Mimaru Hotels: Spacious, affordable family stays in Tokyo
On every family travel forum I scoured, one hotel brand kept popping up as highly recommended – Mimaru Hotels. This fast-growing apartment hotel chain has become a go-to for antipodean families. With 27 locations across Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, it's easy to see why: instead of squeezing into a tiny twin room, you get a proper apartment with a kitchen, dining table and laundry – perfect for families wanting comfort and flexibility without a luxe price tag. Even better, each Mimaru is within easy walking distance to train stations, convenience stores and pharmacies.
Mimaru Suites in Asakusa. Photo / Supplied
After two delayed flights, we finally arrived in Tokyo close to midnight, tired but congratulating ourselves for booking a car from the airport instead of navigating the trains at that hour. At Mimaru Suites Asakusa, a friendly staff member was waiting at the front desk to check us in, hand over slippers and toothbrushes, and guide us upstairs.
Stepping into our suite felt immediately comfortable. Instead of four of us lined up in a single room, we had two separate bedrooms with low beds that felt instantly Japanese and a lounge space with a proper sofa where we could actually stretch out. The apartment was spotless, the air-con was on and there was ample storage for our suitcases and souvenirs-in-the-making. There were two bathrooms – one with a deep bath for soaking away the last of the flight, both with showers.
Mimaru Suites in Asakusa. Photo / Supplied
Within minutes, the kids had claimed their beds and had fallen asleep. It felt like we'd discovered the ultimate Tokyo hotel, where the traditional family room – in which everyone has to go to bed at the same time – gets a very welcome Japanese upgrade.
Mimaru Suites in Asakusa. Photo / Supplied
Over the next four days, we explored the best of Tokyo from our Asakusa base, wandering Senso-ji Temple's bustling streets, grazing on street snacks and taking day trips to Shibuya's famous scramble crossing, Tokyo Skytree and TeamLab Borderless art museum. Each time, our apartment was an excellent home base, and on the mornings where we weren't in the mood for a traditional Japanese breakfast, we made bowls of porridge in our kitchen. When the kids needed a break from ramen and sushi, we cooked meals with produce from a local supermarket.
As for the area, Asakusa proved to be the perfect spot. Despite being so close to some of the city's busiest attractions, the neighbourhood itself feels like a slice of old Tokyo: tiny izakayas with red lanterns swaying out front, locals riding bikes and endless food options (like the iconic Age.3 which serves fried sandwiches filled with everything from chocolate cream and strawberries, to egg and fried noodles).
Age.3 fried ice cream sandwich in Asakusa. Photo / Lindy Alexander
Even after dark, the neighbourhood felt safe and welcoming, the kids trailing behind us as we wandered quiet backstreets, discovering late-night ramen joints. On our last night in Tokyo the owner of a tiny 10-seat restaurant we'd just had dinner at came running after us to generously give us her umbrella as it started to rain. As we walked back to our apartment, the four of us huddled under one umbrella, we felt like we'd really found a little corner of Tokyo we could call home.
A tiny 10-seater restaurant where the owner gave us her umbrella. Photo / Lindy Alexander
The writer was a guest of Mimaru Hotels.
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Otago Daily Times
a day ago
- Otago Daily Times
Forecasts for ash included
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When the Japanese language needed a new word to describe issues associated with these boom times, overtourism became the new "word of the year" in Japanese for 2024. While the Japanese government is ecstatic about the economic benefits for the country, regional Japan seems not so sure — a raft of tourist-induced issues, such as overcrowding and cases of "tourists behaving badly", not following Japanese cultural norms — have curbed the enthusiasm of some locals. Two-thirds of international visitor nights are spent along the golden lineup of Tokyo, Kyoto and Hiroshima, however, so there's still plenty of opportunity to get off the beaten path, away from the tourist hordes, and search out that "real Japan" — the parts of the country the vast majority of visitors have little idea is actually out there. Guidebooks I've been writing Lonely Planet guidebooks on Japan since 1998. 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These days, however, it's easy, thanks to GPS and multi-language car navigation systems. Japanese car rental companies are geared up to rent to non-Japanese-speaking visitors and rental car bookings can easily be made in English online before you go. A bed or a futon? My Japanese wife Yuriko and I are in Kagoshima at present, in the south of Japan's third-largest island, Kyushu. At the southern end of the country's shinkansen (bullet train) lines, Kagoshima is hardly off the beaten track, but it hosts significantly fewer visitors than the bigger and better-known cities up the line. From here, we're going to be island-hopping southwest by ferry to Okinawa, but there's plenty to see here before we go. We dropped in to visit Yuriko's former workmate, Michiyo, who now owns and runs a beautifully restored onsen ryokan (hot springs inn) at Kirishima Onsen, north of the city in the mountains. 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The old hotel in which we were staying on the southern coast of Sakurajima, Japan's most active volcano, swayed and rattled for around 20 seconds. Nothing to worry about, I thought; this building has survived worse. Back to sleep. Out at our rental car a few hours later, we found it covered in volcanic ash, a dirty greyish black colour, rather than its previously sparkling white. Turned out that Sakurajima had its 44th eruption of 2025 that morning at 3am. That's 44 eruptions before the end of the third month of the year! Sakurajima is an incredible sight, sitting out in Kagoshima Bay, only a few kilometres east of what feels like the very precarious city of Kagoshima, population 600,000. Not many cities in the world have an "ash forecast" in their daily weather reports. The local forecast is based on the amount of ash billowing up from Sakurajima, wind directions — easterlies are bad news for the city — and lets people know if it's safe for everyone to hang their washing outside to dry. In Kagoshima, locals take their umbrellas to work when easterlies and their accompanying ash are in the forecast. Trying to put this in perspective, imagine how our friends in Auckland would handle life if Rangitoto erupted on a near daily basis and regularly dropped ash on the city. The characters for Sakurajima mean "Cherry Island" and an island it was, until 1914, when a massive eruption spewed enough lava to connect the island to the mainland on the eastern side of the bay, the far side from the city. These days Sakurajima is a big drawcard for visitors and has kept the name meaning "cherry island", even if it isn't actually an island anymore. 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1News
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NZ Herald
6 days ago
- NZ Herald
Mimaru Hotels: Spacious, affordable family stays in Tokyo
We wanted self-contained accommodation in a neighbourhood that made exploring easy. That meant being close to a train line, so we weren't spending half our holiday trying to find subway stations, but also not so central that we'd be kept awake by neon and nightlife. Knowing how partial my kids are to snacks, we also wanted to be within walking distance of a good 'konbini' (convenience store). On every family travel forum I scoured, one hotel brand kept popping up as highly recommended – Mimaru Hotels. This fast-growing apartment hotel chain has become a go-to for antipodean families. With 27 locations across Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, it's easy to see why: instead of squeezing into a tiny twin room, you get a proper apartment with a kitchen, dining table and laundry – perfect for families wanting comfort and flexibility without a luxe price tag. Even better, each Mimaru is within easy walking distance to train stations, convenience stores and pharmacies. Mimaru Suites in Asakusa. Photo / Supplied After two delayed flights, we finally arrived in Tokyo close to midnight, tired but congratulating ourselves for booking a car from the airport instead of navigating the trains at that hour. At Mimaru Suites Asakusa, a friendly staff member was waiting at the front desk to check us in, hand over slippers and toothbrushes, and guide us upstairs. Stepping into our suite felt immediately comfortable. Instead of four of us lined up in a single room, we had two separate bedrooms with low beds that felt instantly Japanese and a lounge space with a proper sofa where we could actually stretch out. The apartment was spotless, the air-con was on and there was ample storage for our suitcases and souvenirs-in-the-making. There were two bathrooms – one with a deep bath for soaking away the last of the flight, both with showers. Mimaru Suites in Asakusa. Photo / Supplied Within minutes, the kids had claimed their beds and had fallen asleep. It felt like we'd discovered the ultimate Tokyo hotel, where the traditional family room – in which everyone has to go to bed at the same time – gets a very welcome Japanese upgrade. Mimaru Suites in Asakusa. Photo / Supplied Over the next four days, we explored the best of Tokyo from our Asakusa base, wandering Senso-ji Temple's bustling streets, grazing on street snacks and taking day trips to Shibuya's famous scramble crossing, Tokyo Skytree and TeamLab Borderless art museum. Each time, our apartment was an excellent home base, and on the mornings where we weren't in the mood for a traditional Japanese breakfast, we made bowls of porridge in our kitchen. When the kids needed a break from ramen and sushi, we cooked meals with produce from a local supermarket. As for the area, Asakusa proved to be the perfect spot. Despite being so close to some of the city's busiest attractions, the neighbourhood itself feels like a slice of old Tokyo: tiny izakayas with red lanterns swaying out front, locals riding bikes and endless food options (like the iconic Age.3 which serves fried sandwiches filled with everything from chocolate cream and strawberries, to egg and fried noodles). Age.3 fried ice cream sandwich in Asakusa. Photo / Lindy Alexander Even after dark, the neighbourhood felt safe and welcoming, the kids trailing behind us as we wandered quiet backstreets, discovering late-night ramen joints. On our last night in Tokyo the owner of a tiny 10-seat restaurant we'd just had dinner at came running after us to generously give us her umbrella as it started to rain. As we walked back to our apartment, the four of us huddled under one umbrella, we felt like we'd really found a little corner of Tokyo we could call home. A tiny 10-seater restaurant where the owner gave us her umbrella. Photo / Lindy Alexander The writer was a guest of Mimaru Hotels.
