The most important thing a business hotel can do is be convenient, and Tendo Central Hotel in Tendo, Yamagata is exactly that.
Located an easy two minute walk from Tendo Station, and very easy to recognise, Tendo Central Hotel is an ideal place for travellers to base themselves for their time in the city.
Since you can rent bicycles from the station information desk for ¥300 for a day, and Tendo is ideal for cycling, you can easily get anywhere you want to go by bike from Tendo Central Hotel. The Shogi Museum, for an in depth look into the classic game, is one minute away; Tendo Tower, where you can spend an afternoon making soba and painting shogi, is twenty minutes away; Hiroshige Museum, about the Hiroshige artists, is only five minutes; Tendo City Museum is three minutes; and there is a convenience store only thirty seconds down the road.
Tendo Central Hotel provides everything a basic business hotel would put in your room; air conditioning, toothbrush, toothpaste, razor, body wash, shampoo, yukata, tea, electric kettle, fridge, TV and hairdryer, but they also offer a surprising amount more.
They also have a massage service, coin laundrette, business center, coffee shop slash restaurant, free parking, a vending machine, and rental laptops, and can arrange dry cleaning, photocopying and faxing at reception.
They offer breakfast as well, served in their small restaurant Flasco, which I really appreciate when I’m travelling from early in the morning, and they have a choice of Japanese or Western style. I opted for Japanese style and it was nice, but be warned that it came with a big pot of natto.
The service was friendly and welcoming, and they were happy to hold my bag for me during the day until I checked in in the evening, and made an effort to use English with me.
It’s also very reasonably priced at ¥4500 for a single room, which includes breakfast. Both smoking and non-smoking rooms are available.
The next time I’m in Tendo, I would not hesitate to stay at the easy and convenient Tendo Central Hotel.
