Smart Stay Shizuku Ueno — Hotel in Tokyo

This review is about the staff: I walked by, confirmed on their main hotel site for vacancies, went inside and asked for a room directly with the staff in broken Japanese. He checked his system and said that he had no room for me. I ask several times to confirm and he tells me unequivocally through his Google translate this time to confirm he had no vacancies. Not missing a beat, I pull up the website and point to the vacancy literally displayed. He was startled for a moment, double checked his side of the system, then tells me flatly: if you book on the site then we have vacancy, not if you walk in. 😑. Right. Your rule tells you to reject customers in person but not online. He asked me to fill out everything online in Japanese, didn’t offer to help, then forced me to fill out a paper version of the same form again in person. In Japanese. He was not rude nor was he polite, but I felt vaguely offended for being rejected on mysterious grounds and somewhat tortured by the process when given no help. I went to my floor and they had at least a handful of vacancies on the women’s floor. So it wasn’t an issue where I got the elusive last room he couldn’t find earlier. I don’t know who he is trying to keep out because there were other tourists too. I am Asian but am not Japanese and am obviously a tourist. I was polite and asked nicely, didn’t even flip out or react negatively when he pulled that on me. He never apologized or even felt sorry for his mistake, like it wasn’t the first time he did that. He just didn’t expect me to call him out, though I didn’t pursue the matter. You take what you will from this interaction. I will note that the capsule hotel itself and the facilities are good. The sauna and baths were clean. The women’s toilet were a bit dirty and smelled. And the counters were overflowing with water from carelessness from guests but the staff did not even try to clean it. I paid $30. I’m happy with my stay overall, but not too happy with him. 😅 I get overall rude vibes from 50% of Japanese service staff where they have a take it or leave it attitude and generally don’t try to help and 50% ordinary staff who will give you normal service. I will note that it’s cheaper to book with them directly than through vendor sites. Idk maybe just book online and prep for the same process again in person. It’s super close to the action so it may be worth it to just enjoy the place and not expect too much from the...

It's a best place for solo travelers who just need sleeping room. It's close to Ueno Station and the famous Ameyayokocho and Ueno Park. For first timers, it may quite confusing when check in because it has different steps with a normal hotel. Also for foreigners or you who need more privacy, it's not realy good because this hostel just have a japanese style public bathroom.

Here's some steps for new comers: First of all, take of your shoes and place it at designated lockers. Just choose any lockers number, it doesn't really matter. Lock your locker and take the key to the reception. Do the usual check in procedure, and the staff will give you a magnetic key. Scan your magnetic key to the machine in front of the reception to finalized your check in. This machine also used for you who will pay at the hotel. Take your receipt. Go to your cabin by using the elevator, and enter the unit using the magnetic key. It's important to keep the magnetic key with you where ever you go in this hotel. Restroom is in every level, but the public bath is on B1 level. You have to bring your magnetic key here. You can use the locker inside the bathroom to place your clothes. Amenities are available both in the restroom and bathroom. Locker also available in your capsule room to place your belongings. There's also designated places to store your big suitcase. To check out, just scan your magnetic key on the machine and give the key back to the reception.

Notes for long-stay: YOU HAVE to GET OUT from your room everyday before 10AM. You can't use it for day long. The locker on your capsule room can be used to place your belongings. Use the key inside the magnetic key to lock it. Everytime you get out from the hotel, you have to give your magnetic key to the reception and take your shoe locker key. DON'T FORGET to request the guest card, it's for identify your capsule number whenever you come back...

I will start with positive, facility was clean, bathouse sauna was a nice service to be offered, be aware they have a "no tattoo" policy in the bathouse. I liked being close to Ueno park and station.

The negative, I did not enjoy my stay here. As an international/English speaking guest I did not feel like it was good fit. Very minimal English speaking staff and staff are often busy, they are not able to offer much support to their guests. There was almost no English signage, leaving me to feel like I was missing a lot of information most of the time. I stayed on the female capsule floor, it is open concept with the capacity for 75 people, essentially you are sharing an open space with many people, you will hear a lot of sounds, making it difficult to have a good rest. The hotel environment was very anti-social, not good for meeting other people. Also, it was the first time I have experienced a hotel restricting your access the common areas immediately after check out. Check out was at 10am and my train was booked for 2pm, staff were willing to hold my bag but I wasnt allowed to be in the buildings common area, it was pouring rain and I had no where else to go. I have never experienced a hotel that operates this way. They also have policy that you cannot use your capsule between 10-4 everyday for cleaning, I found this policy inconvenient, I prefer an environment with less restrictions on facility use. The hotel had a small food service counter, I saw it open once during...