Ode to the Toyoko Inn
Try staying at Japan's undisputed leader of the no frills hotel experience, and you, too, may be inspired to praise this chain for its superior cost performance.
There once was an inn named Toyoko, where you can stay for un poco…
Okay, okay. Don’t worry; The rest of this piece will not be written in verse!
What’s new: Against the backdrop of Japan’s belated recovery from Covid, the country is starting to undergo a boom in terms of in-bound tourism. While not quite back to pre-pandemic levels, from the return of the once ubiquitous tour buses to the omnipresent flag-carrying tour guides, there are encouraging indications that the number of overseas visitors to the country has skyrocketed during the past 6 months.
Many overseas visitors seek to experience the “old Japan” by staying at an upscale ryokan (旅館) or a humble minshuku (民宿), two types of traditional inns that are highly recommended. At such establishments one can definitely get a taste—literally—of authentic Japanese cuisine in a private setting.
Sometimes, though, you just want a clean room with a bed. Japan has a whole class of hotels just for this purpose, and they are simply called “business hotel” or bizunesu hoteru (ビジネスホテル) in Japanese. While there are many competing brands, the king of this category is the Toyoko Inn. One night at the Toyoko Inn provides a master class about how to succeed with the strategy of operational excellence with just enough of a touch of customer intimacy and product differentiation. This Japanese hotel chain is the undisputed leader of exceptional kosutopa (コストパ), which means cost performance in Japanese.
What’s so special: If you imagine “the McDonald’s” of the hotel industry, then the Toyoko Inn would come to mind. Its now more than 300 hotels—including several in South Korea, China, and the Philippines—are all cookie-cutter duplicates in a few standardized sizes. Each year approximately 20 million customers of this hotel chain with a collective total of now more than 70,000 rooms routinely check-in.
Like McDonald’s (in most cases) every Toyoko Inn at which I have spent the night was, first and foremost, clean. While a single room may not be much more than 12 square meters (approximately 130 square feet), it comes with a bed, small desk, a TV, “free” WiFi, and, a “unit bath” that has a combination sink/shower/bath with a lever to divert the water in one direction or another. The standardized plastic module also includes a toilet. At the end of the day that is really all anybody would need, and you get all this for a very reasonable price. Just recently I stayed at a Toyoko Inn adjacent to Narita Airport for only 6,800 yen (just under US $50), which makes the entire value proposition a very good deal—especially considering the current USD/JPY exchange rate.
What stands out is it’s plain vanilla taste: The thing about the Toyoko Inn that has always been a major selling point to me is the fact that no matter which Toyoko Inn you visit, everything is always the same. While not particularly memorable, staying at a Toyoko Inn leaves one with the feeling of getting a good value for money.
There are other “business hotel” chains that aspire to deliver the same type of experience at sometimes even lower rates, but most of these chains are playing the game of constantly trying to get you to upgrade to one of their premium brands, which are, of course, more expensive. It always seems like the lowest tier sub-brand is often neglected in comparison to its upwardly-mobile “siblings.” Thus, the experience at such places, while sometimes significantly better than most, often lacks the consistency of the Toyoko Inn.
Just like McDonald’s has learned and perfected, providing consistency is often a critical success factor toward developing repeat customers. This is especially true in Japan, where business hotels have traditionally been known for being old, dimly lit, and reeking of cigarette smoke. Toyoko Inn consciously set out to provide the exact opposite customer experience at a reasonable price from their humble beginnings with their first hotel in Tokyo back in 1986. They have stayed true to their brand promise ever since.
Of note: There is one notable business hotel chain in Japan which seems to be following in Toyoko Inn’s footsteps. It is called Hotel AZ, which is a chain of more than 60 cookie-cutter, box-like hotels built throughout the southern main island of Kyushu—mainly in the suburbs, ex-burbs, and countryside. The rooms at Hotel AZ are strikingly similar, the pricing is pretty much fixed by room type rather than location, and the overall experience is about as consistent as the Toyoko Inn.
Breakfast hits the spot: While it is, of course, built into the overall price of a night’s stay, the method of delivery of the Toyoko Inn’s “free” breakfast is a study in Japanese corporate efficiency. While the food is mainly hearty traditional Japanese fare—think rice, vegetables, and miso soup—it seems that the Toyoko Inn goes out of its way to hire legions of retirees to prepare the buffet-style breakfast food, manage the patrons, and ensure that all recyclable dishes, bowls, and utensils are sorted properly to be washed and re-used right away. What I like is being welcomed by an elderly member of the breakfast crew wearing a signature green apron with a “say it like you mean it” proclamation of ohayo gozaimasu (お早うございます), which means “good morning.”
Amenities on demand: Like many of their competitors, the Toyoko Inn has found a way to provide “free” amenities such as a toothbrush and toothpaste only to those who want them. There is an amenity “bar” near the elevator on the first floor of many Toyoko Inns. While this practice may seem commonplace outside Japan, a country renowned for its legendary customer service where such amenities used to be provided in the room, the approach was probably only adopted after a heated internal debate regarding how to strike just the right balance between customer intimacy and low pricing. It works for me.
Who's there: Absolutely everyone! The patronage of the Toyoko Inn is extremely democratic and includes customers of all ages and nationalities. If you are looking for a short- or extended stay at a no frills hotel in Japan that provides superior value, then it would advantageous to check out (after checking-in) the Toyoko Inn. You, too, may be inspired to wax poetically about your experience.
Final note: I received no financial or any other kind of support to promote the Toyoko Inn. The purpose of this article is simply to share my positive experience to help fellow travelers.
Link to Japanese Source: https://www.toyoko-inn.co.jp/
#ToyokoInn #businesshotel #budgethotel #東横イン #ビジネスホテル
Another very satisfied Toyoko Inn use here. After staying at a perfectly adequate $60 a night hotel like that it’s always a mystery to me that I need to pay $400 in the US or €300 in Europe for a marginally larger room with worse service, ordinary breakfasts, and the expectation to tip (especially to underpaid, mostly foreign room cleaners).
They used to throw in 10 days of free car parking too at the airport too, making the stay a bargain! If they expanded overseas they would rule the world in a flash.
When I travel alone, I usually end up in a business hotel because, as you said, at the end of the day many people just want a clean and reasonably priced room to sleep after a busy day.
One thing you should have added is that though in many respects the Toyoko Inn chain resembles McDonald's, it's not going to clog your arteries.