Minimalist living, especially in big cities like Tokyo, has always fascinated me. A few years ago, I rented a 25 square meter Airbnb condo in Tokyo for a few weeks and attempted to live as much like a local as possible. I went to local supermarkets to buy and cook my own meals everyday, strolled around the neighboorhood to patronize the smallest shops, and commuted by packed trains to the...
The hospitality industry is making a strong rebound after the pandemic, and many hotel chains are now creating new sub-brands targeting a very diverse band of travelers. Recently I came across a new hotel brand B4T owned by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). In addition to the highly efficient train system they operate, JR East also runs shopping malls and hotels at train stations. Utilizing contactless self-checkin and checkout machine becomes a norm in Japanese business hotels these days, but what strikes me the most is how much farther the B4T chain goes by introducing cloud reception....