Canal City Fukuoka Washington Hotel

A large, glass 12-story structure, the Canal City Fukuoka Washington Hotel blends in with the neighboring buildings that make up the huge Canal City Hakata shopping and entertainment complex. With its large windows, shiny marble, and a few pieces of colorful art, the lobby is almost blindingly bright. Once through the glass entrance doors, the vibe is one of a well-organized business hotel. Sections of the lobby are cordoned off for waiting luggage, a table displays a variety of information pamphlets, and a corner is reserved for vending machines, with the requisite plant and flower arrangements on counters and tables. The central location and proximity to public transportation make the hotel especially popular with business travelers, but solo travelers, families, and couples in town to sightsee find it a handy choice too.

This hotel is part of the Canal City Hakata shopping and entertainment complex, a popular city landmark. It's a huge complex, with 250 shops, cafes, restaurants, movie theaters, game centers, two hotels, and an artificial canal running through the mall. Outside the hotel, there are many other shops and restaurants in the immediate vicinity of the hotel, and it’s a six-minute walk to Yatai Place, an area with street nighttime food stalls. The hotel’s location is convenient for those arriving by train: Hakata Station is a 13-minute walk away. The Naka River is a two-minute walk from the hotel -- it's a popular spot for an evening stroll. The 100 Yen Bus route, which connects to all major points in the city center, stops outside the hotel, as does the Fukuoka City Loop Bus Green, which runs on weekends and holidays.

• Seven-minute walk to Kushida shrine
• Eight-minute walk to Sumiyoshi shrine
• 10-minute walk to Tocho-ji temple
• 11-minute walk to Nakasu-Kawabata subway station.
• 18-minute bus ride to the Tenjin shopping area.
• 26-minute bus ride to Momochihama Seaside Park
• 20-minute subway ride to Ohori Park
• 21-minute drive to Fukuoka International Airport 

The 423 guest rooms at Canal City Fukuoka Washington Hotel are clean and pleasantly decorated in neutral shades of off-white, gray, and beige. Furniture is straightforward and modern, and the brown-and-beige patterned carpets, lilac bed runners, and framed prints of Japanese calligraphy add some color and local character to the decor. Some of the rooms are small, especially Single Rooms, and even non-smoking rooms have a lingering smell of smoke -- all rooms include air purifiers, which mitigates this to some extent. Other amenities include small flat-screen TVs, electric kettles, mini-fridges, and free Wi-Fi. The tiny, clinical-looking bathrooms have Japanese-style fixtures, such as electronic toilets with bidet functions, molded plastic sinks, and small bathtubs, and include toiletries, hairdryers, and slippers.

There are no hotel-managed on-site restaurants at the Canal City Fukuoks Washington Hotel, but the Ineya restaurant has an entrance off the hotel's lobby, and there are many other cafes and restaurants inside the shopping complex next door. The hotel has a small business center with a computer and printer, and fax and photocopying services are available. Laundry, dry cleaning, and ironing services are available, and there's a coin-operated laundry for guests' use, along with luggage storage. Wi-Fi is free throughout the hotel.