A guest room packed to the brim with a passion for sleep. The bed features a custom-developed, original mattress. Even just the area around the front desk was full of surprises, but since “the guest room is where you actually sleep!” I decided to check out the room as well. When I stepped into the single room where I’d be staying, I noticed the words “Please take off your shoes and sleep soundly. Have a good sleep” written at the foot of the entrance. Whenever I’d stayed at Super Hotel in the past, I’d thought, “That’s quite a polite welcome,” but now I realized this was another example of their genuine commitment to ensuring a sound night’s sleep. When sleeping at a hotel, “noise” is definitely a major concern. Super Hotel reportedly takes a wide range of measures to address this. First, the entrance door is fitted with an airtight rubber seal to eliminate gaps, preventing noise from seeping in from the hallway. They’ve also addressed outside noise, with double-paned windows that provide excellent soundproofing. Another thing that’s surprisingly noticeable is the noise from the refrigerator. While some hotels let you turn the power on and off, there are times when you want to keep drinks chilled overnight, right? Super Hotel uses quiet refrigerators, so even when they’re running, you hardly notice them. The windows also have blackout curtains; when you draw them, the room becomes literally pitch black. I felt that this would allow me to get a good night’s sleep without being disturbed by outside light. Now that I understood the room’s excellent soundproofing and light-blocking capabilities, it was time to check out the bed—the most important part. Surprisingly, even though it’s a single room, the bed is quite large! It’s supposedly equivalent to a semi-double size, but it felt even bigger than the semi-double bed I use at home. According to the official website, they’ve adopted wide beds measuring 140–150 cm in width to allow guests to turn over comfortably. Furthermore, this bed was developed exclusively by Super Hotel. It features a mattress designed to minimize physical strain, and when I actually lay down on it, it felt neither too hard nor too soft—it comfortably conformed to the shape of my body. Beyond that, I could sense a commitment to sleep and relaxation down to the finest details—from the diatomaceous earth on the ceiling that regulates humidity, to the availability of “health ion water” with health-maintaining and relaxing effects, to the “Hinoki Aroma Room Spray” with the scent of hinoki cypress provided in the room. I’ve heard that Super Hotel is also conducting joint research on sleep with Dr. Norihisa Shimizu, a professor emeritus at Osaka Prefecture University and a Doctor of Medicine. It has reportedly been proven that by applying the actual research results from Dr. Shimizu, guests can experience the deepest stage of sleep, “Stage 4.” I felt that the fact this is backed by concrete data—rather than just a vague sense of “I slept soundly”—is a key factor in the hotel’s credibility.
I soaked to my heart’s content in the large natural hot spring bath. I was delighted by the free welcome bar where you can even enjoy a drink! It was so comfortable that I thought, “Maybe I’ll just relax in my room for a while,” but since I heard that “Super Hotel Premier Ikebukuro Natural Hot Spring” had plenty of other facilities to offer, I decided to check them out. On the front desk floor, in addition to a section for pillows and hotel robes, there’s also a spacious, clean lounge. It’s furnished with sofas and tables, and you’ll find people relaxing with drinks or working there. Since this is a common area, guests are free to use it as they please. Also, the restaurant—which doubles as the breakfast venue—hosts a free welcome bar from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM. Not only do they offer a variety of soft drinks, but they even serve alcohol! You can mix liqueurs, spirits, and whiskey with sparkling water or soft drinks to create your own custom drinks. They reportedly offer wine, plum wine, and—depending on the location—even local sake. At “Super Hotel Premier Ikebukuro Natural Hot Spring,” they served “Junmai Ginjo Genshu Edo Kaijo ALL TOKYO” from Tokyo Bay Brewing—the only brewery within Tokyo’s 23 wards—as well as “Tokyo no Mori” from Ishikawa Brewery, which is aged sake infused with cedar chips, and Sawanoi (Ozawa Shuzo)’s Junmai Ginjo “Tokyo Kurado,” all of which are made in Tokyo. You’d expect a region famous for rice to have its own local sake, so I was genuinely impressed to discover, “You can actually drink local sake right here in Tokyo!” As snacks exclusive to the Premier location, they offered kaki no tane (spiced rice crackers), nuts, banana chips, and “Sustena Bakery”—bread made from leftover loaves baked that morning. As a guest, I was happy to have these light snacks available, and I thought it was a wonderful initiative from the perspective of reducing food waste. Since I enjoy drinking, I had a little of the cocktail I’d made myself and felt quite relaxed. I also heard they offer an “Original Sleep-Inducing Herbal Tea,” so I decided to have some before bed. It’s a caffeine-free, original herbal tea blend made with chamomile, lavender, and other ingredients known to promote sleep, and it gave off a lovely aroma when poured into a cup. When I took a sip, the flavor was much milder than I’d imagined; it warmed my body and left me feeling cozy and content. Furthermore, as its name suggests, “Super Hotel Premier Ikebukuro Natural Hot Spring” features a large public bath with natural hot spring water. This water is sourced from Oku-Yugawara and is known as the “Beauty Spring.” True to its name, in addition to its skin-beautifying effects, it’s said to have a wide range of therapeutic benefits, including relief from neuralgia, muscle pain, and joint pain. I tried it right away, and as I soaked leisurely in the water with its pleasant hinoki scent, I felt warmth spreading from within and my body gradually relaxing. Since I almost never get to soak in a hot spring when I’m on a business trip, I was thrilled, thinking, “It’s amazing to be able to enjoy a hot spring while on a business trip.” What made me even happier was that the women’s large bath was located on a women-only floor, which put my mind at ease, and that there was a separate powder room in addition to the sinks in the bathing area. Women often take time to dry their hair and do their skincare routine, so at the sinks in the bathing area, we often feel rushed—worrying that “the next person might be coming”—or find that there’s simply no space available. The powder room is equipped not only with a hair dryer but also a clean, bright, large mirror, as well as amenities and a hair straightener, so you can take your time getting ready. When women stay together, it’s surprisingly difficult to coordinate sharing a hair dryer and mirror during morning routines. With a powder room like this, we can get ready without worrying about each other’s schedules, so mornings won’t feel rushed. I was impressed by this thoughtful attention to detail for female guests and thought, “It’s amazing how thoroughly they’ve thought this through.” After enjoying the welcome bar, I took a dip in the hot spring and returned to my room, feeling completely relaxed both mentally and physically. I had a little something to drink, lay down on the bed, and—as if being drawn into the pillow and mattress they’d selected for me—I drifted off into a deep sleep before I even realized it.
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