I arrived at the Nishitetsu Inn at about 4:30 pm on Sunday. My first impressions of the hotel were good. I had read that the beds were very hard and to ask for a mattress pad at reception. So I did. The receptionist looked at me and did not understand so I tried to explain that I wanted a pad to make the bed softer. The receptionist next to her understood and he translated something for her and then she said that they didn’t have anything like that. Never mind. I thanked her and went to the elevator. As I was waiting the male receptionist came rushing up to me with a towel which he offered to me on outstretched palm. He said it was for the bed. I was bemused but took the towel anyway and thanked him. The towel was less than 2’ by 3’ so I am not sure what he thought I was going to do with it, but it came in very handy as the hotel was a little skimpy on towels.
I had booked the hotel because it was reasonably price and had great reviews on Trip Advisor. I knew the room would be very small since it was I suppose a cross between a Western and Japanese style of hotel. The room was small but perfectly adequate for one person for one night. The bed appeared to be a full size - and quite hard. There was about 18” of space on two sides of the bed with enough to walk by. Also a desk, seating area, fridge and kettle.
And then there was the tiny little bathroom. The bath tub was maybe 4’ long but quite deep. There was a notice on the inside telling you to fill it to this point. Even there though I could not get my knees wet even by twisting them to the side. The shower head was a little low but I was to get used to that. The sink was built in like those on an aeroplane and the toilet was a Toto bidet thing but there was not very much room between it and the door. The bathroom door opened out into the bedroom because there wasn’t enough space for it in the bathroom. Another item that was new to me, but which I found everywhere, was the large pump bottle of foaming soap. It worked quite well.
After investigating my room and bathroom, and taking a bath in the tiny tub, I decided I should have something to eat, and I needed to get some bottled water. I set off for the convenience store which was just down the road, Family Mart. The convenience stores are quite interesting. The food is nothing like what you would find in a similar store in the US. Lots of freshly made packaged items, most of which were totally unrecognizable. Not being much of a fish eater, and definitely not raw fish, there was very little fresh food I would consider buying, but I did find a small bag of shredded mixed salad and for some reason that appealed to me. I had brought tuna salad pouches with me so I thought it would be good with some tuna. I found my bottled water and went to the check out. It was a surprise that the store had several other customers. I had thought that Sunday early evening in what appeared to be a business area would not be so busy. Anyway I asked the clerk if he spoke English and he said yes so I asked him if he could give me change for a 5000 Yen note. He looked confushed but pulled 5 x 1000 Yen notes from the till and offered them to me. At the same time he was speaking in rapid Japanese. I had no idea what he was saying but I took the money, said “Thank you” and gave him a bill to pay for my groceries. He responded with more Japanese but the read out told me how much it was and how much change I should get. I said “Thank you” again and he replied in Japanese. All in all a very pleasant but completely incomprehensible conversation.
I returned to the hotel, ate some salad and tuna, drank some water, took a sleep aid and tried to sleep. It was around 8 pm. I was tired but a little wired I think. Running on fumes. I did sleep but I woke up every hour or so, then tossed around a bit and then went back to sleep.