Yokohama Japan.

Bostonphil, I have been eagerly waiting for your first message from Japan! Hope you have a wonderful cruise!

So you have been introduced to Japanese business hotels. Since you found it lacking, you might consider booking an an American chain in future. It is obvious from their website that their main clientele are Japanese, so I'm not surprised at the lack of English language TV channels. The booking.com reviews seemed to consistently mention the smallness of the rooms, so no surprise there. And with 2300 rooms, I doubt any hotel of that size would claim to have a swimming pool large enough to accommodate everyone at once. But I am glad that you experienced the on-site Onsen (I assume that was what you meant). They are wonderfully relaxing and rejuvenating when you are tired.

Re Netflix - perhaps you missed the information that the TV was capable of mirroring from your phone or tablet. If you had Netflix on those, you could have watched on the TV.

Personally, I prefer to stay at Japanese business hotels as they can be a great value, assuming you are comfortable with small rooms and lack of English speaking staff. For example, this past summer, I stayed at the Toyoko Inn near Okayama station in Western Honshu - short walk to the trains, breakfast included in the cost and a clean (though small room) for US$58 a night. Hard to beat that for value.

The JR hotels are a definite step up from typical business hotels and I occasionally stay in those but have developed an affinity for business hotels as they are a great value and, if you are lucky, you run into some English speaking Japanese at breakfast for a nice conversation. Mitsui Garden Hotels are also nice and usually have English speaking staff though more expensive than business hotels.

I believe October 1st is National Day in China and Japan is experience a big influx of tourists taking advantage of the extended holiday. So much so that news sites have commented on it with interviews of the visitors as to why they are in Japan. Which turns out to be no surprise - safe, clean, easy to get around and great shopping and eating. Seems like every other trip I take falls on some sort of a holiday and the hotels can get really crowded.

Some of the business hotels give their staff hand held translation devices - they speak into and show you the text in English (and I expect other languages if necessary). It seems to me outside of the major tourist axis - Tokyo - Kyoto - Hiroshima and nearby, that English is not all that common. I personally use Google Translate on my phone, typing in phrases and holding up the Japanese translation for the person to see. Seems to work well for me at least.

Looking forward to more trip reporting.

Thank you all

I am packing up. My cruise begins tomorrow

I had written a long response but lost it and I can not begin again. It will have to wait

We learn by traveling APA is nice but it does not cater to the leisure traveler if I were to return, I would stay at a smaller hotel that does not offer conference services.

I enjoyed walking around Yokohama today. I visited a beautiful park I can not recall the name but it might be Yashimata. I think I am close. But I do not want to look it up for fear that I will lose what I have written.

And I walked to Chinatown but it was so crowded that I did not enter.

When I return home, I hope to write more in detail

And I hope to respond more to forum members in detail. After returning home.

I am afraid to write too much for fear that I will lose it again. Better to write just a little.

I was trying to explain in detail what happened when I tried to check in

It is self checkiin and I could jot find my reservation. Either could staff. I had to prove that I had a reservation.

Eventually we found it but my CC denied payment. Fortunately I had a second CC which did pay

I had to call Citi fraud dept which cost me 7 cents a minute but the number was direct and someone picked up immediately. No voice mail and the rep had good English

I had reported travel

It was cleared up and the card has worked fine since.

Always have two or more cards

Guests at APA are responsible for making their own taxi cab arrangements. I tried to download the GO App but had difficulties. Had to go down in the lobby for help and a staff member who spoke good English helped me In total it took me about 4 hours to download the app and make a reservation. I was in the lobby from about 2 to 5 am that is am,not a typo

But I have a reservation for tomorrow morning.

Another member of staff wrote out the name of the cruise terminal in Japanese for me to give to taxi driver if I need to

There is a taxi stand right outside the hotel front door if my taxi does not show up.

Some responses to members

My hotel does have a 90 minute limit for breakfast ….

And staff do have devices that I can talk to which will translate to Japanese.

So I am going to go on a 14 day, 12 port cruise. I hope to write a little here and there as I go along.

It will be more in depth after I get home.

I have met so many nice and kind people

People have walked me places. It rained some today. I had an umbrella with me but did not use it. I was enjoying the wetness .A beautiful Japanese lady in kimona came up to me and asked me if I needed an umbrella

Hotel is across from World Porters which is a mall with many inside stalls a real fun place, got a coin purse for a friend.

I have seen and heard birds especially gulls but have not seen any ducks at all. Was expecting ducks and other water fowl

Well good night for now. I will return.

Discover hotel has 35/floors, e not 25. Is a great landmark for when i was walking around.

Back to the tourist bus which was a Ho Ho

We went to the Yamate area which I may have spelled wrong. It was so beautiful. Very hilly like San Francisco there was a truly beautiful park we went by . I am actually not certain what it was. Many persons were going to this beautiful space. I could have gotten off the bus but was too tired.

Possible that park area may have been the Yamate Museum. After reading about it, I am so sorry that I missed it.

I know that someone on forum can better describe this are than myself but it was the area that was once restricted, to be used by foreigners. I did see some signs in English.

The tourist bus cost 900 yen. You could use it for both the red line or the blue line. It was good for 24 hours and I think that I was also told it was good for public transportation

You have to buy it at Visitor Information and it is outside a Sakuragicho Station.

But In order to use it on the Blue Line, you have to go to Yokohama Station.

Tourist bus is wonderful if you have the time.

At station is also a supermarket. And a Burger King. I ate at the Burger King and so enjoyed it.