JA Hotel Shinfukae

The room was small, but I could open a small suitcase and still walk around. The bathroom is tiny too, though laid out well, and it felt like good value. I think premium economy rooms are on floors 1 to 3 and economy ones on 4 to 5. The stairs are very steep, around half the size of my small suitcase, so take a break if you're hauling it up. The sign is also hard to spot from the street.

There’s no elevator, and my room was on the fifth floor, so going down and back up took some effort. That’s the main thing to keep in mind. The hotel is five stories and has no staff on site. You check in by scanning the QR code at the front desk and filling out the form. Shin-Fukae subway station is very close, with convenience stores, supermarkets, and restaurants nearby. Prices are reasonable, and although lots of international tourists stay here, it wasn’t noisy.

The room was clean, but getting my full suitcase up to the fourth floor was rough. There’s no elevator, and the stairs are so narrow that I hurt my back climbing them. I knew I couldn’t manage it once I saw them, so I knocked on the staff room door hoping someone could help, but nobody came out. It seems to be completely unmanned. Check-in is also so complicated that I think only younger people comfortable with smartphones will manage it easily. Make sure you enter your name in Roman letters, not Kanji, or it won’t show as a reservation.

The amenities are really helpful, and the check-in process felt standard for a budget hotel, so I had no issue with that. I’m not quite sure how the cleaning schedule works, though apparently they clean every few days. There’s no elevator, so you have to be ready to haul heavy bags upstairs. The WiFi is often weak, making it hard to work on a computer in the room. Even phone connections get especially bad at night, which is stressful.