Tokyo hotel guarantees good night’s sleep or your money back, provides three hours of free booze

Will free drinks and a “theater room” have us sleeping deeply through the night?

No matter how much cool and exciting stuff there is to see on your Tokyo trip, eventually you’re going to need to get some sleep. So when a hotel offers a deal of “You get a good night’s sleep, or you get your money back,” it’s an offer we’re ready to take them up on.

That’s what brought us to the Super Hotel Tokyo Akabane Minamiguchi, located just a two-minute walk from the south exits (minamiguchi) of Akabane Station, a little outside the northern edge of downtown Tokyo. They advertise their good-sleep-or-money-back promise in a sign that stands right in front of the hotel entrance, and as further proof of their commitment to providing you with high-quality Zs, at check-in you’re presented with a wall of different pillow types, of various materials, heights, and firmness, to choose from, so that you can get the one that’s just right for you.

Also in the lobby’s amenities corner are pajamas, towels, hairbrushes, and shaving razors.

Instead of a key, you’re given a code for the numeric keypad that serves as your guestroom door lock. You also get a code for the hotel’s front door, which is locked between midnight and 7 a.m., so make sure you write it down or take a memo on your phone if you’re headed out for a late-night convenience store snack run.

Super Hotel’s focus is on comfort more than opulence, and while our room wasn’t fancy, it was clean and cozy. Our room in particular offered a little more floorspace than it usually would have by nature of not needing a TV stand, since it doesn’t have a TV. That doesn’t mean Super Hotel expected us to just sit and stare at the wall, though…well, actually, they sort of did since this room type, called the Theater Room…

…has a projector mounted on the ceiling.

Turning it on, you’re prompted to choose between Japanese, English, Chinese, simplified Chinese, or Korean language for the user interface, and after that you’re presented with a wealth of video streaming options.

You can also watch regular TV broadcasts this way, and since we’d checked in in the evening, there was a baseball game on. Stretched out in bed, with the image filling the wall, it felt like the next best thing to being at the stadium.

Of course, if we were at the stadium we could grab a drink from one of the vendors, but this problem was easily solved…

…since the Super Hotel Tokyo Akabane Minamiguchi has a “Welcome Bar” in the lobby from 6 to 9 p.m., where you can make yourself a drink. There are soft drink options, but our adult beverage-craving sensibilities were drawn to the free shochu, wine, and umeshu (plum wine).

This isn’t just a single welcome drink service, either, as you can pour yourself as many drinks as you want during that three-hour period, and even take them back to your room, as we did with our glass of umeshu.

Thoroughly de-stressed after some sporting entertainment and a drink, it was time to relax even further by hitting the hotel’s Japanese-style bath, which is open from 3 p.m. to 9:30 a.m. It’s located on the third floor, and you’ll know you’re in the right place when you see the bath murals drawn by local Akabane manga artist Toru Seino.

Down the hall from the bath is the self-service laundry corner, with washers and dryers, allowing you to change into your pajamas in your room, before dropping your laundry in the machine, heading into the bath, and then retrieving your washed clothes on your way back to your room.

Back in our room, still warm from the bath and buzzed from our drink, we drifted off into sleep, and awoke with Super Hotel’s promise off a good night’s sleep completely fulfilled.

Being wide awake and full of energy let us completely enjoy the breakfast buffet, which is served from 6:30 to 9 a.m. and featured organic vegetable salad, Koshihikari rice, fresh-baked bread, and a number of side dishes.

▼ The natto is organic too.

Since you settle your bill at check-in, all you have to do when leaving is place this magnetic placard on the outside of your room’s door.

Akabane might not be located right in the heart of the city, but the station’s excellent rail line access means that you’re less than 10 minutes by train away from the growing otaku neighborhood of Ikebukuro, 15 minutes from the always hustling and bustling Shinjuku district, and 17 minutes from Tokyo Station, and if you’re well-rested and energized from a delicious, healthy breakfast, you might have the time and energy to hit all three, or any other number of places in the city center, for a full day of fun.

Hotel information
Super Hotel Tokyo Akabane Minamiguchi / スーパーホテル東京・赤羽駅南口
Address: Tokyo-to, Kita-ku, Akabaneminami 1-9-1
東京都北区赤羽南1-9-1
Website

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