Latest news with #ToyokoInn
The Independent
5 days ago
- The Independent
Japanese hotel offers adorable service to attract Gen Z travellers
A Japanese hotel, Toyoko Inn Osaka Dome Mae, is trialling a unique service for travellers' stuffed toys. For an additional 300 yen ("1.50), guests can rent a mini bed and tiny bathrobe for their plush companions. This initiative caters to the "Nuikatsu" social media trend, where people travel with their stuffed toys. The hotel aims to attract Gen Z travellers and encourages guests to share their experience on social media using a specific hashtag for a gift. The service is a rental, requiring the items to be returned upon checkout.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Japanese hotel offers toys their own beds, but it will cost you
A Japanese hotel is offering travellers tiny beds and pyjamas to tuck in their stuffed toy roommates. The teddy bear beds are currently being trialled at the Toyoko Inn Osaka Dome Mae for an additional fee of 300 yen (£1.50). Nuikatsu or 'living with stuffed toys' is a social media trend that sees people travel to events with their nuigurumi plush toys. #推し活なら東横インぬいとお泊まり — 𝕡𝕚𝕟𝕜 (@pinkiro83765) July 15, 2025 A hotel representative for Toyoko Inn told J-Cast News he hoped the service would be popular with Gen Z travellers, reported The Times. According to the Toyoko Inn website, the sleepover plan includes 'a special overnight set for your Oshi merch — like plushies or acrylic stands — complete with a mini bed and tiny bathrobe'. Travellers are also encouraged to post a photo or video of their stay on TikTok, X, or Instagram with the hashtag #推し活なら東横イン (Toyoko Inn is the place to go for your favourite idols) to receive a small gift. The overnight set is available as a rental and has to be returned to the hotel on checkout. 1セット300円でレンタルできるんですよー。#推し活なら東横イン #ロボホンはギリギリ寝れる#ガウンのサイズは2種類#どちらもロボホンは着られなかった#あみホンのZEROクン#ぬいホンのOCEANクン#2人が添い寝できます — れおクレ＆rb (@RE_RBHN) July 5, 2025 Recently, a Chinese hotel was ordered to end its unusual wake-up call service that involves red pandas climbing onto guests' beds after concerns for safety and animal rights. Lehe Ledu Liangjiang Holiday Hotel, a popular family resort in Chongqing, has been called on by the local forestry bureau to stop one of its most popular services. Many guests are attracted to the hotel solely for its red panda wake-up experience. The service involves bringing one of the hotel's red pandas up to a guest's bedroom in the morning, allowing the panda to roam freely around the room and climb onto the bed. Despite the popularity of the service, the Chongqing Forestry Bureau has reportedly asked the hotel to immediately cease all close contact activities between the pandas and visitors.
The Independent
5 days ago
- The Independent
Japanese hotel offers toys their own beds, but it will cost you
A Japanese hotel is offering travellers tiny beds and pyjamas to tuck in their stuffed toy roommates. The teddy bear beds are currently being trialled at the Toyoko Inn Osaka Dome Mae for an additional fee of 300 yen (£1.50). Nuikatsu or 'living with stuffed toys ' is a social media trend that sees people travel to events with their nuigurumi plush toys. A hotel representative for Toyoko Inn told J-Cast News he hoped the service would be popular with Gen Z travellers, reported The Times. According to the Toyoko Inn website, the sleepover plan includes 'a special overnight set for your Oshi merch — like plushies or acrylic stands — complete with a mini bed and tiny bathrobe'. Travellers are also encouraged to post a photo or video of their stay on TikTok, X, or Instagram with the hashtag #推し活なら東横イン (Toyoko Inn is the place to go for your favourite idols) to receive a small gift. The overnight set is available as a rental and has to be returned to the hotel on checkout. Recently, a Chinese hotel was ordered to end its unusual wake-up call service that involves red pandas climbing onto guests' beds after concerns for safety and animal rights. Lehe Ledu Liangjiang Holiday Hotel, a popular family resort in Chongqing, has been called on by the local forestry bureau to stop one of its most popular services. Many guests are attracted to the hotel solely for its red panda wake-up experience. The service involves bringing one of the hotel's red pandas up to a guest's bedroom in the morning, allowing the panda to roam freely around the room and climb onto the bed. Despite the popularity of the service, the Chongqing Forestry Bureau has reportedly asked the hotel to immediately cease all close contact activities between the pandas and visitors.
Times
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Times
Cuddly toys get their own beds at Japanese hotel
In Japan, even adults treat their stuffed animals to trips, dinner dates and visits to museums. Now a hotel in Osaka is letting people give their nuigurumi a good night's rest after a busy day out. Nui-katsu — 'doing things with stuffed animals' — has become increasingly popular, especially on social media where people share pictures of their favourite soft toys at events such as Expo 2025 in Osaka. Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. The hotel chain Toyoko Inn is hoping to cater for the the trend by offering mini-beds, complete with bedclothes and tiny pyjamas, so the toys can sleep beside their owners for an extra 300 yen (£1.50). A hotel representative, who led the project, told the J-Cast News website that he often travelled with a stuffed animal, and hoped the service would appeal to Gen Z travellers. 'I thought that if Toyoko Inn has a plan where you can stay with your dog, we should be able to offer something similar for stuffed animals,' he said. 'We've kept it to the bare minimum so that stuffed animals can stay with peace of mind at a stable price, just like at Toyoko Inn, and created this set with the idea of a sleepover together in mind.' Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. The service has been introduced as a trial at the Toyoko Inn Osaka Dome, and has exceeded expectations. The representative said the company was seeking to expand the project. The response online has been overwhelmingly positive. The hotel's website encourages guests to take photographs of their toys, and offers a small gift if they show a social media post with the hashtag #ForYourOshiActivityToyokoInn at the front desk. Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. 'What a cute and perfectly sized bed!! Getting ready in pyjamas too,' one guest wrote on X under a post showing a stuffed horse and a unicorn sharing the small bed. Another wrote: 'It was just the right size and absolutely adorable. The stuffies are sleeping soundly in dreamland.'
CNA
21-06-2025
- Business
- CNA
Gaia Series 91: Business Hotel Wars - Assassins from different industries
From heritage sweets to hospitality success, local disruptors and industry titans wage a stylish, sauna-filled war in Japan's fiercely competitive business hotel arena. In the ever-shifting landscape of Japan's hospitality industry, where bullet train stops double as commercial goldmines, a new breed of business hotels is rewriting the rules of the game. This week's episode of Japan Hour delves into the high-stakes battlegrounds of Takasaki and Sapporo, chronicling how independent players and retail giants are taking on established titans like APA Hotel, Toyoko Inn and Marriott with flair, resilience and a distinct local touch. In Takasaki, a pivotal hub in Northern Kanto, the space directly in front of the train station is ground zero for a clash of hospitality heavyweights. Here, APA Hotel and Toyoko Inn stare each other down, while Dormy Inn, a favourite for customer satisfaction, quietly builds its own loyal base. Amidst these giants stands a surprising victor: Coco Grand Takasaki, a business hotel that has managed to surpass its heavyweight rivals in both prestige and popularity. Guest reviews are effusive. 'This hotel might match Dormy Inn or even be slightly better,' one customer says. With room rates starting at ¥14,000 (S$120), Coco Grand offers more than just a place to sleep. Guests flock not just for rest, but for rejuvenation. The in-house sauna, about twice the size of typical hotel offerings, is a major draw. Lavish rooms, an open-air bath and even a mini pool lend the hotel an indulgent atmosphere, crafted with intention. That intention is no accident. Behind Coco Grand's design is architect Yoshihiro Kuwahara, known for his bold work in a vastly different category: The 'love hotel'. He applied the same principles to Coco Grand, aiming to create 'dreamy spaces that let guests forget their daily lives.' As he puts it, 'If you create something like that, they'll turn up. And they'll come back again.' Adding to the intrigue is the hotel's backstory. Its parent company, Kimoto Seika, began life not in hospitality, but in confectionery. Known for its Western-style sweets and a legacy spanning over seven decades, the company pivoted into the hotel business in 2008 with the hope of reviving Takasaki. 'Running a hotel has also unexpectedly improved staff perks,' says Director Takamaru Kimoto, noting that even their factory's break room features furniture of hotel quality. However, success is never static. APA Hotel is planning to erect a new facility mere steps away. As major chains prepare their counterattacks, the competition intensifies and Takasaki's quiet disruptor will once again have to defend its crown. If Takasaki is a turf war, then Sapporo is a seismic shift. Here, the story follows Belluna, Japan's largest mail-order company, and its audacious leap into hospitality. Known for its catalogue empire targeting women in their 60s and 70s, Belluna's pivot into hotels is part of a larger survival strategy amidst rising printing and paper costs. President Kiyoshi Yasuno, 80, is no stranger to disruption. With more than 3,800 employees and ¥208 billion in annual sales, his decision to invest ¥10 billion in building a towering 26-storey, 605-room hotel in Sapporo speaks volumes. 'Every product has the right timing to sell,' he says, a philosophy that now applies to room bookings rather than blouses. The hotel's new manager, 34-year-old Kazuki Okamura, is thrust into a whirlwind of pressure and expectations. 'There were times I thought I might not be able to fulfil what was entrusted to me,' he admits candidly. But deliver he does, even when the hotel's opening is abruptly brought forward by more than a month. Short on towels, linen and staff, Okamura hand-delivers pleas for early delivery and helps lug mattresses himself. His perseverance pays off. On March 1, the SAPPORO HOTEL by GRANBELL opens, with room rates starting at ¥16,000. Guests are immediately captivated. The panoramic views from the grand bath, the semi-open-air hot spring, and an opulent breakfast buffet featuring 75 dishes, including an all-you-can-eat seafood bowl, become instant hits. One diner calls it 'a jewel box', while another proclaims, 'Freshly made omelettes are the best.' The food strategy, combining local flavours with operational pragmatism, is ingenious. By outsourcing fish and meat prep, the team offers variety without overwhelming staff. The hotel's live kitchen adds a dose of spectacle, turning breakfast into an event. 'We want to offer as many dishes as possible,' Okamura says, 'but we're short of staff.' Despite the odds, Belluna's gamble is paying off. Bookings pour in at twice the expected rate, buoyed by inbound tourism and school holidays. President Yasuno's gamble to leap from mail-order to morning omelettes is starting to look like a masterstroke. As the episode closes, viewers are left with a clear message: in Japan's business hotel wars, it is not just about rates or location. It is about imagination, resilience and knowing exactly what your guests did not realise they needed.
