Sapporo Accommodation: Grids Sapporo Hotel + Hostel

I flew in to New Chitose Airport and made Sapporo my base (taking the shinkansen from Tokyo with a transfer to a limited express train at Hakodate is possible, but would take a total of eight hours), staying in Grids Sapporo Hotel + Hostel for a total of six nights (the other two nights were spent in the city of Asahikawa, some 140 km northeast of Sapporo).

For my one week stay in Hokkaido, I opted to buy a Hokkaido Rail Pass and travel to other towns and cities daily. With the daily commute utilizing JR Lines, it would have been ideal to stay near JR Sapporo Station, but Grids Sapporo Hotel + Hostel, though a 20-minute walk from JR Sapporo Station, won me over for the following reasons:

• the dorm (one floor for Mixed Dorm, one floor for Female Dorm; 3150 to 4500 yen per night) has spacious capsules (30 capsule spaces for each dorm). The capsule was like my own small room with an outlet (USB and regular power), lamp, coat hook and towel rack, shoe box, safety box, space inside the capsule for a cabin-sized luggage (for large luggage, there is a common luggage area in the dorm), and a curtain for privacy. The only downside I can think of is that when you arrive, you still have to make your own bed, which sucks if you arrive after a long flight and just want to wash up and then crash in bed. (Private single/double/triple/quad rooms are also available.)

Mixed Dorm (Photo from Grids Sapporo Hotel + Hostel)

Photo from Grids Sapporo Hotel + Hostel

• the dorm shares a number of shower rooms (soap and shampoo provided) and toilets on the same floor. If all shower rooms are in use, there are three more in the reception area on the second floor. 
• towel is provided and a change of towel is allowed for free for stays of more than three consecutive days (otherwise, it's a 200 yen fee per towel change)
• breakfast is available for 500 yen (must pay and inform reception a day in advance) and served between 7am to 10am

Breakfast

• washing machines and dryers (two each) are available for a fee (200 yen for washing machine, 100 yen for detergent, 100 yen per 30 minutes for dryer)
• luggage storage is available (they kept my luggage for me for the two days I was out of town)
• the hotel can be accessed by elevator up to the 7th floor (the hotel/hostel occupies floors 2 to 8)
• the hotel is accessible by subway: 4-minute walk from Susukino Subway Station; 6-minute walk from Odori Subway Station
• Tanukikoji Streetcar stop is just a hop and a skip away
• bus stop for the airport is just around the corner
• being located in Tanukikoji shopping street, food was not a problem (it was surrounded by restaurants!)

Early morning quiet at Tanukikoji Shopping Street

• the hotel is less than a 10-minute walk to places I had planned to visit:
• 300 meters to Odori Park
• 500 meters to Ganso Ramen Yokocho
• 800 meters to Sapporo Clock Tower

Odori Park and Sapporo TV Tower

Ganso Ramen Yokocho

Sapporo Clock Tower (Photo from Hokkaido Guide)

Grids Sapporo Hotel + Hostel
Chuo-ku, Minami 3jo Nishi 5 chome 32, Sapporo
+81 11 252 7415
Book Grids Sapporo Hotel + Hostel through booking.com




Japanese Summer 2018
Hokkaido: Sapporo Accommodation: Grids Sapporo Hotel + Hostel (you're here!)
See Sapporo: Parks, Towers, Streets
Otaru on Foot
Asahikawa Accommodation: Asahikawa Ride
Beautiful Nature in Biei Town
Lavender Fields in Nakafurano
Daisetsuzan National Park: A Short Hike in Asahidake
Shikotsu-Toya National Park: Hiking Thru Hell in Noboribetsu
Six Short Hours in Hakodate
Shikotsu-Toya National Park: Walking Through Abandoned Places in Toya
Hokkaido Rail Pass

Sawara Town
Narita Accommodation: Narita Sando Guesthouse

Itinerary and Expenses: 9D/9N Hokkaido and Sawara Town

Wisdom from the Road #68

On transportation #2

When in Manila, thank heavens for GrabCar
(and Uber, when it was still alive).

I have always dreaded going to Manila because of taxi drivers who take advantage of people who are clearly not from there by overcharging them. On my most recent trip to Manila, when my buddy had to abandon me post-haste, it was either lock myself in the airbnb or brave the jungles of Manila by myself. Thanks to GrabCar and being able to easily book one (I have always had a difficult time booking one in Cebu), I did not have to worry about opportunistic taxi drivers. I could breathe easy knowing how much I would have to pay for the ride (the amount is shown on the app before booking the ride), and knowing that I will be taken to my destination in one piece (what with all the horrors involving taxis that have popped up on my fb feed).

PS I am clearly not from Manila because of my accent when I speak Tagalog. Hehehe. So if you're Tagalog and you speak to me, don't be offended if I answer you in English or take a long time to answer you in Tagalog—my brain is still trying to convert words to Tagalog.

What's in a (Business) Name? Setenta y siete

Dirty Harry's pet's salon.

Spotted in Rizal Avenue, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan.

For more amusing business names, please visit Go Random.