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Japan Robot Hotel Chain Launches New Shinkansen Room
Do you like robots? Are you a Shinkansen fan? If so, then Japan’s Henn na Hotel in Kyoto may just have the perfect room for you.
One of Japan’s most…quirky hotel chains is always looking for ways to up the quirk factor. The latest move for Henn Na Hotel, Japan’s famous chain “run” by robots, is one that’s sure to please Japanese domestic and inbound tourist railway fans — particularly fans of the Shinkansen, Japan’s much-lauded bullet train service.
Henn Aa Hotel: A strange hotel chain indeed
Henn Na Hotel (Japanese: 変なホテル) was opened in 2015, with its first hotel in Nagasaki Prefecture’s city of Sasebo. The idea was hatched by Japanese travel group H.I.S., which continues to run the chain.
Since its humble trial run nine years ago, Henn na Hotel has expanded to 21 hotels as of 2021. Not surprisingly, most of these are in hot tourist areas in the Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara areas, with a few in other tourist spots like Kanazawa, Nagoya, Fukuoka, and even Sendai. The chain also has two international units: one in Seoul’s Myeondong district and one in New York City.
