January 2023 in Taiwan and Japan
- Thread starter cdp88
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Mercure Tokyu Stay Osaka Namna
We moved to Osaka for our final two nights. I choose this hotel for the Accor benefits and the size of its rooms. The other Accor options were Ibis which was too small and Swissotel which was a bit more expensive than I wanted for this trip. I’m not likely to stay here again although it does have some good points.
The common areas are modern and inviting with a garden to the side and a cafe/bar and then restaurant and lounge on level 2. The hotel has two entrances one direct from the main road through a corridor and the other on the side street with space for a taxi to pull in.
The location of this hotel was not close to any particular station, Namba station was closest but was not a JR station, however it was right in the middle of lots of shopping and restaurants and in a very lively part of town so this made up for the distance from public transport to an extent.
Check in
On arrival I was pleased to see our transferred luggage had arrived.
The check in process was not smooth and took quite a long time. I had to get them to correct the invoice as they didn’t recognise I had partially paid with points when I booked so they wanted to charge me a higher amount. Fortunately I had my printed booking receipt with me to clarify the amount and they accepted this and updated the invoice accordingly. I then had to write all my address/personal information down even though they had my Accor details and profile and they should not require me to provide this again. The preparation of key cards also took a while.
The staff were very apologetic for the delay and were helpful in providing a Chinese language hotel information sheet once they realised most of our guests were Taiwanese. They certainly aimed to please but the processes require fine tuning. The Hyatt House at Kanazawa, which was booked via Expedia, required considerably less work on check in.
Loyalty
I was given 5 welcome drink vouchers valid for house wines (including sake), basic spirits and mixers as well as coffee/tea and soft drinks. Like the Kyoto hotel they had a specific menu for the welcome drinks you could choose.
A welcome gift of house baked cookies, two bottles of mineral water and a note from the Hotel GM was included in each of our 3 rooms. No upgrade was provided and I didn’t ask. All rooms were on the same level and next to each other so this was sufficient. Overall, loyalty recognition was fine given we received more gifts/welcome drinks than we were entitled to. Late check out of 1pm was granted although I didn’t need to use it.
Room
The rooms and corridors are very dark as there is a lot of black used. It was nearly impossible to see when walking the corridors as they were painted black with only a down light on each room number. The room had an interesting design in that the desk/bench you would usually have in the room was also the bathroom sink with a separate bath/shower and separate toilet. While separation of all these elements does assist with sharing of a room (and this hotel does have more self contained features such as rooms with kitchens and washing machines) I’m not sure the execution was successful for our room type. The room was not as dark as the corridors as it had natural light and also used some lighter colours.
The positive features were that the room had a bath, decent hanging space and a set of two comfortable arm chairs and table against the window. As we were on a high floor we had an outlook over the city and natural light coming in. Overall it was okay although a different room type may have been better.
Restaurant
We ate breakfast each day here and dinner one night. Before we left Australia I confirmed with Accor Plus, who received confirmation direct from the hotel, that Accor Plus discount was accepted at this hotel. Either the policy changed or the original information was wrong as the restaurant clearly indicated it did not accept Accor plus. Had I known I would have booked a breakfast inclusive rate.
The breakfast spread was very generous and good value for 2200 JPY. I would prefer eggs to order as the slightly congealed scrambled eggs on offer at all of these hotels (except Hyatt Centric) wasn’t really doing it for me. The other elements were good with freshly baked break and pastries and lots of dishes to choose from in both western and Japanese styles. I was able to charge breakfast to my room, for the purpose of accruing Accor points, although I had to argue for this on the second day as they wanted me to buy a voucher from downstairs first.
Summary
I wouldn’t recommend this hotel to stay in based on my experience. While some elements may improve with time (check in process) the colour scheme and design will not. I have mixed thoughts on the location as it was easy to walk to a number of great restaurants and shops but not particularly close to transport options. The staff were very friendly and helpful and the hotel was quite busy so I am sure it will improve.
We moved to Osaka for our final two nights. I choose this hotel for the Accor benefits and the size of its rooms. The other Accor options were Ibis which was too small and Swissotel which was a bit more expensive than I wanted for this trip. I’m not likely to stay here again although it does have some good points.
The common areas are modern and inviting with a garden to the side and a cafe/bar and then restaurant and lounge on level 2. The hotel has two entrances one direct from the main road through a corridor and the other on the side street with space for a taxi to pull in.
The location of this hotel was not close to any particular station, Namba station was closest but was not a JR station, however it was right in the middle of lots of shopping and restaurants and in a very lively part of town so this made up for the distance from public transport to an extent.
Check in
On arrival I was pleased to see our transferred luggage had arrived.
The check in process was not smooth and took quite a long time. I had to get them to correct the invoice as they didn’t recognise I had partially paid with points when I booked so they wanted to charge me a higher amount. Fortunately I had my printed booking receipt with me to clarify the amount and they accepted this and updated the invoice accordingly. I then had to write all my address/personal information down even though they had my Accor details and profile and they should not require me to provide this again. The preparation of key cards also took a while.
The staff were very apologetic for the delay and were helpful in providing a Chinese language hotel information sheet once they realised most of our guests were Taiwanese. They certainly aimed to please but the processes require fine tuning. The Hyatt House at Kanazawa, which was booked via Expedia, required considerably less work on check in.
Loyalty
I was given 5 welcome drink vouchers valid for house wines (including sake), basic spirits and mixers as well as coffee/tea and soft drinks. Like the Kyoto hotel they had a specific menu for the welcome drinks you could choose.
A welcome gift of house baked cookies, two bottles of mineral water and a note from the Hotel GM was included in each of our 3 rooms. No upgrade was provided and I didn’t ask. All rooms were on the same level and next to each other so this was sufficient. Overall, loyalty recognition was fine given we received more gifts/welcome drinks than we were entitled to. Late check out of 1pm was granted although I didn’t need to use it.
Room
The rooms and corridors are very dark as there is a lot of black used. It was nearly impossible to see when walking the corridors as they were painted black with only a down light on each room number. The room had an interesting design in that the desk/bench you would usually have in the room was also the bathroom sink with a separate bath/shower and separate toilet. While separation of all these elements does assist with sharing of a room (and this hotel does have more self contained features such as rooms with kitchens and washing machines) I’m not sure the execution was successful for our room type. The room was not as dark as the corridors as it had natural light and also used some lighter colours.
The positive features were that the room had a bath, decent hanging space and a set of two comfortable arm chairs and table against the window. As we were on a high floor we had an outlook over the city and natural light coming in. Overall it was okay although a different room type may have been better.
Restaurant
We ate breakfast each day here and dinner one night. Before we left Australia I confirmed with Accor Plus, who received confirmation direct from the hotel, that Accor Plus discount was accepted at this hotel. Either the policy changed or the original information was wrong as the restaurant clearly indicated it did not accept Accor plus. Had I known I would have booked a breakfast inclusive rate.
The breakfast spread was very generous and good value for 2200 JPY. I would prefer eggs to order as the slightly congealed scrambled eggs on offer at all of these hotels (except Hyatt Centric) wasn’t really doing it for me. The other elements were good with freshly baked break and pastries and lots of dishes to choose from in both western and Japanese styles. I was able to charge breakfast to my room, for the purpose of accruing Accor points, although I had to argue for this on the second day as they wanted me to buy a voucher from downstairs first.
Summary
I wouldn’t recommend this hotel to stay in based on my experience. While some elements may improve with time (check in process) the colour scheme and design will not. I have mixed thoughts on the location as it was easy to walk to a number of great restaurants and shops but not particularly close to transport options. The staff were very friendly and helpful and the hotel was quite busy so I am sure it will improve.
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Osaka Airport Lounge - Asuka
As my rail pass had expired, and the logistics of using the train to get to the airport were too daunting given the composition of our party, I prebooked a car transfer to the airport from the hotel. This only took about 45 minutes to get to the airport. This worked out quite well and was not much more than paying for 5 train tickets and taxis to the train station.
After clearing immigration we headed to the satellite gates for our flight. This time we stopped in the Asuka Lounge as Gold Star Alliance members. We were handed individual passes to gain access with the member and guest’s names noted on the pass and matched to passport on entry. EVA does not operate many lounges and mainly uses contract lounges outside of Taiwan. This one was one of the better contract lounges I’ve experienced flying EVA.
The lounge had a view of the tarmac and plenty of space to sit as it wasn’t very crowded. The style was a bit older although not unpleasant with use of dark wood panelling.
The food selection was okay with sushi and some prepackaged snacks like ham and edamame. They had a reasonable selection of drinks available as well as Nespresso. Unfortunately there was a one hour delay with our flight so we ended up spending more time in here than originally anticipated. The airline announced it was handing out snacks to waiting passengers and we were given lots of these once we arrived to board.
As my rail pass had expired, and the logistics of using the train to get to the airport were too daunting given the composition of our party, I prebooked a car transfer to the airport from the hotel. This only took about 45 minutes to get to the airport. This worked out quite well and was not much more than paying for 5 train tickets and taxis to the train station.
After clearing immigration we headed to the satellite gates for our flight. This time we stopped in the Asuka Lounge as Gold Star Alliance members. We were handed individual passes to gain access with the member and guest’s names noted on the pass and matched to passport on entry. EVA does not operate many lounges and mainly uses contract lounges outside of Taiwan. This one was one of the better contract lounges I’ve experienced flying EVA.
The lounge had a view of the tarmac and plenty of space to sit as it wasn’t very crowded. The style was a bit older although not unpleasant with use of dark wood panelling.
The food selection was okay with sushi and some prepackaged snacks like ham and edamame. They had a reasonable selection of drinks available as well as Nespresso. Unfortunately there was a one hour delay with our flight so we ended up spending more time in here than originally anticipated. The airline announced it was handing out snacks to waiting passengers and we were given lots of these once we arrived to board.
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drron
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Well you have now answered a question for me. I have been looking at the Tokyu Stay hotels particularly those linked to Mercure. As we get older a longer stay in apartment type hotels is becoming more attractive. But what I had read didn't really seem good to me. your experience confirms a few of the worries I had. So this has been a very good TR from my point of view.
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I wanted to like this hotel but in the end I just couldn’t recommend it. Perhaps if we had the larger room with a washing machine inside it may have been different as this would have been more convenient.
The Hyatt House in Kanazawa was a better execution of the apartment hotel.
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rbjhan
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I stayed in Tokyu Ginza some years ago - mainly due to the excellent location.
It wasn't like the apartment hotels here....other than washing machine and microwave in the room it's not that much different than a normal business hotel. Of course that's their smallest room, some larger ones have kitchenette, I believe.
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OT but I wish this service was available in Europe - sorry back to the TR
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Economy flight KIX-TPE
The day before we were due to return there was an equipment change and we would now be flying on the 787-10 back to TPE.
This was a much better option than the A330 we took on the way over and would allow me to compare economy to business on this aircraft.
As a plane that flies long distance routes it is more than adequate for the 2.5 hr flight between KIX and TPE. I had plenty of legroom and the seats are well designed and comfortable. The plane was not particularly full so we could have moved seats to spread out had we wanted.
The food offering was similar to the last time and as I didn’t eat the protein on offer I pre-ordered a special seafood meal. There was a very wide selection of special meals on offer. This was probably better than the ordinary meal as I received a small smoked salmon salad as appetiser as well as a fish spaghetti. Service of the meal and drinks was quick and refills were on offer should you request.
The inflight entertainment system is fast although the selection of films was not particularly great. Given this I left it to my next flight as I would want to watch at least one film on the day flight back to Brisbane.
For one of our party we realised that we needed to request special assistance for moving around the airport and did so on this occasion. Both the staff on the ground at KIX and TPE were excellent with providing this assistance in boarding and disembarking. At TPE the EVA staff member accompanied us all the way to our pre-booked airport transfer service.
The day before we were due to return there was an equipment change and we would now be flying on the 787-10 back to TPE.
This was a much better option than the A330 we took on the way over and would allow me to compare economy to business on this aircraft.
As a plane that flies long distance routes it is more than adequate for the 2.5 hr flight between KIX and TPE. I had plenty of legroom and the seats are well designed and comfortable. The plane was not particularly full so we could have moved seats to spread out had we wanted.
The food offering was similar to the last time and as I didn’t eat the protein on offer I pre-ordered a special seafood meal. There was a very wide selection of special meals on offer. This was probably better than the ordinary meal as I received a small smoked salmon salad as appetiser as well as a fish spaghetti. Service of the meal and drinks was quick and refills were on offer should you request.
The inflight entertainment system is fast although the selection of films was not particularly great. Given this I left it to my next flight as I would want to watch at least one film on the day flight back to Brisbane.
For one of our party we realised that we needed to request special assistance for moving around the airport and did so on this occasion. Both the staff on the ground at KIX and TPE were excellent with providing this assistance in boarding and disembarking. At TPE the EVA staff member accompanied us all the way to our pre-booked airport transfer service.
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Taiwan HSR from Taichung to Taipei
At this point in our holiday it was time to visit the capital city Taipei. We have been here many times so we wouldn’t be visiting any of the main tourist sites but mainly catching up with friends and family.
The best way to travel is by High Speed Rail as it is so much faster than driving from Taichung (50 minutes compared to 2 hours plus depending on traffic).
The HSR is very similar to the Japanese train system and much of the equipment was supplied by Japanese companies. The Japanese built much of Taiwan’s rail system although the HSR is a much more recent addition. It is worth travelling on the other trains in Taiwan and seeing some of the original stations and other parts of the country. We have done this before and I would highly recommend it, particular the trip through the mountains in the North East and around to the East Coast.
Like Japan, the HSR offers standard and business class with standard having reserved and non-reserved seats. There is a food and drink cart that comes through although there are plenty of food options at the stations too.
For this trip I decided to take business class. A standard reserved seat is TWD700 and business TWD1250 for this trip from Taichung to Taipei. They serve you a complimentary drink and snack in business and the seat is larger with a foot rest and a different design to the standard carriage. There is nothing wrong with the standard seats and I usually travel in standard.
The train was quite full with nearly all seats in business taken. Shortly after boarding the attendants came to offer a choice of drink (oolong tea, coffee, water, juice or soft drink) and a snack (savoury fish snack mix or sweet potato biscuit sticks). The sweet potato sticks were surpassingly good and went very well with my oolong tea. They offer free wifi on the train although this was somewhat impacted by the number of tunnels we went through. The drinks cart comes through regularly and you can ask for refills. There are also more substantial items for sale.
The HSR route is not particularly scenic but it is a very comfortable and efficient way to travel North to South in Taiwan.
At this point in our holiday it was time to visit the capital city Taipei. We have been here many times so we wouldn’t be visiting any of the main tourist sites but mainly catching up with friends and family.
The best way to travel is by High Speed Rail as it is so much faster than driving from Taichung (50 minutes compared to 2 hours plus depending on traffic).
The HSR is very similar to the Japanese train system and much of the equipment was supplied by Japanese companies. The Japanese built much of Taiwan’s rail system although the HSR is a much more recent addition. It is worth travelling on the other trains in Taiwan and seeing some of the original stations and other parts of the country. We have done this before and I would highly recommend it, particular the trip through the mountains in the North East and around to the East Coast.
Like Japan, the HSR offers standard and business class with standard having reserved and non-reserved seats. There is a food and drink cart that comes through although there are plenty of food options at the stations too.
For this trip I decided to take business class. A standard reserved seat is TWD700 and business TWD1250 for this trip from Taichung to Taipei. They serve you a complimentary drink and snack in business and the seat is larger with a foot rest and a different design to the standard carriage. There is nothing wrong with the standard seats and I usually travel in standard.
The train was quite full with nearly all seats in business taken. Shortly after boarding the attendants came to offer a choice of drink (oolong tea, coffee, water, juice or soft drink) and a snack (savoury fish snack mix or sweet potato biscuit sticks). The sweet potato sticks were surpassingly good and went very well with my oolong tea. They offer free wifi on the train although this was somewhat impacted by the number of tunnels we went through. The drinks cart comes through regularly and you can ask for refills. There are also more substantial items for sale.
The HSR route is not particularly scenic but it is a very comfortable and efficient way to travel North to South in Taiwan.
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OZDUCK
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I can still remember the sound all the suitcases, including ours, used to make going up and down those streets.
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I am enjoying your trip report cdp88. I have visited Japan a few times, worked with them in several Joint Ventures, and golfed with them every month in China for a few years; I still maintain business and personal relationships today and yet I realise I still know very little about their culture.
Japan is a most fascinating country.
With thanks
Spruce
Japan is a most fascinating country.
With thanks
Spruce
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Thanks Spruce, I take pleasure in writing it and am glad others also enjoy it.
It’s been 4 years since I had a big trip so I wanted to capture the details.
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Stay at Tango Inn Jihe, Taipei
When in Taipei we usually stay at the UInn Business Hotel in Shihlin as it is very close to a relative living in Taipei, the rooms are spacious and they provide free breakfast. Unfortunately it was not available for our last minute booking so we tried the Tango Inn Jihe this time for 3 nights.
I booked this via Agoda as the hotel website didn’t have any availability. We booked a twin room for 3 nights for TWD 7800 during a busy weekend in Taipei.
This is a modern 3 star hotel which is very reasonably priced and conveniently located. If you take the MRT the station is across the road from the hotel and you’re close to a the Shihlin part of Taipei which has various restaurants and markets. The company has a more upscale hotel next door, the Tango, but this value offering was fine for our purposes.
Check in
This was very easy and a slightly earlier check in than the advertised time of 4pm was able to be facilitated.
Room
Our twin room was on the ground floor so we just walked across from the small reception through a passageway into the room. This was very convenient but it did mean we couldn’t open the blinds to the small window in the room as it opened onto the driveway of the adjoining hotel building.
This room was on the smaller side but made up for this with a good use of its space and had a small arm chair in the corner, desk and chair, a useable closet and decent sized bathroom. The room had the full set of toiletries in the bathroom as well as slippers (which I always appreciate). Bottled water was provided in the room and replenished daily.
There are larger rooms at this hotel which I would recommend if you were staying for longer or looking to spend more time in your room. In this part of town I do still prefer the Uinn Business Hotel.
That being said, the hotel had a 24 hour lounge behind reception which offered self serve tea/coffee and snacks which could make up a light meal should you wish. This room opened onto a courtyard and was a pleasant space to spend time in although it did get busy between 7-830am. It was advertised as being for breakfast with items put out at 7am but I saw them replenishing it throughout the day.
Activities in Taipei
We didn’t visit any of the main tourist sites on this trip as we have been many times before. We did head up to a fairly popular with the locals spot called Maokong in the hills outside Taipei. It is famous for its tea and there are many tea houses and restaurants where you can enjoy the view. The road up there was quite precarious and most people took the bus. There was also a cable car. While it was raining and misty you could see the clouds floating over the mountains.
When in Taipei we usually stay at the UInn Business Hotel in Shihlin as it is very close to a relative living in Taipei, the rooms are spacious and they provide free breakfast. Unfortunately it was not available for our last minute booking so we tried the Tango Inn Jihe this time for 3 nights.
I booked this via Agoda as the hotel website didn’t have any availability. We booked a twin room for 3 nights for TWD 7800 during a busy weekend in Taipei.
This is a modern 3 star hotel which is very reasonably priced and conveniently located. If you take the MRT the station is across the road from the hotel and you’re close to a the Shihlin part of Taipei which has various restaurants and markets. The company has a more upscale hotel next door, the Tango, but this value offering was fine for our purposes.
Check in
This was very easy and a slightly earlier check in than the advertised time of 4pm was able to be facilitated.
Room
Our twin room was on the ground floor so we just walked across from the small reception through a passageway into the room. This was very convenient but it did mean we couldn’t open the blinds to the small window in the room as it opened onto the driveway of the adjoining hotel building.
This room was on the smaller side but made up for this with a good use of its space and had a small arm chair in the corner, desk and chair, a useable closet and decent sized bathroom. The room had the full set of toiletries in the bathroom as well as slippers (which I always appreciate). Bottled water was provided in the room and replenished daily.
There are larger rooms at this hotel which I would recommend if you were staying for longer or looking to spend more time in your room. In this part of town I do still prefer the Uinn Business Hotel.
That being said, the hotel had a 24 hour lounge behind reception which offered self serve tea/coffee and snacks which could make up a light meal should you wish. This room opened onto a courtyard and was a pleasant space to spend time in although it did get busy between 7-830am. It was advertised as being for breakfast with items put out at 7am but I saw them replenishing it throughout the day.
Activities in Taipei
We didn’t visit any of the main tourist sites on this trip as we have been many times before. We did head up to a fairly popular with the locals spot called Maokong in the hills outside Taipei. It is famous for its tea and there are many tea houses and restaurants where you can enjoy the view. The road up there was quite precarious and most people took the bus. There was also a cable car. While it was raining and misty you could see the clouds floating over the mountains.
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jukebox333
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I was one of the many expat Aussies involved in building parts of that line. Spent 2003-4 in Tapei, working on the section under the city. Brilliant experience.
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That’s great.
It has certainly made a big difference when moving around the island. The additional of the MRT link between the HSR and TPE airport and city has been a further improvement.
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Well done; it is an often overlooked piece of (challenging) infrastructure. I have ridden the line from TPE to Tainan, which is very Shinkansenish. THSR was the first to introduce wifi on trains, I believe?
Unless you have been involved in the project, you wouldn't understand the very challenging Geotech challenges found in Taiwan.
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Absolute guaranteed to be delivered and you have ZERO worries about the security of your luggage. Its a fantastic cost effective system only viable because all the Japanese locals need it and always use it.
Well, “ZERO worries” notwithstanding, if you’re travelling from a ski area in the next few days, good luck.
It all works well until it doesn’t, such as when it snows a lot.
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