Last year, I was scouring the internet for good hotels in Osaka and Kyoto for my three-night trip. Well, both cities are short of international chain hotels, and their rates can be quite pricey, so my choices were mostly local chain and independent properties with Japanese-style rooms. Personally, I’ve no problem with these compact rooms, as I travel to Japan frequently on my own, but I always come to realize that when I’d be traveling with someone or my family, these obviously wouldn’t do.
Thankfully, I was sent information about Karaksa Hotel that currently has one property each in Osaka-Shinsaibashi and Kyoto, and I was able to learn more about it.
Reading about the hotels, I learned that Karaksa Hotel has a sales and marketing partnership with Robinsons Land Corportation, which is behind budget chain Go Hotels here in the Philippines.
Karaksa Hotel shares the same DNA as Go Hotels, and it does primarily target Filipinos and other Southeast Asian travelers. Hence, its style and its rooms can be expected to be more Western than Japanese.
Rooms measure at a range of 16-21 square meters, which, trust me, is spacious by Japanese standards. And they come appointed with the basics—a comfy-looking bed with storage under it, a flat-screen TV, a mini fridge, hair dryer, toiletries, and for a Japanese touch, pajamas and slippers. From what I saw and read, the rooms look like a marginally upmarket version of Go Hotels rooms, so I’m pretty sure I’d like them.
As I mentioned, the hotels target Filipinos, so they have Filipino receptionists in their employ, and the rooms have The Filipino Channel (TFC) in the rooms, which got me pretty darn excited.
What’s more is that the hotels can accommodate families in a triple room (Osaka-Shinsaibashi only) or in adjoining twin rooms.
Regarding prices, I did a mock booking for October 2017, and I was able to see early bird rates go for as low as 6800 JPY (~3100 PHP) including breakfast for the Osaka-Shinsaibashi branch, which represents incredible value.
And so I believe I’ve a place to stay the next time I’m in Osaka and Kyoto.
For more information on Karaksa Hotel and for bookings, visit www.gohotels.ph/gohotels-now-in-japan.
