Living in Hotels: Five Things I Love About It

Hi! It's Yoko.

Since around this spring, I've stopped renting an apartment and started living in hotels.

Friends often ask, "What's living in hotels like?" and "Isn't it expensive?"

So I put together the real perks of living in hotels.

Living in Hotels Costs Less Than You'd Think

"Wait, aren't hotels expensive...?"
That's what I thought at first, but it turns out it's not so bad!

So far I've traveled to 17 countries and 25 prefectures in Japan, enjoying unfamiliar places and delicious local food.

When you rent, you keep paying rent and utilities even while you're away traveling, which feels wasteful, but with a hotel you don't have that worry.

Let's compare it with the cost of living alone in Tokyo.

Monthly Cost of Living in Hotels

Some hotel chains offer monthly plans.

For example, Super Hotel's 30-night plan starts at ¥120,000.

And that includes a buffet breakfast!!

Monthly Cost of Renting

I looked up the average cost of living alone using statistics from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, and it also came to about ¥120,000.

The breakdown is as follows.

Utilities: ¥10,752
*Average monthly utility cost for working single-person households, from the Statistics Bureau's Family Income and Expenditure Survey (fiscal 2020)

Food: ¥40,331
*Average food cost for single-person households, from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications' fiscal 2019 Family Income and Expenditure Survey

Rent: ¥69,583
*Average one-room rent in Shinjuku, Bunkyo, Taito, Sumida, Meguro, Ota, Setagaya, Nakano, Suginami, Nerima, Katsushika and Edogawa wards, per CHINTAI as of April 28, 2021

Upkeep for renting: about ¥5,000
*It's a small detail, but I roughly averaged things like daily necessities and the renewal fee every two years into a monthly figure

Living alone in Tokyo is expensive, isn't it...

My Actual Hotel Living Costs

For example, in September I spent about ¥130,000 on hotels alone!
Plus ¥15,000 for things like storage space.

Wait... isn't that expensive after all...?

Right, that month I got a little carried away and stayed a few times at hotels costing over ¥10,000.

Still, more than half of the nights included breakfast.

I only eat once or twice a day, so I save on food costs.

And since I pay for everything by credit card, part of it comes back as points.
Some hotels also have their own cashback programs.

So when you factor all that in, it comes to about ¥120,000! (A bit of a stretch? lol)

No Cleaning or Laundry

This might be the biggest perk of living in hotels.

How often do you clean and do laundry?

I'm shedding all year round, so when I rented I needed the Quickle Wiper every three days.

I'm also the type who doesn't like doing dishes after meals because it makes my hands rough.

When you live in hotels, you're completely freed from cleaning and laundry!!

Not many people know this, but hotels are told by the public health center to clean at least once every three days, so even on a long-stay plan you don't have to clean, which is so easy.

Eat Your Way Through Different Towns

This may be a perk based on personal taste.

My number one hobby is eating delicious food. I want to try all kinds of dishes from all kinds of places, so I rarely repeat the same restaurant (except ones I truly love).

To discover restaurants, spending a long time in a place is efficient, and you can find deep local spots too.

Recently I was staying in Yokohama, so my days were spent enjoying Chinese restaurants and yoshoku (Western-style Japanese) places there!

Enjoy Different Hotels and Rooms

You get to enjoy each hotel's personality.

Even at the same ¥5,000 a night, there are rooms with high ceilings, rooms with big windows, hotels with breakfast, with a gym, with a hot spring, with a big bed or a choice of pillows...
Every hotel has its own character, so you never get bored.

Without buying any furniture yourself, you can experience all kinds of interiors, and it's fun to gradually figure out your own taste too.

Live a Regular Life

When I rented, some days I felt tired for no reason and the day was over before I knew it...
but since I started living in hotels, I've been living a healthier life!

How did my life change between hotel living and renting?
Let me compare.

How I Spent My Time Renting

You can eat whenever you like, and you're surrounded by temptations within arm's reach: books, games, snacks.

Unless you make plans yourself, you can stay shut inside all day.

When you rent, for better or worse, you can get by no matter how little you go out.
Keeping the curtains closed all the time is bad for your mind and body, and if you never see anyone and keep gaining weight, there's a risk of becoming socially awkward and unhealthy.

How I Spend My Time Living in Hotels

In a hotel, breakfast hours and public bath hours are fixed, so you naturally get into the habit of waking up in the morning.

And on days I move hotels, I have to go out at checkout. Obviously. lol
There are about four hours until the next check-in, so I use that time to have lunch or work.

Also, the trip between hotels counts as exercise!
Even if my luggage is heavy, I just think of it as strength training.

Even a total homebody staying several nights at the same hotel can't stock up on groceries because the fridge is small.
You have to go out regularly to buy food, or even if you order Uber Eats, you still have to step outside.

On top of that, housekeeping comes once every three or four days, so you absolutely have to leave your room. lol

In other words, just by living in hotels, you get an environment where you can't stay shut in.

The Five Perks, Summed Up

So those were five perks of living in hotels.

What do you think? Pretty doable, right?

Living in hotels is perfect for people who think, "I'm passive by nature, but I want to improve my environment!" or "I want to live healthily in body and mind!"

At the very least, it's more effective than reading a self-help book. lol

If you're curious, I recommend giving hotel living a try!

See you next time!