Hotel Perniagaan di Yamaguchi

市町村大合併によって、由緒ある懐かしい市町村名がなくなりつつあります。小郡という名前もそうです。今では山陽新幹線の新山口という味気ない名前になってしまいましたが、山陽本線、宇部線、山口線の結節点でもありました。

For our four day visit to Yamaguchi, I considered hotels in Yamaguchi and Shin Yamaguchi. Reviews suggested that Shin Yamaguchi had a poor selection of restaurants, so I opted for Yamaguchi. As a tourist, this was the wrong choice. The main attractions of Yamaguchi prefecture are widely spread, involving a lot of travel. The convenience of Shin Yamaguchi outweighs all other considerations. This hotel, though modern and with good facilities, is extremely inconvenient. Yamaguchi station is about 25 minutes from Shin Yamaguchi by local train and a further 1200yen taxi ride from the station. Newly built, everything is very clean. My room, a superior twin, provided adequate space, though the 2square metre bathroom was extremely cramped. Good TV, WI-FI and refrigerator. Beds very firm. Ground floor of hotel has a coin laundry, ice and drinks machine, plus hot spring baths. Room price includes breakfast, which is completely Japanese. Rather to be expected as I appeared to be the only foreign guest. The restaurant is also open after 6.30pm and offers a good selection of dishes at very reasonable prices. A nice hotel, but a totally unsuitable location for tourists.

Toyoko Inn has become an institution in Japan for budget-conscious travellers. Rooms are comfortably adequate for a single-person overnight stay, there's always a Toyoko Inn close to main railway stations, and the army of local ladies dishing out breakfasts with military-like efficiency has to be seen to be believed. A great place to stay for both local Japanese and international travellers.