International Garden Hotel, Narita, Japan (Review)

I stayed 5 nights (over 2 years) at the International Garden Hotel Narita. It’s my go-to hotel for recovering from the flight to Japan from California, as it’s only about 20 minutes away from the airport, has a complementary hotel shuttle to the train station, and has a convenience store/restaurant on-site.

This post is a review of the two times I’ve stayed at the International Garden Hotel in February 2023 and February 2024, plus information about my room, the hotel itself, and other things related to my stay.

Note: I paid for the room myself and have not received compensation from the hotel for writing this review. It’s my own thoughts and experiences and I’ve not been influenced in any way!

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International Garden Hotel Narita

Quick Info

Address: International Garden Hotel Narita, 241-1 Yoshikura, Narita, Chiba 286-0133, Japan
Plus code: Q8MM+33 Narita, Chiba, Japan
Phone number: +81476235522
Check In: 3:00 pm
Check Out: 11:00 am
Breakfast: Yes, for an extra cost
Wifi: Yes!
Closest station: Narita Station, Keisei-Narita Station

Check Availability on Booking.com

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Getting to International Garden Hotel Narita

The closest train station is JR Narita Station or Keisei-Narita Station. From there you can take a free shuttle to the hotel and it’ll be about 20 minutes or so.

Information board displaying the shuttle bus schedule between Narita Station and the hotel. — Shuttle info (as of February 2024)

If you’re coming from Narita Airport, you can take the free hotel shuttle directly from the shuttle/bus area at the airport. It takes about 40 minutes or so and they’ll stop at the Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport beforehand so just be aware of that.

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Check-in & Hotel Staff

Two decorative dolls in traditional Japanese dress on the hotel front desk.

The staff speak excellent English, and check-in is very fast and efficient. You have to show your passport and fill in a form (standard), then you’ll get a room keycard and a coupon for the on-site restaurant.

I didn’t have much interaction with the staff beyond check-in/check-out BUT one time the shuttles were backed up, and there were a lot of people waiting in the lobby. The staff quickly got everyone organized and then ordered taxis for people to take them to the train station/mall: all free!

An interesting tidbit is that this hotel is used by at least two airlines to house their crew, so every so often there’d be a crush of Australian airline pilots trying to check in or out in the lobby. Good time to people-watch!

My Room

A well-lit hotel room with a double bed, large window with Japanese-style shoji blinds, a desk, and a mini fridge.

Both times I booked a double room with ensuite. It’s a pretty big room for Japan! My second room was a little nicer than the first room, but they both had a comfortable bed, Western-style toilet and big shower, hot water kettle, mini fridge, TV, a decent desk and chair, and armchairs/side tables. Some of the style/appliances looked a bit older, but they worked fine and everything was clean.

I’m not sure if the hotel was just not busy or if the noise-dampening is just that good, but I didn’t hear anything or anybody my entire stay. Yay!

A hot water kettle, pitcher, green tea and traditional Japanese tea cups.

Note they don’t give you coffee as part of the room amenities, but you DO get two bag of green tea.

Bed

A large double bed in a hotel room with an armchair and a small side table in the back.

An actual big-ish bed! It’s a standard hotel-sized double bed, and maybe a little firmer than beds in the US.

An interesting thing about these beds is the headboard with light dimmer switches and a radio. I had no idea what they were at first but eventually figured it out. Also, the windows didn’t have curtains but they had two sets of sliding shades. One was a paper shade (shoji, I think it’s called) which was great if you just want a little light to come in, and the other a sturdier material which completely blocked out the light.

Bathroom

Very standard: shower with tub, decent toilet (with Japanese bidet system), big counter and good-sized sink with hot water. Excellent amenities, including toothbrush, razor, ear swabs, cotton wipes, the works. There’s also a robe and slippers– though Japanese yukata style rather than absorbent Western-style.

If you’ve never used a bidet before, I highly recommend trying one in Japan. They’re EVERYWHERE, even public toilets at temples, and once you get used to them you’ll want to get one for your own toilet at home.

Room Tour Video

Here’s a video of the first room I stayed in:

Shared Spaces

A cozy lounge area with chairs and tables, offering a quiet space for guests to relax or work.

On the bottom floor is a LARGE lounge area, with wifi (separate from the room wifi), a copier, ATM, etc. I ended up hanging out here for a few hours after check-out and it was very comfortable!

There’s also a small Costa Coffee spot across from the front desk– totally crazy to see a British coffee brand here in Japan. There’s more (VERY cozy) chairs just in front of the front desk area as well, and a small outside area with flowers (presumably, they were all dead when I was there as it was winter).

A water station with free filtered water and an ice machine available for guests.

On the floors with rooms there’s free filtered water, ice machines, and vending machines (one with beer). They give you a little pitcher to fill at the filtered water station which was super cute.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I liked my stay(s) at the International Garden Hotel Narita! The room is big and comfy, the facilities are clean, the staff is friendly and there’s a good shuttle to go to nearby locations.

I personally wouldn’t base myself here and try to make it into Tokyo for sightseeing– you’d spend so much time on the train! But for relaxing a day or two after arriving into the country, or for getting closer to the airport before an early-morning flight, it’s a good choice.

Plus it’s a great location for visiting Naritsan Shinsho-ji, which is a fantastic temple.