Mikata Picture Book House in the Astronomical Observatory Forest Tours and Activities

This hotel is okay if you don't stay there much, or if you are attendingt a conference where you are carried for by others. The gym is no gym. Itt a small room with no windows, and has only two bikes and two treadmills. No weights, and no room to move. It feels like a tucked away basement even if it is on the second floor. Instead. You are asked to go to the Sakura hotel and pay 2200 Yen every time you want to train in their gym even if it belongs to the same hotel chain and they exchange certain services for free anyway. It's really a slap in the face. Their club lounge closes at 9pm when most people return to the hotel and would love to have a drink and socialise before sleeping; so that's a bit disappointing. The hotel restaurant Trianon is by booking only and kills the spontaneity of enjoying a meal or a drink. The cleaners are lovely. Some of the girls at the reception were really very helpful and nice, but for the most part, you were left feeling that asking anything was a huge bother. You were met with a frown, arrogance and rarely a polite response, which is really unusual for Japan. I'm an avid traveller and Japan has always been a favourite destination and I love the people and culture. This hotel was a disappointment in several ways. Prior to this we stayed at the Prince hotel near the Tokyo tower and that was absolutely flawless. Shinjuku prince hotel is also wonderful with a great bar at the top open until late.

This hotel was exactly what we needed and was a positive experience being the first place we stayed in Japan. The staff were very friendly and the rooms were clean. Easy to get to Akihabara station where we were able to get on trains for all over tokyo.

Hotel Niwa is very nice. This is the second time we have stayed (8 nights this time). It is more expensive but the quality is excellent. Rooms are cleaned daily. There are washers and dryers which we used. No microwave in room but there is one in the laundry area. The meditation or quiet lounge is nice. The street is a couple of blocks from the main road but still close enough to train station.