HOTEL R9 The Yard Kurobe

Ok for a stopover, good attention to service, although on the outskirts, 2 supermarkets within 2 min walking.

Interesting experience. I had never slept in a truck trailer before. This hotel is actually a bunch of trailers parked in a parking lot next to KoKoKurobe, which is one of my favorite Japanese rest areas. For those not familiar with Japanese rest areas, one visit will have you writing to your governor to upgrade the rest areas in your state. This one has mounds of artificial snow and a snow slide for kids to play on, as well as a wading pool. Restaurants feature local specialty foods and there’s even a farmers market and a shop selling local crafts. This new hotel venture was clean, and comfortable once I figured out the Japanese instructions for operating the AC, and efficient. It’s a small trailer though, so probably best for solo travelers or a couple. There is no good way to get here on public transportation and it is pretty far from the Shinkansen station, so most people appeared to have arrived by car. Everyone I saw was Japanese, staff and tourists. You wouldn’t stay here during the day - go out and explore the Kurobe gorge, or visit the fish market. YKK zipper factory also has an interesting company museum and a play area for kids. Also worth visiting are the Underwater forest museum and the Firefly Squid museum, which are not too far away. And if you slept in a capsule hotel in Tokyo, you can now say that you slept in a trailer in Kurobe, for fun. And this hotel is much more comfortable than a capsule hotel. Not a lot of room to turn around, but a fun experience.