Smile Hotel Aomori

The breakfast included with the room was the standout: an impressive buffet with a drink bar, polite staff, and a lovely dining room. Parking is available for another ¥600. We paid ¥5,000 for one night in an economy twin. It was compact, but had two somewhat firm and very comfortable beds, plus a flat-screen TV, mini fridge, desk, and plenty of outlets with USB for two people. The bathroom was small, though should be fine for anyone under six feet. The room also came with an air cleaner, pants press, hair dryer, pajamas, hairbrush, toothbrush and toothpaste, razor, tea, and loofah. It's a clean, inexpensive place to stay in Aomori. Our first room smelled strongly of cigarettes, and check-in was rough at first, but the manager stepped in and got things back on track.

My single room was clean and had good equipment, and the shower had a modern head with strong water pressure. One annoyance: hallway noise comes through the doors, so if you're sensitive to sound, I'd ask for a room away from the elevator.

There are plenty of nearby restaurants for dinner, and breakfast costs 1,000 yen per person. The food was okay for the price. The room is so small that there's nowhere to put luggage, so this suits a business trip if you don't have big bags.

The room was extremely tiny, even by budget hotel standards, and the walk from the station felt long in the cold. Still, if all you need is a cheap place to sleep for one night, it's a decent enough option.