Except I'm not, I'm still in Japan and I know what you're thinking - Greg, you really splurged to this time

But no I actually didn't. This is one of the cheapest options I've had at this time of night and it is...

11:15 p.m. At night. Thank you very much Fitbit

And I'm tired. Too tired to tell the story right now of why I am in a...

Love hotel all by my lonesome

but

after I have had my breakfast which will be

I'm going for the pancake set, because I don't feel like the Salmon no Tataki in the morning. So,

After I have my pancake set, I will explain. Good night!

Hello world, where in the world do you stay when visiting Japan?

There are so many options - regular hotel, business hotel, capsule hotel, Minpaku (Airbnb)

Minshuku, Ryokan, and yes, the love hotel. Well, I've been to all these places

So let me break them down for you, and give you the pros and cons

The do's and don'ts and yeah also teach you how to escape a love hotel

But first let's start with Japan's good old regular vanilla hotels

This is the easiest type of accommodation to explain it's fairly close to what you'd expect from a western hotel bed, mini-fridge

wifi, kettle, bathroom

But no shower

I felt like I should be doing something but

I'm tired

Okay, this particular hotel is a bit different. It's a special hotel that has a public bath attached

So the bathing facilities are actually shared. In most western style hotels in Japan

You'd usually get a shower in the bathroom

If you find yourself in a place like this

You'd grab this face towel and regular towel, go to the locker room, get naked and take the face towel with you

After that, clean yourself with soap and the face towel at one of the stations, then enjoy the bath or maybe relax in the sauna

Just don't put your towel or hair in the water. I'll link to a more detailed guide in the description

Often hotels have breakfast included depending on the price you've paid for accommodation

They can range from edible to delicious, but they generally skewed Japanese style. So be aware that it's probably not pancakes, eggs and bacon

Oh and a big thing anywhere in Japan if you see a raised floor like this

Especially one where there are slippers take off your shoes. Almost every single family or friend

I've had visit me in Japan has stepped with shoes in places where they shouldn't have. This is probably the biggest no-no

Did I just say no-no? I mean biggest screwup. How about that.

That a foreigner does that actually causes Japanese people trauma. Raised floor almost always means take off your shoes

Final thing to point out about Western style hotels in Japan is that there's also the business hotel

It's essentially the same thing as a regular hotel room, but just smaller. Think tiny dorm room and you'll have the right idea

Okay, let's do the pros and cons of western-style hotels in Japan. Pros. They are familiar

They usually include breakfast. The location is generally convenient and is in walking distance to a train station

Cons. Depending on the hotel,

they can be expensive. But business hotels are relatively affordable. Rooms will be smaller than places

you would find in Canada or the United States, especially in big cities

You often pay per person not per room and they're fairly strict about the number of people allowed in a room

Beautiful B-roll time. This was my morning view of the Seto Inland Sea and the reason why I booked my hotel here

Now on to capsule hotels

Yes, the famous Japanese capsule hotels where you sleep the night away in a pod.On this floor, there are actually 108 of them

They're fairly basic - a radio, TV, light, mirror, and of course, a bed.

There are screens you can pull down for privacy, but that's about it

Except it isn't. There are a bunch of common areas included

You have a hangout room and behind it, relaxation chairs, an eating area with a kitchen

So this capsule hotel will come with breakfast. You can even get bear and ice cream.

A massage corner yay

There's also a work corner. Boo

But like the last place there's something special about here as well. You see these lockers

Well, this is where you get naked, because yes, this is a spa and capsule hotel combined

I was allowed to film everywhere but the public bath and sauna part

But this is what it looks like from the picture. I think it actually looks nicer in person

Anyways, it was at this point that I saw everyone getting naked that I realized that it was a male-only capsule hotel

Although there is female staff. Just so you know

But generally at a regular capsule hotel

You would put your stuff in a storage locker and then use the communal bathing, toilets, and sinks

So it's kind of like dorm living except people take being quiet in the capsule area, which has its own floor quite seriously

So really no talking in there

Alright pros and cons time. Pros. It's cheap and even a bit cheaper if you booked online

It's accessible at all hours

which is actually quite important as this is not the case for all accommodation types in Japan,

although checking times can vary depending on the location.

And it actually has a decent bed as counterintuitive as that might sound. It was cozy

Cons, there's limited storage space. Although you can usually get a storage locker for oversized items

People are very quiet in the capsule area, but there's the potential to hear others come and gang going

So if you're an ultra light sleeper, you might want to use earbuds headphones or use a different type of accommodation

It's not like sleeping in a coffin

I actually enjoy the pods but it's not for cluster phobic people either. You can't be loud and you don't really have private space

Let's roll our second set of b-roll footage right in the middle of a rice field

Relax, enjoy

Next up is Airbnb, or Minpaku. A Minpaku is basically someone's home that is not run as a hotel business

So no check-in desk, no fire safety equipment and so on. A Minshuku, on the other hand, is run as a hotel business

But they can still look very much like a traditional Japanese home. I'll explain more in the Minshuku section

This is an Airbnb

We stayed at and it's an old Japanese home that was converted into a daycare center and then into an Airbnb place

This is why you get this cute little toilet

The real adult sized toilet is behind. This one came with an old-school tub in the bathing room

But the kitchen looked like what you'd find in a basic apartment.

I really like these exterior hallways. All along it, it has these lovely sliding doors, although they are quite loud

The sleeping rooms were nice

You get the Tatami mats and you sleep right on the ground with a supplied futons. If you want authentic Japanese living

Well, you're getting it when you go with a Minpaku

Now to the pros and cons. Pros

For the space and quality you get, they are cheaper than other accommodation types. You get to experience authentic Japanese living both traditional and modern

Depending on the place, although it'll be a lot less cluttered than the average Japanese house. Trust me many places have laundry facilities. Yay

Depending on the host, you may be able to interact a bit and even grab a meal together

You have all the amenities of a house from a kitchen, to a dining table, to a washing machine

You probably don't have to meet other hotel guests and the location can be anywhere

Cons.

Sometimes you need to meet up with the host at a specific time which can be difficult to do with the unpredictability of traveling

At someone's house, so there's more pressure not to break or mess anything up

You're expected to leave things as you found them

Like if you use dishes you should wash them. If you have garbage you put it out on garbage day

With Airbnb there be clean and other fees so look closely at the final price

Every place has their own rules, so it can be a hassle to learn new rules everywhere you go

While it's nice that the location can be anywhere

You can also really be in the middle of nowhere, which is not convenient if you're traveling by public transportation

there's usually no breakfast, but many will have some basics like tea or coffee or some instant Miso or noodles

And one last con of these country homes are the spiders. We had lots of fun avoiding this one

Let's go

subtropical with the b-roll footage and I know you'll ask so I'll save myself a comment and tell you that this is Kouzushima,

a little island south of Tokyo

Whoever came up with this idea for a swimming hole has my respect. I just love the wooden structures

Now we find ourselves at a Minshuku, or guest house. Like a Minpaku,

A Minshuku can look or even be like a person's house, but they are commercial accommodations and more inn like

So think check-in desk

Dining area for everyone to eat breakfast, lots of toilets, some more toilets and a big bathing area

These are generally owner run. So like a bed-and-breakfast type of place. This one happens to be on an island

So they had a great area to hose down and clean up. Plus parasols and water toys you've used at the beach

Breakfast is usually served and it's not uncommon to get dinner as well. Let's hit up those pros and cons

Pros

They're not usually owned by big corporations. So expect a more local experience and maybe even a quirky owner

You'll get a fairly authentic stay in Japanese lodging

You might get some personalized services like being picked up from the ferry terminal or train station

It's more affordable than Ryokan which will cover soon. So sit tight

Cons. Many are cash only so be prepared

Check-in and checkout times can be fairly restrictive. So make sure to check those checks. There are set times to eat

So again check check check

As for location, they're probably not the most convenient

In conclusion, there is step above hostels, but not as fancy as the Ryokans.

But before we get to either let's have some more b-roll footage

This is of Edogawa River where our next hostel is located nearby

This is a unique place called Shibamata Futen.

It used to be the dormitory for city workers, but has since been converted to a hostel.

While I haven't been to many hostels in my life, this one seems rather on the upscale side

Here's the lobby and like with any other accommodation facility in Japan, foreign visitors are required to fill in their nationality

Passport number, name, address and occupation into a guest registration form. They'll also need to show their passport

So that a photocopy can be taken. It's the law for all accommodations in Japan

Because this is a former dormitory and it's newly renovated. It's unique in what you'll find

They have rooms that are more japanese-style so futons on tatami mats

Some quasi Japanese so futons on raised tatami mats. Again, you see the boundary, so don't bring in your shoes

However, they have a whole western section in this place. So in these rooms walking in with shoes is a-ok

All the rooms are hostel rooms. So no frills. It's just a room, a bed, and that's about it

But like the capsule hotels, there're lots of shared spaces.

In this one, there's a meeting room, although I don't think you'll be hanging out here

There's a hangout room. Although they may have said this was the library, but I can't remember.

And there's a very spacious and well-equipped kitchen and dining area. It's quite nice

Something that is quite convenient and affordable is the laundry room

200 yen to wash 100 yen to dry

We have shower facilities, but not baths, which is quite rare for Japanese accomodations. Although I don't know

what's the norm for hostels in Japan. The sink room looks just fine.

And the toilets, they are the latest. So no worries on this front

one great thing I noticed is that they have a full-on barrier-free bathroom. Top notch.

And down the hall, they have a barrier-free room with two beds and while I didn't film it as it was being cleaned

There's a bathing room specially designed for wheelchair access

You can also rent wheels. Bike wheels that is, so that you can tour around like a local

How about some pros and cons.

Pros

It's a good place for solo travelers, although they do have rooms that can sleep multiple people and multiple rooms,

so it may not be a bad place for couples or small groups. In fact with this particular place

You could totally make good use of all the facilities if you had a big group

It's good for people who want to meet up and interact with like-minded individuals

It is a hostel after all.

And the last pro is that it's a hostel, so it's usually the cheapest type of accommodation you'll find

Cons

Locations of hostels are normally not as prime as hotels

They're not as quiet and calm as capsule hotels, even though it's a similar dormitory style

If you're in a bunk bed room and you'll have even less privacy than a capsule hotel

I should note though that this particular hostel has only private rooms at the moment

So you'll have no problems with privacy here, but they do have plans to build a bunk bedroom, which will be a shared room

Now on to the creme de la creme of Japanese accommodations, the Ryokan.

However, first let's enjoy this scenic river setting

A Ryokan, a.k.a., a fancy traditional Japanese inn

The characters Ryokan literally mean "travel building". There are modern and old ones

But this one is more of a modern family one

you have all the typical things like a Genkan where you take off your shoes, a sliding door and Futons on the ground.

This low table on the tatami mat has Zabuton, or sitting cushions, which are on Zaisu, or sitting chairs

To the left is the Oshire, which is the closet where other futons are stored. Oh Futons are Futon

I keep on mixing my pronunciation so just live with it

Anyways, during dinner the staff pushed the tables aside and placed down the futons for our children

Then there's this nice sitting area separated by the Shoji screen door

Here we find the yukata, which I encourage you to wear around the Ryokan both inside and outside of your room