As my wife and I had to catch an early flight out of Haneda earlier this week, we decided to stay at a hotel near the airport. While the selection of hotels directly at the airport is limited, there is a decent selection in the surrounding areas about ten minutes away by train.
Of those, I decided to book Henn na Hotel Tokyo Haneda. Not only was the hotel, at less than 50 dollars for the night, one of the cheapest, but it also promised an interesting experience – being “strange” (Henn na Hotel means “strange/weird hotel” in Japanese).
Continue reading this review to find out what the stay was like.
Getting to the Hotel
Henn na Hotel Tokyo Haneda is, as its name suggests, located fairly close to the airport. More specifically, it is about a five-minute walk away from Keikyu Otorii station’s west exit. The station itself is easy to get to both from central Tokyo as well as from the airport which is less than ten minutes away.
In fact, considering the limited hotel shuttle bus schedule, taking a train is by far the most convenient way to get to the hotel. If you have a lot of luggage or your flight times happen to match with the shuttle bus schedule, though, the free hotel shuttle is definitely an option too.
You can check the shuttle bus schedule here.
Check-in and Lobby
True to the hotel’s name, the lobby is “strange.” After all, how often do you walk into a hotel and see a skeleton hanging from a tree? Or a couple of dinosaurs and an android behind the reception desk?
The check-in itself was very simple. On the reception desk, there was a tablet. After typing my name in, I was directed to a payment machine right next to the tablet where I finished the payment and, in turn, got a pair of keycards issued. A receipt with the room number was provided too.
The entire check-in process was, of course, accompanied by the relevant instructions presented by the android and dinosaurs.
In addition to the reception desk, the lobby area also included a luggage storage rack and scale as well as a tourist information machine and a money exchange machine near the entrance.
To the left of the reception desk, behind elevators leading into the rooms, there was a hallway with some capsule toy vending machines and crane games, a laundry room, and restrooms.
Besides coin-operated washing machines, the laundry room was also equipped with a drink vending machine. There was also a rack with manga books (all Japanese) in front of the room.
Lastly, to the right of the reception desk, there was a small lounge area with some seating, drink and snacks vending machines, and a microwave oven. Behind the lounge, essentially its extension, was the breakfast room. In the evening, it was closed off with curtains.
While we didn’t eat breakfast at the hotel, during non-pandemic times, the hotel offers a breakfast buffet with Western and Japanese items as well as Indian curry for 1,500 yen (about 15 dollars) per person. During the pandemic, a selection of these items is served as a set menu for the same price.
Guest Room (LG Styler Semi-Double)
The hotel offers a variety of room types including “theater” rooms equipped with projectors. We stayed in an “LG Styler Semi-Double” room for a bit less than 50 dollars for the night. Our room was located on the sixth floor and so, after picking up some additional amenities from the amenity bar (more on that later) next to the elevators, we headed upstairs.
Some of the things in the elevator, just like in the lobby, were dinosaur-themed.
The room itself was, as expected, very small. That said, considering the price and the fact that we just needed a simple place to stay at before an early morning flight, it was more than adequate.
On the left side, just past the entrance, there was a mirror and on the right side there was the bathroom.
The bathroom layout was similar to other Japanese hotels of this category with a toilet, a sink, and a bathtub packed into a small space. That said, the black wall behind the sink looked nicer than the simple all-white “design” of other such bathroom and the shower head was nicer too.
In addition to soap, shampoo, and rinse, a pair of toothbrushes was placed next to the sink. A selection of other amenities including shaving kits, hair brushes, hair bands, and so on was available in the amenity bar in the lobby.
The main part of the room was dominated by a comfortable semi-double bed. Above the bed, there was a nice black & white graphic depicting Kyoto’s Kiyomizu-dera.
One thing that I really liked about the bed, or more precisely about the bed’s panel, was that all of its parts – including the USB port, power outlet, and light switches were properly labeled. If all hotels did that, it would certainly save their guests the time spent figuring out which switch works with which light.
Across from the bed, along the left side of the room (looking from the entrance), there was a custom panel with a variety of features. It housed a coat rack, a safe, a fold-out table, a chair, and a TV (equipped with Chromecast). There were also a refrigerator, a pot, and a couple of cups. It even a dedicated space for the TV and AC remote controls.
It needs to be said here that Henn na Hotel definitely put a lot of thought into designing the panel and making the room functional in spite of it being very small. I was especially impressed with how the chair was designed to fit around the safe and by the remote control space which was not perfectly vertical so that the remote controls would be easy to see but wouldn’t fall over.
Two pairs of slippers could be found in the coat rack part of the panel too.
One last interesting thing about the room was that it was equipped with, as the room name suggests, LG Styler – a steam closet which is meant to remove wrinkles and clean clothing. While I didn’t try it, it was certainly one of the more unique things I have seen in hotel rooms.
The view from the room included the hotel’s other side and a couple of other buildings. In other words, nothing worth mentioning.
Henn na Hotel Tokyo Haneda Summary
If you are looking for a cheap place to stay before an early morning flight out of Tokyo Haneda airport then I can certainly recommend staying at Henn na Hotel. Not only is the hotel very cheap but the rooms, in spite of being small, are quite nice and very functional.
Being checked-in by a dinosaur is a nice added bonus which turns this hotel from just being a hotel to being a bit of a tourist attraction too!