GRAND BASE Kagoshima Tenmonkan

Getting help was a little difficult because the help desk didn’t know English, though we managed to sort everything out. The room felt very modern and had a laundry machine, and I liked checking in on the iPad. The hotel was great and so was the location, about a five minute walk from the Tenmonkan. There are two floors and no elevator, so we had to haul all our suitcases upstairs. If you come here, don’t bring luggage that’s too heavy.

Sakurajima was right nearby, and it only took about a 5 minute walk to find a nice view. The hotel is beside lots of stores, although it isn’t near a train station. The room was nice but could use a few improvements, and there’s no housekeeping until you leave. I decided to take a trip to Japan on a whim, and arrived at this hotel that same day.

We were comfortable in the room, which almost felt too roomy for two people, with a sofa and table. We could hear people talking in the hallway, probably other foreign guests staying that day, but once inside the room we couldn’t hear them. The place has a washing machine and mini-kitchen, so it seems well suited to a stay of several nights. We stayed one night before heading to Tanegashima and parked at a nearby coin lot. The lot across the street in front of the hotel was cheap. Checking out at the terminal in the room was quick and convenient.

Only stay here if you’re confident handling things yourself. I’ve stayed at plenty of unmanned hotels, and this was the worst. I got no check-in information by email, then the Apple iPad check-in system malfunctioned on arrival day and they didn’t answer when I called. Errors with the mobile check-in pad at an unmanned hotel leave you with no way around it.