Business Hotel Motonakano

There are several restaurants, convenience stores, and internet cafes nearby, and two bus stops if you want to get to the station or elsewhere in town cheaply. The hotel sits right by a major road, though, so traffic noise carries late into the night. If noise bothers you, earplugs may help. It’s an older place, but the low price is reassuring with costs so high these days. There’s no air conditioning or washlet, the bathtub is tiny, and the fixtures have plenty of little scratches. You can also hear showers and toilets from the neighboring room. The TV has a basic remote, so there’s no data broadcast or TV guide. I stayed in plenty of business hotels like this while taking exams and looking for work from the end of the Showa era into the early 2000s, so the dated setup didn’t bother me much. The bed was made neatly and I slept comfortably.

It’s old, sure, and the outside isn’t much to look at, but it has the things you need. There’s a water dispenser and microwave, plus an extension cord in the room. The facilities are kept clean. I’d take this over a certain big hotel with impersonal check-in and check-out terminals.

The facilities are dated, and there’s no air conditioning or fan. There also aren’t separate smoking and non-smoking areas, so keep that in mind before booking. I chose it as an affordable option in Tomakomai City, but it’s about 2 km from the station, which meant taking a taxi to get around. Even after paying for a taxi both ways, though, the price gap compared with nearby hotels is substantial. It could suit someone trying to keep costs down.

I stayed one night alone, on my motorcycle, without meals, for around 7,200 yen. It was honestly a bad experience. There was no air conditioning, the room smelled strongly of cigarettes, and the pillow smelled awful. At 176 cm, I found the unit bathroom cramped in both directions. There was hair and dust in the drain, too. The hotel is on a busy street, so it got noisy with the window open. There’s no screen, and insects came in. With no air conditioning, I had to turn off the lights and open the window for fresh air. At least there’s a convenience store open 24 hours right across the street.