (a 3-room ryokan). We will be on the island for Chinkasai, their New Year's Eve fire festival, and immediately following our hosts will prepare a fantastic NYE dinner. We're staying right next to the Daishon temple which will celebrate Jyoyano kane, and thousands of people will be making their first temple visit of the year. In the morning, we'll enjoy Osechi, the traditional New Year's breakfast

Not the quiet New Year's Eve we were originally planning, but a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I'm already looking forward to!

LoveMountains

What hotel did you find for a family of 4?
I can't find a single US hotel chain in Japan that would allow 4 people in the room (my kids will be 9 and 14). And reserving 2 rooms in Hyatt/Sheraton is outrageously expensive.

ksandness

Unless you need to use up hotel points, reeserve at a cheaper hotel. I'm serious. I looked at the Hyatt Regency website, and they boast about free wi-fi, free breakfast, and an in-room flat screen TV, individual air conditioning, an in-room safe, and 24-hour attended front desk.

You can get all those amenities in a less expensive hotel, only with smaller rooms.

In Tokyo, for example, some of the properties in the Tokyu Stay chain have triple rooms and will add an extra bed for about an extra Ą3,000 per night. The triple rooms also contain a full-sized bath, a kitchenette, and a washer-dryer. The Tokyu Stays are good for long-term stays but accepts guests for as little as one night.

You do not have to patronize a U.S. chain. Japan is not the Third World, and anything above the level of backpackers' hostel will be spotlessly clean and offer conscientious customer service.

People who insist on staying at U.S.-based hotels receive a false impression of Japan as impossibly expensive. I'm almost always a solo traveler, and as an woman of a certain age, I feel perfectly safe and comfortable in so-called "business hotels," which charge as little as US$70 per night for a single, even though I would never stay in a $70-per-night hotel in my own country.

I like to use booking.com when traveling in cities where I don't already have a favorite place to stay. You plug in your dates and the number of people, and the site brings up a list of hotels in all price ranges, complete with photos and customer reviews.

txflyer77

Even the backpackers' hostels in Japan tend to be spotless IME.

frenchie2

I booked the St Regis Osaka at the old rate of 12K point per night. It has two double beds and will fit 2 adults 2 child. The thing is, online, you can only put in 2 people when you book on points. I might called in later to add a child, or I might leave it as is.

The Hotel Granvia Kyoto which is located above the Kyoto Station has family rooms with 3 beds, from the picture it looks like 2 twin plus a double.

evergrn

In Japanese hotel pricing, you generally have 3 pricing categories for kids. Infants/toddlers (free), young kids before elementary school (free at most hotels, discounted at most ryokans), elementary school age (free at some hotels, discounted at some hotels and almost all ryokans). Above that, the pricing is generally same as adult.

So you're looking at 3 adults and 1 child. When you look up hotels based on that occupancy at Rakuten Travel for Tokyo, a lot of hotels come up including the following:
- Hotel Richmond: various locations
- New Otani Inn in Osaki
- Via Inn Asakusa
- Hotel Wing International in Yotsuya
- Rihga Royal

LoveMountains

Yes, that is the problem that I am having with online sites - they don't allow me to book a room with two double beds when I enter 2 adults + 2 children (even when I play around with DOB of an older child).
On expedia.com Hotel Richmond Oshiage does not even show up when 2 adults + 1 child is entered; although the same search for 2 adults returns a triple room option. Go figure.
booking.com has a better search, but I am forced to use expedia for half of my trip (6 nights in Tokyo, 5 in Kansai) due to the decision I've made on daily deals on Wed.

frenchie2

I would just just book the triple room option with 2 adults, with the hope that the hotel won't change your room type (I assume triple cost more than double).

I did a random date search on expedia and put in 2 adults 2 child, there are some hotels showing family room with 4 beds! The Hotel Keihan Kyobashi and Hotel Granvia Osaka. Maybe keep looking and maybe adjust the dates between the two cities if you are flexible.

AlwaysAisle

Need to be caution on that. Sometime maximum number of room occupancy is determined by local fire code, not by hotel itself. Such as room size, building structure etc. can determine maximum number of occupancy per room and sometime hotel itself has no control.

My recommendation is after reserving a room contact a hotel regarding number of people occupying the room. Yes, I have experienced many times where via internet cannot reserve the room under number of people I want to reserve for, but after calling the hotel the reservation could be changed for appropriate number occupancy, although often that involved extra charge for extra people.

You do not want to be in the situation where you reserved a room under two adults, when you showed up at the hotel with your family member and simply told that such many people cannot occupy the room.

evergrn

US double bed width is ~135cm. In Jpn, it's rare to find a room with two beds of such width. In Jpn, "double" room means a room with one large bed generally ranging from 140~180cm width (some hotels may use the word "king" if the single bed is >180cm). Rooms with two beds are called "twin", but the bed width is almost always somewhere between 100~120cm. 130~140cm twin room bed width is exceedingly rare in Jpn. So, with very few exceptions, there's essentially no such thing as two double bed room in Jpn.

You have to be careful when you use non-Jpnese third-party booking engines like Hotels.com to book rooms in Jpn. The inventory results do not always reflect accuracy when you're doing something complicated such as trying to pass a 14yo as a child. For example, a search for 2 adults and 2 kids aged 14 & 9 will turn up Royal Park Shiodome's twin room and king room, when there's just no way your family will fit in such rooms.

Agree with AlwaysAisle that that's not a risk worth taking. Also, "triple" room means three beds of 90~120cm widths. If it's 120cm, then it may be fine for 14yo & 9yo to share. But anything 110cm or narrower, it's not practical for any two people.


LoveMountains' only options are the following:
#1). Find a hotel room that allows "Hollywood twin" configuration (two beds stuck together, so that you essentially have a bed measuring 200~240cm wide) and then throw in an extra small bed. Another requirement is that that hotel allows elementary school age child (ie, your 9yo) to sleep in same bed as adult for free. All Richmond Hotels allow free same-bed stay for elementary age kids, and many of their locations have Hollywood twins, so that's probably why they came up prominently when I did the search for you (see post #69). Royal Park in Kyoto is another possibility that I know of in that regard.
#2). If you think it's fine for 3 of you to share a large bed, then get a "double" (or "king") room and then throw in an extra small bed. Just make sure the bed width in such "double"/"king" room is >180cm (cuz otherwise, it'll be way too tight) and make sure that the hotel allows your 9yo to sleep for free. You should have easier time finding this option than option#1. But if you're large people, then it won't work for you.
#3). frenchie2 points out there're some hotel rooms with 4 beds, so that would be an option, although I personally don't know where such hotel exists.

LoveMountains

Why? What is wrong with that room?
I've actually looked specifically into that hotel / room yesterday and it seems like a good fit for me / my family.

--
Renovated Standard Twin Room
Room sleeps 4 guests (up to 3 children)
--

It is cheaper if I'd change child age from 14 to 12 on Expedia site and I don't see a big deal with that.

frenchie2

When I check in, I usually tell the rest of the family wait on the side and I would go to the check-in desk alone, this way, they don't see the kids. And in Japan they don't ask for passport to make a copy (unlike in China).

I would go to the hotel website to see pictures of the room to make sure it would fit your family size. This is how I know St Regis Osaka double bed rooms would fit 4, and the Hotel Granvia Kyoto & Osaka would fit 4. If you are going to Tokyo, Keio Plaza Hotel near Shinjuku also have room that fits 4 and you can book directly too on their website. Usually I do prefer to book directly with hotel unless the rates on OTA are much cheaper.