Boxi Hakata 1

The modern room and good food nearby make this a decent pick for someone traveling alone. It’s about a 20-minute walk from the main station. The bed could use a thick topper, since you can feel each spring when lying down. The fridge was very cold and kind of loud, and it partially froze my drinks. Check-in is meant to be simple, but parts of the website don’t work well on a phone held vertically, which really shouldn’t happen with this kind of check-in.

I ended up in a first-floor room right beside the road, and the wall there was very thin. I could hear people talking as well as cars and motorcycles passing outside. Customer service helped move me to another room, and they offer chat support in foreign languages. If the same thing happens, you can try messaging them, though they may not be able to help if the place is full. Check with customer service.

The room is small, though the bath area is a decent size. It worked well for an inexpensive overnight stay or a little staycation. Hakata station is a 20-minute walk away, with Canal City about 17 minutes on foot. There’s a 7/11 down the road and coin laundry across from the property, so it’s not too bad.

For over 12,000 yen, I don’t think it’s worth it. There are larger, cleaner hotel rooms much closer to points of interest. The room was dirty, with hair around, a window sill that needed wiping, and a mattress sheet that still had hair on it and apparently hadn’t been changed. The shower walls also hadn’t been washed properly, and the mini fridge handles were so gross I wouldn’t touch them. The company needs to talk to its cleaners. On top of that, the walls were thin enough that we could hear the thunder outside, and the hot water only lasted about 10 minutes. One person could shower, then we had to wait around 15 minutes for the next. The hob fan hangs too low, and I hit my head on it about six times.