HOTEL R9 The Yard Kasama

The bed and workspace were especially good, and the room's features felt above average for a business hotel. I was very satisfied with the stay. I chose this hotel for an away night match against J1 Mito HollyHock. K's Denki Stadium is a 20-25 minute drive away, and the hotel is away from most of the traffic with several route options. It seemed designed for people traveling by car, and I was curious about the unusual concept. I assumed everything would be handled by QR code, so I was surprised to find staff at a front desk. Having a person there to confirm the details gave me a reassuring feeling. This kind of hotel probably needs areas with enough land to make the cost and value work, but I'd love to see more of them.

I hadn't thought much of the idea of staying in a container hotel, but trying one changed my mind. I was surprised by how comfortable it was. The double bed was a good size and firmness, the unit bathroom was spacious for this type of room, and both the bath and two-door refrigerator were generously sized. Having a microwave in the room was great too. Now I make a point of checking for R9 hotels when I travel for work. 🙇

This was my first stay at one of these places. I've seen the odd R9 container hotels appearing everywhere lately, but assumed they were just competitors to capsule hotels, so I hadn't considered one for a business trip. Last week, I noticed an R9 from my hotel room window while traveling for work. Seeing so many guests there made me curious, so I looked it up. It seemed better than I expected, and I decided to try it. I thought it was room-only, but breakfast includes a frozen bento that you can heat in your room. If that's not enough, you can buy more frozen food at the supermarket and keep it in the room's two-door fridge. The in-room microwave is very convenient. The room is clean and feels like a proper room despite being a container. There's a bath and shower, so the basic comfort is there. It's definitely small, about the size of a cheap business hotel room in the city center, but fine if you only need somewhere to sleep. The light switch is by the entrance only, with no bedside switch, which I found inconvenient. There's a vending machine on the property, but you have to go outside to use it. That was a hassle in winter, though spring might be easier. There's also no awning over the container entrance, so opening or closing an umbrella in the rain gets you wet. Heavy rain is especially bad. This is a major flaw compared with a business hotel, though it only matters in bad weather. There seem to be slightly fewer parking spaces than rooms. Not everyone will have one car per person, but it concerns me that there might not be enough for all the rooms. Still, having the car right by the room is very convenient. For motorcycle touring, nearby parking is a huge plus. At a business hotel, I worry about leaving the bike far away. The stay cost 5,200 yen per night, including frozen food. That's more than a capsule hotel but feels cheap compared with a business hotel. There aren't many hotels in this price range these days. Maybe because the rooms are separate, or maybe it was luck, but it was quiet. I could faintly hear footsteps from the next room (?) on the metal landing and stairs outside my entrance, but it wasn't too bothersome. I didn't directly hear noise from the room next door, so sound-wise it was comfortable. All rooms are non-smoking, with warning signs saying smoking in the room incurs a cleaning fee of XX yen. They seem to take it seriously, and electronic cigarettes are also prohibited. There's an outdoor smoking area, but it's a tough setup for smokers. When I went outside late at night to take photos of the building, I was startled to find someone smoking in the pitch-dark area. For this price and comfort level, I think it can compete with business hotels. But the weather and how many people are staying could make it seriously inconvenient. It may work for business travel, but for personal trips like motorcycle touring, anything over around 4,000 yen would be hard to justify. More units and locations would make it more convenient and help the price feel relatively cheaper. I'd also like to see eaves. There may be legal reasons, but I think they're essential.

I've stayed at this chain a few times while visiting Ibaraki and Tochigi. Container-style rooms can have soundproofing issues, but this hotel is a little away from the main lines, so noise hasn't been a problem. There's a microwave built in, an outlet next to the pillow, and strong shower pressure. One drawback: when temperatures fall below freezing, it gets too cold even with a decent grade of air conditioning.