Bed size in Japan
 

Silly question but wondering: Question on bed sizes in Japan. We are looking at web sites of hotels in Kyoto -- looking for rooms for 3 people. Many of the hotels have either double or twins. Are the twin sizes the same as in the US? Asking this because some of the pictures make the twin beds look larger than our own. Thanks

Not a silly question. I think that KimJapan posted the typical dimensions of the beds some time ago. You might be able to find that post.

I don't know if the twin beds are larger but they are large enough. I recommend that a couple get twin beds, the doubles are small are too small (unless both people are small). The "semi-double" is too small for two people.

by the twin being big enough, I mean wide enough. i'd still expect my feet to hang over the end.

3 people will need two rooms.

Twin beds are usually just that, one person sized, 90 cm wide and 200 cm long. Semi-double are slightly wider, 120 cm. Double beds are 140 cm wide. Some beds are slightly longer - you might find them in better hotels. Better hotels also offer king and queen beds.

Hotels can add an extra bed to a room IF the room is large enough. Business hotel rooms are almost always too small. A room under 30 m2 in size will be very tight with an extra bed. An extra bed will seldom, if ever, be complimentary. It does not matter if the third person is an adult or a child. If it is a child, the child is expected to share a bed with the parents. At a business hotel, the price is usually ¥10,000/night or less, and an extra bed is usually around ¥5000. Getting two rooms would be vastly more comfortable and not much more expensive...maybe the same price as an additional single room.

Some hotels in resort areas and touristy areas offer "family rooms" or special rooms for a group of women to get away together for spa or something like that. These rooms are special, and as such, must be booked directly with the hotel.

And about booking directly, I have found that every single time I have checked booking sites like asiarooms.com or expedia.com, the prices they list are FAR above what the hotel offers for direct booking. Catch is, often the direct booking is available only in Japanese in the Japanese (rather than international chain) hotels.