Thursday, October 12, 2017

Kyushu - Eating and Sleeping

Instead of staying in one place for the whole trip, I traveled Kyushu from south to north, changing hotels every few days.  I thought my hotels were very reasonably priced.  I ate pretty simply, so my meals were not expensive either.


Kagoshima

I flew into Kagoshima for one night before going to Yakushima, and stayed at the APA Hotel Kagoshima Tenmonkan.  It was a convenient distance to the port, where I would catch the ferry and it was clean - two important things.  Many Japanese hotels have a Yukata or some type of lounge wear or pajamas.  A nice touch was the origami crane.



 



Yakushima 

I stayed at the Minshuku Umigawa when I was on the island of Yakushima.  The owner was a friendly guy and the breakfasts were great, but the place was not so clean.  The location was good - close to the port and close to a bus stop, and across the street from the grocery store.  The room was small and the bed was a futon. The shower and toilet were on the first floor and the sleeping rooms on the second.





Kagoshima 

When I returned from Yakushima, I stayed at the Kagoshima Plaza Hotel Tenmonkan.  It had a great buffet breakfast, but the breakfast room was very crowded, so I didn't get a photo.  One unique feature at this hotel was that you could choose your own type of pillow.  Many Japanese hotels have strange pillows filled with cut up plastic straws and I'm not fond of them.  At this hotel, I chose two fluffy pillows.



Kumamoto 

In Kumamoto, I stayed at Capsule Hotel The Ginza.  "The Ginza"  makes it sound nicer than it was!  This was the first time I stayed at a capsule hotel.  This place had one floor for women and the rest of the hotel was for men.  The toilets and bath were down the hall from the capsule room, which was dark and quiet - no talking allowed.  The breakfast was basic and good.

My bed is the bottom



Nagasaki 

I ate at an Indian restaurant at the station and it was very good.


I stayed at the First Cabin Nagasaki.  No breakfast, nothing special, but it was clean and the staff friendly.



Fukuoka 

In Fukuoka, I stayed at the Reisenkaku Hotel Kawabata.  It was a little bit old, but clean and the staff were all very friendly.  The breakfast was included and there were three choices.  Both mornings I chose the French toast breakfast, which included soup and salad. The location was very good, close to the shrine and the three museums I visited, as well as close to the subway.







If you are planning to visit any of these cities and have questions about these hotels, I'd be happy to answer them.


11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Pamela how interesting,i found the pic of sleeping in the capsule strange did you get stir crazy in it,hope you have a lovely day xx

Sarah said...

What a neat review of Japanese hotels...so many different options. I've seen videos of the capsule hotels - it's an interesting concept, even if a little chummy.

kiwikid said...

You stayed in lots of different places Pamela, not sure about the capsule! Mivht be a bit claustrophobic for me. Was good you could find good places near where you wanted to go.

rosey175 said...

I tend to flail in my sleep so I am not sure I could be quiet in a capsule! After all those plastic straw pillows, the fluffy ones must have felt like heaven.

Janie said...

Wow, what an adventure. I enjoy the details. Thanks for sharing, Pamela.

Brigitte said...

So interesting to read about the different hotels and breakfast possibilities. How very different they all were.

KimM said...

What an interesting post! I’m not sure I’d like the capsule room.....but the rest look intriguing.
xxx

Carol- Beads and Birds said...

I'm chiming in with my comment that this was an interesting post. The rooms were clean. I think I would lose a lot of weight if I lived in Japan.
xx, Carol

FlashinScissors said...

Fascinating to see the meal options, Pamela.
Oh dear, I would have hated the capsules and doubt I would have slept! But it is really interesting to see all the different rooms you have stayed in.
Such a variety of food, and all looking very healthy!
Barbara x

Leonore Winterer said...

Some of those hotels look really nice, and as usual I am craving indian food after you posted some! I don't think I would have been able to sleep in that capsule hotel, that looks way to claustrophobic...

Glenda said...

Oh Pamela I'm so enjoying travelling with you from my arm chair and learning so much more about beautiful Japan. I'm looking up the places you visit online and enjoying learning more about the places. Cheers Glenda