Shizuoka Town Hotel — Hotel in Shizuoka

We stayed here on a recommendation from a local. It is tucked away in an alley, but was great. Much cheaper than western hotels in town. 10 minute walk from Shizuoka train station. A bit hard to find as it was in an alley, so make sure you have looked it up on a map and have your bearings when walking out of the station. Staff very helpful. They only had a bit of English skills, but did ok. I speak Japanese so it was not a problem. No early check in allowed, but they will hold your bags for you until check in. Lots of restaurants nearby. Breakfast is small (mostly bread), but good enough. Very clean. A/C was a bit week and the view is awful, but were did not stare out the window all day long. I would definately stay there again. If you book directly thru them you get a better deal, but there is limited English on thier site. With a browser translator you can do it. FYI. When you stay a few days and leave during the day, you have to turn in your key and they keep it. Also, you must insert the key dongle into a hole in the room to activate the lights. I had not seen that before. Took me a minute to figure that out. They have coin laundry...

Pros: clean. Free coffee, soup, rolls for breakfast. Use of microwave in by the lobby. Typical hotel room inclusions: robe, slippers, green tea w/kettle, bidet, firm mattress on Western beds, good mini fridge, hair dryer, free wifi was good. A/C worked well. Quiet, no noise through walls/hallway. 4 short blocks from the Shizuoka train station, Near many convenience stores, a grocery store (Don Quijote's giant penguin was a great landmark), restaurants, bars, retail stores and even a Starbucks near by. Staff spoke English. ||Cons: plug ins not active w/o room key to charge phone battery when out...

Typical Japanese business hotel a few minutes walk from the station. Very limited breakfast of bread and jams included. Lower floors windows have the next building's wall 30 cm away which makes the room dark and claustrophobic. Also cooking smells from the next door restaurant. From 5th floor there is a view over the rooftops. I booked this hotel specifically because it had a PC in the lobby, but when I got there, the PC was not working, and 5 days later it still...