Staying at APA Hotel Kanda - Ekimae in Tokyo, Japan
I wanted to share my hotel stay and details at APA Hotel Kanda Ekimae from my Tokyo trip earlier in the year. Scott and I have previously stayed in Kanda at the Hotel Sui Kanda by Abest (formerly ICI Hotel back in November 2019), which seems to be a quieter neighborhood/district compared to the heavy tourist areas. We will typically select a hotel within a few minutes walk from a metro stop and convenient store. This one was under a 5-minute walk to Kanda station - so close! Also very close to a 7-11, my fave! I would literally get snacks there every day.
CHECK IN
The check in process was super easy and pretty fast. Most of it was automated using a kiosk to pay, and receive key cards, but there were two staff members greeting and assisting as needed. The quick check in process was much appreciated since we had just braved getting through Tokyo station with our large luggages (and it’s always anxiety inducing going through that station) to transfer from the Narita Express to a local line to get to Kanda station.
THE ROOM
The room is a single, non-smoking because yes there are still smoking rooms out there, and it was just (barely) enough space for Scott and I. We had to store our largest pieces of luggage under the bed most of the time in order to get around the room, so it was cumbersome to move in and out from under the bed to pull out clothing or items we may need (but since the bed was raised, there was plenty of under bed storage space). Bed and pillows are O-K, we found that in budget-friendly hotel chains like this will be about this type of mattress that is on the thinner, firmer and not very forgiving side, not like what we are used to with the plush and fluffier beds at hotel chains like Marriott or Hilton.
What I do really like about hotels like this is there will be way more toiletries included like toothbrushes, toothpaste, shavers, face towels and cotton pads. At the time we were staying (Dec 2022 - Jan 2023), there were two options for housekeeping (it’s shown on a magnet that you stick to your door)- either 1) they come in a clean each day, or 2) they replenish your toiletries & Yukata robes. We usually don’t need daily cleanings, but I wish there would have been an option to skip our room all together (so we wouldn’t accumulate an excess of toiletries since we could not go through them fast enough). But for sure on the third day of your stay, it’s protocol for housekeeping to come in to clean/check on the room. Because we would be gone for 2 days of our overall stay (for a side trip to Osaka without checking out), we gave hotel staff a heads up so that they could skip cleaning or just have to do it once while we were away.
There is a centralized control area built into the bed headboard for operating lights, plugging into the outlets and it shows the A/C and heating unit, but due to the hotel policies you cannot change it. That is my only gripe, because the room is already small enough as it is and even though it was chilly out, the air would sometimes feel stagnant in the room, like there was no airflow. So it would have been nice to be able to adjust the temperature slightly or have the feeling of some kind of circulation going on.
Having a mini fridge was helpful, but I feel like the power would go out when our room card was removed from the slot (this is required to power the room), and the fridge didn’t seem to get that cold but at least we could store what needed to be stored in there.
The bathroom is tiny, with barely any counter space (but there is plenty of desk counter space in the room), but that was expected. However there was a bathtub, which is also expected. There were notices posted I believe on the bathroom door, and shown on the TV about not having the bathroom door open when the shower/tub are going to avoid the steam setting off the fire alarms. Overall the room worked for our needs and we were thankful for the couple minute proximity to Kanda station, as well as to about 10 minute walking distance to Akihabara.
THE AMENITIES
There were a variety of toiletries in the room, there was a trouser heat press available on each floor, and there is a small room on the second floor that has vending machines, an ice dispenser and a microwave. It didn’t seem like the hotel restaurant/cafe was ever open - but we didn’t actually try to check it out (and upon looking at the restaurant details on the hotel website, looks like it is only open early for breakfast). There’s also an option for you to book luggage transport service from this hotel to another location, the paperwork could be found in the desk of the room. If you need help filling it out or to purchase packing materials, you can ask the front desk staff. Check out the full list in this gallery here.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
We also were welcomes with a paper crane in the room! It was a nice touch for our arrival in Tokyo. I also included the chaos that erupted in the room when we were attempting to pack our suitcases for our return home - scroll down to see. The price was reasonable for what we receive, and service all around was great. Our booking was a total of 11 days (with us being gone for 2 of those days), for $527 total, $47.93/night. The hotel had everything we needed, but I think if I’m planning for a future trip and take temperature and weather into consideration, that may deter me from wanting to stay if I am unable to change the temp in the room. For this trip, I didn’t book direct because the site was a bit difficult for me to follow, so we originally booked through hotels.com, but if interested, you can take a look at booking on Klook (affiliate link)!
