Throughout the course of a season we stay in many hotels as half of our games are away games (actually we probably stayed at hotels for more than half of the games this year as we had a lot of "home-away" games - games that were considered home games but were far away so we stayed in hotels).
Throughout our stays at these hotels I have seen some differences between the hotels here and the ones in the states.
The first thing I would have say is the vending machines. Sure they have the normal vending machines that you see all around Japan, with the hot and cold coffees and bottles of water but they also have vending machines for another kind of drink. Not all hotels have these, but many of them have beer vending machines. Now I cant be sure as I havent made a purchase at any of them but it doesnt look like there is a slot to put your ID or something to verify your age.
I think what this would be like in the U.S. I think if there were a hotel that had this kind of vending machine it would often times be empty. I think there would be a lot of under-agers that would book rooms at the hotel just to take advantage of the situation.
If your looking to make some money might be a good idea......or not.
Another type of vending machine is a cigarette vending machine. Again by the looks of it there is no where to put an ID to check the age.
Both of these vending machines are not just limited to hotels though, I have also seen them along some streets when I am riding my bike. And some of the ones that have beer also have sake (rice alcohol). So much for not being able to get alcohol past 12:00.
Another thing that is different in the hotels here is the way you order movies. In the states if order an in-room movie the cost is added to your bill and you see the change in price when you check out. Here they have little machines on each floor that dispense cards. Each card costs 1000 yen, or about $10, and it allows you to watch one movie. You bring the card back to your room and use it to rent a movie. You can rent a new release or something on the not-so-new-release-a-little-bit-on-the-naughtier side if you wish - and this way you don't have to feel embarrassed when you check out the next day as the hotel staff will be none the wiser.
One more thing about hotels here. I have never slept in one, but in some cities they have capsule hotels. These hotels are basically a capsule that you sleep in. When we were close to Tokyo last year we were told that these were for, at least frequently used, by the business men who missed the last train (which usually goes at about 12:00. Here in Japan, the way the culture is, you dont leave until your boss leaves. So, if your boss decides to stay late you do too).
Throughout our stays at these hotels I have seen some differences between the hotels here and the ones in the states.
The first thing I would have say is the vending machines. Sure they have the normal vending machines that you see all around Japan, with the hot and cold coffees and bottles of water but they also have vending machines for another kind of drink. Not all hotels have these, but many of them have beer vending machines. Now I cant be sure as I havent made a purchase at any of them but it doesnt look like there is a slot to put your ID or something to verify your age.
I think what this would be like in the U.S. I think if there were a hotel that had this kind of vending machine it would often times be empty. I think there would be a lot of under-agers that would book rooms at the hotel just to take advantage of the situation.
If your looking to make some money might be a good idea......or not.
Another type of vending machine is a cigarette vending machine. Again by the looks of it there is no where to put an ID to check the age.
Both of these vending machines are not just limited to hotels though, I have also seen them along some streets when I am riding my bike. And some of the ones that have beer also have sake (rice alcohol). So much for not being able to get alcohol past 12:00.
Another thing that is different in the hotels here is the way you order movies. In the states if order an in-room movie the cost is added to your bill and you see the change in price when you check out. Here they have little machines on each floor that dispense cards. Each card costs 1000 yen, or about $10, and it allows you to watch one movie. You bring the card back to your room and use it to rent a movie. You can rent a new release or something on the not-so-new-release-a-little-bit-on-the-naughtier side if you wish - and this way you don't have to feel embarrassed when you check out the next day as the hotel staff will be none the wiser.
One more thing about hotels here. I have never slept in one, but in some cities they have capsule hotels. These hotels are basically a capsule that you sleep in. When we were close to Tokyo last year we were told that these were for, at least frequently used, by the business men who missed the last train (which usually goes at about 12:00. Here in Japan, the way the culture is, you dont leave until your boss leaves. So, if your boss decides to stay late you do too).
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