TOKYO The Washington Hotel in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, which is famous for electronics shops, has installed an intricate model train set in a 13th-floor guestroom.
The hotel is charging ¥25,000 (US$300)—twice the regular room rate—for the room, which features a miniaturized model landscape of the city, including a scale reproduction of Tokyo Tower. Guests may bring their own model trains to run on the tracks, or they can rent one from the hotel for ¥1,000 (US$12).
Hotel spokesman Yoichi Watanabe tells Reuters that the room has been in high demand since its May debut, with bookings extending more than a month out. “We created something that’s both rare and interesting, but at the same time typical of the district where the hotel is situated,” Watanabe says. “The railway room is popular with train maniacs who start playing immediately from the moment they enter the room until check-out, as well as with families bringing little children to escape the scorching sun during summer holidays.”
The room, which overlooks the Shinkansen bullet train railway, also features a display of train models, photos of old locomotives and railway-related DVDs, according to Reuters.