Hotel Mark-1 Abiko

I'm English and travelling independently on my first visit to Japan, using rail and booking hotels as I go (walk-ins and online). All went well until the second weekend when virtually all hotels between Kyoto and Tokyo were suddenly fully booked, and any occasional vacancy was at crazy prices even for modest hotels. After increasingly frantic online searching, I stumbled upon the Hotel Mark-1 and made a reservation at Booking.com. It was conveniently on the way to Narita and the price was right. As I hadn't entered any card details, I just hoped that I wouldn't turn up and find there was no vacancy ! Even the tourist office in Kyoto station had a sign saying 'No Hotels Available'. It was very easy to find, just 250 yards from Tennōdai station on the JR Joban Line, which is only 25 miles and just over half an hour from Tokyo Nippori or Ueno on a 'Rapid' train (550JPY one-way). All the staff are EXTREMELY helpful and friendly. Several speak very good English, others not so much, but it really doesn't matter because they are all so keen to help and they'll soon find someone if they can't quite understand. Rooms are modern, spotless and quiet, you can open the window and I slept very well (no emergency vehicle sirens or noisy crows). The free in-room wi-fi is fast (around 16Mbp/s) and very reliable. I went down for breakfast just after nine, only to find that it stopped at 9:00 and there were no diners left. I asked the lady whether I was too late by pointing to my watch but she was delighted to help, asking reception to sell me a ticket and happily showing me where everything was. Breakfast is tasty, all you can eat and good value at 648JPY. It still uses metal keys that you leave at the desk (open 24h) and I was amazed when the receptionist instantly handed me my key before I'd been able to quote the number ! So to summarise, I seldom write rave reviews but I can heartily recommend this hotel as a base to explore Tokyo without paying city centre prices or as a overnight stop that's reasonably close to Narita airport (use nearby Higashiabiko Station). Although there's not very much to see within walking distance, the hotel offers free use of bicycles so it’s easy to explore Lake Teganuma and the local area. There are also a reasonable number of supermarkets and restaurants on each side of the tracks.