Deciding where to stay during your trip to Japan isn’t the most exciting thing to plan on when setting up your schedule. (I know it ain’t mine, at least.) But as an essential part of one’s trip, you gotta decide on one eventually.
On my previous trip to Japan, I landed on APA Hotel based on location and pricing. And with quite the positive experience, I thought “Why not just stay at a few other APA Hotels on my next trip as well?” Fast forward to today, and I think I’ve visited enough APA Hotels to go over the entire hotel experience, as well as detail some minor differences between each one. But should you consider this hotel chain when you make your own plans for a Japan trip? Let’s get to it. How Good is APA Hotel Actually?
–APA Hotel General Overview–
–APA Hotel Asakusa Kaminarimon Minami–
–APA Hotel Ueno Hirokoji–
–APA Hotel Ueno Ekiminami–
–APA Hotel Ochanomizu Ekikita–
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🏠 APA Hotel – General Overview (All Locations) 🏠
Since the different APA Hotels feature very similar layouts, let’s go over the hotel experience as a whole before jumping into the specific differences in each.
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🏠 Checking In 🏠
Once you arrive at the hotel, you can either check in at the concierge desk or at their self check-in counters. Whichever option you go for, present your passport and go from there – usually along the lines of showing them your booking number and signing some confirmation forms.
The lobbies at APA Hotel are quite comfy, but obviously you wanna head to your rooms straight away. With your key card, scan it by the elevator for access. Select your floor and once you arrive, use the same card to unlock your room door (and there you go!)
Oh, and as a quick reference, check-in times are at 3:00 P.M. while check-outs are at 10:00 A.M.
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🛏 Hotel Room 🛏
Now for a look at the rooms at APA Hotels. The specifics may vary depending on the number of guests and room types, but here’s a general overview of the rooms for one or two guests.
Based on the APA hotels I’ve been to (and according to their sites), the one and two guest rooms are essentially identical – minus the added pillows and amenities. These rooms are 11m2 and primarily feature a double bed, a work table, and a bathroom.
APA Hotel advertises their room as being on the smaller side, but smartly designed. And honestly? I can see their design philosophy here. Between the bed that’s as long as the room’s width, the table with enough chair space that’s *just* wide enough to fully slide back, ample space below the bed to place your luggage, a functional hallway, and a standard Japanese hotel-sized bathroom, everything here is just a clever utilization of the limited room space they have to provide a quite comfortable experience. It’s nowhere big enough to fit 3 people, but it’s a decent one for two – and quite spacious for one. The bed’s the same for one or two guests, so if you’re staying alone, you also get an extremely large bed to spend the night.
And before I forget, the bed itself is really comfy, and you get two different pillows to choose from. Goes without saying, but it really is a special feeling to sleep on a nice bed after a whole day of exploring Tokyo.
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🛏 Room Functions 🛏
For some extra details on the room, let’s talk about some of their services. Their TV features a selection of different channels (both local and international), some hotel information, screen mirroring, and VODs.
You can purchase codes for the VODs at the vending machines by the elevator for ¥1,000, but for all but one of my stays, the VODs section was free. Not sure how that happened, but if you want to watch some shows or movies during your stay and it happens to be free, I guess that’s a win!
Their TV remotes are also wrapped in plastic, so you don’t have to worry about it being unclean.
Right by the bed is where you can find all the controls for the room’s lights and air conditioning (or heater, depending on which season you’re staying at APA), as well as a power outlet for your phone, a a HDMI port, a box of tissues, and APA’s Origami Crane for you to take home.
As for the hotel WiFi? You can find the log-in details on the TV screen. From my experiences, they’re extremely fast, and I had no issues between my work and YouTube sessions. (They also have an ethernet port, if you prefer that.)
You can also find some slippers, sandals, and a shoehorn right around the room door.
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🛏 Work Table 🛏
The work table – the other main area in the room not named a bed. You have the standard table and wheeled chair, as well as some power outlets (with a universal outlet included), notepads, telephone, an electric kettle, and a bottle of mineral water. (Tap water is drinkable here.)
And for my favorite bit, you can find a bottle of Antibacterial Spray right by the table. Comes in real handy for shoes, jackets, and anything else you want to use it on. While extremely nice, I don’t think they’ll refill it during your stay (I’m sure they will if you ask, though.) So if you’re like me and staying for quite some nights, make sure to plan your uses wisely. I know I had to ration the bottle carefully during my 9-day stay.
Oh, you can also find drinking cups, a hairdryer, tissues, and a little pack of matcha by the drawers here.
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🛏 Fridge 🛏
You can find the fridge right around your work table. The fridge’s power source is independent of the room, so don’t forget to turn on the switch when you first arrive at the room.
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🛁 Bathroom 🛁
Bathrooms in Japanese hotels are quite… compact – with just enough space to cover all the essentials. Here you have a shower and a bathtub, a toilet equipped with an electric bidet, a water faucet for washing your hands or filling the bathtub (I’ll leave operating the thing for when you get there. It’s quite interesting), and a mirror with a heated steam-free center.
Functionally, it checks out all you need from a bathroom, though you might end up bumping into the walls from time to time.
And for some amenities, you’ll find your body soap, conditioner, and shampoo by the bathtub, bath towels by the towel racks, and your cups, razors, toothbrush and toothpaste, comb, shower cap, cotton swabs, and washcloths by the sink area. (replaced daily in their room service kits.)
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🛏 Room Service 🛏
APA Hotels advertise their hotels to be eco-friendly, so room cleaning services will only be carried out every 3rd night, where the bed will be made (but not replaced), trash bins cleared, and some other cleanings here and there. You can request Room Service cleanings at any day, of course, by placing the magnetic “Room Cleaning” tags by the front door.
Don’t worry about running out of amenities. Every afternoon, the cleaning staff will place an Essentials Kit (or what I like to call a “Survival Bag”), with a new set of towels, all the toiletries, and a packet of matcha. And if you need a trouser press, you can find those by the elevators.
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🏠 Checking Out 🏠
To check-out at APA Hotels, you can hand over your key cards by the concierge desks like the usual hotels. But if you don’t have any extra fees, you can also find Express Check-out machines by the exit. Just insert your key cards into the machine and you’re good to go!
Now for some specifics on the different APA Hotels I visited during my two stays in Japan.
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🌇 APA Hotel Asakusa Kaminarimon Minami (354) 🌇
Starting off with APA Hotel Asakusa Kaminarimon Minami, located just under a 5 minute walk from Asakusa Station. There’s actually a couple of APA Hotels right around this block, so make sure to enter the right one when you head over to check-in. (Tip: APA Asakusa Kaminarimon Minami will have a “354” right by their logo.)
The lobby here is quite nice, featuring the same orange and black color scheme as their other locations.
My stay here is for 2 people, as I’m travelling with my brother for this leg of the trip.
For being the same size and room type as a one-man room, it’s just large enough for a comfortable stay – so long as one is fine staying on the bed most of the time.
Two people in the room? You get double the mineral water as well.
The bathroom layout is the most consistent thing between the APA Hotels. Again, towels and amenities will be doubled if you’re in a room for two.
APA Hotel Asakusa Kaminarimon Minami
🌏 Location 🌏
2 Chome-9-1 Kaminarimon, Taito City, Tokyo 111-0034 Japan
🗺 Map 🗺
https://goo.gl/maps/MDDh9wKaBWbZPXt4A?coh=178571&entry=tt
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🌇 APA Hotel Ueno Hirokoji 🌇
APA Hotel at Ueno Hirokoji was my 2nd stop this trip.
Located a few minutes away from Suehirocho Station (Ginza Line), and a 7 minute walk from both Ueno and Akihabara Station, this APA Hotel is at a really nice spot. (I’m a big fan of it, personally. With easy access to both Ueno and Akihabara via walking, a direct route to Shibuya, and a single transfer for Shinjuku.)
I’m travelling alone on this leg of the trip, but as you can see, the layout and room size is the exact same as the 2 guest rooms. It’s quite nice!
APA Hotel Ueno Hirokoji
🌏 Location 🌏
5 Chome-3-3 Sotokanda, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 101-0021, Japan
🗺 Map 🗺
https://goo.gl/maps/q2RAwKEebGS7Z5f36
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🌇 APA Hotel Ueno Ekiminami 🌇
For an APA Hotel much closer to Ueno, here’s APA Hotel Ueno Ekiminami. While there’s also another APA Hotel right by the station, this APA is the closest option if you plan to shop around Ameyoko Market. (A great location if you enjoy Ameyoko’s late-night Izakaya bars.)
Like the Ueno Hirokoji one above, the layout of the room is basically the same, so not much to add on.
APA Hotel Ueno Ekiminami
🌏 Location 🌏
6 Chome-7-21 Ueno, Taito City, Tokyo 110-0005, Japan
🗺 Map 🗺
https://goo.gl/maps/Rmw9qkR6zcPQACsR7
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🌇 Bonus Location: APA Hotel Ochanomizu Ekikita 🌇
And for a bonus location: here’s APA Hotel Ochanomizu Ekikita, a 7-minute walk from Ochanomizu station on the JR Line, and a walkable 10 minutes from Akihabara and Ueno Stations. My friend was stopping here for the night, so I headed upstairs to grab some photos before we went out for dinner and the usual late night Taito Station.
The room layout here really emphasizes APA’s Smart Design philosophy. The room was right by the end of the building, so with such a rectangular shape, the bed, work table, and bathrooms were organized in one straight line. Not as ideal as the APA rooms I was at, but from the 10 minutes I was here while he dropped his bags, it wasn’t too cramped. (If anything, I think the work table was way more spacious than my room.)
APA Hotel Ochanomizu Ekikita
🌏 Location 🌏
3 Chome-1-6 Yushima, Bunkyo City, Tokyo 113-0034, Japan
🗺 Map 🗺
https://goo.gl/maps/QzBjgTwfDdvRWQ8h9?coh=178571&entry=tt
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⭐VERDICT⭐
So how good is APA Hotel actually? Yeah, I really quite like the APA Hotels I’ve been at. It’s been a positive experience all around, and I don’t have much to add other than… It’s a solid place to stay.
As for which one is better? The APAs are mostly the same, so the deciding factor should be based on their location and price. Assuming the prices are all the same, my favorite by far was Ueno Hirokoji. With the Ginza Line right by the hotel, and an easy walk to Ueno and Akihabara, all of my favorite Tokyo areas are only a few simple train rides / short walk away. (with a *huge* emphasis on how close Akihabara is.)
So yeah, location and pricing will heavily determine where you’ll stay during your Japan trip. But if you’re looking for a hotel that’s compact, yet really comfortable to stay at, then book your nights at an APA Hotel.
💬 Parting Words 💬
Another long review as always, covering a whopping 4 different hotels + an overview… I genuinely enjoyed my stay at the different APAs. Call it brand loyalty, or just me sticking to the places I enjoy, I’ll definitely consider booking at APA again for my next Japan trip (assuming the prices are on the nice side.) Now, back to food reviews!
