Hotel Yuyukan

The room was spacious but very basic, and there’s no fridge in the room. You can leave things in the fridge at the counter instead. Shower hot water takes a while to come through. Staff were friendly and spoke English, so communication was easy. It’s affordable if you book through Airbnb, and the location near Shinjuku station is great. Though it’s around the Kabukicho area, it still felt safe and wasn’t especially noisy at night. I slept well.

It gets the job done, though it’s not great. There’s no Wi-Fi or fridge, the lobby smells, the bathroom is small, and the neighborhood is noisy. On the plus side, it’s cheap, the room is big for Tokyo, and the bed is comfortable. I’d expected the room to smell of old smoke, but it was surprisingly okay.

Cheap, no smell, and I slept alright. There’s a bed, a toilet, and somewhere safe to rest my head. I’m broke, so what more should I be asking for? It’s fine, why get so worked up?

The rooms matched the pictures and description, and Shinjuku station was an easy walk away. The staff were very polite and helpful. They even gave me an umbrella as I was checking out.