the b ochanomizu

LOCATION: Great! Within 10min walk of Shinjuku Line, Marunouchi Line, Chuo Line. About 12 min walk to Kanda station with also services Ginza, Yamanote, and Keihin-Tohoku lines. Within 5min walk of 2 Family Marts for breakfast/atm. Within 5 min walk of two pharmacies (Welcia). Only 10min walk into Akiba. Mostly quiet area, VERY rarely hear an ambulance from nearby hospital, but it's muffled from nearby buildings. ROOM: Stayed in a "double room" (actually had QUEEN beds which was great, double-check your mattress sizes for this when booking). Bathroom clean, large bed, headboard space to put phones / charge. Standard smaller size room compared to western chains but suitcases fit under bed so it's not a big deal. Table+two seats, which was room for opening up suitcases when needed. Very thorough housekeeping service, changed out towels/garbage/amenities every day, and did a full room cleanup every 3 days (unless you put up the do not disturb sign). Air conditioning straight-forward if you can read JPN. If not, take a photo of the interface and send it through google translate; still straight-forward. Comfy pajamas/robes, nice material and not see-through. OTHER: Free coffee/cookies/snacks in the lobby depending on time of day, free travel-sized skincare/toiletries. Large bottles of shampoo/conditioner/liquid body soap in the shower. Vending machine inside hotel doesn't have a huge selection but there's about 20 more vending machines within a 2 minute walk of the hotel so just walk towards the Family Mart to the north. Did not do hotel breakfast bc family marts are nearby.

The staff were very accommodating and friendly, allowing us to store our luggage before checking in and even putting them in our room after we got back from a day out. The room was perfectly suitable, beds were comfortable, has a window that opens. The breakfast was also good, although I wouldn't describe it as a buffet, more a set meal with a drinks buffet. They do offer free coffee at any time though. The bread at breakfast was excellent! Simple and lovely meal for a good price.

I lost my stuff at a metro. The staff were very kindly and willingness to help me to contact the metro customer service centre. Ended up I managed to go to the lost and found centre and get my stuff back. The bed and pillow are super comfortable. I slept so well here. The check-out time in Japan normally at 10am. But this hotel is at 11am. That give me enough time to sleep, to eat breakfast and check-out. They offer pyjamas and it is super comfortable and cute! I really like the texture. I am lucky to stay in the biggest room in the hotel. Able to open my suitcase completed and able to have a hot bathing in my room.

The greatest - and very valuable indeed - feature of the hotel is its location. It's quite well connected, with two metro stations being very close, but it also offers easy access to Akihabara and Ueno - even on foot. The breakfast was simple, but adequate; staff fantastic and helpful; the room on the small side, but clean and furnished with rather comfortable beds. All in all, I was satisfied with the choice!

On the plus size: very easy walk to 3 (!) metro stations, plenty of restaurants frequented by locals in the area (although avoid the 1899 cafe - they are not hospitable). The breakfast is very good (we chose the rate including breakfast) and western style. They have nice cookies/cream tarts in the afternoon. There is a large table next to the reception with outlets if you need to work on your laptop for a while. One last thing: the AC’s on/off button above the bed acts as a very strong night-light, strange but you get used to it.