Hotel Tohko Hakata Gion

The main problem was the noise. The walls barely block any sound, and other guests were screaming, running around, dropping things, stomping and knocking at 2 or 3 in the morning. Nobody in my group was making noise before 9 a.m. or after 9 p.m., but there was no staff member to complain to or ask for help because the hotel is automated. We woke up around 2 and couldn't get back to sleep, so we had no energy for another day exploring beautiful Japan. The hotel itself was clean and tidy, and the room had plenty of useful things like a hairdryer, shampoo and a kettle. It was reasonably priced and generally a good hotel, but the lack of sound insulation made the stay really difficult.

The place was unmanned, which made check-in a little uneasy since we had to enter so much information ourselves. We also got a four-digit room code even though the room needed three digits, and other guests had the same problem. Noise carries easily through the building. The rooms were decent, and the location was handy, near Gion Station and a convenience store. There’s a jihanki right outside for water or an ice coffee.

There were no mosquito screens on the windows, so airing out the room meant letting mosquitoes in. The room, pillows and sheets all smelled moldy, and we found a used bandaid on the bedsheets, so they clearly hadn't been changed or cleaned. There was no staff in the hotel to help in person. You could call, but they only offered help from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The room was clean, well equipped, and very close to the station, which has a supermarket. Be ready to pay an additional tax. There is no staff, and you check in on a tablet. That may be tricky at first if you haven't used one before. Check-in isn't available until 4 p.m., with no way to request an earlier time. Our flight got in at 9 a.m., so spending another seven hours sightseeing with big suitcases was difficult. And if you want to complain about the soundproofing, you should first look into Japanese architecture.