Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Hotels appeal to train buffs

Relax News
Friday 25 December 2009 01:00 GMT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Hotels located near major train stations in the Japanese capital are wooing a new breed of customer by offering rooms with a "rail view."

Several hotel chains operating similar packages say they are proving popular, particularly among families with young children and railway engine fanatics who enjoy watching the trains passing to and fro. Among the most popular trains are Japan's legendary bullet trains.

The other bonus for the hotels is that the rooms available through the "rail view" packages are less popular with other guests because they are noisy.

"Our hotel is located very close to Akabane Station and most people ask for rooms away from the railway lines and overlooking the shopping district," Kumiko Kishimto, a spokeswoman for the Hotel Mets Akabane, told Relaxnews. "But for anyone who wants to watch the trains going through the station, then the other side of the hotel is much more popular."

Rooms on the west side of the building have an unobstructed view of seven regular railway lines plus two elevated bullet train tracks. The Cassiopeia night-train from Tokyo to Sapporo, in the far north of Japan, also passes through the station every evening and is high on the wish-list of train spotters.

The Odakyu Hotel Century Southern Hotel introduced the grandly named "Just like the N-Gauge Model - Train-View Stay Plan" in June, borrowing the name of the Japanese standard for model railway sets, according to spokeswoman Etsuko Sunaga.

"Our sales director came up with this plan with another member of our front desk staff, who is crazy about trains," she said. "Most of our guests are young families and people who just love trains."

The hotel is part of the Odakyu Railways group and overlooks Shinjuku Station, listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the busiest station in the world with an average of 3.64 million passing through each day. It has 11 lines and more than 200 exits from the station.

The hotel puts train fans in the corner rooms on its upper levels, according to Ms. Sunaga, and provides a range of souvenirs of their stay, including stickers and paperweights made of a short length of an Odakyu railway track.

Hotel Mets Akabane, 1-1-76 Akabane, Kita-ku, Tokyo, 115-0045. Tel. +81 3 5939 0011.
http://www.jrhotelgroup.com/eng/hotel/eng152.htm

Odakyu Hotel Century Southern Tower, 2-2-1 Yoyogi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 151-8583. Tel. +81 3 5354 0111.
http://www.southerntower.co.jp/english/

JR

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in