Hotel Jin Morioka Ekimae

Foreign residents in Japan should be aware of my experience at check-in. Staff repeatedly insisted that I show either my passport or Residence Card, saying Japanese law required it. I refused, because I understood that residents with an address in Japan aren’t obliged to show either document. A hotel can confirm an address, for example with a driver’s license, but I don’t believe it can demand a Residence Card specifically. The receptionist also said she wanted to check my period of residence, which I understood only police or the Immigration Office can legally require. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare FAQ on the Inns and Hotels Act, revised April 17, 2019, says a local government or relevant authority may request a Residence Card if it considers that necessary, but there’s no legal basis to compel a guest who refuses to present or copy it. Despite that, the staff kept asking me for my passport or Residence Card. They seemed not to know the Act, which made me question how management had trained them. It came across as gross negligence and bordering on racism, and left me concerned they may have demanded the same personal information from other foreign residents. I don’t see it as my job to teach hotel employees the law when they seemed unwilling to follow it. They spoke to me condescendingly even though I felt they were in the wrong. I believed forcing me to show my Residence Card would breach the Act on the Protection of Personal Information, and refusing check-in would go against Article 5 of the Inns and Hotels Act. At that point, I could have called the police or reported the hotel to the authorities responsible for enforcing the Act. I wouldn’t recommend this hotel to foreigners, given the female staff member’s attitude, which made the establishment seem biased against them. Nor would I suggest it to anyone looking for a hotel that follows Japanese law, since staff appeared intent on violating the Act on the Protection of Personal Information during check-in. I’ve attached photos of the room. The location was on the side of Morioka Station without useful facilities, so it wasn’t a good choice.