The view from my room (Photo: Peter Sidell)

Smile Hotel Shizuoka

A comfortable, cheap and convenient business hotel

The view from my room (Photo: Peter Sidell)
Peter Sidell   - 3 min read

Every autumn I go to Shizuoka city for the Daidogei Street Performance World Cup, pretty much my favourite event of the year. I like to stay somewhere central, comfortable and affordable, so I can pop in and out during the day, and all those boxes are ticked by Smile Hotel.

Because of a change in my plans I'd ended up with two separate reservations for consecutive nights in different room types: the helpful staff, who speak some English, offered without prompting a free upgrade, so I could have the same room for both nights. Now that's some good service!

So rather than an economy twin (basically a single with two beds), I was in a regular single room: cosy and comfortable, it was big enough for a solo traveler with little luggage (me), complete with the usual business hotel fittings of fridge, desk and TV. It was done out in soothing earth tones, and the bathroom was a cut above the usual business hotel molded plastic unit, with nice tiles and moderately fancy toiletries provided. Up on the 9th floor, I had a fairly nice view out over the hills to the east of the city, with Mount Fuji's snow-capped peak visible in the distance.

The spacious lobby has a few chairs to relax in, racks of maps and information, a vending machine, and a PC for guests to use, while there's Wi-Fi throughout the hotel. The lobby is also where the free breakfast is served: it's pretty simple fare, bread and pastries with juice and beverages, but hearty and filling enough, setting me up for a morning watching the shows.

It's well located for sights, shopping and eating: just round the corner is pleasant Keyo-in temple, and it's just a few minutes' walk from Hodai-ji temple, Sunpu Castle Park (venue for many of the street performance shows), Cenova shopping centre, and the Prefectural Office Building, with its 21st-floor observation room. Head away from the centre and you come to leafy Kiyomizuyama Park, home to Kiyomizu-dera temple, and the start of the gentle but scenic Yatsuyama hiking trail.

There are five kinds of rooms: single, semi-double, double, economy twin and deluxe twin. Rates depend on the kind of room and season, but you can expect to pay roughly ¥5000-¥7000 when traveling alone, less per head if you're sharing a twin or double. For the location and facilities, I'd say this definitely represents one of the best deals in the city, and I'll certainly be staying there again.

Peter Sidell

Peter Sidell @peter.sidell

I came to Japan from Manchester, England in 2003, and have travelled a lot since then, around Japan and in Asia. When I'm not working, I write satire and perform stand-up comedy in and around Tokyo. Check YouTube for a taste.