HOTEL R9 The Yard Ube

なかなか良かった

I stayed here for a couple weeks while attending to some family business in Yamaguchi. It's a great deal for a low price. The room was tiny but very clean. These are obviously recently constructed. It has all the basic amenities you need for daily life. The A/C unit cools the little room down quickly. Good-sized TV to practice your Japanese watching local stations. The bathroom and shower are tiny for a giant foreigner like me, but that's par for the course when you get a small, cheap place like this in Japan. It's nice to have a private bathroom, small though it may be. The mini-fridge and microwave let you shop at the grocery store and eat in to keep your budget down. An unexpected bonus was that you get a complimentary "light meal" for each day you stay. Essentially, these are like frozen TV dinners, and you get to pick one every day. They are quite good for what they are. And honestly, I was trying to lose weight so on many days I just had one of these in the morning and drank only water the rest of the day. I actually lost quite a few pounds this way, and it saved me a bunch of money on food! The on-site laundry machines are great and conveniently nearby, although rather expensive considering how cheap everything else is. The staff is very nice and polite. They seemed to provide good English support (translated text on the washing machines, for example), although I stuck to Japanese for the sake of practice. Just be careful of the check-in time, because the staff goes home after the 10pm check-in deadline, and if you miss this you will probably not be able to get your room. As always in Japan, there are a lot of fussy little rules. But be a good guest in their country and do your best to follow the rules, be polite, and keep things clean. And this can be a great affordable home base for you in Ube as you explore the Yamaguchi area. I also realized that these container rooms are probably the safest possible hotel you could be in in the case of an earthquake, lol!