Self-Service Laundry

Hello,

I'll be undertaking a 28 day trip this Dec in winter with my wife and 2 kids, 4 & 2 years old. I intend to do laundry every 7-8 days.

Any advice where I could get it done at the most cost effective manner?

Would budget hotels have self-service laundry services where there are coin operated washing machines and dryers to get the work done? Or would I have to go to a shop outside the hotel to do it? If both are possible, would the hotel or the shop be better priced?

About half my hotels are Toyoko Inns while the rest are a mix of other brands. I have a JR Inn, Grand BASE, FlexStay Inn, Hotel MYSTAYS, The Knot, The OneFive.

We'll be mainly washing our base layers (8 sets per person) + socks + under garments. Quite unlike we will wash our mid layers unless a disaster happens...

Many thanks for any advice!

The most convenient is to use the washing machine / dryer in your hotel. It costs a few hundred yen. But you can do it while you are in your room and don�ft loose any time.
Apart from that there are many local laundry shops which probably have a similar price (a few 100 yen) than the hotel washing machine.

The other place I sometimes used was washing machines in an onsen. Not all have one. Some do. Again costs are similar.

Some hotels may also offer it free of charge.

Just as reference I was in a hotel in Kyoto during GW and the price for washing machine and dryer was 300 yen. That�fs pretty normal price.
No need to spend time on searching a slightly cheaper way.

Wow! 300 yen is pretty good price. How big was the washing machine? You mentioned washing machine and dryer? I guess it's a dual use machine? So 300 yen for one wash cycle and one dry cycle? And if I need more dry cycles, do I use the same machine? Or have I got to transfer to a dryer only machine? I would really hope my hotels all have such facilities, but I'm not holding my breath...

It really depends on the hotel. In the one I was (U Bell Kyoto) the washing machine was 300 yen and the drier for free. I guess they figured no one is going to just use the dryer without the washing machine.

For a Tohoku Inn a vaguely remeber 100 yen for washing and 100 yen for 30 min of dryer.

I think generally I see washing machine and dryer separated. Maybe so that they don�ft need that many washing machines.

I know that some other posters here don�ft like Japanese washing machines. And well, they aren�ft up to European standard for sure (cold water only) but they get your clothes clean enough.

I had a quick look and my local coin laundry is actually a bit more expensive. Probably because they have better washing machines. But the ones in the hotel do just fine for stuff you want to wash while traveling.

In general - they tend to be a 5KG washing machine (normally without detergent) and a similar sized dryer. The dryer is normally 100 yen for a certain amount of time - often enough to dry tshirts but not jeans.

Note that dryers can be a bit hit or miss with how well they work so be warned.

I've also made sure that I almost never wait until my last pair of clothes because often these hotels can be busy being used. As such - don't expect an empty room between 5-8 pm all of the time.

The comment about onsens is also important - as the washing machine may be attached to the onsen room in a hotel.

Oh... that's not an issue for me... I've only used cold water all my life... guess that's kind of a consequence of living in tropical climes...

Toyoko Inns have coin operated washers and dryers., usually 2 to 4 of each. The capacity is not big. For 1 week worth of laundry of 1 person, I used 2 washers.

For the whole family load, you may have to find a dedicated coin laundry shop in order to finish everything timely. They have big machines. They even have a washing machine for 2 pairs of sneakers, which I had never seen in my country.

Most hotels will have an "amenities" list on their website and/or on booking websites like Expedia or Booking.com (sometimes easier to check there if the hotel website doesn't have an English page). I always aim for a hotel with those facilities at the 7-8 day marks of my trip.

On my most recent trip I found machines in both Matsumoto and Kyoto where the laundry status was hooked up to the TV in the room. You could find which machines on which floors were in use and for how much longer, by tuning in that station on the tv set.

The one I used in Matsumoto was an "all in" machine that washed and dried and dispensed its own laundry soap so I didn't even need that. A small load was 300 yen, large was 500, and you could also choose wash only or dry only for different prices.

Hello kamahen,

Thanks for the reply. I took a look at the Toyoko Inn website, the general one, which happened to have a photo of the washing machines. They look like top loading ones with the dryers above on a shelf. They definitely look small. Not sure if 6-7 sets of base layers per adult and per child (4 & 2) would require all that much space in the washing machines. That's not including undergarments and socks. I thought the washing machines were of the 5-6 kg types, they should be big enough...

I'm more concerned about the dryers though... the labels on my base layers (I've never done winter in my life and first time using base layers) say NO TUMBLE DRY... I wonder if I could still load them in the dryers on the lowest heast level? They're made of 100% polyester... from what I can read on the internet, it seems that 100% polyester clothing would do just fine in a dryer at the lowest setting and no shrinkage or warping should occur. I have no idea cos I don't use a dryer back home... it's just warm enough all the time to air dry... but on a trip, I won't have enough time to air dry... alternatively, I probably could put up a laundry line in the room and let it air dry while we're out for the day...

Any advice for this additional matter would be much appreciated too!

Hello Sue,

Thanks for the heads-up. Yes I did check all the hotels at the 6/7/8 day marks but the Booking.com blurb wasn't helpful. In the end, I decided to do a search on Google for the direct website of each hotel and it turns out that they all had coin operated washing machines in-house. And that's really very good cos we can save time doing the washing... probably have to crawl up at the crack of dawn to do the washing... I gather most people would probably do their washing in the evening or night when they have come back from their day trips... and with winter, I guess there will be loads of washing done?

Oh I have another question... related to use of coins in the laundry...

I noticed that one needs lots of coins for use of self-service laundry and also for taking the train or bus... where do we get all those coins from? I get my yen from the money changer in my home country and it will likely come in large denomination notes... are there machines that change notes to coins in these self-service laundry places? What about on the train stations, bus stops, etc?

I've almost completely stopped using coins back home cos most transactions are cashless using either the phone or a Paywave credit card... so not used to carrying a ton of coins around...

Any advice is again much appreciated!

I have done more than enough washing at hotels and normally no need to get up at the crack of dawn. Also these washing machines are really quick. Normally something like 30 min for a wash. Compare that to a 2+ h European washing machine. The result obviously is accordingly but good enough.

I can�ft comment on the use of dryer for your cloths. Definitely wool won�ft survive well.

Hanging in your room will be quite limited. The rooms are small and if you hang an entire washing machine there nothing will get dry. Some hotels (Eg Toyoko Inn) has a dryer line in the bathroom. You can for probably 3 T-shirt�fs on it.

Thanks Likebike! That's quite good to hear... I intend to do my day trips at 8.00 am every day or thereabouts... and I guess I'll get back in around 5-7 pm on most days... might just be easier to try the earlier slot in the morning around 6 am to get everything done before the kids wake up... haha...

While there are washing machine available. And dryers. I wouldn't wait 7-8 days to do laundry. Dryers are normally a bit weak in Japan.

A huge load would be a time issue. Do smaller loads every 2-3 days.

Hello H,

What would you consider a huge load? Say 12 sets of adult base layers (6 + 6) for my wife and I, plus another 12 sets of kids base layers (6 + 6) for my 2 kids, 4 & 2 years old. Plus the accompanying undergarments. Would that be considered a huge load?

We won't really be doing any long walks or hiking. Perhaps the longest walk may involved walking into the Snow Monkey Park at Nagano Prefecture. Otherwise, we'll just be doing sightseeing and taking the train and bus, not particularly strenuous I would say. So the clothing may not be as soiled with perspiration as for someone who's doing a lot of hiking, trekking or climbing.

At home, I typically max out the washing load in my 8 kg frontload Electrolux washing machine (stuff it really full with dry clothing) and put it on a quick wash 15 min cycle which is good enough for us. We don't use dryers, so I guess that may be the bottleneck given that the dryers seem to be weak. But even in Europe, in self-service laundries, I often have to put the clothing (mainly cotton type clothing, nothing thick, just t-shirts, undergarments, slacks) into the dryers for at least 2 cycles of 30 min at the default setting to get everything properly dry.

All machines I've used take 100 yen coins. Hotel receptionist will change other denominations into 100 yen coins, if they are not equipped with a change machine. All dedicated coin laundry shops have change machines. Some dryers cost 100 yen per given minutes (typically 6~8 minutes per 100 yen), so the amount depends on how much you want to dry. Most hotel laundries I have used have high demand, so be prepared to either wait for an opening or move your finished laundries timely. If the previous user does not pick up their finished laundry, you can ask hotel staff to remove them. One time, I fell asleep after starting a wash and when I woke up to continue my clothes were gone. It turned out that hotel staff took them because other people were waiting to use the machine.

As mentioned previously - the washing machines are not that large so I don't see the possibility of washing every 6 days for 4 people in such a small washing machine.

Because of the number of people you have - finding an outside place might be worth it due to

(1) A much larger washer/dryer combo
(2) Some have industrial speeds of washing/drying in less than 1 hour. That's better than waiting an hour for the dryer. Trust me - I know this one through experience.

You said that all your hotels have washing machines.
So you can see the size and make a judgement for yourself if you can wait until day 6 or if you want to wash already on day 4.

Plus there is nothing that stops you from using 2 washing machines at the hotel at the same time (if they are free). In my experience it isn�ft that difficult to find a free washing machine in the evening. And if you are willing to do it in the morning while you are getting ready it should be even easier.

There isn�ft anything bad about washing machines at coin laundries. Some of them are much better and larger. But you need to find them and take time out of your tourist time to do the washing.

But as said look at the washing machine in your first hotels and decide for yourself. You have plenty of options

Thank you for the advice! Much appreciated... I'm more inclined to do it in the hotel despite the size of the washing machines, if only cos when I check Google Maps for dedicated coin laundries, they're mostly over 1 km away from my hotels... I tend to stay near or next to the main JR stations in each city base... can't imagine carrying a large load for over 1 km though... hahaha...

30 mins wash. 90 mins dry. Just plan accordingly.

Go to breakfast or rest break while dryer is on. Just feed in a few 100 yen coins and walk away for 90-120 mind.