Ah, as the original poster, this thread brings back memories of finding a hidden laundry room in Miyazaki and then -- for lack of dryers -- having to spread my laundry everywhere around my hotel room to get it dried. Since then, I haven't had that many extended trips to Japan where laundry was a big problem. Last year, though, I specifically rented a small house in Kyoto on airbnb because it had a washing machine. Again, no dryer, but they had a little outside enclosure in the back of the house with some lines and pins. A lifesaver compared to the alternatives.

I will be travelling in Japan for a few weeks next summer and I suppose I will try to schedule a couple of overnights to "strategically" do my laundry. Are airbnb rentals with laundry machines common in Japan? If so, that seems to be a good strategy. And from the above comments, it seems like there are a few hotels in Japan that have "do it yourself" chain laundries. I know in China (another place where laundry is harder than I'd expect), the Holiday Inn Express chain has properties with laundromats.

Frankly, as an American, I find it odd how difficult laundry can be overseas. I was just in Spain and I had to strategize on where to do my laundry. I did find a modern laundromat but a large machine (enough for about 5 days of laundry for 2 people) wound up costing me about 15 euros, including the dryer. Seemed expensive. Sometimes I can rent apartments/houses on airbnb in Europe that have washing machines, but I often have to get instructions on how to use the "odd" machines.

My next extended (aka "I'll need to do laundry") trip is to Australia, and it's always a relief to me that laundry is not a big production there. They have USA style washer/dryers in most of their motels. I've always wondered why more countries don't have these. Our washing machines seem pretty good, and aren't usually complicated like the ones I often encounter abroad.