Citadines Shinjuku Tokyo

My wife and I spent our last 5 nights in Japan here. On our previous two stays here we had no complaints, however this time we had two unpleasant incidents that have put us off staying there when we are next in Tokyo.

We arrived there by taxi from Shinjuku station in the evening after a particularly long day’s travel which included a visit to the mountain shrine at Yamadera. We had quite a bit of luggage so the driver kept my backpack in the front passenger seat with the remainder in the boot. We paid in cash and as I was moving the luggage from the road to the front of the hotel the taxi departed. It was at that time I realised my backpack was missing. I expect the driver forgot to remove the backpack from the front (but it’s possible someone grabbed it from the toad as I was moving our luggage from the roadside).

I asked the clerk if they could review the security footage to confirm what had happened but was informed they had no cameras monitoring the front of the hotel, despite having many of them inside and at the rear. I asked them why they had no cameras at the front since this was the most likely place guests could have luggage stolen during arrival/departure but was only met with blank looks.

I asked if they could assist in locating the bag but they told me I would have to call the company myself...a futile exercise since I cannot speak Japanese. At that point I left it since we still had to get some dinner and it was getting late. The following morning I requested the same clerk to contact the taxi association as he spoke Japanese but none had been reported. I then spent the bulk of the next morning filing a report at the police station via a phone interpreter.

When we checked out of the hotel we accidentally left behind 2 pairs of sunglasses. I clearly remember I kept them on a high ledge near the TV during our time there and somehow missed packing them...probably due to the rushed and early start to get to our return flight.

When we arrived back in Australia and unpacked the next morning we discovered they were missing and called the hotel. They claimed neither pair was found by housekeeping. I find that very hard to believe and suspect they were taken by the non-Japanese cleaning staff, though I of course cannot probe it. We checked all our luggage multiple times and found neither pair.

Monitoring all areas of the hotel including the rear but not the front shows they only have concern for their own loss/liability and not that of their guests. Despite the hotel being relatively good value, well located, good sized/well appointed rooms (for Tokyo) I will not be staying there again due to the poor security. If you do stay there, remain Vigilant as if you suffer a loss, you will be on your own.